January 16th, 2012 — 7:00 AM
Valos Hall Dormitories
Perspective: Elfie
The morning light crept through the window. I stretched, my arms reaching for the warm weight next to me.
Nothing.
My eyes snapped open. The bed was empty. The blankets were neatly folded at the foot of the mattress.
I sat up, blinking the sleep away. "How did you do that?"
Kai stood by the door, already dressed in his academy uniform, adjusting his red tie in the mirror. He looked completely awake.
"I have a very specific set of skills," he said, not turning around. "And you loosen your grip when you dream about pastries."
I puffed my cheeks. I had frozen the door shut. I had wrapped myself around him like a squid. And he still got up without making a single sound.
"Get dressed," he said, tapping his pocket. "The exam starts soon."
I rolled out of bed, grabbing my uniform.
10 minutes later, I stood next to him in the hallway, tying my white hair ribbon. I snapped my fingers. The thick layer of permafrost over the door melted into a harmless puddle of water.
The door across the hall opened. A student stepped out, carrying a stack of books. He stopped, looking at the puddle, then up at me and Kai exiting the same room.
He raised a single, slow eyebrow.
I felt the heat rush to my face. I opened my mouth to explain, but the older student just shook his head and walked away down the corridor.
Kai let out a short, quiet laugh.
I nudged his shoulder, hiding my burning face behind my hands as I giggled with him.
We joined the stream of students heading toward the Grand Gymnasium. The morning air was sharp and cold.
"Don't attempt all the questions," Kai said suddenly, his hands in his pockets.
I looked at him. "Why? Shouldn't I try to get as many right as possible?"
"Only answer the ones you know for certain," he said, staring straight ahead. "Leave the rest blank."
I leaned in, waiting for the brilliant, secret strategy. "Because it messes with the grading algorithm? Or triggers a hidden bonus?"
"Because it creates less stress for the instructors marking the papers."
I let out a long, heavy sigh.
I don't know what I expected.
The Grand Gymnasium was just as massive as yesterday. The same hum of nervous energy filled the air, but the crowd was divided into distinct, tense clusters.
We found Rigel and Leena standing near a marble pillar.
"Morning!" Leena waved, her green braids bouncing. "Did you sleep well?"
"Very well," I smiled, purposely not looking at Kai.
Rigel crossed his arms, his broad shoulders relaxed. "The pairings are entirely randomized for the academic phase. The final results won't be posted until after both tests conclude today."
Leena nudged my arm. "Did you set your targets?"
I nodded, feeling a spark of confidence. "I know exactly what to hit."
Before anyone else could speak, our Dwarvian Phones vibrated in unison.
A sharp chime echoed through the hall.
[Group 1. Proceed to Examination Hall Alpha.]
I stared at the glowing blue text. "We're first?"
"Seems like it," Leena said, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward.
We walked into Hall Alpha. The room was sterile, built from polished white stone, filled with perfectly spaced wooden desks. Glowing anti-cheat runes pulsed faintly along the walls and ceiling.
There were only thirty of us.
I found my designated desk and sat down. Leena was seated three rows ahead of me. Kai was somewhere in the back.
A silver-robed instructor stood at the front. "Begin."
I flipped open the thick booklet. The pages smelled like fresh ink and old parchment.
First section: Elemental Mastery.
I read the first question. Calculate the necessary mana compression ratio to ignite a wet wood surface using basic fire manipulation.
I blinked. It was the exact same concept Kai had drilled into my head last night. I scribbled the answer down, a wide smile forming on my face. The next three questions were just as easy.
Second and third subjects passed smoothly. I hit the targets Rigel had given me.
Then, the fourth section. Arcan Mathematics.
My chest tightened. I hate math. But because of the reciprocal Alliance Clause, I didn't just have to write my own test.
Since I had selected Kai's name for Celestial Magic at the start, the system had automatically forced his Arcan Mathematics section onto my screen.
I had spent the first 15 minutes of the phase toggling over to his paper, sweating as I carefully filled out 10 answers in his test in advance—the absolute simplest ones I could recognize from Kai's tutoring.
Once his baseline was done, I switched back to my own sheet and looked at the first problem.
Calculate the non-Euclidean spatial curvature of a folding teleportation circle.
My breath hitched. I pointed at the numbers. I had failed this exact formula four times last night. But not this time.
Folding a map, Kai's voice echoed in my head. Calculate the folds, not the distance.
