Valencrest – North Dormitory Complex
Day 6 of the Exam / Evening
I hadn't really slept for three days.
My body had. My mind hadn't.
Valencrest at night changed its face. The hallways emptied, the lights stayed on only halfway, and the air grew colder. It wasn't an aesthetic choice: it was psychological pressure. Even rest was part of the test here. Those who relaxed too much lost focus. Those who didn't sleep lost clarity. I remained balanced between the two.
I walked toward the dormitory with my hands in my pockets, steps steady. No rush. No unnecessary noise. Every student I passed avoided my gaze or pretended indifference. Normal. In the last few days, they had begun to sense something they couldn't explain. An inconsistency. A discomfort.
Me.
The point bracelet vibrated slightly. An internal notification, silent. No message, just a signal. Someone had spent points to activate a nighttime permit in the dormitory area. Uncommon. Not for an exam based on communication and controlled isolation.
I kept walking.
When I reached my floor, the hallway was empty. Too empty. The cameras were active, of course, but they weren't moving. Someone had set a loop. Not sophisticated. Enough. Enough for thirty seconds. Maybe forty.
I exhaled softly.
"Finally."
I didn't say it aloud. It was a thought. An old reflex.
The door behind me closed.
I didn't turn immediately. My body had already registered the change in the air. Three presences. One ahead. Two behind. Light steps, weight distribution off. None of them were beginners.
One spoke. Young voice. Too controlled.
"Kael. We don't want to cause problems."
I finally turned. Slowly. Hands still in pockets.
Three students. All from my class. All above-average in points. All with that identical posture: not aggressive, but ready. Trained.
"You spent points for this?" I asked.
One hesitated. The one on the far left. Good. I mentally noted the first weak link.
"It doesn't matter," continued the other. "We're just asking you to cooperate. Tomorrow, during the final vote. You have to let yourself be eliminated."
I smiled slightly. Not mockery. Confirmation.
"And if I refuse?"
The boy in front of me stepped forward halfway. He shouldn't have. But he did.
"Then you won't leave the school."
I didn't answer immediately. I observed them. Their breaths. The tension in their wrists. The way they avoided looking at each other. They weren't a real team. They had been put together. Sent.
I removed my hands from my pockets.
"Who told you I'm weak?" I asked.
I didn't wait for an answer.
The first strike came from the right. A fast hook, well executed. My body moved before my mind even registered the attack. I grabbed his wrist, twisted, felt the joint give. The boy screamed. Not loudly. Stifled. I let him fall.
The second attacked immediately. Good choice. He aimed low, at the knee. I anticipated and hit him with my body. Elbow to sternum. Air out of lungs. Step back. He fell against the wall.
The third hesitated. Mistake. I grabbed the collar of his jacket and pushed him against the door. Not hard. Enough to make him understand there was no need for force. Just position.
"Listen carefully," I said, my voice calm. "I'm not here to earn points. I'm not here to survive Valencrest. I'm here because I need it."
His eyes widened. True fear. Not the simulated fear of tests.
I let him go. He fell to the floor.
The cameras started moving again.
The bracelet vibrated again. Automatic penalty for "unauthorized confrontation." –50 points. I smiled inside. Didn't matter much. Other systems were already moving.
I left the three on the floor and entered the dormitory.
Only then did my body release the tension. Not pain. Never pain. Only memory. The same sensation as when I ruled the streets. When it was enough to enter a room for everyone to stop talking.
I sat on the bed.
Valencrest was changing its rhythm. It wasn't just observation anymore. It was violent selection. Someone, outside, was losing patience.
And that amused me.
I closed my eyes for a moment. I saw the face of the one who had taken me in. Their words. "An intelligence like yours isn't wasted here."
They hadn't understood.
The problem wasn't my intelligence.
It was that my body remembered too well what it meant to have no rules.
The next day, during the vote, I would smile. I would speak little. I would let them choose wrong.
Because now I knew one thing for certain:
Valencrest had opened a door.
And it wasn't ready for what was coming in.