A murmur swelled through the students packed around the bulletin board—like a wave gathering force—but it wasn't until the group finally reached the front that they understood why.
Pinned beneath glowing mana-locks, written in crisp black ink and stamped with the unmistakable crest of the Academy, was a brand-new sheet of parchment.
Aurelian read the first line—and froze.
"...You have got to be joking," he whispered.
Selphine's brows lifted sharply. "They wouldn't."
But they had.
The header unfurled itself with a faint shimmer, the ink brightening as if eager to announce its own cruelty.
—OFFICIAL ADDENDUM TO FIRST-YEAR EXAMINATION WEEK—
Effective Immediately: A New Compulsory Exam Has Been Added.
Dead silence.
Then—
"WHAT?!" someone in the crowd exclaimed, loud enough to echo off the stone walls.
Elara felt her stomach drop.
Marian actually grabbed her own hair.
Toven looked like he might bite the paper.
Cedric stiffened beside her, jaw clenching.
