Valencrest – Relational Evaluation Sector
Day 4 of the Exam
First Hour – Remaining Time: 02:59:59
The room felt smaller.
Not because the walls had moved,
but because no one was wasting space anymore.
Everyone was seated.
Everyone was stiff.
Kael entered last, as always.
But this time, the others' gazes didn't slide away.
They stayed on him.
I'm not a shadow anymore, he thought.
I'm a reference point.
SCENE 1 – THE UNOFFICIAL VOTE
"Before we begin…" said the short-haired girl, her voice tense but controlled.
"I propose a simulation."
"A vote?" someone asked.
She nodded. "Unofficial. Just to see where we stand."
A murmur crossed the room.
The tall boy smiled faintly. "Good idea. That way we won't waste points tomorrow."
Kael remained silent.
An inconsequential vote, he thought.
The best way to see who has already decided.
The girl continued: "We write a name. We read them. No expulsion."
Ten improvised slips of paper.
Ten hesitant hands.
Kael wrote a name.
Not the most suspicious.
Not the quietest.
He wrote the one who looked the most confident.
SCENE 2 – THE NAMES
One by one, the slips were read.
One name.
Then another.
A third.
When the fourth was spoken, someone laughed nervously.
"This is ridiculous," they said. "You're voting randomly."
Then came the last slip.
The short-haired girl opened it.
She froze.
"Kael."
The silence that followed wasn't explosive.
It was slow.
Like pressure building under the skin.
Kael didn't react right away.
He looked around the room.
One by one.
"Interesting," he finally said.
"Whoever voted for me… wants to explain why?"
No one spoke.
No need, Kael thought.
Fear has already spoken for them.
SCENE 3 – COUNTERMOVE
Second Hour – Remaining Time: 01:52:08
Kael did something no one expected.
He stood up.
"If you vote for me tomorrow," he said calmly,
"you'll each lose one hundred points."
Immediate murmuring.
"But if you don't," he continued,
"and instead vote for one of the Observers…"
He stopped.
Let them finish the sentence themselves.
The tall boy snapped, "Are you threatening the group?"
Kael shook his head.
"I'm simplifying the equation."
He turned to the quiet girl, the one suspected since day one.
"You," he said. "How many points would you spend to feel safe?"
She swallowed. "W-what do you mean?"
"I mean this school lets you buy comfort. Better food. Information. Silence."
Another student's eyes widened. "Wait… you've already spent points?"
Kael smiled faintly.
Now they think I know more than they do, he thought.
And maybe I do.
SCENE 4 – INTERNAL FRACTURE
Third Hour – Remaining Time: 00:38:41
The room was divided.
Not into visible factions.
But into mental calculations.
Who is convenient to vote for?
Who is convenient to protect?
Who is convenient to sacrifice?
Kael sat down again.
He didn't speak anymore.
He let them wear themselves out.
At the end of the three hours, no one had changed their mind.
But everyone was afraid they had chosen wrong.
FINAL – THE HOOK
Valencrest – Corridor to the Dormitories
Day 4 / Night
Kael walked alone.
The bracelet vibrated.
CONFIDENTIAL NOTIFICATION
PARTIAL ACCESS GRANTED
A new voice appeared on the display.
"Tomorrow, they won't vote for you."
"But not because they believe you're innocent."
Kael stopped.
The voice continued.
"They'll use you."
The message vanished.
Kael slowly lifted his gaze.
Ahead of him, at the end of the corridor,
someone was waiting.
Not a student from his group.
Someone who shouldn't have been there.
So it's really begun, he thought.