"Do I really have to do this?" I sighed apprehensively.

"Well, not really, but you should. You don't want to get a bad public reputation, that could hurt your career as a Hunter. Having public goodwill is more valuable than you might think," Charlotte responded as she patted my shoulder with a wry smile.

It was the next day, the 26th of May, 2169, around 3 PM. After the final, an awards ceremony was held, with medals given out and stuff.

Once that was over, I headed straight home and passed the fuck out, completely and utterly exhausted.

I woke up around midday today, and not long after that, Charlotte contacted me to let me know that there was going to be a press conference held today.

She addressed the press first, while I waited backstage, explaining my situation and her role in helping me hide my powers while getting stronger.

People are going to figure out I have that ability anyway, so I agreed to reveal it.

And now, it's my turn to face the press, which I'm not particularly thrilled about. I'm still worn out from the tournament, five fights in one day was more than a little exhausting.

I'm not going to answer any questions I don't want to, I'll just give out some surface-level explanations, at most, and try to wrap it up as quickly as I can.

"Alright, it's time. Just relax, you'll be fine," Said Charlotte, giving me a slight push.

"Yeah, might as well get it over with," I sighed, as I stepped forward.

As I emerged from behind the curtains, I felt dozens of gazes lock on to me, the members of the press tapping away at the I-Watch displays to take photos of me.

I took a seat behind a table with a mic on it, before tapping it as I made myself comfortable.

"Uh...hi," I spoke into the mic as I glanced around at the reporters, before promptly being met with a barrage of questions.

"Why did you pretend to be weaker than you really are for so long?"

"What exactly is your Magic?"

"Did you plan to reveal your true power at the HCC from the beginning?"

"How do you feel about finishing as the runner-up?"

"Are you truly able to grow more powerful, beyond your Potential?"

"You deceived a lot of people, what are your thoughts on that?"

"What do you plan to do next?"

Uh...how am I supposed to answer all of them at the same time?

Fuck it, I'm not even going to bother.

They continued bombarding me with questions for a while, before finally easing off as I kept quiet.

"Yeah, I can't respond if you're all talking over each other. So, I'll just lay it all out. For starters, yes, I can get stronger. As for why I kept that ability to myself, I simply didn't want to attract any unwanted attention or get taken advantage of.

So, I wanted to get as strong as I could while keeping a low profile, my goal was to get strong enough that no one would be able to take advantage of me by the time I revealed my true power.

Of course, the Union caught on by the end of my time at the Academy. The Chairwoman reached out to me and offered to help me get stronger while I continue to hide my abilities, with no strings attached. I wasn't about to turn down a deal like that, so yeah, I accepted her offer.

And after my Power Level crossed the threshold into Ace territory, I figured it was time to stop hiding. Upon the Chairwoman's suggestion, I decided to make the reveal in the HCC," I explained, before immediately getting hit with another barrage of questions.

I can barely hear any of them, shouldn't reporters be better at this? Seriously, they do realize that they're just wasting their breath, don't they?

As they continued yelling over each other, I let out a sigh before raising my hand, all of them going quiet as they stared in confusion.

"There, that's better. Alright, how about this? You guys just raise your hands, and I'll pick you one by one to answer your questions," I suggested, before adding as all of them raised their hands instantly, "Let's start with...you. Go on."

"How exactly do you get stronger?"

"I guess I can answer that. I use these...," I trailed off, chanting under my breath to manifest Devour and Drain, before continuing, "The black one makes me physically stronger when I consume Monsters through it, and the white one increases my Mana capacity when I consume Mana. Okay, next I'll go with...you."

"Why exactly did the Chairwoman offer to help you get stronger while hiding your abilities from the public?"

"Didn't she already answer that? Whatever...she just told me that she was making an investment for the sake of humanity's future. She wanted to help me get stronger more safely, by introducing me to a reliable and trustworthy party and giving me access to Mid Level raids.

She felt it'd be a waste if I ended up getting myself killed. I wouldn't have been able to progress nearly as fast as I did without her help, I might have even gotten impatient and tried to take on more risk than I could handle.

So, yeah, I'm grateful for what she did, risking her own position and reputation for the sake of humanity's future," I answered, before adding as I glanced at the other reporters, "Alright, next, how about...you."

"About your abilities...this morning, your profile in the Hunters Registry was updated, officially making you the newest Ace Hunter, but I was wondering about your Class?

According to the Registry, you're registered as the Sinner. As an Arcane Hunter, is it safe to assume that you picked that name yourself? And if so, why did you choose that name?"

"Well, I'm not going to get into too many specifics about my abilities, I'd prefer to keep my cards close to my chest...that said, most of my abilities sort of fit the themes of one of the seven deadly sins, so I figured it was a fitting name. That, and I also thought it sounded cool," I replied with a wry smile.

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