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..."
[Rank 5: Draven Blackwood]
The spotlight snapped to the left, illuminating a young man who looked more like a junior professor than a student. He wore a sleek, custom-tailored suit and adjusted a monocle over his left eye with a gloved hand. His expression was one of cool, calculated confidence.
"Draven?" someone whispered nearby. "Wait, isn't he the heir of the Black Dragon Guild?"
"He is! The only son of Guildmaster Blackwood."
Ryn raised an eyebrow. Even he had heard of the Black Dragon Guild. They were legendary mercenaries, infamous for their brutally high clear rates in High-Convergence Zones. For their heir to be an intellectual powerhouse as well as a combat specialist... that was impressive.
"Rank 4..."
[Rank 4: Ephina Nightshade]
The light shifted again, finding a girl with striking, violet hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall of twilight. She sat with perfect posture, her eyes a piercing amethyst.
"The Nightshade Family..." Asher muttered beside Ryn. "One of the Seven Grand Families. They specialize in Shadow Arts and Assassination. To score that high on a written test... she's not just a killer, she's a genius."
"Rank 3..."