By sunrise, the massive hall was already filled.
No one spoke loudly.
No one moved without purpose.
Even breathing felt measured.
The aftermath of the trial still lingered in their expressions.
None of them were ready for what the trial had decided.
And when Instructor Bantea stepped forward…
the room tightened.
"Good day to you all."
Instructor Bantea stepped forward.
His gaze moved across the hall, briefly tightening.
"Congratulations to all candidates who passed the contamination trials."
A pause.
"You have surpassed expectations far above previous generations."
Another pause.
"For candidates who failed…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"You are advised to submit transfer requests to the Headmaster's office for approval."
A brief hesitation.
"Failure to do so will result in automatic administrative removal from the academy registry."
"Now, for the main reason for today's gathering.".
Silence.
The air tightened.
Then—
The screen lit up.
Names appeared.
One by one.
Scores beside them.
Ming Tia Xu — 98%
Joshua Bassett — 85%
Mu liani — 85%
Dimmy Lee Ah — 76%
Sung Ling Mu — 71%
..
.
.
.
Whispers began immediately.
"This must be a mistake…"
"who is he."
Silence cracked.
Then erupted.
"No way he's first."
"He must've cheated."
"That exam was monitored by an S-rank mage…"
"Cheating is impossible…"
"…Then how?"
In the corner of the hall—
Tia stood still.
His name remained at the top.
1. Tia Xu — 98%
For a moment—
he didn't move.
Then—
his expression tightened.
"…No."
His voice was quiet.
"This is bad."
A student nearby turned.
"…He's first?"
Another step back.
"Wait… wasn't he average during application?"
Tia's thoughts raced.
No.
No, no, no…
This was not supposed to happen.
His fingers curled slightly.
His eyes flicked across the hall.
Too many were looking now.
Too many.
This is worse than failing.
A pause.
Then—
I survived the trial…
just to fail the aftermath.
He exhaled slowly.
"…Calm down."
His voice steadied.
"It's just a ranking."
A pause.
"…I can avoid attention."
He nodded slightly.
"Yes. That's
all I need to do."
But Honestly.
"Standing out… was not part of the plan."