Layering Method (Part One)

It hadn't been easy. The Brain of Emptiness System actually remembered this young master's original goal!

Ronan had been left a little dazed by the string of comments and score reports. Only when he saw that final line did he come back to himself and instinctively breathe a sigh of relief. But upon giving it more thought, he felt rather unbalanced.

Of the four primary authority assessments, Sky Abyss Network had remained disconnected and could be disregarded. Of the remaining three, Knowledge Access and Resource Allocation had both changed from pending assessment to assessed, while Knowledge Access had even risen to Sky Ladder Level Four.

He had taken a Sky Ladder Level Two test and snagged Sky Ladder Level Four access privileges. It sounded pretty good... like hell it did!

The most crucial authority, "ownership," had not changed in the slightest, neither in wording nor meaning. So after all that effort, he was still only a "temporary" owner, someone who could have another person point at his nose and demand, "Return the property to its rightful owner," at any time?

What was the point of this "ownership verification review" process?

After struggling so miserably through the Offline Test, getting this result in the end truly left Ronan feeling miserable.

Still, Ronan was fundamentally a reasonable good kid who knew to look for the reasons within himself. After calming down a little and reviewing the entire testing process, he had to admit that he had not performed particularly brilliantly. The final assessment was fairly "conservative."

Facts were facts. Regardless of whatever objective factors existed, the test had its own preset standards. Ronan had no way to argue with the system.

"Ugh, my head hurts. I'm dizzy too!"

Ronan's physical and mental state began sliding into a slump. His barely-passing score was