Hearing the skeleton casually call him out on his pure, unabashed greed, Lana realized her massive misunderstanding.

Her face, which was already red from anger, now burned crimson from sheer, unbearable embarrassment.

She slowly lowered her pointing finger, wishing the floor of the Association would simply open up and swallow her whole.

Lana slumped back into the plush waiting chair, still thoroughly embarrassed.

Still, her desire to know her own strength burned inside her.

Even though the official evaluation would give her a general result in a few moments, the Association's machines were notorious for missing finer details and hidden restrictions. She desperately wanted the full picture.

She looked back at Aron, determination flashing in her eyes. "Ten thousand!"

Aron, who had been minding his own business and had completely forgotten the conversation from a few seconds ago, suddenly sneered.

"Heh! Ten thousand Dragon Coins? Do you think I'm a beggar?"

But Lana didn't waver from her decision. She stared straight into his eyes and clarified, "I will give you 10,000 Erdalon Coins."

Aron's eyes instantly bulged. He shot up from his seat. Erdalon Coins were the universal, premium currency of the entire planet.

One Erdalon Coin was equivalent to a thousand Dragon Coins. That meant she was casually offering him a staggering ten million Dragon Coins just for a snippet of information!

He stared at her, pure, unfiltered greed practically leaking from his pores, drool threatening to spill from the corner of his mouth. 

Lana shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze, but recalling the skeleton's comment about his love for money, she held her ground.

Aron nodded vigorously. "I... I find those terms highly acceptable. When will you pay?"

Lana sighed, reaching into her spatial ring and pulling out a sleek, glittering diamond card. She extended it toward him.

"This is a bearer card from the Erdalon Universal Bank, or EUB. You can withdraw the amount at any branch, at any time. This Diamond Card contains exactly 10,000 Erdalon Coins."

Aron's hand shot out to snatch the card, but when he tried to pull it away, Lana held on tight. She looked directly into his eyes, her expression dead serious. "Information first. Tell me the details."

Aron nodded, finally dropping his casual facade. Tapping into his flawless memories from his past life, he spoke nonchalantly, reciting her exact status.

"Name: Lana Lysandra

Identity: Heir of the Lysandra Family, S-Rank, Dragon Bone City

Skill: Puppet Controller, A-Rank

Effect: Grants the ability to dominate and perfectly control up to 10 humans or monsters of the same rank or lower, using them entirely at will.

Current Attributes: Peak B-Rank"

Lana's grip immediately went slack. Aron happily plucked the diamond card from her fingers, grinning from ear to ear as he stowed his new fortune away in his space ring.

Because he was so focused on the money, he completely failed to notice that Lana was now shaking uncontrollably.

At the exact same time, the little skeleton on his shoulder was staring at the side of Aron's head in absolute, horrified disbelief.

'What the hell... what kind of terrifying power is this?' the skeleton screamed in its mind. 

'How could he possibly see completely through her hidden skills, and even pinpoint her exact attribute threshold?!'

Lana stumbled backward, then stood up straight. "How..." she stammered, all color draining from her face as it turned completely pale. "How do you know my true family name?!"

Aron just chuckled lightly, unaffected by her shock. "How I know isn't important. What matters is the trade. Tell me, is my information accurate or not?"

Lana nodded mechanically, completely stunned. The nature of the skill he described was exactly what she had felt upon awakening.

Until now, she had only tentatively theorized she could control maybe one or two puppets at most. But ten? To be able to command an entire squad of equal-ranked fighters with zero backlash?

She finally realized just how terrifyingly powerful her skill truly was.

Seeing Lana's shell-shocked expression, Aron leaned back into his plush seat and crossed his arms.

"Actually, you didn't awaken a completely new skill at all, did you?" he stated casually. "Your original skill simply evolved and advanced to a higher rank. That's all."

Lana took a deep breath, forcing her racing heart to calm down, and slowly sat back in her chair. "Yes," she admitted softly.

"I heard from my assistant that it's theoretically possible for a Sire's skill to undergo an evolution over time. But it's incredibly rare, even rarer than someone awakening a second skill entirely. But Aron... how do you..."

