The Evaluation Hall rose like a metallic throne chamber carved into the heart of the Cadet Regime.Tall iron pillars framed the room, etched with runes that hummed softly like restrained thunder.Rows of mechanical eyes—surveillance orbs—hung from the ceiling, each one shifting to track the cadets as they entered.
Elias stepped inside with Aria at his right and Jarek trailing just behind.
The air here felt colder.Heavier.Watching.
Jarek muttered under his breath.
"Why do I feel like we're walking into an execution?"
Aria didn't answer.Her focus was fixed ahead—sharp, calculated, alert.
Elias felt it too.
Pressure.
Not from the cadets.Not from the instructors.
Something else.
Someone else.
Four instructors in reinforced coats stood at the front of the hall, clipboards and mana-tablets in hand.Bram Solen was among them, arms folded tightly, expression carved in stone.
To his right stood a woman Elias had never seen before.
A woman who didn't belong here.
Her uniform wasn't that of an instructor.
It was black.Trimmed in silver.Clean and sharp enough to cut the air.
Her hair was tied in a tight coil, and a thin visor covered her left eye, glowing faintly with runic sequences.
Power radiated from her without effort.
Jarek immediately straightened as if he'd been struck.
Aria's jaw tightened.
Elias kept his face still.
The woman stepped forward.
"You three," she said quietly, "stand before me."
Her voice was soft, but every syllable struck the hall like a knife.
They approached.
The woman looked at each of them in turn, her gaze dissecting, calculating, cold.
"You completed a simulation that should have killed you."She paused."Or perhaps it was designed to kill you."
Bram stiffened.
Jarek swallowed hard.
Aria remained motionless.
Elias's heartbeat did not change rhythm.
The woman's visor flickered.
"Name: Aria Valestride."
Aria bowed her head slightly.
"Performance: Superior. Injuries: Significant but not debilitating."
The woman nodded once.
"You were the stabilizing factor in the group. As expected of your lineage."
Aria's gaze hardened at the mention of her background.
The visor turned toward Jarek.
"Name: Jarek Thorne."
Jarek tried to stand upright, but pain forced his shoulders to slump.
"You are reckless. Loud. Inefficient."
Jarek winced as if struck.
"But you possess brute talent and an undeveloped instinct for survival. You may yet become useful."
It was the closest thing to praise Jarek had ever heard from a superior.He nearly fainted from relief.
Then the visor turned toward Elias.
The woman's expression did not change.
But her voice did.
Just slightly.
"Elias Ward."
She studied him.
Slowly.Thoroughly.Uncomfortably.
"Your class: Torch Bearer (Weak)."
A long, weighted silence followed.
Aria glanced toward him with a flicker of tension.
Jarek swallowed and looked away.
Elias stood still.
The woman finally spoke again.
"Your survival is… odd."
Her visor glowed brighter.
"Your injuries: minimal."
The instructors exchanged glances.
"Your reaction time: abnormal."
Her tone sharpened.
"Your combat precision: inconsistent with your class."
A low murmur traveled through the room.
Elias kept his gaze steady, his breathing controlled.
The woman stepped closer.
"Tell me, cadet."
Her voice was quiet.But it felt like the room leaned toward her.
"Are you hiding something?"
The question hung in the air like a guillotine.
Aria's hand tightened slightly at her side.
Jarek stopped breathing.
Elias looked straight into the woman's visor.
"No," he said.
A perfect lie.Calm.Clean.Unshakable.
The woman studied him for several long seconds.
Then—
Something unexpected happened.
Her visor flickered.Glitched.Mana crackled around its edges.
She froze.
The instructors stiffened.
Aria's eyes widened.
Jarek barely understood.
The visor rebooted with a harsh static hiss.
"Unscannable," she whispered.
Her voice trembled.Barely.But enough.
She took one step back.
A tiny crack in her composure.
"Your soul pattern…"She shook her head slightly."…It contains… interference."
Elias didn't move.
The room filled with sharp whispers.
"What does that mean?""Interference? In a cadet?""Impossible.""Is the device malfunctioning?"
The woman raised a hand for silence.
When she spoke again, her voice was far colder.
"Cadet Elias Ward."
She looked at him as if seeing something no one else could.
"You are classified as an Observation Case."
Aria inhaled sharply.
Jarek turned pale.
Elias did not react.
"What does that mean?" Jarek whispered.
Aria answered, voice as cold as the woman's.
"It means he's being watched."
The woman continued.
"From this moment on, your actions will be monitored. Your battles recorded. Your performance evaluated by a higher authority."
Her gaze sharpened into a blade.
"And if you deviate from acceptable parameters, Ward…"
The visor glowed like a blood-red horizon.
"…you will be removed."
Jarek stifled a gasp.
Removed.
Not expelled.
Removed.
Aria's eyes flicked toward Elias—searching, understanding too much.
Elias bowed his head.
"As you command."
The woman's gaze lingered on him a moment longer.
Then she turned sharply.
"Evaluation concluded. All three of you…"
She paused.
"…advance."
Jarek nearly collapsed in relief.
Aria exhaled slowly, shoulders lowering by a fraction.
Elias remained still.
But inside—
Something shifted.
Observation Case.
Someone was watching him.
Not just the woman.Not just the instructors.Something stronger.Higher.Darker.
As the cadets dispersed, Aria approached him.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"You didn't react," she said."No fear. No anger. Nothing."
Elias looked at her calmly.
"Would it change anything if I did?"
She held his gaze for a long time.
"…No."
She stepped back.
"But know this, Ward."
Her voice dropped lower.
"You're not the only one they're watching now."
Her eyes flickered—just once—toward the corner of the hall.
Elias followed her gaze.
But the corner was empty.
No golden eyes.No shadow.
Only fog swirling in place where someone—or something—had been.
He turned away.
The System shimmered faintly at the edge of his vision.
Classification updatedStatus: Observed EntityThreat Level Projection: Rising
A slow breath left his lungs.
The game had changed.
And the hunters had finally opened their eyes.