[EXAM START]

  The screen flashed, and the first question appeared.

  Ryn picked up the digital stylus, twirling it lazily between his fingers. He didn't rush like the students around him, who were already tapping furiously at their screens.

  'Let's see...'

  He looked at Section A.

  Question 1: What is the standard conversion ratio of raw atmospheric arcana to stabilized arcana in a standard Green Core?

  'Too easy.' Ryn tapped the answer.

  He breezed through the first section. He answered nine of them correctly but decided to leave one blank, a tricky question about the history of the Academy founders. It was a believable mistake for a commoner to make.

  Next, Section B. 3 points each.

  Question 12: Identify the weak point of a Juvenile Glimmerfang based on the provided anatomical diagram.

  Ryn looked at the image. Most people would say the eyes. The correct answer was the soft underbelly scales. Ryn obviously tapped the wrong one. He solved eight of these, purposefully misinterpreting another question about potion toxicity mixing just to keep his score grounded.

  'Section C. Now it gets interesting.'

  The difficulty spiked. These questions required actual knowledge.

  Ryn solved them steadily. However, he made sure to make two specific "calculation errors" in the most complex ones. He didn't want a perfect score in the advanced section; that would draw the professors' eyes.

  Finally, Section D. The "Hell" section.

  These were worth 10 points each. They were open-ended theoretical problems/cases designed to stump even the best young scholars/arcanists.

  Question 35: Explain the theoretical impact of a Void-Convergence on a stable Space-Time manifold using the Lorus Theorem.

  Ryn stared at it. He didn't need the Lorus Theorem; he had literally just jumped out of a window using spatial manipulation. He knew the answer intimately.

  'If I answer this correctly, they might put me in the Researcher track immediately,' Ryn thought. 'Too much work.'

  He deliberately chose to write wrong answers for five of the ten questions, constructing answers that looked smart but were ultimately incorrect.

  Ping.

  [TIME REMAINING: 00:00]

  The screens locked instantly.

  Ryn set the stylus down. By his calculation, he had secured a comfortable, above-average score: 123, enough to pass easily, but not enough to be hailed as a genius.

  "Hands down!" the Vice Principal's voice boomed. "The Written Assessment is concluded."

  As the holographic barriers flickered and dissolved, the Grand Hall instantly erupted into a cacophony of noise.

  The stifling silence was replaced by the chaotic sound of five thousand students exhaling at once.

  "That last section was insane!" someone groaned two rows ahead.

  "Did anyone get the answer for the Flux-Shift variable? I put C, but..."

  "I didn't even finish! I left three blank!"

  Some candidates were pale, staring blankly at their darkened desks, while others debated furiously with their neighbors, checking answers with frantic energy. A few simply leaned back, closing their eyes in resignation, waiting for the verdict.

  "How did you do?"

  Ryn turned to see Asher rubbing his temples, looking slightly drained. The intense mental focus required for the exam had evidently taken a toll even on him.

  Ryn offered a faint, weary smile. "Probably not good. The last section was... abstract."

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  "Yeah," Asher sighed, glancing at his own screen. "Same here. Those questions really threw me off. But... I think we should be able to pass."

  "Mm," Ryn nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Let's hope so."

  He was lying, of course. He knew exactly what score he would get. But blending in meant sharing the collective anxiety of the masses.

  Suddenly, the massive screen behind the stage flared to life with a blinding white light, cutting through the chatter. The hall fell silent instantly as the Vice Principal raised a hand.

  "Attention!" his voice boomed. "The Stellar Nexus Mainframe has completed the evaluation."

  Gasps rippled through the room. It had been less than a minute. The speed of the Academy's processing power was terrifying.

  "The results are now final," the Vice Principal declared, his monocle glinting cold. "They have been transmitted directly to your personal terminals."

  Ping. Ping. Ping.

  A wave of chimes echoed across the vast hall as thousands of screens lit up simultaneously.

  "Those who see a red 'FAIL' indicator... I am sorry, but your journey ends here. You are to vacate the premises immediately through the side exits. Transport is waiting to take you back to the city."

  The Vice Principal paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

  "For those who see 'PASS,' remain seated. You have cleared the First Stage."

  Ryn didn't even look at his screen initially. He just watched the crowd.

  "No..." a boy in the front row whispered, his face crumbling as he stared at the red light on his desk.

  "I... I failed?" A girl near the aisle stood up, tears welling in her eyes. "But I studied for three years!"

