The badge distribution took place in the Academy's central courtyard, where Academy staff had set up several tables with organized rows of the distinctive badges. Students queued in alphabetical order, each one stepping forward to receive their randomly assigned badge and initial ranking.
Alex found himself in the middle of the line, which gave him plenty of time to observe the process. Each student approached the table, stated their name, and received a badge that immediately activated upon contact with their skin. A brief flash of light as it synchronized with their essence signature.
These badges were far more complex than their simple appearance suggested. The activation process alone indicated sophisticated attunement capabilities built into each one.
Sarah stood several places ahead of him, her posture tense as she watched other students receive their assignments. The line moved slowly, giving everyone time to study the reactions of those who'd already gotten their badges. Some students looked pleased with their numbers, others disappointed, but most seemed uncertain about what their rankings actually meant.
When Sarah's turn came, Alex watched carefully. Her badge didn't just glow—it erupted in brilliant white light. Far brighter than any previous student. The intensity was almost blinding before it settled into a steady, pulsing rhythm.
Her temporal abilities were registering as something exceptional. Even supposedly random assignment couldn't completely hide raw power levels.
Damien, who stood just ahead of Alex in line, stepped up to the table next. His badge glowed with steady amber light before dimming to a normal appearance. He examined the number displayed on its surface and grinned broadly.
"Twenty-three! Could be worse for a random draw, right?" He turned toward Alex, still grinning. "Though I'm kind of curious about those duels they mentioned. Think anyone will actually challenge people right away? Seems like it could get brutal fast if everyone starts fighting for better positions."
"Probably depends on how desperate people get," Alex replied. "And what those top ten privileges actually are."
Then it was Alex's turn.
He approached the distribution table and stated his name clearly. The Academy clerk handed him a badge with an elegantly simple design—a stylized flame surrounded by geometric patterns that seemed to shift when viewed from different angles. The craftsmanship was impressive, each line perfectly etched into what looked like polished silver.
The moment the badge made contact with his jacket, Alex felt cold fire racing through his essence channels. But instead of the expected steady glow he'd observed with other students, his badge flickered erratically for several seconds. It pulsed between different intensities as if struggling to establish a stable connection with something it couldn't quite read.
It was trying to analyze abilities that existed outside normal parameters.
After what felt like a very long moment, the flickering stopped and the badge settled into a steady silver glow before dimming to its normal appearance. Alex looked down at the number displayed prominently on its front: 15.
"Fifteenth place," the clerk noted, making a mark on his list. "Not bad for a random assignment, Lord Ashford."
Alex nodded politely and stepped away from the table, immediately feeling the subtle weight and warmth of the badge against his chest. There was also a faint sensation of expanded space—the pocket dimension was small but definitely present. He tapped it lightly and felt a responsive tug in his chest. The space inside was roughly the size of a backpack. Enough room for a weapon, a potion kit, maybe a scroll or two.
At least the storage function was genuinely useful, even if it came with built-in surveillance capabilities.
Behind him, the line continued moving as the remaining students received their badges. Alex noticed the variety in activation patterns—some badges glowed steadily, others pulsed, a few flickered briefly before stabilizing. Each one seemed to be calibrating itself to its new owner's specific abilities and essence signature.
As the last students received their badges, Principal Aldrich stepped forward to address the assembled crowd. The courtyard fell quiet as his voice carried clearly across the space.
"Now that you all have your badges, let me explain how the ranking system will function," he announced. "Your numerical ranking represents your current position among your peers. These numbers will change weekly based on your performance in all aspects of Academy life."
The Principal continued with additional details about class schedules, dormitory protocols, and meal arrangements. Most students listened intently, but Alex's attention had already shifted to studying the other students' reactions and calculating potential threats and opportunities. The administrative details were largely irrelevant compared to understanding the power dynamics that were already forming around him.
