Lucia took a moment before mentioning the next rank.
It was not a long pause, but within the silence of the Eastern Grand Hall, it felt heavier than it should have. The lower half of the top ten had already been addressed, and now every student in the hall understood that the next name would mark the beginning of the top five.
Even the most exhausted students seemed to gather a little more awareness, their eyes shifting toward the magical screen above the stage and then back toward Lucia, waiting to see whose name would come first among the highest-ranked students of their year.
Lucia glanced down at her clipboard, her expression unreadable as the enchanted surface glowed faintly beneath her fingers. Then she tapped it once, causing the large magical screen above the stage to ripple before forming a new image.
"Rank five," Lucia announced clearly. "Chris Rature."
The moment the name left her mouth, the atmosphere among the students shifted.
