SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling

Alfred opened a door to a side room that was surprisingly large and opulent, dominated by a white porcelain tub that was already steaming. Two maids stood silently by the wall, their hands clasped in front of them.

"The young lady will be bathed and given a new set of clothes," Alfred announced to the maids, then he looked at Rebecca, his expression one of weary resignation, "You will cooperate. Do not cause trouble for my staff."

"Whoa! A giant sink!" Rebecca ran into the room, slid across the floor, and poked a finger into the hot water, "Ooh, it's warm! Can I put bubbles in it? I want lots and lots of bubbles!"

Alfred closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, 'This child is a menace. Lord Moria has a strange taste in guests.'

He turned his attention back to Luthra, "While she is being attended to, I will show you to the armory. Lord Moria's orders were explicit."

Luthra just nodded, following the old butler out of the room and down another corridor. The mansion was a labyrinth of wealth and power.

The armory was not a room, it was a vault. The thick, circular steel door hissed open, revealing a space filled with weapons of every conceivable type. Swords glowing with faint magical auras rested on racks, spears carved from the bones of massive beasts lined the walls, and enchanted suits of armor stood like silent sentinels on display stands.

Alfred gestured into the room, "Take your pick. We have everything from C-Rank enchanted longswords to a few low-tier artifacts recovered from A-Rank gates. Though I must advise against touching the 'Weeping Blade of Sorrow' on the far wall. The last person who did cried for three weeks straight."

Luthra walked into the room, his eyes scanning the vast collection of weaponry. His hand instinctively went to the Chain wrapped around his arm.

'I don't need any of this. My chain is enough.'

His gaze, however, was drawn not to the weapons, but to a set of small, lightweight daggers clearly designed for a smaller user. It made him think of Rebecca, and the bloody axe she had wielded with such unnerving calm.

'That kid… she's not normal. She killed five men without hesitation. But that hatred… it's a powerful motivator. If she had real power, she would be a monster. But does she?'

It was a question that needed an answer. An unpredictable variable like her was a liability, but a potential asset of unknown strength was even more dangerous to ignore.

'System. Is there a way to determine if a person is an awakened hunter without using the [Appraise] skill?'

[Analyzing query… An alternate, though highly volatile, method exists. It is not recommended.]

'I don't care if it's recommended. Explain the method.'

[The host can channel a minuscule amount of his own core energy into the target's body. A non-awakened individual's system will reject the foreign energy violently, resulting in feedback that could cause minor discomfort to the host. An awakened individual, however, possesses a dormant or active mana circle. The introduction of the host's negative energy into their system would create a resonant feedback loop. The results are unpredictable.]

'Unpredictable? Be more specific.'

[Potential outcomes for the target individual include, but are not limited to: forced mana awakening, temporary paralysis, mana circuit damage, mana rogue state, or instantaneous death. The feedback to the host would be a significant neuro-electrical shock. The probability of a catastrophic outcome for the target is estimated at 67%.]

'So there's a two-in-three chance I'll either break her or kill her. But if she is awakened… she could be useful.'

He let out a quiet sigh.

'This is a bad idea. A really bad idea.'

The system's warning was clear, and the sixty-seven percent probability of a catastrophic outcome was a variable he could not afford. She was a problem, yes, but she was also a child. Taking advantage of her ignorance to perform a dangerous, soul-altering experiment was a line even he was not willing to cross. It was inefficient, and the potential fallout was too great.

He turned away from the gleaming racks of enchanted steel and walked toward the vault's entrance without choosing a single item.

Alfred stood by the open door, his posture unchanged.

"You have not chosen a weapon."

"I don't need one."

The butler did not press the issue, simply bowing his head as Luthra walked past him and into the corridor.

"The young lady's preparations should be complete. This way."

Alfred led him back to the bathing room, the heavy vault door hissing shut behind them.

Inside, the maids had finished their work. Rebecca was no longer a mess of dirt and dried blood, she was now dressed in a simple but well-made black tunic and trousers, the kind of practical attire a young apprentice hunter might wear. Her tangled hair was now clean and tied back neatly. She was spinning in a circle in the middle of the room, her arms outstretched.

"Whoa! Look at me! I look like a real adventurer now! These clothes are so much better than my old rags!"

The two maids stood silently by the wall, their faces completely devoid of expression, though the faint twitch in one's eyebrow suggested they had endured a significant ordeal.

Alfred cleared his throat, a quiet, polite sound that nonetheless cut through Rebecca's energetic spinning, "The preparations are complete. We will now show you to your quarters for the night."

Luthra looked at the girl, who had stopped spinning and was now inspecting the seams on her new trousers.

"Rebecca."

"Yeah?"

"Are you an awakened hunter?"

The question hung in the air. Rebecca stopped fidgeting with her clothes and looked up at him, her head tilted in genuine confusion.

"A what? A what-kened hunter? What's that? Is that like a super-secret special rank?"

He turned his attention inward.

'System. Is it possible for a person to be awakened and not know it?'

[Affirmative. The phenomenon is uncommon but documented. An individual can be born with a 'Dormant Mana Circle', a core that has not been activated. Without a significant catalyst event, such as extreme emotional trauma, a near-death experience, or formal mana-infusion training, the circle can remain inert for an individual's entire life. They would live and die as a normal human, completely unaware of their latent potential.]

'So she could have one, but it's just turned off.'

He looked back at Rebecca, who was now trying to see her own reflection in the polished marble floor.

"It means you might have magic inside you, but you just don't know it yet."

Rebecca's head snapped up, her eyes wide with a sudden, intense light.

"Magic?! Seriously?! Like, real magic?! Can I shoot fireballs? Or lightning? Can I make myself fly?!"

"I don't know. There is a way to find out, but it might be dangerous."

He expected her to be hesitant, to show some fear. Instead, her reaction was the complete opposite. She ran right up to him, her eyes practically sparkling with a manic energy that made the maids take an involuntary step back.

"Do it! Let's do it right now! I wanna know! I wanna know if I have magic! What do I have to do? Do I have to drink a weird potion? Do I have to say a secret magic word? Do I have to fight a giant monster? I'll do it! I'll fight a hundred giant monsters!"

Luthra watched her, his face completely impassive. Her sheer, unrestrained enthusiasm was a hundred times more unsettling than the casual way she had wiped blood off the axe.

'Ah. I see now.'

His earlier decision, his brief moment of moral hesitation, simply evaporated. It was replaced by the cold, simple logic that had governed his entire life.

'A variable this unstable cannot be left unchecked. I need to know exactly what I'm dealing with.'

He knelt, bringing himself down to her eye level. The maids and the old butler watched, their faces unreadable.

"It's very simple," his voice was low and calm, "All you have to do is let me touch your hand."

He slowly extended his right hand toward her.