  Within seconds, the sound of weeping and angry cursing filled the air. Slowly, hesitantly, the failures began to stand up. It was a brutal sight. Nearly a third of the room was moving toward the exits, their dreams crushed in under an hour.

  Ryn finally glanced down at his desk.

  [STATUS: PASS] [SCORE: 123/190]

  He mentally checked the box.

  'Perfectly average.'

  He then looked at Asher. The noble boy was staring at his screen with a look of intense relief, his shoulders sagging. It seemed he had passed as well, with flying colors in fact.

  "Silence!" the Vice Principal commanded once the exits had closed behind the last of the failed applicants. The hall was now noticeably emptier.

  "Congratulations to the survivors. However, mediocrity is not celebrated here. We reward excellence."

  The screen behind him shifted, displaying a golden leaderboard.

  "I will now announce the Top 10 scorers of the Written Assessment. These individuals have demonstrated superior theoretical understanding and will receive bonus points added to their final Entrance Ranking."

  The Vice Principal gestured to the list.

  "Rank 10..."

  "...Lia Olis."

  The name materialized in bold golden letters at the center of the massive holographic screen before dropping down to anchor the list.

  Whirrr.

  A beam of light cut through the dim hall, illuminating a girl in the middle rows.

  She had messy brown hair and glasses, and she looked stunned for a moment before a wide, genuine grin broke across her face.

  "I... I did it?" she squeaked.

  "You made the leaderboard!" the students around her cheered, patting her on the back. It was a wholesome moment, the kind that made the Academy seem like a place of dreams rather than a battlefield.

  "Congratulations," the Vice Principal said with a polite nod, before moving on. "Continuing the list."

  [Rank 9: Caden Voss]

  [Rank 8: Jina Steelgard]

  [Rank 7: Marcus Ren]

  As the names appeared, the spotlight danced across the hall, highlighting young men and women who exuded an aura of confidence. The crowd buzzed with recognition at each name: scions of famous guilds, children of renowned generals, or prodigies from the grand families.

  To Ryn, they were complete strangers. He had never heard of the Voss or Steelgard families. Yet, looking at them, the way they held themselves, the sharpness in their eyes, he had to admit, they looked impressive.

  'At least the standards here are high,' Ryn thought idly.

  "And now, Rank 6."

  The Vice Principal paused for a split second, his eyes flickering toward the back of the hall.

  [Rank 6: Asher Leonhart]

  The name flashed on the screen.

  For a moment, there was silence. Absolute, heavy silence.

  Then, the murmurs exploded.

  "What?"

  "Leonhart? As in... Asher Leonhart?"

  "The failure? There must be a mistake. Did the system glitch?"

  "Rank 6? That's impossible for someone like him!"

  Whirrr.

  The spotlight swung all the way to the back row, blinding Ryn for a second before centering squarely on Asher.

  Asher didn't flinch. He sat perfectly straight, his hands resting elegantly on his knees, his chin raised in a display of impeccable aristocratic dignity.

  He looked cool, collected, and utterly unbothered by the shock radiating from the three thousand people staring at him.

  But Ryn knew better.

  He noticed the way Asher's Adam's apple bobbed in a hard swallow. He saw the faint tremor in the boy's fingers.

  'He's screaming internally,' Ryn deduced with a hidden smirk. 'He's probably crying tears of joy right now.'

  "Congratulations, Cadet Leonhart," the Vice Principal said, his voice neutral.

  Asher offered a singular, stiff nod of acknowledgment.

  The spotlight finally clicked off, moving away to prepare for the Top 5.

  The moment the light left them, Asher let out a long, shaky breath through his nose, his shoulders slumping just a fraction of an inch.

  "Not bad," Ryn said, leaning over with a faint smile. "Congratulations."

  Asher glanced at him, regaining his composure. He smoothed out his uniform, trying to look like he had expected this result all along.

  "Thank you," Asher replied. Then, he narrowed his eyes slightly, giving Ryn a knowing look. "Though... I know you could have done better if you actually put in enough effort."

  Ryn blinked, then waved his hand lazily.

  "Too much work," he dismissed. "I'm happy with passing."

  Asher shook his head, looking like he wanted to lecture Ryn on wasted potential, but the atmosphere in the hall suddenly shifted again. It became heavier. Thicker.

  The murmurs about Asher died down instantly.

  The crowd leaned forward as one.

  "And now," the Vice Principal's voice dropped an octave, becoming grave. "The Top 5. The absolute zenith of this year's intake."

  Ryn turned his eyes to the screen. Even he felt a flicker of curiosity. These were the ones everyone was waiting for.

  "Rank 5..."