The Aptitude Assessment dragged on, the sun climbing higher in the sky.
By the time Batch Twenty-Seven was called, the crowd's excitement had dulled into a rhythmic boredom. They had seen enough mediocrity to last a lifetime.
"Batch Twenty-Seven," Shaylo barked, looking bored herself. "Step forward."
In the far corner of the grid, the frail boy named Sero flinched. He looked around nervously, wiping his sweaty palms on his worn-out trousers, before stumbling toward Platform 99.
Asher sat up straighter in his seat, his golden eyes locking onto the boy. Beside him, Ryn was still dozing, his head lolling to the side.
"Here it comes," Asher whispered in anticipation.
Sero reached the platform. He hesitated, his hand hovering over the crystal orb. He looked like he expected the machine to bite him.
"Hurry up, kid!" someone from the stands yelled. "We don't have all day!"
Startled, Sero slapped his hand onto the glass.
Hum...
The sound was weak. It wasn't the vibrant thrum of the other candidates. It sounded like a dying engine sputtering for life.
A muddy, desaturated light flickered inside the orb. It wasn't blue, it wasn't white, and it wasn't even the common green.
It was Grey.
The color of ash.
The color of impurities.
════════
[Name: Sero]
[Core Grade: Grey]
[Rank: Novice (Rank 1, Level 7)]
[Veins: Beast, Force]
[Affinities: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light]
════════
"..."
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then, a confused murmur rippled through the stands, quickly swelling into a roar of disbelief and indignation.
"Grey?!" A student in the front row stood up, pointing. "Is that even allowed? That's worse than a broken core! It means his Arcana is so impure it's practically toxic!"
"Rank 1, Level 7? He's not even an Adept! How did he pass the initial screening?"
"But look at the bottom! Look at the Affinities!"
"Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning... and Light?!"
The shout echoed across the arena.
"He has all five basic elements and a Rare Affinity? And he has two Veins? Beast and Force?"
The crowd's shock turned into something uglier: jealousy.
To be born with such a heavenly array of talents, versatility that rivaled even the Great Families, only to be crippled by a Grey Core that couldn't hold enough energy to cast a simple cantrip... it was a cosmic joke.
"What a waste," a senior on the balcony sneered, looking down with disgust. "He's sitting on a goldmine of potential, but he doesn't have the pickaxe to dig it out. With a Grey Core, he'll die of old age before he casts a single Light spell."
"Life is so unfair," another muttered. "Give those affinities to me, and I'd be a Ranker in a year. Give them to him, and they're trash."
On the platform, Sero shrank back as if the words were physical blows. He pulled his hand away as if the crystal burned him, his face burning with shame. He kept his head down, staring at his boots, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.
"Hmm," Hearing the murmurs, Shaylo looked at the boy's direction, then at his status. A slight frown marred her face, perhaps annoyed by the contradiction of nature standing before her. But she didn't say a word.
Sero scrambled off the platform, practically running back to the shadows of the waiting area.
Asher watched him go, a complicated expression on his face.
'They call it trash,' Asher thought, listening to the mockery raining down on the future hero. 'They don't know that his Core isn't impure. It's just... dormant. Waiting for the right catalyst.'
He then glanced at the sleeping Ryn, then back at the retreating Sero.
'Perhaps, I should include him in my plans as well,' Asher muttered. 'If I can help him evolve his core...'
While Asher continued with his internal monologue, the aptitude went on, and after five more batches, came to an end.
"That concludes Part One!" Shaylo's voice boomed, silencing the jeering crowd.
The remaining pillars sank back into the ground, leaving the arena floor flat and empty once more.
"Now," Shaylo grinned, the predatory light returning to her eyes. "It's time for Part Two."
Ryn jolted awake as the ground shook violently.
"Huh?" He wiped a bit of drool from his chin. "Is it lunchtime?"
"No," Asher said, standing up, wearing his gloves. "It's the Combat Showcase. Get ready."
"Oh, ok..."
"Candidates, descend!" At Shaylo's order, the three thousand survivors of the written exam poured onto the sandy floor of the Colosseum.
As soon as the last student stepped off the stairs, the air hummed with high-frequency energy.
VWOOM.
A translucent, shimmering blue dome manifested instantly, sealing the arena from the stands. It was a High-Grade Containment Barrier, designed to keep stray spells from going out and the students inside.
Then, the ground beneath their feet groaned.
"Watch your footing!" Asher shouted, grabbing Ryn's arm to steady him.
RUMBLE-CRACK!
Massive slabs of dark, reinforced stone shot up from the sand like jagged teeth. Dust billowed everywhere as the terrain shifted violently. Within seconds, the open plain was gone. In its place stood a complex, claustrophobic labyrinth of ten-meter-high walls, twisting corridors, and dead ends.
Visibility was cut to zero.
The students were instantly separated, isolated into small clusters by the shifting stone.
Shaylo's voice echoed from everywhere at once, amplified by the barrier.
"The rules are simple!"
"Look at the counter in the sky. There are 3,243 of you now. The exam ends when that number drops to 500."
She paused, letting the gravity of that number sink in.
"OR... the exam ends the moment 500 candidates successfully collect 1,000 points."
"But do not misunderstand," she laughed darkly. "Reaching 1,000 points does not grant you an immediate exit. You must hold onto your score and survive until the end conditions are met. You are not safe until the bell rings."
"You earn points by destroying Constructs... or by eliminating your fellow competitors. If your barrier shield drops to zero, you are out."
"Eliminating a rival grants you a base of 50 points. But to make things interesting..."
"If you eliminate a student, you also steal half of their current points."
A ripple of shock went through the crowd. This rule put a massive target on the back of anyone performing well.
"Standard Constructs offer varied rewards. But hidden within the maze are 'Alpha-Class' threats worth 1000 points. And roaming the depths... is a single Boss Monster worth a whopping 5,000 points!"
"The Top 10 scorers at the end will receive special Academic Merit Points. So don't hold back."
"BEGIN!"