CHAPTER 82— First semester exam(3)
The students filled the cavernous hallway, their eyes fixed on the elevated platform where Instructor Valeria stood alongside her fellow first-year instructors and Vanika Ariha, the Class A instructor for the second-year.
A tense, expectant silence hung over the assembly.
Instructor Valeria scanned the sea of students with a commanding presence, a crisp stack of examination papers clutched in her hand.
"Ahem. Quiet down, everyone."
Instantly, the murmuring died away as all eyes locked onto her.
"Alright, students. The format for your very first semester examination is going to be a randomized group battle."
The moment the words left her mouth, a low wave of whispers broke out across the crowd.
"A group battle?"
"Yeah! Let's go..."
"Fighting other students in random teams?"
"That sounds easy enough."
Valeria cleared her throat sharply again, demanding their attention.
"But there is a twist."
"A twist?"
"What kind of twist?"
"You won't be fighting each other..."
The students exchanged bewildered glances. One brave soul near the front raised a hand.
"Umm... Instructor, what do you mean we aren't fighting each other?"
Valeria maintained a completely straight face, extending an arm to point toward a distant section of the hall.
"You will be fighting last year's supplementary students. In a randomized team format."
Rowan followed the direction of her hand, squinting as he spotted a cluster of older, distinctly grimmer-looking students standing off to the side.
"Where did they even come from?"
"No idea,"
While Rowan and Ritvik were busy trying to process the revelation, the rest of the student body erupted into absolute panic.
"What?!"
"Supplementary students?!"
"Wait, that's completely rigged! They've got a whole extra year of academy experience over us!"
Rowan stared at the panicked reactions around him, blinking in confusion.
"Wait... what does supplementary even mean?"
Ritvik turned his head and shot Rowan a look of absolute disbelief, his expression practically screaming how do you not know this?
"What?" Rowan asked defensively.
"Supplementary students are the second-years who failed their first-year trials and didn't pull enough credit points to officially advance."
Sarina sighed quietly, stepping in to answer before Ritvik could launch into a lecture.
"Oh... ah."
Rowan nodded, though his expression made it painfully obvious a follow-up question was brewing. Before he could open his mouth, Ritvik jumped in.
"In Grand Aetherion, everything runs on credit points. Every time you ace an exam, clear a dungeon, or pull off something extraordinary, the academy awards you credits. You can use them to climb classes—like moving from Class B to Class A, or even aiming for Class S if you're insane enough. At the end of the year, your survival depends entirely on those points. If you don't hit the threshold..." Ritvik swallowed hard. "...you get expelled."
Rowan flinched at the word expelled, quickly trying to mask his reaction.
"Um... I didn't actually asked though."
"Yeah, but you looked like you were about to interrogate me."
"But why are they giving exams with us?"
"See? I knew it—"
"The supplementaries are students who fell just short of the advancement threshold, but were close enough that the academy grants them a second chance."
Sarina interrupted smoothly, cutting off Ritvik's impending rant.
"They either pass this joint evaluation and move up, or they get permanently expelled. That's who those seniors are."
A small smile touched Rowan's lips.
"Wow, you two really know everything about how this place works."
"Yeah, well, you'd know it too if you actually bothered to open your student handbook once in a while."
Ritvik retorted, pulling the thick leather-bound manual out of his pocket just to prove a point.
"Well, anyway," Sarina sighed, looking back toward the chaotic mass of panicking freshmen.
"Looks like the faculty decided to pull a fast one and merge the supplementary trials and the first-semester exams into a single event."
Around them, the complaints were growing louder.
"Isn't this a bit much for a first-year exam?!"
"They seriously expect us to fight repeaters? And in a random team format, no less!"
"Wait?! is that the reason why a second year Instructor is here?"
One student pointed an accusatory finger toward Instructor Vanika. Noticing the attention, Vanika merely offered a graceful, serene smile and gave a polite, wave of her hand.
Up on the platform, Valeria let out a heavy, long-suffering sigh.
"Sigh... Looks like my pep talk isn't working."
"Yeah. Never thought this year's crop of freshmen would be quite so dramatic,"
Vanika replied smoothly, leaning against the podium.
"So, do we actually have to—"
"Can all of you just shut the hell up for five seconds?!"
A sharp, arrogant voice cut cleanly through the roar of complaints, instantly plunging the hall into dead silence.
Valeria's eye twitched as she snapped her head around to find the source.
Seraphine stood near the front of the pack, arms crossed tightly over her chest, glaring down the rest of the student body with undisguised contempt.
"Have some spine," Seraphine sneered, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
"You enrolled in the most prestigious academy in Aetheris, and what—did you seriously expect them to hand you a participation trophy for your first exam?"
The surrounding students blinked, looking at one another in sudden, sheepish silence.
"Hmph. If you're too spineless to face a real challenge, then do us all a favor and step aside."
Seraphine snapped, before turning her razor-sharp gaze upward toward the stage.
She locked eyes directly with Instructor Valeria.
Valeria stared back, a sudden realization dawning on her.
'Wait... isn't that the same girl I gave mandatory detention a few days ago?'
"Isn't that right, Instructor Valeria?"
Seraphine challenged, a confident smirk playing on her lips.
Valeria held her gaze for a beat, a faint, amused smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
"Ahem... technically, yes. In Grand Aetherion, the academy grants it's students full autonomy. If you wish to forfeit your evaluation, you are entirely free to step down."
A collective sigh of relief rippled through the weaker-willed students at the back.
"However..." Valeria added, her tone dropping into a dangerous, sweet register.
"choosing to sit out will result in an immediate, heavy deduction of your credit points."
"WHAT?!"
Several students shrieked, clutching their heads in pure despair as they realized there was no escape.
Down in the crowd, Seraphine smirked triumphantly, clearly pleased with the outcome. Up on the stage, Valeria smiled right back at her.
Beside Valeria, Vanika let out a soft laugh, playfully nudging her fellow instructor in the arm before leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"That girl... She is quite Charismatic. Isn't she?"
"Yeah!" Valeria whispered back, her eyes sparkling with pride. "She is just like me. When I was in the academy."
"Well... aren't you still in the academy."
Lucien chimed in from behind, poking his head between the two women with a deadpan glare.
Valeria and Vanika both turned and shot him synchronized, ice-cold glares that could have frozen magma solid. Lucien wisely took a step back and kept his mouth shut.
---
CHAPTER ENDS