I started writing. The numbers flowed perfectly. Whenever a question looked utterly impossible or intentionally broken, I left it blank. Kai told me to. I trusted him.
I flipped to the final section. Celestial Magic.
This was my territory.
Question 12: Define the Aetherial Resonance Convergence in practical application.
I remembered the pillow fight. I remembered Kai twirling his pen.
Apple Raspberry Cake, I thought, suppressing a giggle.
I wrote down the formal answer: The caster's internal soul wavelength must match the starlight mana frequency to prevent backfire, akin to tuning an instrument to the exact same pitch.
I moved down the page. Question 18 was a nightmare. It asked to calculate the orbital decay of a summoned meteor using lunar gravity, but the planetary alignment symbols were inherently contradictory. If I answered it, the formula would collapse itself.
It was a false question.
I left it completely blank.
Question 19 asked for a way to stabilize a fractured starlight shield. I wrote out a creative solution, weaving elemental wind concepts to cushion the celestial shards.
It made perfect sense.
I reached the bottom of the page. I tallied up my certain answers.
68 points.
I chewed on my lip. It was a good score. A safe score. I didn't want to risk losing points by guessing the remaining ones.
I closed the booklet. At the very top, I ticked the box labeled [Alliance Clause].
I wrote his name in neat, careful letters. Kaiser Everhart.
Up ahead, Leena turned her head slightly and offered a quick, supportive wink.
I smiled back. We were going to pass. All of us.
The chime rang.
"Time is up. Exit the hall."
I stepped out into the bright corridor, a massive wave of relief crashing over me. The heavy weight in my chest evaporated.
Leena jogged up next to me, groaning loudly. "That math section was brutal! I definitely failed it."
"It was so hard," I agreed, leaning against the wall with her. "I think I barely scraped a passing grade."
We sat down on a nearby bench, watching the other students pour out.
"How much do you think you'll get in Celestial Magic?" I asked.
Leena hummed, tapping her chin. "Probably a 75 at best. The theory was tricky."
I smiled to myself. Kai can definitely get an 80 on the rest of my paper, I left some easy ones for him just in case.
The intercom buzzed above us, sharp and demanding.
"All Group 1 students. Proceed immediately to the Underground Arenas. The Combat Phase begins now."
Leena stood up, stretching her arms. Her vibrant green eyes sharpened with sudden, intense focus.
"Let's go," she said.
*
The underground arenas were carved from dark, volcanic stone. The air smelled of damp earth and static electricity.
A circular stone platform sat in the center of the room, surrounded by a faint red barrier of protective runes.
At the edge of the platform, a floating terminal hovered. A metallic voice spoke from the speaker.
"Combatants, register your loadout and rules."
I pulled out my Dwarvian Phone. The screen flashed, prompting for weapons.
[Weapon Selection: Melee, Ranged, or None.]
I tapped [None]. I looked over at Leena.
"We're mages," Leena said, her ears twitching. "No swords for us."
She tapped her screen, then pointed at the next prompt.
[Combat Rules: Register Custom Conditions.]
"We get to set a rule?" I asked.
"Yeah, one each. The barrier wards enforce them." Leena smiled, her fingers tapping the crystal screen. "Here's mine: No physical strikes of any kind. I'm not getting a black eye today."
I looked at my screen, thinking back to the Elvian combat files Kai had made me read. Elves were masters of gravity manipulation. They used it to skate across the ground with zero effort, making them incredibly fast.
I entered my rule. Gravity manipulation capped to standard 1 G.
Leena's eyes widened. "Ooh, cruel. You read the Elvian files. My skating is going to be so much harder now."
I smiled. "I have to survive somehow."
"Rules registered," the terminal hummed. "Select Yield or Incapacitate. Time limit: 10 minutes. Begin."
We stepped onto the stone platform. The red runes flared, sealing us inside.
A thick, leather-bound book materialized near Leena's shoulder, its pages flipping autonomously. A faint silver glow trailed from her fingers.
I raised both hands, pooling celestial starlight in my palms. The magic felt warm and steady.
A sudden gust of wind whipped through the arena.
Even with the gravity cap, Leena moved. She used wind currents to glide across the stone, sliding smoothly like she was on ice. Her movement was completely silent.
A sharp whip-crack of wind mana snapped toward my shoulder.
I didn't block it with a standard shield. I combined starlight with elemental ice, shaping a glittering, starlight-coated ice wall.