Several students were already clustered in small groups, comparing badge numbers and discussing what their rankings might mean. He noticed that those with higher numbers seemed more anxious, while students with lower numbers appeared confident, even smug.
Aldrich gestured toward a black spiritstone slab mounted on iron supports at one end of the courtyard. The stone was smooth as glass, about eight feet wide and six feet tall, clearly expensive and precisely crafted. As Alex watched, silver runes flickered to life across its surface, names appearing line by line in glowing script followed by their corresponding numbers.
"Combat training performance, academic achievement, leadership demonstration, ability development—all of these factors will be monitored and evaluated continuously," the Principal continued. "However, your ranking can only change through formal dueling. The students who prove themselves in combat will rise in the standings."
Alex studied the display as it filled itself in. The runes were sharp and clear, each name burning with steady silver light that was easy to read even from a distance. First-year students numbered from 1 to 298 appeared in neat columns, three names per row. At position 7, he spotted Sarah Millbrook. Position 3 showed Lyanna Brennan. His own name—Kael Ashford—materialized at position 15.
The stone was clearly reacting to essence signatures from their badges. Each badge had to be transmitting continuous data about its wearer.
When the last name appeared on the board, Alex noticed thin threads of light connecting each entry to the corresponding student in the crowd. The threads pulsed faintly, like heartbeats made visible, creating a web of connections across the entire courtyard.
"These rankings are not merely academic exercises," Principal Aldrich continued, his tone growing more serious. "Your position will determine access to advanced courses, specialized training opportunities, and ultimately, the type of assignments you'll be offered upon graduation. The Academy invests its resources in those who demonstrate the greatest capability and potential."
There it was. The real purpose behind the system. They were sorting students for future deployment based on capability and performance, identifying who would be most valuable to whatever organization ultimately employed Academy graduates.
"I want to emphasize again that these initial numbers are completely random," Aldrich said, though his expression suggested otherwise. "They reflect nothing about your current abilities, your potential, or your family background. What matters is where you go from here and how you choose to develop yourselves."
Around Alex, students were examining their badges more closely and discussing the duel system with varying degrees of excitement and apprehension. The conversations were becoming animated as the implications sank in.
"Wait, dueling is the only way to move up? That's going to be intense."
"And only the top ten get special privileges? This is going to make things competitive real fast."
"Still, imagine jumping from 200 to 50 in a single fight. Though you'd have to keep winning to maintain those top ten benefits."
"I got 187," muttered a student behind Alex. "That's going to be a lot of duels to get anywhere decent. And forget about those top ten privileges—I'd need to win dozens of fights."
"At least the storage space is useful," another student added. "Though I wonder what else these badges can do. They feel more sophisticated than simple ranking tools."
Alex caught sight of Sarah across the courtyard, staring at her badge with a mixture of confusion and growing concern. The number 7 was clearly visible on its surface, and other students were already taking notice of her high ranking. When she noticed him looking, she made her way over through the crowd, weaving between clusters of discussing students.
"Number 7," she said quietly, showing him the badge as if he might have missed it. "That seems awfully high for someone who's only been awakened for two weeks. Do you really think it's random like they claim?"
"That's what they announced," Alex replied carefully, though privately he was certain her ranking was anything but random. Someone had clearly taken her demonstrated abilities during the kidnapping incident into account when making assignments.
Seventh place put her directly in the spotlight from day one. They wanted to see what she could do under pressure, how she would handle the attention and expectations that came with a high ranking.
Sarah looked around at the other first-years, many of whom were already forming groups based on their rankings and discussing strategies for improvement. Some were clearly planning alliances, others were already eyeing potential duel targets.
"This feels like more than just academic evaluation," she said softly, her voice barely audible over the surrounding conversations. "Dueling being the only way to advance, special privileges for the top ten, continuous monitoring... it's like they're turning us into gladiators for their entertainment."
Alex nodded, appreciating her insight. "Because that's essentially what this is. The rankings aren't really about education—they're about identification and sorting of strategic assets. They want to see who's worth investing in."
