Best Academy did not reward modesty.
It rewarded results.
Atelion understood that well and today, he chose not to hide.
The swordsman hall fell into tense silence as the exam began.
Questions escalated rapidly.
Advanced aura circulation paradoxes.
Mana contamination risks during prolonged
reinforcement.
Combat scenario analysis under stamina depletion.
Aura backlash calculations.
Most candidates sweated.
Atelion did not slow his pen.
He completed the exam perfectly—not fast, not slow, but
decisively. He added optional explanations where none were required.
The invigilators exchanged looks.
No first-year had ever done that.
In the mage hall, the atmosphere was worse.
The questions crossed disciplines:
Spell casting theory.
Physics of kinetic recoil.
Chemical stability of elemental reactions.
High-level mana mathematics.
Atelion finished first.
Not because he rushed.
Because there was nothing left to solve.
When scores were released later that day, a single name sat at the top of
both divisions.
Perfect score.
The field was 5 football stadium long.
The horn sounded.
Candidates surged forward.
Atelion did not blend in.
He surged.
Aura wrapped his legs openly, compression controlled yet undeniable. He
leapt traps instead of dodging them, ran through mana pressure zones others
collapsed under, and shattered illusionary barriers with sheer forward
momentum.
Observers leaned forward.
He crossed the finish line first.
Not breathless.
Not injured.
Not slowed.
The gap between him and second place was humiliating.
The dummy stood still.
Atelion stepped forward.
He reinforced his arm—not minimally, not excessively.
Precisely.
His punch landed.
The enchantment screamed.
87,600
Silence detonated across the field.
A first-year.
No weapon.
No technique.
One strike.
The examiner stared at the number twice before recording it.
Highest score of the year.
Candidates struggled.
Mana fluctuated. Circles collapsed.
Atelion stepped forward.
He raised his hand.
Three magic circles formed simultaneously.
Not sequentially.
Simultaneously.
Wind Compression.
Fire Control.
Water Shaping.
The spells activated in perfect harmony—no instability, no waste, no
overlap.
The arena lights dimmed briefly under the strain.
Then stabilized.
The administrator's voice was tight.
"First Class qualification… confirmed."
No.
It was more than that.
It was first place.
Only one name was called.
Atelion.
The dual-discipline examination began.
Aura suppression.
Mana distortion.
Endurance trials.
Precision tests.
He completed them all.
Flawlessly.
He ranked first in:
Written examination.
Physical gauntlet.
Strength output.
Mage practical.
Special dual exam.
No one argued.
No one could.
FINAL RESULTS:
Overall Rank: 1st
Class Placement: First Class
Status: First-Year Representative
Authorization: Dual Discipline (Special)
Atelion walked away amid silence thick with disbelief.
He had stood out.
Deliberately.
And for the first time since arriving at Best Academy, the institution
itself began to watch him—not as a student, but as a variable.
The unnecessary effort cost him nothing.
But it changed everything.