Chapter 21 — The Unusual Tenth Rank
As Vector exited the chamber, the heavy doors closed behind him with a muted thud.
Silence settled over the room.
Only Marcus and Vega remained.
Golden light filtered through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished marble floor. The faint scent of old books and polished wood lingered in the air.
Vega stood beside the long table, a thin document held between her fingers.
She hadn't moved for several minutes.
Her eyes continued scanning the same pages.
Marcus noticed.
He leaned back in his chair and watched her for a moment.
Then..
"Hmm."
Nothing.
He cleared his throat deliberately.
"Hmm."
Still nothing.
Marcus sighed.
"Vega."
No response.
"Return to Earth."
Vega blinked.
For a moment, she looked almost startled before finally raising her head.
"Yes… Sir Marcus."
A faint smile appeared on Marcus's face.
"You've been staring at that file for five minutes."
He gestured toward the document.
"Should I be worried?"
Vega glanced down at it again.
"No."
A pause.
"Curious, perhaps."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"Curious?"
Vega placed the document on the table and slowly pushed it toward him.
"It belongs to the student ranked tenth."
Marcus's expression immediately changed.
"Tenth?"
He looked at her incredulously.
"What's so interesting about tenth place? Shouldn't we be looking at the students who topped the rankings?"
Vega's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's precisely why it's interesting."
Marcus picked up the file.
"Go on."
Vega folded her arms.
"It isn't his ranking that concerns me."
Marcus opened the document.
His eyes moved across the first page.
Then stopped.
His expression changed.
Vega spoke quietly.
"Jay is a commoner."
Marcus's gaze remained fixed on the page.
"That's unusual, but not impossible."
"He's also an orphan."
Marcus's eyes shifted slightly.
"An orphan?"
"Yes."
Vega continued.
"They died in an accident when he was ten."
Marcus turned the page.
His expression gradually became more serious.
"But that's not the most unusual part."
Vega's voice lowered.
"He was involved in the accident."
Marcus stopped reading.
"He survived?"
"Barely."
A brief silence followed.
"He remained in a coma for nearly five years."
Marcus slowly looked up.
"Five years?"
Vega nodded.
"He regained consciousness shortly before turning fifteen."
Marcus's fingers tightened slightly around the file.
He did the calculation almost immediately.
Ten years old when the accident happened.
Nearly five years unconscious.
Aurelian's entrance examination at seventeen.
He had roughly—
"Two years," Marcus murmured.
Vega nodded.
"Two years to prepare."
Marcus looked back down at the file.
The room seemed quieter than before.
"That's impossible."
Vega's expression remained calm.
"That's what we thought."
Marcus turned another page.
"Training records?"
"Almost nonexistent."
"Private tutors?"
"None."
"Military academy?"
"None."
"Combat instructors?"
"None."
Marcus looked up.
"Then how?"
"We don't know."
For the first time, there was genuine uncertainty in Vega's voice.
She walked toward the table.
"When his application first arrived, we barely paid attention to it. A commoner with an unusual medical history wasn't exactly something we expected to become relevant."
Marcus gave a quiet hum.
"And then?"
"He survived the first trial."
She paused.
"Then the second."
Another pause.
"And eventually, he reached the final hundred."
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"And you investigated him."
"Thoroughly."
Vega's tone became firm.
"We checked his medical records, education history, financial records, family history, travel records, everything."
"And?"
"Nothing."
Marcus stared at her.
"Nothing?"
"No forged documents. No suspicious connections. No hidden sponsor. No unexplained financial support."
Vega shook her head.
"Everything checks out."
Marcus leaned back slowly.
"That makes it worse."
Vega nodded.
"Exactly."
The two remained silent.
For someone who had spent his childhood preparing for Aurelian, tenth place would have been impressive.
For someone who had trained from the age of six—
it would have been exceptional.
But for someone who had spent nearly five years unconscious?
It was something else entirely.
Marcus picked up the ranking list from the table.
His eyes stopped at one name.
10. Jay
"He didn't just survive," Marcus murmured.
"He ranked above ninety other candidates."
Vega's eyes hardened.
"And above many heirs who have spent their entire lives preparing for this."
Marcus tapped the paper lightly against the table.
"During the first trial, he conserved his energy."
Vega nodded.
"During the second, he adapted when the conditions changed."
"And during the interviews…"
"He displayed almost no hesitation."
Marcus's expression became thoughtful.
"His decision-making wasn't normal."
"No."
Vega looked toward the windows.
"He doesn't think like a seventeen-year-old."
Marcus smiled faintly.
"Neither do the top students."
Vega sighed softly.
"They were trained to think that way."
Her eyes returned to Jay's file.
"Jay wasn't."
That sentence lingered.
Marcus's smile disappeared.
After a moment, he asked,
"Any possibility he's connected to an underground organization?"
Vega's expression hardened.
"We considered it."
"And?"
"Our council used Aurelian's authority to investigate every lead available."
But..
She shook her head.
"Nothing."
Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"No organization?"
"None."
"Known mentor?"
"None."
"External assistance?"
"None."
Marcus exhaled slowly.
"So we're left with two possibilities."
Vega looked at him.
"Either someone has hidden an extraordinary amount of information…"
"Or?"
Marcus glanced toward the ranking list.
"Everything we've seen so far is genuinely his."
Vega's eyes narrowed.
"And if it's the second?"
Marcus smiled.
"Then we've just admitted one of the most unusual students in Aurelian's history."
Vega remained silent.
Marcus leaned back.
"Perhaps Vector was right to take an interest."
"He wasn't the only one."
Marcus looked at her.
Vega continued.
"I've been watching Jay since Trialspire Island."
A faint smile appeared on Marcus's face.
"And?"
"He doesn't seek attention."
"He ranked tenth."
"Exactly."
Marcus's eyes sharpened.
Vega tapped the ranking sheet.
"He could have pushed harder. He didn't."
She paused.
"He deliberately stayed beneath the spotlight."
Marcus's smile widened.
"Interesting."
He picked up his device and opened the ranking results.
"When are the rankings being released to the public?"
"Today."
Marcus stared at the screen for a moment.
Then he chuckled.
"Well…"
He stood.
"Let's see what happens when the world discovers that two commoners have entered Aurelian's top hundred."
Vega's expression remained serious.
"One of them ranked eighty-sixth."
"And the other?"
Marcus looked down at the screen.
His smile slowly widened.
"Tenth."
He slipped the device into his pocket.
"That's going to cause quite a stir."
Outside the walls of Aurelian High, the news networks were already preparing their broadcasts.
Across the regions, millions were waiting.
Families.
Nobles.
Commoners.
Governments.
And even those who lived in the shadows.
Everyone wanted to know one thing—
Who had entered Aurelian High?
And none of them were prepared for what they were about to see.