"Strategic assets," she repeated, her voice hollow. "Is that what we are now? Just... tools to be used by whoever runs this place?"
Before Alex could formulate a response, Lyanna Brennan approached their small group with fluid grace. Her badge prominently displayed the number '3' on an elegant silver surface that seemed to gleam more brightly than the others. She moved with the confidence of someone accustomed to being near the top of any hierarchy.
"Quite the interesting system the Academy has implemented," she said, her tone carefully neutral but her eyes sharp with intelligence. "Dueling as the only path to advancement, and those exclusive privileges for the top ten. I suspect the real competition will be absolutely fierce once people realize what's truly at stake here."
Her gaze lingered meaningfully on Alex's badge, and he caught the swift calculation behind her perfectly practiced smile. She was already assessing everyone around her, determining who might be useful and who might pose a threat.
Fifteenth place made him worth noting but not immediately threatening. It was actually ideal positioning—high enough to matter, low enough not to be an obvious target.
"Indeed," Alex replied politely. "I'm curious to see how accurately the system measures different types of abilities. And whether the dueling culture will actually take hold among the students."
"Oh, I suspect it will be quite revealing," Lyanna said with subtle emphasis. "After all, these badges seem remarkably sophisticated for simple ranking tools. And the duel system? Well, it ensures that only the truly capable will reach those coveted top ten positions."
The emphasis was subtle but pointed, and Alex realized she understood perfectly well that the badges represented far more than just evaluation tools. They were comprehensive monitoring devices designed to track and measure every aspect of student performance and capability.
She wasn't just socially adept—she was politically aware enough to recognize surveillance systems when she encountered them. That made her considerably more dangerous than a typical ambitious student.
A bell chimed across the courtyard, its clear tone cutting through the buzz of conversation and signaling the end of the assembly period and the beginning of afternoon classes.
"Well," Lyanna said with another practiced smile, "I suppose we'll all discover our true capabilities soon enough. May the best students rise to their proper positions." Her smile grew slightly sharper. "Though I do hope people will be thoughtful about any dueling challenges they issue. It would be such a shame to see promising students eliminated too early in the process."
As she glided away with practiced elegance, Sarah watched her departure with obvious unease and growing concern.
"She makes me nervous," Sarah admitted once Lyanna was out of earshot. "There's something calculating about the way she analyzes people, like she's already planning ten moves ahead of everyone else."
"Because she absolutely is," Alex confirmed, watching as Lyanna smoothly integrated herself into a group of other high-ranked students. "She's already working out who's worth cultivating as allies and who represents potential threats to her advancement. It's strategic thinking."
"And which category do we fall into from her perspective?"
Alex looked down at his badge, watching the number '15' displayed clearly on its surface. Around them, other students were dispersing toward their dormitories and afternoon activities, but many lingered near the ranking board to study the complete list and discuss improvement strategies with their new acquaintances.
"That depends entirely on how well we play the game they've created for us," he said finally.
And how many of them he could eliminate before they realized what he actually was.
As they walked back toward the dormitories, Alex's mind was already working through multiple strategies and contingencies. The ranking system created both opportunities and dangers in equal measure. Rise too quickly, and he'd draw unwanted attention from both faculty and other students. Rise too slowly, and he'd be relegated to whatever fate awaited consistently low-performing students.
They wanted to know what he was capable of, what his limits were, how he would handle pressure and competition. The question was how much to show them, and when to reveal different aspects of his abilities.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the Academy grounds as students dispersed in various directions, but Alex lingered near the ranking board, studying the names and numbers one final time. The silver script continued to pulse with steady light, each name connected to its corresponding student by those thin threads of energy.
A system designed to identify the strongest, most capable, most valuable students through controlled competition. The Academy's method of separating wheat from chaff, disguised as educational motivation and wrapped in the language of fair opportunity.