The crystal pulsed once - then ignited.
Gold - The magic strand surged, flaring broad spirals. It swam upwards like a flame in a cyclone. Heat shimmered in the air.
Crimson - weaker, still present. A spark of Ki.
Taming and Spirit remained dim.
Above the crystal, the glyphs formed:
<>Magic Mastery : C- Class
<>Magic Potential : A Class
<>Ki Mastery : D-Class
<>Ki Potential : C
<>Taming/Bonding : No resonance.
The students exhaled, some whistling.
"B at her age?"
"A class potential...she's for real"
"She was only ranked fourth before right?"
Aelana turned and walked back without glancing at the numbers. Before she reached her spot another name rang:
"Seris Halden".
The crowd's response was quieter, not from lack of recognition, but respect.
She stood from the centre and talked with poise. Walked to the crystal.
Her uniform fit sharply. Gloves worn to the wrist, a hint of a family crest present.
"That's Seris? She looks colder than I thought."
"Halden house. Spirit lineage, right?"
She approached the pillar in silence.
Her hand didn't tremble. She placed it near the crystal like she had done a hundred times before.
No flash. No heat.
Instead the crystal buzzed.
Violet
It threaded upwards like silk, steady and thin but with a unwavering presence.
Under the violet, a faint crimson pulsed, measured and clean.
No magic. No taming.
The projections read:
<>Spirit Bonding Mastery: C-Class
<>Spirit Potential: A-Ckass
<>Ki Mastery: D-Class
<>Ki Potential: B
<> Magic/Taming : No resonance
Note: External spirit confirmed. Contract stabilised.
Some students whispered.
"No flash. No force."
"Is that what a spirit-class prodigy looks like?"
Seris turned away from the crystal. As she walked; her gaze flickered - only once - towards Kalen.
He saw it of-course.
"Kalen Voss."
The name rang louder than others - not in volume but weight.
He didn't move right away; just standing there momentarily.
His jaw tightened. Shoulders squared, he stepped forward like someone bracing against a current.
As he walked his steps weren't fluid. They were dense. Coiled. Every step sounding like it carried gravity along with it.
"He's second-ranked?"
"Behind Jacob, yeah. He's got Gravity-based ki....guess it runs in the family".
Kalen's eyes moved to Seris. Her back was turned.
Nothing. Not even another glance.
Reaching the Soul Resonance Pillar, he exhaled.
There was no hand motion, once he was close - the air shifted.
Crimson light erupted from the crystal.
But it wasn't a flare...it was a drop.
Like something had slammed the atmosphere downward. The pressure was instant, oppressive.
Students close to the front staggered back.
The red light compressing tighter and tighter.
A faint gold line shimmered through; it was magic. Not much. But refined enough to register.
The other colours remained dim.
Above him, the glyph's materialised:
<>Ki Mastery: B-Class
<>Ki Potential: A+
<>Magic Mastery: C+
<> Magic Potential: A
<>Taming/Spirit: No resonance.
"Wait- B Class?!"
"Already?"
Several instructors near the wall exchanged looks. One of them even adjusting their stance - looking more closely now.
Even Vei Alros, who hadn't blinked for the other students, narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Interesting", she murmured.
Kalen didn't look proud.
He didn't even react.
Not to the whispers or lingering looks. Not even the re-evaluating look of the Vice Headmaster Vei.
He walked back to his spot and folded his arms - expression still.
The room held its breath.
And then the next name was called.
"Fayl Kera"
<> Magic Mastery : C Class
<> Magic Potential : A Class
"Lyria Skorne"
<> Taming Mastery : C Class
<> Taming Potential : A Class
She strode with grace, an animal pressure trailing behind.
"Selle Varn"
<> Magic Mastery : C Class
<> Magic Potential : A Class
Soft steps, arms never moving her side as her blonde hair swayed.
"Veyna Aris"
<> Ki Mastery: C Class
<> Ki Potential: A Class
Smirking as she stepped forward. Her confidence cracked off her shoulders. The resonance came in bursts, unstable and fierce.
"Enyx Virell"
<> Ki Mastery : C Class
<> Magic Potential: A Class
Red hair flowing like a wildfire. His ki surged quickly.
"Naeva Solene"
<> Spirit Mastery: C Class
<> Spirit Potential : A Class
Her gaze; distant. The pillar pulsing gently.
"Caelun Redd"
<> Magic Mastery: D Class
<> Magic Potential : S Class
Note: Volatility Warning.
A blast of gold surged upwards, violet and uncontrolled when it came to Caelun's turn. A few students at the front flinhcing as the room was engulfed in pressure. As quick as it came, the pillar was silent.
"What the hell was that?"
"S-Class Potential?!"
"Is that real?"
Instructors stirred; discussing with each-other openly.
Vice Headmaster Vei whispered something to one of the instructors; her grey eyes narrowing.
Among the Elite Class, a few heads turned in calculation.
"He's not even the type you'd notice...", some whispered, noting his average appearance.
The crystal dimmed.
But the tension didn't.
"Torin Vale"
Heavy steps echoed as he approached. Broad, calm-eyed and built like a wall, he placed his hand on the crystal. The red light compressing like an anchor into deep water.
<>Ki Mastery: C Class
<>Ki Potential: A Class
"Izan Thorne"
Tall and strong. A scar running from cheekbone to jaw, he stepped forward pressing his hand down hard.
<> Magic Mastery: C+
<> Magic Potential: A
The names continued:
"Rowen Delca"
He didn't speak. That hood over his eyes. He moved like someone doing a chore.
<>Spirit Mastery: C-
<> Spirit Potential: A
"Mira Dask"
Whispers rose as a small figure, bareful above five feet with a youthful face stepped forward.
