Chapter 4
The crowd was moving slower than I expected—each moment stretching out and doing nothing to calm my nerves. I fixed my eyes on the front, watching as each applicant placed their hand on the glowing spheres.
From what I could tell, mana affinity was ranked into three levels: A, B, and C. Each level corresponded to a different color emanating from the sphere—blue, green, and gray. There was another color—dark brown—that meant the applicant was below the standard for acceptance.
A sudden, desperate voice shattered the tense atmosphere.
“T-this can’t be possible! P-please, there’s got to be something wrong with the device!” one applicant wailed.
Focusing my eyes, I saw an instructor and an applicant arguing.
“For the last time, Edmund Miller, F rank.”
I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when I glanced at the sphere, the color was dark brown.
‘Another one bites the dust huh…’
I felt a tinge of sympathy for the guy in front of me, but there really was nothing he could do now.
“All the devices were thoroughly examined for anomalies just yesterday,” the instructor continued sternly.
“My condolences, but kindly step aside and don’t hold up the line behind you.”
He tried to protest further, but quickly decided against it when he noticed the person signaling one of the knights nearby. With a final, defeated sigh, he turned and made his way toward the building’s exit.
Some fellow applicants offered quiet condolences, gently patting his back, but most snickered behind his back, mocking his failure.
‘Just a bunch of vultures.’
The moment they catch the scent of weakness, they swarm in without hesitation. Yet when someone strong appears, they scatter like frightened ants.
Though I’m not saying I want to be a hero of justice of some kind, watching this kind of two-faced behavior still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
That said, I don’t really have the right to judge, I’m not their daddy or their mommy.
Either way, I wouldn’t be getting involved. It would only cause a bigger commotion and create enemies.
A loud thud suddenly tore through my thoughts, and I instinctively turned my head toward the source.
One of the test instructors had collapsed to the floor, his face frozen in a strange mix of awe, shock, and fear as he stared at the glowing sphere.
My gaze followed his… and my jaw nearly hit the floor.
‘Okay, what the fuc—’
The sphere emitted a brilliant, almost blinding white light—pure and cold like the full moon shining down on a cloudless night, casting a pale halo that made everything nearby shimmer with an eerie, otherworldly brilliance.
Everyone’s attention snapped to the commotion, shock rippling through the crowd—including the instructors. Lyra, however, calmly withdrew her hand from the sphere, her expression unchanging, as if nothing unusual had just occurred.
“...”
The fallen instructor finally regained his composure and stammered out,
“L-Lady Lyra of House Evermoon... a mana affinity rank of… S.”
A heavy silence fell over the courtyard. No one dared to speak, the weight of the moment pressing down on everyone. Then, slowly, whispers began to ripple through the crowd, a mixture of awe and disbelief, and even some scattered applause.
“Are you serious? How are we supposed to compete with that?!”
“What else were you expecting from the daughter of the Duke nicknamed the Great Wall?”
The maid trailing behind Lyra offered a quiet nod of congratulations, while Lyra herself gave a small, subtle smile beneath her poker face.
All the instructors turned their gazes toward Lyra, eyes shining with surprise and admiration. They nodded in unison, approval evident in their expressions.
“Looks like the Academy has finally gained another prodigy,” the muscular instructor said, a rare smile tugging at his lips.
“Yes… with another powerhouse like her father, this empire is destined to flourish,” another added.
A younger instructor whispered to Professor Lucian,
“How long has it been since we last saw someone reach S-rank on their first try?”
“It’s been quite a few years. The last was Zephyr Ashford,” Professor Lucian replied.
“Wait, you mean that Ashford?! The grandson of the current Sword Saint?!”
“Yes, him. He’s currently in his final year and already considered one of the most promising talents in this empire's history.”
Lastly, there was a female instructor who had stood nearby past all the commotion. Her wavy auburn hair fell loosely around her shoulders. A playful grin tugged at the corner of her lips. She casually makes her toward Lyra.
The muscular instructor with the scarred face suddenly stepped forward to stop her.