The wind whip hit the shield. The celestial order in the starlight neutralized the kinetic force, while the ice absorbed the physical shock.
The shield shattered into sparkling dust, but I was already moving.
I needed to disrupt her rhythm. Elves hated chaos.
I threw a handful of ice needles in a wide, non-geometric scatter. At the same time, I flared my celestial light, creating a bright flash to blind her.
The pages of Leena's floating grimoire flipped frantically, trying to predict the messy pattern. The predictive magic glitched for a fraction of a second.
Leena was forced to dodge manually, her smooth glide faltering.
I pushed my advantage, weaving celestial light strings with freezing air currents. "Starlight Bindings."
Ropes of glowing ice surged toward her legs.
But Leena didn't panic. Her green eyes flared.
She phased.
The starlight ropes passed right through her body as if she were a ghost of starlight, leaving only a shimmering ripple in the air.
Ether-shifting.
My eyes widened. I scrambled to turn around, but she was already behind me.
The hum of her grimoire was the only warning.
A concentrated blast of pressurized wind hit my back.
I flew forward, tumbling across the hard volcanic stone. My hands scraped against the rock.
I pushed myself up, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. I have never fought a person before. Monsters in the forest were predictable, but Leena was fast, silent, and incredibly experienced.
I tried to gather my starlight again, but my chest was tight. My heart was pounding too fast.
Meditation. Calm heart, I reminded myself.
But the fear of losing, the sheer pressure of the duel, broke my focus. The starlight in my hands flickered and died.
The Great Silence.
Leena glided forward, her grimoire flipping to a final page. She raised her hand.
"Ether-Lock."
A wave of silver mana washed over me. The magic in my veins suddenly froze, locking my joints. I couldn't move a single muscle.
I sighed, looking down at my hands.
I can't cast.
I reached for my Phone and tapped the screen.
[Yield Accepted. Winner: Leena Grelynn.]
The red barrier collapsed. The freezing sensation in my veins melted away, and I fell back onto the stone, staring at the ceiling.
Leena jogged over, her grimoire vanishing into thin air. She extended a hand to me, looking genuinely concerned. "Are you okay? I didn't hit too hard, did I?"
"I'm fine," I said, grabbing her hand and letting her pull me up. "You're just... really good."
"Years of sparring with Rigel," Leena laughed, brushing some dust off her uniform. "But you're strong, Elfie. Seriously. That ice-light shield was amazing. If I didn't shift, those bindings would have caught me."
I smiled, though my heart still felt a bit heavy. The difference between us wasn't raw power—it was experience.
She knew exactly when to phase and how to keep her cool. I had panicked.
"I wonder how their match is going," I muttered, looking toward the exit.
"Rigel and Kaiser?" Leena waved a hand dismissively as we walked out of the arena. "They're probably writing their exams now. Don't worry, our plan is flawless. There's no way they'll fail."
I looked down at my Phone.
Kai, do your best...
*
Perspective: Kaiser
The examination hall was silent, broken only by the scratching of quills and the humming of anti-cheat wards.
I looked at my physical paper. 43 questions answered out of 100. A perfect, hardworking best I can do.
I set my pen down and tapped the crystal surface of my Dwarvian Phone.
Due to the Alliance Clause, Elfie's Celestial Magic exam was glowing on my screen, synced in real-time.
I scrolled through her section. She had answered 68 questions. I scanned her formulas. They were structurally sound. She had absorbed my analogies well.
I paused on Question 19. Devise a stabilization method for a fractured starlight shield.
Elfie had written: Weave elemental wind currents to cushion the celestial shards, creating an aero-kinetic buffer that absorbs the shattered edges.
I stared at the answer. It wasn't the standard textbook response, which relied on resonant frequency tuning. It was messy, chaotic, and entirely outside the established laws of standard celestial magic.
It makes perfect sense...
Cute.
I scrolled further down. Question 73: What is the theoretical mass of an unbounded celestial aura intersecting with a physical gravitational field?
Her answer: Its effective mass m_eff would be derived from the stress-energy tensor integration over the intersection volume...
I raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk touching my lips. Technically, she wasn't wrong.
I looked at the timer.
20 minutes left.
I grabbed my pen. I switched it to my left hand.
I didn't need to write perfectly. I just needed to write enough to make sure her score was unassailable.
I suppose I'll do my best for this once, I thought. Just to cheer her up.
My left hand moved across the synced crystal screen, carving out the remaining answers with flawless, calculated precision.