There was no childlike energy in her walk however.
<> Magic Mastery: C Class
<> Magic Potential: A-
-----
One by one, the names had been called. The resonance flaring; always with a different force behind it.
"Sure enough", someone muttered, "their potential really is on another level", he commented looking at the whole of Elite Class postured on one side of the room.
"Every single one of them....not a weak link the class".
"And there's still one more."
The space around the pillar seemed to tighten. A few heads turned before the name had even been spoken.
Like they already knew.
Then:
"Jacob Lacura"
The hall had gone quiet.
No one called for the silence, but the whispers had whispered away.
Jacob stepped forward.
Not fast. Not flow. Just steady - like he'd already done this a hundred times before.
His uniform was casually done, slightly loose from the strain of the morning. Hands relaxed at the sides. Calm.
The moment he passed the last row of students, the air changed.
It felt...cleaner. Sharper. Like the room inhaled.
He stepped up to the pillar.
No glance at the crowd. No look back.
Jacob Lacura placed his hand on the crystal.
It began with light.
Not one colour...four.
Gold. Red. Violet. Green.
All flaring at once. Not dimly.
They rose together, spiralling upwards, interwoven and burning. A column of pure white tearing into the air with a sound like stone splitting.
"...That's not possible..."
Someone near the front gasped. Another took a step back.
The resonance didn't only pulse. It hummed, a deep harmonic vibration that buzzed in the chests of everyone present.
The words flashing across the crystal's interface.
<> Magic Mastery: B
<> Ki Mastery: B
<> Taming Mastery: B
<> Spirit Bonding Mastery: B
<> Potential : S (All Mediums)
.....
A silence followed that wasn't quiet.
It was stunned.
Paralyzed.
Even the instructors looked frozen.
"He's mastered all four...?"
"...B Class...in four..."
"Is that even...human?"
The Elite Class didn't speak.
Aelana's lips parted slightly.
Seris's eyes shone.
Rowen looked away.
Kalen - still.
Fayl Kera's fingers twitched with excitement.
Lyria had a subtle frown touch her lips.
Only Caelun blinked once.
The rest were statues. Some in awe. Some in silence.
Watching silently.
Headmaster Kael Sarn had his gaze sharpened.
He didn't look impressed. He looked invested.
The chamber still hadn't processed what it had witnessed.
"Did you see that-?"
"All four mediums flared."
"S Class potential in everything...?!"
"He didn't even react"
A few leaned back, dazed. Others exchanged glances like they weren't sure if they should cheer or sit down and cry.
"He's the real number one, huh..."
The tension of the room shifted, tilted, like gravity leaned toward one name now.
And Jacob?
He stepped way from the pillar, an afterglow still faint behind.
He didn't raise his head or look at the crowd.
Hands in his pockets, eyes forward; his sky blue hair swaying.
It seemed this had been obvious.
Kalen didn't look away.
He stood tall. Focused.
A stillness in his posture that almost masked a shift beneath.
Jacob passed him like a breeze that didn't bother to rustle anything.
Kalen hadn't flinched or moved.
But..his fingers twitched once at his sides. Just once.
'Four mediums...B Class?'
He exhaled softly. Quietly.
Not shaken. Not impressed.
But the previous weight he'd been carrying before he'd reached the academy was heavier.
He'd brace against it; quietly.
----
Riven didn't blink when the crystal flared. Didn't gasp like the others. Didn't whisper anything at all.
He just tilted his head slightly, watching Jacob walk back to the line with all the fanfare of a man returning from a short walk.
'B Class in four...S Class potential? Right. That's normal.'
His eyes dropped to the base of the pillar, the last pulses of energy fading.
'They should've brought a crown for him. Maybe a throne. One that floats'
He folded his arms loosely, gaze drifting.
There was no jealousy at all.
Because while the others were still stunned; trying to comprehend what had just occurred.
Riven had already moved past it.
'Should've asked them to test his humility too. Though it's probably immune.'
A small breath escaped him. Almost a chuckle.
But quiet.
Just like always.
---
With the last of the Elite Class names called, they all moved to the side of the hall; forming a loose line.
Headmaster Sarn appeared above, his cloak trailing faintly, "Their results don't define your ceiling. Only you do", he announced looking down.
With that, he turned his body and vanished. Bringing back the other students to focus.
The quiet hum of the crystal, the only constant throughout.
Vice Headmaster Vei stepped smoothly back into place.
"The rest of you have a chance, just like them...to be remembered not just the results today. But what you do in the long run."
----
After Kael Sarn's departure, and Vei's instructions, the tension settled into a new rhythm.
Names were called again
One after another.
Students stepped forward, some pale, others confident.
The crystal flare. Faded. Flared again.
Ki. Magic. Taming. Spirit.
C Class. D Class. E. Occasionally.
Most of the crowd stopped reacting. Numb from the Elite class- the mystique fading.
People whispered. Shifted on their feet.
Even the instructors barely looked up now.
It was just numbers. Just data.
Until-
"Riven Brown."
Just that. A pause in the air.
A name that didn't carry any weight.
Didn't spark recognition.
Some exhaled nearby. Someone else yawned. Others talked about lunch.
Then quiet footsteps...
Tap tap tap
He stepped forward, just like others had.
No different. No aura. No slow-motion walk.
Riven moved like a ghost; plain, controlled. Almost boring.
As he walked only one person looked up and really watched.
'Him again', Kalen's eyes narrowed.
Stepping in-front of the crystal.
Riven wasn't hesitant.
He wasn't eager.
He'd thought of the results before.
And so...
Tap tap tap
He stood on the platform.
Alone.