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 an excellent opportunity to observe the process. Each student simply approached the table, stated their name, and received a badge that immediately activated upon contact with their skin. A brief glow as it synchronized with their essence signature.
'Simple distribution, but the activation process suggests sophisticated attunement capabilities. These badges are far more complex than they appear.'
Sarah stood several places ahead of him, her posture tense as she watched other students receive their badges. When her turn came, Alex observed carefully. Her badge flared with brilliant white light. Far brighter than any previous student. Before settling into a steady, pulsing glow.
'Her temporal abilities are registering as something exceptional. Even random assignment can't hide raw power levels completely.'
Damien, who stood just ahead of Alex in line, stepped up to the table. His badge glowed with steady amber light before dimming to a normal appearance. He looked at the number displayed on its surface and grinned.
"Twenty-three! Could be worse for a random draw, right? Though I'm kind of curious about those duels. Think anyone will actually challenge people right away?"
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 moment the badge made contact with his jacket, Alex felt a brief sensation like cold fire racing through his essence channels. But instead of the expected steady glow, the badge flickered erratically for several seconds. Pulsing between different intensities as if struggling to establish a stable connection.
'It's trying to read abilities that exist outside normal parameters. Interesting.'
After a 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 space. The pocket dimension was small but definitely present. He tapped it lightly and felt a faint tug in his chest — the space inside was roughly the size of a backpack. Enough for a weapon, a potion kit, maybe a scroll.
'As expected. At least the storage function is genuinely useful, even if it comes with surveillance.'
As the last students received their badges, Principal Aldrich stepped forward to address the assembled crowd.
"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, but Alex's attention had already shifted to studying the other students' reactions and calculating potential threats. The administrative details were irrelevant compared to understanding the power dynamics that were already forming around him.
He gestured to 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. As Alex watched, silver runes flickered to life across its surface. Names appeared line by line in glowing script, followed by numbers.
"Combat training performance, academic achievement, leadership demonstration, ability development. All of these factors will be monitored and evaluated, but your ranking can only change through 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. First-year students numbered from 1 to 298 appeared in neat columns, three names per row. At position 7, he spotted Sarah Caldris. Position 3 showed Lyanna Brennan. His own name - Kael Ashford - materialized at position 15.
'The stone reacts to essence signatures. Each badge must be transmitting data.'
When the last name appeared, Alex noticed thin threads of light connecting each entry to the corresponding student in the crowd. The threads pulsed faintly, like heartbeats made visible.
These rankings are not merely academic exercises," the Principal continued. "Your position will determine access to advanced courses, specialized training opportunities, and ultimately, the type of assignments you'll be offered upon graduation."
'There it is. The real purpose. They're sorting us for deployment based on capability and performance.'
"I want to emphasize again that these initial numbers are completely random," Aldrich said. "They reflect nothing about your current abilities, your potential, or your family background. What matters is where you go from here."
Around Alex, students were examining their badges and discussing the duel system with varying degrees of excitement and apprehension.
"Wait, dueling is the only way to move up? That's intense."
"And only the top ten get special privileges? That's 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 get those top ten benefits."
"I got 187," muttered a student behind him. "That's going to be a lot of duels to get anywhere decent. And forget about those top ten privileges."
"Don't worry about it," another replied. "My cousin started at 200-something and graduated in the top twenty through dueling. Said the real competition doesn't start until you're fighting for those special privileges though."
Alex caught sight of Sarah across the courtyard, staring at her badge with a mixture of confusion and concern. When she noticed him looking, she made her way over through the crowd.
"Number 7," she said quietly, showing him the badge. "That seems high for someone who's only been awakened for two weeks. Do you think it's really random?"
"Random assignment," Alex reminded her, though privately he suspected her ranking was anything but random. Someone had clearly taken her demonstrated abilities during the kidnapping incident into account.
'Seventh place puts her in the spotlight immediately. They want to see what she can do under pressure.'
Sarah looked around at the other first-years, many of whom were already forming groups based on their rankings and discussing strategy for improvement.
"This feels like more than just academic evaluation," she said softly. "Dueling being the only way to advance, special privileges for the top ten... it's like they're turning us into gladiators."
Alex nodded, appreciating her insight. "Because it is. The rankings aren't about education. They're about identification and sorting of strategic assets."
"Strategic assets," she repeated, her voice hollow. "Is that what we are now? Just... tools to be used?"
Before Alex could respond, Lyanna Brennan approached their small group, her badge prominently displaying the number '3' on an elegant silver surface.
"Quite the interesting system the Academy has implemented," she said, her tone carefully neutral. "Dueling as the only path to advancement, and those exclusive privileges for the top ten. I suspect the real competition will be fierce once people realize what's at stake."
Her eyes lingered on Alex's badge, and he caught the calculation behind her perfect smile.
'She's already assessing threats and opportunities. Fifteenth place makes me worth noting but not immediately threatening. Good positioning.'
"Indeed," Alex replied politely. "I'm curious to see how accurately the system measures different types of abilities. And whether the dueling will become popular."
"Oh, I suspect it will be quite revealing," Lyanna said. "After all, these badges seem remarkably sophisticated for simple ranking tools. And the duel system? Well, it ensures only the truly capable reach those coveted top ten positions."
The emphasis was subtle but pointed, and Alex realized she understood that the badges represented more than just evaluation. They were monitoring devices designed to track and measure every aspect of student performance.
'She's not just socially adept. She's politically aware enough to recognize surveillance when she sees it. Dangerous.'
A bell chimed across the courtyard, 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. Though I do hope people will be thoughtful about any dueling challenges. It would be such a shame to see promising students eliminated too early."
As she glided away, Sarah watched her with obvious unease.
"She makes me nervous," she admitted. "There's something calculating about the way she analyzes people. Like she's already planning ten moves ahead."
"Because she is calculating," Alex confirmed. "She's already working out who's worth cultivating as allies and who represents potential threats to her advancement."
"And which category do we fall into?"
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 to study the ranking board and discuss strategies for improvement.
"That depends on how well we play the game they've created for us," he said finally.
'And how many of them I can eliminate before they realize what I actually am.'
As they walked back toward the dormitories, Alex's mind was already working through strategies. The ranking system created 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 low-performers.
'They want to know what I'm capable of. The question is how much to show them, and when.'
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the Academy grounds as students dispersed, but Alex lingered near the ranking board, studying the names and numbers one final time.
A system designed to identify the strongest, most capable, most valuable students. The Academy's method of separating wheat from chaff, disguised as educational motivation.********