*
The exam concluded. I walked out of Hall Charlie with Rigel.
Elfie and Leena were already waiting by the outer arches.
"How did it go?" Leena asked, jogging over to Rigel.
Rigel adjusted the cuffs of his uniform. "I hit the exact target we planned. Kaiser will score higher than me by exactly 5 points, securing his academic win."
Leena grinned, poking his arm. "Must have been hard holding back, genius."
Rigel laughed, a deep, easy sound. "Maybe. Especially in Arcan Mathematics. I had to force myself to stop at 45 so Kaiser could land his 50."
Elfie leaned forward. "How much could you have gotten if you didn't stop?"
"85," Rigel said simply.
Leena let out a low whistle. Elfie's eyes widened in genuine shock.
I looked at him. "You're good at math, then."
Rigel waved it off. "Nah, man. Since childhood, I've just been practicing it. It's just repetition."
He was lying, but it was a polite lie.
85 in Arcan Mathematics at this academy wasn't practice.
Rigel checked the time on his Phone. "We should head to the arenas. We're the last group."
"Wait," Elfie said, catching my sleeve. She looked up at me, her blue eyes bright with anticipation. "How was the Celestial exam? Did you get the target?"
I kept my expression flat. "At best? Maybe an 80."
Elfie's face lit up into a massive, triumphant smile. She shot a look at Leena.
"That's higher than my 75!" Leena groaned, though she was smiling.
"See you guys after the results," Rigel said, waving to the girls.
Elfie let go of my sleeve. "Do your best, Kai."
I nodded once, turning to follow Rigel down the corridor.
*
The underground arena was a stark circle of black volcanic stone.
The floating terminal hummed. "Combatants, register your loadout and rules."
Rigel walked over to the weapon racks lining the wall. He picked up a massive, iron-forged broadblade. The metal was thick and unrefined, meant for crushing as much as cutting. He rested the heavy flat of the blade against his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
I walked over and picked up a standard, single-edged training sword. It was light. Unremarkable.
Rigel looked at the blade in my hand. "Have you used one of those before?"
"In some dreams, yes," I said neutrally.
Rigel let out a small, sympathetic breath. "It's fine. We stuck to the plan. Your life is already saved by the academic phase."
"Yes," I said. "You're going to win this round."
"Combat Rules: Register Custom Conditions," the terminal announced.
Rigel tapped his screen. "I'll register mine: No targeting the knees. I have a bad habit of sweeping legs. Better to avoid it."
I looked at my Phone. I tapped the screen, entering my condition.
"For the final five minutes of the bout, visual and auditory perception of the arena is completely sealed from all spectators, academy staff, and recording artifacts."
Rigel looked at the glowing rule on the terminal. He blinked.
"Why would you do that?" he asked.
"I don't want to embarrass myself," I said, my voice completely flat. "If I look too pathetic while losing, I might get deducted points for lacking dignity."
Rigel stared at me for a second, then burst out laughing. "Fair point. I'm fine with that."
"Rules registered," the terminal stated. "Begin."
The red barrier flared around us.
Rigel didn't waste time. He moved with the terrifying, grounded speed of a seasoned mercenary. His massive broadblade swept forward in a horizontal arc, the sheer kinetic force displacing the air.
I didn't block. I scrambled backward, tripping slightly over my own feet. The blade missed my chest by an inch.
"Keep your footing!" Rigel called out, stepping into my guard.
He brought the sword down in a heavy, controlled chop.
I raised my simple sword in a panicked block. The impact was immense. My knees buckled, and my blade was forced down into the stone floor.
Rigel twisted his wrists, using the crossguard of his weapon to hook my blade and wrench it out of alignment. He shoved his shoulder into my chest, sending me sprawling across the arena.
I rolled, coughing as I pushed myself up.
I was completely outclassed.
My defense was sloppy.
My offense was non-existent.
My movement was a frantic, uncoordinated mess.
At least, that was exactly what it looked like.
He favors his right leg on the advance, I noted, watching him close the distance again. His broadblade is heavy, but he uses centrifugal force rather than pure muscle to recover his swings. That means his wrists are the fulcrum.
Rigel swung again, a sweeping diagonal cut.
I threw myself flat onto the ground to dodge it, barely scraping by.
His footwork is rooted in northern mercenary forms. It's solid against monsters, but it assumes the opponent will push back. He doesn't know how to handle absolute submission. He overextends his core by two degrees every time I retreat.