“Oi, Professor Seris, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“What?” she shot back, smirking with a hint of condescension. “I’m planning on taking her as my disciple. Got a problem with that, Professor Axton?”
His eyes darkened. “And when was that your decision to make?”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Hm… Just now?”
“Y-YOU…!”
With a mocking smirk, she flicked her index finger toward him, “What big guy? If you have any objections, we can settle it right here and now.”
Professor Axton seemed to have accepted her challenge, raising his right hand in response. But before it could escalate further, Professor Lucian stepped in.
“Alright, enough,” he said firmly. “If you two keep this up, I’ll have to deduct from both of your monthly salaries.”
Axton instantly backed down.
“R-relax, I wasn’t actually going to fight.”
Then, Lucian rolled his eyes, turning his sharp gaze to Seris.
“And Professor Seris, please don’t go around imposing your ‘decisions’ again. Understand?”
She clicked her tongue with a smirk. “Tsk. Whatever you say.”
Professor Lucian rubbed his temples, as he mumbles something underneath his breath.
I stayed in the back, watching as the two professors continued their childish banter.
I smiled to myself.
‘Man, if only I was also secretly an S rank genius, having all those professors fighting over me. Wouldn’t that just be awesome?’
I quickly shove that thought down the drain.
‘Who am I kidding right now? I don’t even know If I’m going to get into the Academy or not.’
The line in front of me finally began to move again, as the shock of Lyra’s awakening had at last worn off.
A small cluster of nobles hovered around her, clearly hoping to curry favor, but she brushed past them with quiet indifference—leaving them standing there with strained, awkward smiles plastered on their faces.
More ahead of me stepped up to the sphere, only to walk away moments later with slumped shoulders, their disappointment written plainly across their faces. A few fortunate applicants, however, did manage to achieve affinity ranks of A or B.
Finally, it was my turn to step onto the podium. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous as hell. In fact, my heart was pounding so fast I was half-convinced that I would have a heart attack right then and there.
“Cadet Caelith,” the instructor’s voice cutting through my hesitation, “Step forward and place your hand on the device.”
I put on my best straight face and step forward, back straight, placing my hand atop the sphere before slowly closing my eyes in anticipation.
A strange sensation crept into my right hand—like something deep within me was being drawn toward it. It wasn't painful, exactly. Oddly, it felt rather ticklish.
With my eyes still closed, I suddenly felt myself being pulled deeper into the darkness. I knew this sensation all too well—it was just like the dreams I’d been having recently.
I slowly opened my eyes. The surrounding building had vanished, swallowed by an endless, pitch-black void. Instead, I found myself standing alone in an open field that stretched beyond sight in every direction. The instructor and other applicants were gone, leaving me utterly isolated in the vast emptiness.
Not far off in the distance, I spotted a familiar figure—the white-haired man who had been haunting my dreams. He stood silently, his gaze fixed on the endless, empty sky above.
He slowly turned his head, as if finally sensing my presence. As I expected, his face was shrouded in heavy distortion, impossible to make out.
“Who... are you?” I tried to call out, but no sound escaped my lips.
“...”
Silence stretched between us, neither of us moving, locked in that strange, weightless moment. After what felt like an eternity, he finally broke the stillness with a single, cryptic question.
“What do you truly see in this world we inhabit?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? I tried to call out, asking for clarification, but no sound escaped my lips. Suddenly, the entire realm began to collapse inward, folding upon itself like paper as the pitch-black void returned.
I clutched my head as a searing pain scorched across my temples, exactly like the kind I felt when I woke from the dream this morning.
Just as the darkness threatened to swallow me whole, a sharp voice pierced through.
“Cadet Caelith!”
I snapped my eyes open, sweat pouring down my face. I met the tired gaze of the instructor standing before me.
“Are you alright, Cadet? Do you need any medical attention?”
“U-uh no, I’m f-fine, thanks for the concern.”
He let out a faint sigh
“Very well, you have a mana affinity of B. Please remove your hand and proceed to section two for further instructions.”
It took me a moment to process his words.
Wait… am I dreaming right now?
