A big, tall man standing in front of Bona looked like he was in his late 40s
He smiled and spoke,
"We meet again, young man."
"Y-yes, Sir!"
Bona was a little tense. Ravi Han was known for his keen insight, and he might have noticed Bona's eye of pity. As Ravi's smile widened, Bona's chest tightened. The warmth of the man's expression did little to ease his nerves—if anything, it made them worse.
"Relax now, young man. Haha, no need for such pity for your healthy uncle."
Bona knew that Ravi had realized it and let out a sigh.
"I am sorry, Sir. It has been almost a year since I last saw you."
"That long? I didn't realize because you measure the same."
Bona was a bit sensitive about his height.
"Ha, and you are even healthier than before," Bona replied in a sarcastic tone.
Bokus coughed, and silence filled the room.
"Well, back to the topic at hand, young man. Are you still not able to sense essence in your body?"
After a short pause, Bona spoke while looking at his hand,
"No, Sir. I can definitely see essence when others use it, but not in my body. It's like my body is rejecting it or resisting it."
Bokus, standing by the side of the table, spoke with a little discontent on his face,
"Lord, as we all know, from the moment of birth, a baby starts to form their vessels. If one is a genius, they finish their core formation by 9 or 10. For the rest, it forms in their early teens."
Ravi sat on his chair and brought out a scroll from a drawer under his table.
Bokus, with a confused look on his face, asked,
"What is this, my Lord?"
Ravi spoke while opening the scroll,
"This is a report of a study conducted by scholars on vessel age. It states all that you mentioned, but it also introduces a third part."
Both Bona and his father tilted their heads in confusion.
"Yes, you heard that right—a third part. It is a rare case, but not as rare as the first part. Still, it's uncommon enough that no one will find it unless they are specifically searching for it."
"Then what's in it, my Lord?"
Bokus looked as if he was running out of patience.
Ravi, maintaining the same calm look in his eyes, said,
"Now, now, calm down and don't get your hopes up. This third part focuses on two types of cases: the first—those with the worst level of talent, and the second—late bloomers."
Bokus regained his composure and, turning his face toward Bona, said,
"Hmm, as you have not mentioned this before, there is a reason for bringing it up today, right?"
"Haha, yes. I was observing and waiting," Ravi replied with a sharp look in his eye after a short laugh.
"There is a mentioned age for the third case too—mid-teens or a maximum of 17."
Bona, with a curious look in his eye and some doubt in his mind, asked,
"Sir, if the first part is rarer than the third, why is it more well-known?"
Ravi replied with a smirk,
"That's simple. No one cares about some garbage or late bloomer—a rare talent is way spicier information."
Bokus nodded in agreement and said,
"As you said, my Lord, and even if late bloomers are talented, by the age of 17, those geniuses have stepped onto the 'next level'."
Ravi, while rolling the report scroll back, spoke,
"I got this report almost a year back and decided to wait for Bona to turn 17. But now, looking at his case, even forming vessels with the lowest level of talent should have been completed by now. Yet, neither your father nor I can even sense a drop in you. And as you said yourself, even the third part fails to fit your condition."
Bona spoke in a low and disappointed tone,
"Back to square one."