This F-Rank Bubble Mage Is Too OP!

"He's strange."

The woman sitting behind the holographic screen stared intently at River's back, her brows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes flickered from the boy leaving the scanning chamber to the rectangular pillar at the center of the room—a tall, obsidian device with smooth lines and a levitating orb floating at its core, pulsing with faint blue light.

With a sigh, she reached to her right and tapped a console beside her. The machine let out a soft series of beep-beep sounds as it registered her request. Moments later, the door behind her slid open, and someone walked in.

He had a plain face, black hair combed neatly to the side, and an air of confidence that made him appear more refined than he actually was. Dressed in the same official uniform of the Awakening Center, he stepped into the room with a mild smirk.

"Is something wrong, Lira?" he asked casually.

"Don't smile. It's disgusting," Lira replied without missing a beat, adjusting her lenses and glaring at him. "Check the Aptitude Pillar. Something's off."

The man, Ron, raised a brow but didn't lose his smirk. "Can you ask politely for once?"

"Just do it. You're a Mana-Tech Class, aren't you? This is literally your job."

He rolled his eyes but approached the device. "Yeah, yeah. 'Ron, scan the pillar.' 'Ron, decode the registry.' 'Ron, why do you exist?'" He chuckled at his own joke before lifting his right hand and extending it toward the floating orb. "You owe me lunch after this."

Lira didn't answer. Her eyes were locked on the orb as Ron's fingers began to glow, emitting a low mechanical hum. In the next second, his fingertips split and unfolded like tendrils—thin, metallic wires slithering forward and piercing both the orb and the base of the rectangular pillar.

The device responded immediately.

The Aptitude Pillar trembled faintly, a soft light radiating from the orb as streams of blue energy surged across its surface. Glowing circuits etched into the device's shell lit up one by one, revealing layers of intricate mana-tech design.

Lira leaned closer, her irritation forgotten as fascination took over her expression.

Mana-Tech Classes—also referred to as Modern Classes—were among the rarest types of Hunters. Unlike traditional elemental or combat-based classes, Mana-Techs used mana to interface with technology on a molecular level. Some could transform parts of their bodies into weapons or computers, while others harnessed magnetic fields and energy circuits to produce devices no ordinary mage could dream of. To Lira, they were walking mysteries—second in awe-factor only to Unique or Special Classes.

As Ron's wires pulsed with mana, a flurry of holographic displays burst into existence around the pillar, spinning in place. Rows of diagnostic codes, system logs, and data charts scrolled rapidly through the air.

Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped.

Ron's fingers retracted with a snapping noise as the last hologram faded away.

"There," he said, shaking out his hand. "As you can see, the Aptitude Pillar is working fine. No errors, no glitches, no tampering. Whatever you saw—it wasn't from the machine."

Lira remained quiet, her eyes drifting once more to the lingering trail River had left behind before her gaze returned to the holographic screen hovering before her.

"Come here, check this out," she said, swiping her fingers through the interface to maximize one of the windows.

The display expanded to show River's full name at the top—River Faelan—along with a rotating circular image of his face on the left. Beneath it, a neatly organized panel listed the data gathered from the Aptitude Pillar: his Base Stats, recorded level, class registration, and most importantly, his Skills.

Ron leaned closer, his brow furrowing as he read the details. The moment he processed the numbers, his eyes widened.

"That... Did we just find another talented Hunter?" he muttered, genuinely impressed. "Level 15? Already? And his Stats are this solid? This is E-Rank Dungeon-ready—no, at this rate, if he keeps this up, he could hit D-Rank in a few weeks."

He leaned in closer, checking again as if suspecting it was a mistake. "He's just awakened, right? Do you know how many Candidates he had to fight tooth and nail to earn this much EXP? And he did all of it as a normal human—no Class, no buffs."

Lira, however, didn't seem moved. She simply flicked her fingers again, scrolling the screen downward.

"Don't talk too much," she snapped. "Look at his Skills."

"Considering those stats, I bet he got a good—"

Ron's voice caught in his throat.

He stared at the line of text under the Skill Section. There was only one. His confident smirk faded as confusion set in.

"'Negative F-Rank Skill?" he read aloud, his voice turning flat. "That's... that has to be a mistake, right?"

"No mistake," Lira said, crossing her arms. "The system verified it twice."

"Negative F-Rank: Bubblecrafter?" Ron blinked, as if trying to make sense of it. "Wait—negative? That's lower than the bottom tier. It's a Skill so bad it's practically cursed."

"Exactly," Lira said. "It's borderline defective. Even with those strong stats, this Skill is enough to sink his chances."

She leaned back into her seat with a sigh, her expression unreadable. "He might shine in this Dungeon, sure. Maybe it's a fluke match for his ability. But once he enters the wider world of real Dungeons and competitive raiding, that Skill will drag him down."

Ron scratched his head, still frowning. "Strange combo. Great foundation, terrible Skill. He's like a sports car with square wheels."

"Even worse," Lira muttered. "He doesn't know it yet."

Ron fell silent for a moment before glancing sideways. "Are you going to report this incident?"

"There's no need," Lira replied coldly. "There's nothing to report. It's not illegal to be unlucky."

Just then, the door hissed open with a soft pneumatic sigh, and a line of fresh candidates began filing into the white room beyond the observation window. Some looked nervous, others excited, chatting in hushed tones as they prepared to take their turn at the Aptitude Pillar.

Ron stretched his arms and turned toward the staff exit. "Well, duty calls. See you at the next batch."

"Try not to fry the equipment this time," Lira said dryly.

He chuckled and waved as he disappeared through the door.

Lira didn't move. Her gaze remained locked on the screen for a few lingering seconds, especially on that Skill.

"Bubblecrafter…"

She narrowed her eyes.

Then, almost absentmindedly, she began to open another window—one not connected to the Aptitude Center's main records, but rather a classified research file only a few had access to. A file on anomaly-type Skills.

Because something about River Faelan doesn't add up.

After a few reads however, she let out a sigh.

"No record. Maybe I'm just overthinking," Lira shook her head.