He has no formal training in swordplay. But his instincts are sharp. He can read my intentions far better than most trained soldiers.
Even so, he has not had any fights that lasted till death.
I scrambled to my feet, holding my sword with two hands, trembling slightly.
Rigel paused, lowering his blade a fraction. "You can yield now, Kaiser. You've held out for three minutes. That's enough."
I shook my head, gripping the hilt tighter. "I can go a bit longer."
If I step into his blind spot at the exact moment he shifts his weight to his rear foot, I can sever his Achilles tendon before he even registers the blade moving. Or I could pierce his brachial artery when he lifts his guard.
The terminal chimed.
"5 minutes remaining. Sealing protocol engaged."
The red barrier surrounding the arena abruptly shifted, turning into a solid, impenetrable dome of pitch-black mana. The ambient noise of the academy vanished. The glaring lights of the observation decks were completely cut off.
We were entirely alone.
I stopped trembling. I lowered my sword, letting the tip rest casually against the stone floor.
Rigel frowned, sensing the sudden shift in my posture. "Kaiser?"
"Don't you find the rules odd?"
Rigel lowered his broadblade. "What do you mean?"
"The Director stated exactly 45 students will be expelled from this exam," I said, pacing slowly to the left. "Not 'up to' 45. Exactly 45. Then there was the skip rule in the first phase. He gave us a panic timer of 60 seconds, yet we could still skip questions after it expired."
"Yeah. What's odd about it?"
"This school isn't testing us on academics or physical prowess," I said. "That is just a mirage. They are testing our ability to decipher the underlying principles. In the academic exam, answering a false question incorrectly grants -1. But leaving it blank grants +0.5."
I stopped pacing. "What if that logic applies to everything?"
Rigel raised a single, careful eyebrow.
"The academy has fake rules," I continued, my tone completely flat. "And secret rules they left us to find on our own. Even if all 120 of us survive the academic and physical phases, 45 will be kicked solely on their overall performance."
I tilted my head. "120 minus 45 leaves 75. Divided into three classes, that is exactly 25 students per class. A perfect oddity. A flawless, mathematical split."
The silence in the dark dome was heavy.
"Valerius said nothing happens by luck here," I said softly. "If it's a true meritocracy, there must be superiors and inferiors. That is the class hierarchy. Your amount of lives, your total performance, dictates what class you join. And if you fall into the bottom 45, you're expelled. Even if you passed the baseline."
Rigel's gaze sharpened. "What do you mean by three classes? And why are you suddenly so talkative?"
"What subject did you use your Alliance Clause on to help Leena?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"Math," Rigel said slowly, his grip tightening on his hilt. "She's bad at it."
"Wrong."
I looked him dead in the eyes. "I've read the geology and macro-history of Celestine. Elvian culture promotes absolute purity and honesty above all else. Yet Leena, a pure-blooded Elf, grew up in a human frontier village. That means she was exiled. Deemed impure."
Rigel didn't move. He didn't even blink.
"And looking at your linguistic patterns, your obsessive need to protect her, and your willingness to attend an elite magical academy despite your pathetic mana reserves..." I took a step forward.
"You followed her here out of guilt."
The air in the dome grew freezing cold.
"You were the human child who tainted her standing," I stated, tearing his history apart. "Even if she's completely unaware of it, you feel responsible for her exile. You want to make it up to her by giving her the absolute best future possible."
"You play the sacrificial genius."
Rigel shifted his stance. The casual, friendly mercenary was entirely gone. The boy standing across from me was a cold, calculated killer.
"What are your intentions, Kaiser?" Rigel asked, his voice entirely devoid of warmth.
I raised my simple training sword.
"You engineered a 'flawless' plan where Elfie takes a deliberate loss to Leena twice, acting as a mathematical buffer so Leena stays above the 45-student cutoff," I said, my voice dropping into a dark, lethal register.
"I am going to expel both of you for trying to get Elfie expelled."
"Bullshit," Rigel spat.
"You did not get a 45 on the math exam," I said. "You got a 90, didn't you?"
Rigel's eyes widened a fraction.
"I got 95 on all subjects," I stated calmly.
I took a step forward. "You will fail the academic portion. Then you will lose to me in this match, securing your total failure. And once you fail, Leena, the heartbroken, loyal girl, will drop out on her own. That grants Elfie automatic survival."
Rigel gripped his broadblade with both hands. "Let's see about it, then."
He lunged.
