Ryan surveyed the room, taking note of the attendees. The number was small. kings, each ruling their own kingdom under the Sandrian Empire, had arrived. These rulers were long-time friends of the emperor and had pledged unwavering loyalty to him. Alongside them stood some Grand Dukes, equally steadfast in their allegiance to Justin—unlike the others who weren't invitied, who could not be trusted. Among the Archdukes, only two were present, and from the Dukes, just three had come. Everyone else in attendance was truly close to the king.
There was himself, the Grand Concubine, Lady Aurora, Empress Olivia, and the emperor's two concubines, Lady Fiona and Samitara. Also present were two of the emperor's most powerful subordinates, though they concealed their presence to avoid alerting the foolish emperor who had nearly endangered the empire by prioritizing the Crown Prince's safety over the kingdom itself.
Shaking his head, Ryan smiled.
"Now that that's settled, let the Royal Physician and Mages come forth for the appraisal ceremony."
Dante inwardly cursed Ryan, hoping he would keep talking and find a way to avoid the appraisal.
'Is everyone just set on dying or losing their minds?' he thought in frustration.
"System, is there any chance that the appraisal will see through me and uncover all my skills?"
[Unlikely. As I mentioned before, there is too little data for an accurate assumption, but the probability is low.]
"Why do you think so?"
[Master, only appraisal skills above level 50 in the legendary tier would have even the slightest chance of seeing through you. You already know that some of your skills required more slots than you had available when you acquired them.]
"Yes? And?"
[Master, while unconfirmed, it is possible that a skill's strength is proportional to the number of slots it requires. The number of sub-abilities is also a key factor. Most of your skills required at least four slots or more. This means even the skills that appeared to require only one slot likely needed at least three, or more.]
"Ohhh, shit! I forgot about that. Haha, no wonder you seem so relaxed! Nice, nice, nice. Okay, good thing I have you—I had almost forgotten about that."
[It is my pleasure, Master.]
Dante exhaled softly, unconsciously clutching his mother's dress. Aurora noticed and smiled, gently kissing her child's forehead.
"Don't worry, my child. Mother will kill everyone in this room before I let them hurt you."
Dante looked up at his mother and chuckled. His giggles rang through the room.
'Good, Mother. You're truly reliable. I thought you would be soft and kind... , no wonder I'm your child. Perhaps you and I really do get along well.'
Aurora chuckled, lifting her son and placing him on the special appraisal chair positioned before the emperor and empress. The chair was designed to aid in appraisal skills. Three men—Adam and two royal mages—stepped forward, surrounding the child, who swung his legs freely, looking at them in innocent confusion. The three men chanted in unison.
"Appraisal."
What happened next would be retold for generations.
Those who witnessed the event would later recount the day they learned a terrifying truth: that while appraisal skills were powerful, there were beings who could resist them, beings who could cause severe backlash to the user, and those who could drive an appraiser to madness. It raised unsettling questions about what exactly resided within this child.
"System, you know what to do."
[Order received. Activating passive abilities: Unreadable Presence, Reflection and Corruption, Reality Distortion and Perception Collapse, Spatial Body.]
Silence blanketed the room as glowing words appeared above the child's body for all to see:
[Name: Dante Sandrian]
[Race: Elf]
[Age: 2 years old]
[Origin: Northeastern Continent, Sandrian Empire][Moral Alignment: ----]
The mages and physicians immediately intensified their efforts, pouring their mana into their skills, trying desperately to uncover more information.
Lark, the Royal Physician and Mage, focused his power, aiming to reveal Dante's skill tier. Minutes passed, yet nothing happened. Confused, he glanced up at the boy, expecting to see signs of strain. But instead, what he saw horrified him.
In an instant, Lark found himself in a grand throne room. Before him sat a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties, his beauty almost ethereal. He leaned lazily against a dark throne, one leg propped up, the other dangling casually. The throne room was adorned with radiant gems and glowing crystals, its pristine white interior starkly contrasting with the obsidian throne. The young man wore an ancient martial sect robe embroidered with golden patterns around the waist. His hair, white and clean flowed perfectly around his shoulders and back , his bangs neatly hiding his forehead. His piercing blue irises, encased in eerie white sclera, locked onto Lark. A necklace draped across his exposed collarbone and blue and white earrings adorned his ears. Dark blue boots completed his attire.
The young man observed Lark with an expression of mild annoyance.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Lark felt his stomach churn violently. His organs twisted and shifted inside him. He swore he felt his heartbeat relocate to his abdomen, his kidneys merged into something unrecognizable. He was being rearranged—without a single cut.
Vertigo overtook him. The room swirled, distances warped. He felt nauseous.
"Hey, dude. What's your name again? Lark?"
Lark tried to respond, but his mouth failed him.
"Tsk. What the fuck do you want? How rude can you be, barging in like this?" The man casually picked his nose, sighing.
"Didn't your parents teach you any manners? You should be careful whose house you randomly step into. It's just common courtesy, Jack. Or was it Lark ?, ehh Listen….. Steve….? Nevermind your name is unimportant — about 600 years ago, before I was in this world, I almost got raped, you know? And I wasn't even as gorgeous as I am now. That's how dangerous it is to just walk in or in your case appear randomly in people's houses. In my case my dignity was almost taken you know.
Lark was baffled
'What was this?, who was this? Some sort of illusion? Was it a consequence of failing the appraisal, where was he, why did all this feel so real?
Lark simply couldn't understand, all he felt was true pressure, accompanied by unmistaken fear. He wished to speak, but in the presence of this young man all he felt was utter despair and true fear, he couldn't even point to his heart, he could clearly feel as if his heartbeat was coming from his stomach, had he swallowed his heart?
He was sickened to the stomach, whatever skill effect he was under, was completely appalling and terrifying! He tried to even open his eyes but he could feel blood pouring out as he tried to look at the young man , who seemed to be the essence of vile power , horrifying power. The voice continued recounting tales he simply couldn't understand.
'Sigh'. Man, tough times, those times. Anyway, I have better things to do, so I'll just kill you quickly, okay? My wife enjoys blowjob time more than I do, and she's going to be all cute and mad at me if I take too long. Even at level 42, I still need love and enjoy some proper attention, you get me?"
Lark barely processed the words before reality snapped back.
He was staring at the small boy once again. His heartbeat skyrocketed as his lips parted to scream— "MONST—!!!"
Before he could finish, his body exploded into a shower of flesh.
Meanwhile, one of the other mages, Emeric, had also attempted an appraisal. The moment his eyes locked onto the child's; everything stopped. He opened his mouth and, as if possessed, shoved his fingers down his own throat. The wind stirred by his ability—then he, too, exploded.
At the same time as Lark was still in the process of apprasing himself, Adam poured his full mana into the skill. A brief success:
[Moral Alignment: Evil]
[Skills: -----------]
Then, his vision twisted. His world spun. His eyes rolled back as blood poured from them, followed by his nose, mouth, and ears. He collapsed.
Horror filled the room.
Silence.
Then, it was broken by the sound of innocent, delighted laughter.
Dante giggled in pure joy.
Everyone was frozen in fear.
Dante's smile faltered. 'Shit. I shouldn't be laughing. What do I do?'
[Master, the best course of action is to act natural. In this case, cry.]
'Oh yeah! Ahem!'
"MWAAAAA!"