Aron shook his head, cutting her off before she could ask any more dangerous questions. "Don't worry. I won't leak any details about your rank or the Lysandra family to anyone."

Lana shook her head with a bittersweet smile, interrupting his reassurance. "Actually, keeping it a secret isn't necessary anymore. My family found out where I was hiding a long time ago."

She stared down at her hands, her voice dropping into a quiet, vulnerable tone.

"In the past, when I first awakened, my skill was evaluated as a mere C-rank. To be born into an S-rank lineage like the Lysandra family and only awaken a C-rank skill... it was a complete disgrace."

She clenched her fists slightly, remembering the weight of that disappointment. "I couldn't forgive myself. I felt so much shame that I ran away from my family and traveled all the way here to hide in Archeon Academy. But now..."

Lana looked up, a newfound spark of confidence and immense relief shining in her eyes. "...Now that my skill has finally advanced, I actually have the right to go back."

At that exact moment, the heavy door to the inner examination room swung open.

The receptionist walked out, closely followed by the young man who had gone in earlier. He stomped his foot heavily against the polished floor, his face red with indignation.

"You! You people are absolute robbers! Have you no shame?" he yelled. "How is it possible that I didn't awaken a new skill?!"

The receptionist maintained a strained, professional politeness.

"Sir, you saw the evaluation results yourself. That strange, surging feeling you experienced this morning was simply due to a single-point increase in your Stamina stat. Please understand... you are still a D-rank Sire, exactly as before."

The young man roared, ready to cause a massive scene. "No! Give me my money back! Do you have any idea how hard it is to earn 100,000 Dragon Coins?!"

The receptionist's polite facade finally cracked, her annoyance bleeding through her gritted teeth...

"Sir, as we explicitly warned you beforehand, we cannot refund the processing fee unless your rank actually changes. You were already... sigh. Security!"

Realizing she still had two more clients waiting, she decided not to waste any more breath. Within seconds, two burly C-rank security guards stepped out from the hallway.

Seeing the intimidating guards approaching, the young man instantly swallowed his rage. Gritting his teeth in silent fury, he allowed himself to be escorted out without another word.

Smoothing out her uniform, the receptionist walked over to Lana with a renewed, pleasant smile. "Miss, it is your turn now. Shall we proceed?"

Before Lana could stand, Aron leaned forward from his seat. "Can I come inside too? I want to see her evaluation."

The receptionist immediately frowned, ready to deny the request. "Sir, I'm afraid we can't allow unauthor..."

"It's fine. Let him come with me," Lana interrupted smoothly, standing up. She shot Aron a pointed look.

"That way, I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't run off with my money before I get official confirmation."

Aron chuckled in amusement. Rising from his chair, he casually followed Lana and the receptionist as they made their way into the high-tech evaluation room.

Stepping through the heavy doors, Aron realized that the term room was a massive understatement. He found himself standing on the edge of a cavernous hall that closely resembled a colossal indoor stadium.

High above the ground floor, a circular observation balcony wrapped entirely around the perimeter.

This secure vantage point was lined with advanced monitors, sensory equipment, and thick reinforced glass, designed specifically for the Association staff to safely oversee and record the evaluation process.

Down below lay the sprawling, heavily fortified testing arena, a vast, open expanse where Sires could freely unleash their powers and push their newly awakened skills to the absolute limit.

The receptionist led Lana down toward the arena floor, handing her over to an elderly man wearing a crisp white lab coat, the head evaluator for this testing zone.

Once Lana was in his care, the receptionist walked back up to the observation balcony and stood beside Aron.

She leaned against the railing and let out a long, exhausted sigh. "I really don't know why you kids like to waste your money so much. You saw that young man earlier..."

She shook her head. "He didn't awaken any new skills at all, but just because he felt a slight..."

"Do you really think we're just wasting our money?" Aron interrupted with a soft chuckle.

The receptionist nodded, though she frowned slightly in hesitation. She didn't say anything else, but she couldn't shake the strange feeling she got from him. Ever since she met this boy, something felt entirely off.