Samuel's POV
The tension in the room could slice through steel.
There I was, standing in a room full of buff, intimidating adults who had probably fought off monsters in alleyways, survived guild skirmishes, or at the very least paid taxes. And me? I was two. Literally. Diapers-were-a-recent-memory two.
Rei had one hand over his face like he was trying to phase out of existence. "This is a terrible idea," he mumbled. "We're all going to jail."
The test proctor, a balding man with thick glasses and the posture of a suspicious mushroom, cleared his throat. "A-Ahem. T-this child… surely he's just here for the observation group?"
I stepped forward confidently, puffing out my tiny chest. "Observation? No, sir. I'm here to take the aptitude test. Please and thank you."
He blinked. "How old are you?"
"Two."
A ripple of laughter spread across the room, until a light bulb exploded on the ceiling. Everyone shut up.
"Right," I muttered. "Let's get this over with."
The testing chamber was massive. Inscribed circles and mana detectors hummed faintly beneath our feet. There were three parts: physical, magical, and spiritual.
First up? Strength.
"Hit the dummy with all you've got," the assistant said lazily.
I grabbed the wooden stick they handed me, stared at the reinforced training dummy… and imagined it was the devil who ended my first life.
Then I moved.
CRACK.
The dummy exploded in half.
Silence.
"…We're gonna need another dummy," the assistant said faintly.
Second: Magic Control. I was told to light a candle with my mana.
I accidentally vaporized the candle stand, the candle, and a good chunk of the testing table.
"Oopsie~" I said.
The assistant was sweating now. "Uh-huh. Sure. Okay."
Last: Spiritual resonance.
This one was just supposed to glow if you had a soul connected to mana deeply.
It didn't glow.
It shattered.
And a pillar of white-hot energy erupted from beneath me, sending ancient runes scattering across the floor like leaves in a storm.
I stood in the center, eyes glowing faintly. "So… did I pass?"
Outside, Rei sat with a massive coffee, watching from behind a one-way window.
"He's… He's going to destroy the world, isn't he?"
The administrator beside him just whispered, "That child's not a Hunter. He's a nuclear warhead with opinions."
Rei sighed. "At least he's cute."
I tugged on the administrator's coat, looking up with the biggest, brightest grin I could muster—channeling all the "pure and harmless" energy I had.
"So... I'm going to go to school, right?" I tilted my head, my deep voice cracking the illusion a little, but I powered through. "It said that skills are learned here. I want to learn more! Actually. I want to be like them."
"Them?"
"The legendary ones." My eyes sparkled—totally on purpose. "The chosen people. The ones Daniel picked ten years ago when the world went to hell. They were awesome."
The administrator stared at me like I'd grown another head. "Y-You… know about Daniel's Chosen?"
I nodded with a proud hum. "Mmhm. I want to be like them. Powerful. Brave. Cool outfits."
I leaned in, poking his side with one finger. "So. Forget about my age, okay?"
He glanced at Rei, who gave him the most exhausted 'do whatever he says or we all die' look in human history.
The administrator slowly bent down to my eye level, swallowing his disbelief like a man preparing to accept his fate.
"…Welcome to Hunter School, I guess."
"Yay~!" I cheered, then turned to Rei with a cheeky grin. "Told ya."
Fade to black.
End Of Chapter 4.