The heavy iron blade tore through the air, aimed squarely at my ribs. I didn't scramble this time.
I pivoted on my heel. The blade missed me by a millimeter.
Rigel carried his momentum into a spinning backhand strike. I dropped under the swing, stepping inside his guard.
I slammed the pommel of my training sword into his sternum.
He staggered back, coughing. I didn't give him a second to breathe.
I advanced, my strikes flowing with absolute, anatomical precision. He swung wildly, trying to use his sheer weight to crush me. I parried his broadblade not by blocking the edge, but by tapping the flat of the metal, redirecting his kinetic force into the floor.
"Your intentions were to get Elfie and me expelled so you and Leena had enough lives to reach the superior classes," I said, dodging a vertical cleave.
Rigel growled, stepping into a heavy thrust.
I sidestepped, dragging the edge of my blade across his tricep. "That breakfast meetup. The games. That was Leena being her pure self. But for you, it was an interrogation. You were trying to measure exactly how stupid Elfie and I were. It took you long enough."
Rigel swung again, faster this time.
I ducked under the steel. "You knew I skipped the first phase. It showed on your Phone when the pairings flashed. You knew I had no choice and wanted to manipulate me with an alliance."
"You thought I was an easier opponent than whoever you were paired with!" Rigel shouted, his mercenary style growing frantic. "You underestimated me!"
I caught his downward strike by pressing the spine of my sword against his crossguard. I held his massive strength at bay with pure leverage.
"No, I did not," I said softly. "The only reason I skipped the first pair was because I was hoping to use the Alliance Strategy with Elfie since she hadn't been picked yet."
Rigel froze, his eyes locking onto mine in genuine shock.
"Yes," I said, twisting my wrist to break his lock.
"I deduced the Alliance loophole the very moment the Director finished explaining the rules. Genius."
Rigel's face twisted into absolute fury. He roared, abandoning his defensive footwork entirely. The heavy broadblade became a blur of terrifying, lethal steel. He had been holding himself back.
"It was a fun method, watching you play the protagonist on the front stage," I said, weaving through the storm of steel. "But that story ends here."
Rigel feinted a high strike. His wrists snapped downward in a sudden, impossible arc, deceiving my line of sight. The blade hooked toward my ribs, faster than anything he had shown before.
I didn't block it with my sword.
I reached out and caught the flat of the heavy broadblade right by his own wrist.
Rigel eyes widened in horror.
Using his own momentum against him, I twisted the iron guard sharply. The physical feedback snapped directly into his joints.
A sickening crack echoed in the dome.
Rigel shouted, his wrist breaking instantly. He stumbled back, desperately clutching the broadblade with his other hand.
I didn't let up. I advanced, dismantling his guard with pure, mechanical precision. Every swing he made was perfectly predicted.
I deflected, countered, and dominated him with nothing but a plain training sword.
"Your fighting style is purely created to kill," Rigel gasped, struggling to lift his weapon. "Why did you lie? You said you couldn't fight!"
I deflected a desperate thrust, my breathing perfectly even. "This is my first time holding back against a human with no intentions to kill. It's a surprise to me, too."
I stepped inside his ruined guard.
I grabbed his arm and twisted it, snapping the bone with a flawless martial arts technique. I drove my fist into his shoulder joint with a heavy crunch, sweeping my knee up into his thigh. As he doubled over, I brought the edge of my training sword in a precise slice across his remaining elbow.
Rigel collapsed onto the dark volcanic stone.
He gritted his teeth. Despite the pain, his right hand suddenly shot toward his pocket. He pulled out his Dwarvian Phone.
He realized the sheer complexity of his situation. He was frantically trying to access the interface.
I stepped on his hand, pinning the Phone to the stone floor.
"It's over," I said.
Rigel stared up at me, defiance burning in his eyes. He managed to press a single button on his screen with his thumb.
At the exact same time, I kept my free hand in my pocket, pressing a button on my own Phone.
The terminal chimed above us.
"10 minutes have elapsed. Combat Phase concluded."
The dome of pitch-black mana shattered, dissolving into the air.
*
Perspective: Elfie
The Grand Result Court was a massive, open-air amphitheater. Thousands of glowing runic boards floated above the central fountain, updating in real-time.
Leena was practically vibrating next to me, her arm looped tightly through mine. "I can't look! You look for me!"
I laughed, gently prying her fingers off my sleeve. "We're going to be fine. We followed the plan."
