The applause died down, strangled by the sheer awkwardness of the situation.
Vane returned to his seat. He sat down, smoothed his uniform, and stared straight ahead. He could feel the eyes of the students drilling into his back. They weren't looking at him with the same sneers as before. Now, it was the confused, guarded look you'd give a stray dog that had somehow wandered into a wedding. People weren't sure whether to pet him or call the guards.
To his left, Isaac Glacium closed his book. The Frost Monarch didn't look at Vane. He just stared at the stage, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm on the leather cover. The air around his hands misted slightly. It wasn't a blizzard, just a subtle drop in temperature that suggested his mana was leaking from sheer irritation.
'He looks like he's about to bite someone,' Vane noted. 'He expected the spotlight and I just stepped on it.'
Evangeline dismissed the assembly a moment later. The exit was a chaotic stream of silk and expensive perfume, but the crowd parted around Vane like he had a contagious disease.
Vane walked out of the auditorium and onto the white stone concourse.
"Vane."
Steward Pervis materialized from the crowd. The man looked completely unbothered by the chaos of the ceremony. He held out a flat, hexagonal crystal.
"Your Student Tablet," Pervis said. "It's your ID, your wallet, and your room key. Don't lose it."
Vane took it. The crystal hummed as it synced to his mana. A holographic display popped up.
[Student: Vane]
[Class: Special Admission]
[Rank: 1 (Provisional)]
[GPA: 0.00]
"Provisional?" Vane asked, tapping the screen.
"The Headmistress set the initial Ranks based on her own metrics," Pervis said. He looked like he personally thought those metrics were insane. "But Zenith is supposed to be a meritocracy. Your rank will update after every test. If you fail, you drop."
Pervis adjusted his glasses, looking toward the white-haired boy exiting the hall.
"Just a warning. Don't let the number go to your head. Isaac Glacium isn't just some talented kid. He's the greatest genius in the history of this world."
Vane looked at Isaac, who was currently ignoring a group of nobles trying to suck up to him.
"And yet," Vane said, "here he is. At number two."
"For now," Pervis said dryly. "He's already the favorite to take your spot at the next evaluation. Your Villa is fully staffed with a chef and cleaners. Try to enjoy it while you still have the key."
Vane nodded and walked away.
He took the private mana-lift upward. As he climbed, the air grew cleaner and the noise of the main campus faded. The Villas were arranged in a massive spiral, with the lower numbers sitting at the highest points.
He passed Villa 7. A boy with red hair was standing in his courtyard, juggling spheres of blue fire.
Vane's eyes flashed violet.
[Target Analysis]
Name: Torian
Rank: 3 (Elite)
Danger: High
Authority: Instability (S-Grade)
'S-Grade,' Vane thought. 'So that's the standard here. My Target Analysis is already flagging him as a threat just for practicing.'
He climbed higher.
He passed Villa 5. A massive kid was letting a stone golem punch him in the chest. He wasn't even flinching.
[Target Analysis]
Name: Magnus
Rank: 3 (Elite)
Danger: High
Authority: Indestructible (S-Grade)
Vane kept moving. The air was getting thin. He reached the upper tier. As he stepped onto the landing for Villa 3, the door opened.
Anastasia walked out. She had two floating orbs of light following her, carrying her bags. She stopped when she saw Vane. The air around her grew warm, and the ambient light seemed to bend toward her, making her golden hair glow while Vane stood in the shadow.
"That was a nice performance, Vane," Anastasia said. Her voice was polite, but her eyes were like ice. "But don't get confused. A clever speech doesn't make you my equal."
Vane stopped. He looked at the SSS-Rank status burning in his vision. Even standing still, she was a high-level threat.
"I'm not trying to be your equal, Anastasia," Vane said. "I'm just trying to keep the rank I was given. You're the one in third place. Maybe you should focus on that."
Anastasia's eyes narrowed. The light around her flared, turning sharp for a split second. Vane thought she was going to blast him right there on the bridge. Then she just scoffed.
"Enjoy the view while it lasts," she said, walking past him. "It's a long way down from the top."
Vane watched her go. She was strong and her mana pool was deep, but she was easy to read.
He continued upward.
Villa 2. Isaac's place.
The garden was flash-frozen. Isaac was sitting on the patio, levitating three books around him while he read a fourth.
[Target Analysis]
Name: Isaac Glacium
Rank: 3 (Elite)
Danger: High
Authority: Pale Eternity (SSS)
Vane paused. Isaac wasn't just floating the books. The pages were turning themselves, and the steam from his tea was freezing into tiny, perfect sculptures before it could even drift away.
'His control is terrifying,' Vane realized. 'He's using an SSS Authority like it's as natural as breathing. If we fought right now, I'd be a statue before I could blink.'
Vane reached the final bridge.
Villa 1.
It sat at the very top, a palace of white marble looking down on the rest of the school. It was exposed and lonely. It was a target for everyone below him.
Vane stopped and looked over the edge. Directly below him was Villa 4.
A girl was standing on the terrace. She had dark violet hair that seemed to glow in the twilight. She was holding a heavy steel training sphere, the kind soldiers used for grip strength. She looked frustrated.
She squeezed her hand.
There was no flash of light. No shout.
The steel didn't just bend. It imploded. The metal shrieked as it was crushed into a tiny ball the size of a marble. The density was so high the metal started glowing red hot, and the air around her hand looked distorted.
Vane froze. That wasn't just physical strength. That was physics being broken.
He focused his eyes. The violet light flared.
[Target Analysis]
Name: Valerica
Rank: 3 (Elite)
Danger: High
Authority: Celestial Heart (EX)
Vane stopped breathing. He blinked, thinking the system was glitching. He looked again.
Authority: Celestial Heart (EX)
EX.
He had scanned the Headmistress and she was SSS. The Princess was SSS. Isaac was SSS. But this girl living in Villa 4 held a concept that didn't even fit on the scale.
Vane stared at her. The girl looked at the glowing marble of crushed metal in her hand and frowned.
"Still not enough," she muttered.
She squeezed again, and the marble turned to dust. She let it blow away in the wind.
"Just not enough," she whispered. She sounded completely exhausted, but it wasn't the kind of tired sleep could fix.
She looked up. Her eyes locked onto Vane.
For a second, neither of them moved. Vane stood on the bridge of Villa 1 and she stood on her terrace. Then Valerica smiled. It wasn't a friendly look. It was the look of someone who had just found something interesting in a very boring place.
She raised her hand in a slow, casual wave.
Vane didn't wave back. He turned around and walked into his Villa. He leaned against the heavy door, his heart thudding against his ribs.
'EX,' he thought. 'What the hell is she doing in Villa 4?'