"I see you are awake," the woman said, her voice brisk and professional. "The doctor confirmed that your physical recovery is complete. Your core stability has returned to baseline, and there are no lingering signs of cognitive dissonance from the psychic attacks."
Asher straightened up instantly. The frustration vanished, replaced by the perfect posture of a noble scion. He ignored his disheveled hair and addressed her with practiced etiquette.
"Ma'am," Asher greeted with a respectful nod. "Thank you for the timely rescue. May I have the honor of knowing whom I am addressing? And... if possible, could I request a situation report regarding the train?"
The woman stopped at the foot of Asher's bed, her eyes scanning him with a mix of appraisal and professional distance.
"I am Instructor Vane," she replied efficiently. "As for the train, we experienced a severe spatial distortion along the transport lines. An external interference caused the protective barriers to fluctuate, allowing wild entities to breach the perimeter. Our security division is currently conducting a forensic analysis to identify the cause."
Ryn took another quiet crunch of his apple, his expression unchanging.
'Spatial distortion,' he repeated inwardly. 'That's a clever way to hide the truth. And they really lie as effortlessly as they breathe.'
But since he wanted to avoid drama, he considered it acceptable. So, he simply accepted the lie as a routine administrative step.
"Because of this interference," Instructor Vane continued, unaware of Ryn's thoughts, tapping her digital clipboard, "the Entrance Exam has been officially postponed for all candidates."
"Postponed?" Asher let out a long, shaky sigh of relief, his shoulders sagging as the tension left his body. "So... we aren't late? We can still participate?"
"Correct. The Academy does not penalize applicants for unforeseen accidents," she stated. "You are still eligible."
Asher closed his eyes for a moment, whispering a quiet "Thank goodness."
"However," the Instructor's voice sharpened, cutting through his relief. "You are on a very tight timeline."
Asher looked at her, his brows knitting in confusion. "Tight timeline? I don't understand. If the exam is postponed..."
"The exam is postponed, but the General Assembly is not," Vane interrupted, checking the holographic display on her wrist. "You have exactly ten minutes to wash up, change, and report to the Grand Hall."
She gestured curtly toward the floor.
"Your personal belongings have been retrieved and secured beneath your bunks. Next to them, you will find fresh sets of temporary Academy uniforms. I suggest you change immediately; your current attire is hardly presentable."
Ping.
A soft chime echoed from the bedside tables where their Arc-watches sat charging.
"I have transmitted the Hall's coordinates to your devices," she added, her tone carrying a final note of warning. "The Vice Principal will be briefing the applicants on the new curriculum and the rescheduled exam content. If you are late, the doors will be sealed, and you will miss critical intelligence that could determine your admission. Do not squander this second chance."
With a curt nod, she turned on her heel. "Good luck."
The door slid shut behind her with a pressurized hiss, leaving silence in her wake.
For a second, Asher sat frozen. Then, the reality of the countdown crashed into him.
"Ten minutes?!"
He practically launched himself off the mattress, stumbling as his feet hit the cold floor. He tore open the box under his bed, grabbing the uniform with frantic hands.
"Ryn! Get up! We have to run! If we miss the briefing on the new exam, we're going in blind!"
Ryn, however, didn't move a muscle to get up. He looked at the almost finished apple in his hand.
'Mom always said it's a sin to waste food,' he thought solemnly.
Ignoring Asher's frantic stripping and buttoning, Ryn took another leisurely, crisp bite.
Crunch.
Moreover, he found it unlikely that Asher was unaware of the exam's content, given that the boy had evidently been aware of the simulated event.
However, while Ryn thought logically that his companion had an ace up his sleeve, the reality was far less convenient.
"Ah, damn!"
In fact, Asher was currently fighting a losing battle with his own trousers, panic turning his movements clumsy.
"Where is the damn belt?!" he hissed, hopping on one foot while checking the locker.
Contrary to Ryn's assumption, Asher was terrifyingly unaware of what was coming next.
His dreams, those accursed, fragmented nightmares, were useful for dodging death flags and predicting catastrophes. They showed him the Train Incident. They showed him the burning skyline of the capital. They showed him his own gruesome demise.
But did they show him the syllabus for the Entrance Exam?
No.
Why would a prophecy about the apocalypse care about school orientation? Especially a villain's?
Asher knew the basics, of course: there was a mandatory Written Assessment and a General Special Exam. Those were constants everyone knew.
But the rest varied depending on the Division the student applied for.
For example, he applied for the Combat Division.
The Combat Division notoriously changed its test every single year to prevent students from preparing ahead of time.
One year, it was a simple one-on-one tournament. The next, a team-based fortress siege. The year after that? A survival race through a gravity-distorted labyrinth.
If he missed the briefing, he wouldn't know the rules at all.
Was lethal force permitted? Were artifacts allowed? Was it a solo evaluation or a squad-based mission?
Entering an exam without knowing the victory conditions was a guaranteed way to fail. And for Asher, failing here meant being thrown into the Class D "trash heap," effectively ending his ambitions before they even began.
"Done!"
Asher finally yanked his zipper up, his uniform slightly askew but functional. He grabbed his bag and spun around, expecting Ryn to be ready.
Instead, Ryn was just pulling out the new clothes from the bag.
"You..." Asher's eye twitched violently. He glanced at his Arc-watch, the holographic numbers mocking him.
"Six minutes! We have six minutes to cross the sector! Do you know how big this campus is?"
Ryn ignored the outburst, leisurely dusting off his new trousers before stepping into them.
"I already checked the coordinates," Ryn replied, his voice unhurried. "Don't worry, we won't be late." He paused, glancing at the frantic noble. "You can leave if you want, though. No need to wait for me."