We had been waiting for fifteen minutes. The combat phase was over, and students were flooding into the courtyard to see their final placements.
I scanned the top of the massive leaderboards.
A collective gasp echoed through the crowd.
I looked up. The number one spot was glowing in brilliant gold letters.
[1. Rose Valentine]
[Elemental Mastery: 95]
[Arcane Sciences: 94]
[Geo & Ley Lines: 93]
[Cursed Arts: 95]
[Celestial Magic: 95]
[Arcan Mathematics: 96]
Leena's jaw dropped. "A 96x in math? How is that even possible? I thought 95 was the fixed limit because of the false questions!"
I stared at the glowing numbers, a chill running down my arms. A 96x meant she hadn't just avoided the traps. She had somehow solved an impossible equation.
"She's a monster," I whispered.
I looked back toward the entrance arches. Students were still pouring in, but I couldn't spot a familiar head of messy black hair.
"Where is Kai?" I muttered, chewing on my lower lip.
Leena patted my shoulder, her green eyes bright and reassuring. "They're probably just having fun fighting. You know how guys get. It's over soon, they'll be back. Let's just focus on our scores!"
A chime rang out across the courtyard. One of the floating boards near the fountain flared bright blue.
[Live Broadcasting: Academic Duel Results]
[Leena Grelynn vs. Elfina Lunaris]
My heart leaped into my throat.
"Here we go," Leena squeaked, squeezing my hand again.
The first subject appeared.
[Elemental Mastery]
[Leena: 81 | Elfina: 83]
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Kai was right. My targets were perfect.
[Arcane Sciences]
[Leena: 62 | Elfina: 63]
Leena nudged me, grinning. "You're edging me out! But I'll catch up!"
[Geographic & Ley Line Studies]
[Leena: 56 | Elfina: 58]
I smiled. The plan was working flawlessly. I just needed to maintain a slight lead.
[Cursed Arts]
[Leena: 54 | Elfina: 50]
I blinked. Four points down. I must have misread some of the curse formulas in my panic during the exam.
"Ooh, gotcha there," Leena teased, her voice warm and entirely supportive.
[Arcan Mathematics]
[Leena: 41 | Elfina: 42]
The board tabulated the scores. After five subjects, I was at 296. Leena was at 294.
I was up by exactly 2 points.
I pressed my hands against my chest, feeling my racing heart. I just needed the final subject.
Celestial Magic.
Kai said he got an 80, I thought, a warm sense of relief washing over me.
Leena said she probably got a 75. Even if she gets an 80, I'm safe. I'll win the academic phase.
The board hummed. The final subject appeared.
[Celestial Magic]
[Leena Grelynn: 90]
I froze.
The air in my lungs vanished.
"What?!" Leena screamed, her eyes wide with absolute, genuine shock.
"I did not score that! I guessed half of the theory section! How did I get a 90?!"
I couldn't speak. I stared at the glowing green letters.
The board shifted, revealing my score beside hers.
[Elfina Lunaris: 72]
The numbers didn't make sense. Kai had written my test.
He knew celestial magic flawlessly. He told me he got an 80.
Why did I get a 72?
The board flashed, calculating our totals.
[Academic Winner: Leena Grelynn]
Leena grabbed my shoulders, her face pale. "Elfie, I swear! I don't know what happened! I didn't write those answers! It's impossible!"
I couldn't hear her. A loud, ringing noise filled my ears.
The board flashed a final time, combining our academic and combat results.
[Leena Grelynn: 2 Lives]
[Elfina Lunaris: 0 Lives]
My knees felt weak. I stumbled back a step, pulling away from Leena's hands.
The main leaderboard above the fountain shifted, highlighting the bottom 45 names in glaring, bloody red.
My name was at the very bottom.
[Elfina Lunaris — Expelled]
Tears spilled over my eyelashes before I even realized I was crying. They felt hot and entirely wrong against my cold skin.
Leena was talking, her voice frantic and desperate, but the words were just white noise. She was pointing at the board, shaking her head.
It's over...
I wrapped my arms around my stomach, bending forward as a sharp, agonizing ache tore through my chest.
I couldn't do it. After all the studying, all the late nights, all of Kai's tutoring.
I failed. I lost the combat phase, and I lost the academic phase.
I was being sent home. I was going to be separated from him.
Why me?
I covered my face with my hands, my shoulders shaking violently as the courtyard spun around me.
I had failed him.
I had lost everything.