Chapter 10: Chapter 10: First-Year Evaluation

By the time Kael stepped over to where the rest of Class 1-D had gathered, the central training floor had already been converted into a live assessment zone.

That alone was enough to sharpen the atmosphere.

The instructors had raised multiple reinforced partitions around the lower combat field, creating several enclosed testing sectors lined with mana barriers and observation platforms. Projection screens had been activated overhead, displaying student names, class designations, and score tallies that would update in real time.

So this is how they’re doing it.

Kael adjusted the weighted bands around his wrists and scanned the setup.

Simple.

Efficient.

And entirely in line with academy tradition.

Every incoming first-year batch underwent a live practical combat assessment within the first week. Officially, it was presented as an introductory benchmark—a way for instructors to measure reaction speed, mana control, physical output, and combat decision-making under simulated pressure.

In practice, it served another purpose.

It established hierarchy.

Fast.

Publicly.

The academy did not wait long to teach its students where they stood.

A score board.

A staged arena.

A visible ranking.

That was enough.

By the end of the day, every first-year would know who was worth watching, who was worth avoiding, and who could be safely ignored.

And because Class 1-D had ranked below the upper first-year divisions in initial placement, they had been scheduled last.

Naturally.

The better classes went first.

The lower classes watched.

That was how the academy taught expectation.

Kael exhaled slowly and took his place near the back of his class.

Students from 1-A had already begun.

A conjuration array ignited in the center of the arena.

Mana surged.

Light condensed.

Then a creature formed.

An ogre.

Large.

Broad-shouldered.

Grey-skinned and heavily muscled, standing nearly three meters tall with thick limbs and crude armor strapped over its torso. A heavy iron club rested in one hand, and its mana signature stabilized at the edge of low D-rank.

Simulated.

But not harmless.

The academy’s combat constructs were designed to mimic real monsters closely enough that fear remained a factor.

That mattered more than most first-years realized.

Strength could be trained.

Instinct under pressure was harder to fake.

"The first-year practical is simple," one of the instructors announced from the platform overhead. "You will engage the combat construct assigned to your bracket. Scoring will be based on efficiency, control, reaction time, and finishing execution."

A pause.

"Panic is penalized. Waste is penalized. Hesitation is penalized."

That got everyone’s attention.

Good.

A name appeared on the projection board.

AURELIA VOSS – CLASS 1-A

The arena quieted immediately.

Of course it did.

Aurelia stepped forward without a word.

Dark silver hair.

Perfect posture.

Calm expression.

No wasted motion.

No visible tension.

She stepped into the arena like someone walking into routine.

The ogre let out a low growl and tightened its grip on the club.

Aurelia drew her sword.

The entire room seemed to sharpen.

She lowered her stance.

One foot forward.

Blade angled low.

Shoulders relaxed.

No theatrics.

No flourish.

Then she moved.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

Aurelia vanished.

Not literally.

Just fast enough that most first-years lost visual tracking for half a second.

She reappeared behind the ogre.

One clean step beyond it.

Her sword lowered.

A thin line appeared across the monster’s torso.

Then the upper half slid free.

The construct split cleanly in two before dissolving into mana.

Silence.

Then the scoreboard updated.

Perfect Execution

Reaction: Exceptional

Control: Exceptional

Score: 97

The room erupted into whispers.

Kael stared at the empty arena.

Flash Step.

The academy’s foundational high-speed movement technique.

Basic by advanced standards.

Still absurdly useful.

A short-range burst acceleration technique built around compressed mana discharge and lower-body reinforcement.

Simple.

Efficient.

Universally applicable.

And one of the most important baseline movement skills in the academy.

Kael replayed the motion in his head once.

Weight transfer.

Breath timing.

Mana reinforcement.

Foot compression.

Release.

Understood.

His eyes flicked briefly to his internal status.

No notification appeared.

As expected.

Interesting.

So copied techniques didn’t register in the system as learned skills.

That confirmed what he had suspected.

Perfect Copy reproduced function.

Not formal acquisition.

Anything copied through his unique ability became instinctively executable—but did not register as system-recognized mastery.

Useful.

And inconvenient.

The next name appeared.

ZION CRAWFORD – CLASS 1-A

Now that drew a different reaction.

The atmosphere changed the moment he stepped forward.

Less excitement.

More attention.

Zion entered the arena with the same detached calm Kael had seen yesterday.

Blonde hair.

Red eyes.

Practice blade at his waist.

No visible emotion.

The ogre roared the moment it formed and lunged.

Zion rested one hand lightly on the hilt of his sword.

Then lowered his center of gravity.

A bent stance.

Odd.

Not academy standard.

Not conventional.

Kael’s eyes sharpened immediately.

Then Zion spoke.

"First Form."

His hand tightened on the hilt.

"Star Sword Technique: Guiding Light."

He moved.

No—

he disappeared.

Not like Aurelia.

Faster.

A streak of pale light flashed across the arena so cleanly it looked less like movement and more like the aftermath of it.

The ogre froze.

Then split diagonally from shoulder to hip.

The construct dissolved before the delayed wind from Zion’s movement even settled.

Silence.

Then the scoreboard updated.

Perfect Execution

Reaction: Exceptional

Control: Exceptional

Score: 99

Kael stared.

That was faster than Flash Step. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Not by much.

But enough.

The difference was in the structure.

Flash Step was acceleration.

A movement technique.

Guiding Light was a sword form built around directional burst movement and draw-speed compression.

It was not just movement.

It was movement optimized for killing.

Kael replayed the sequence once.

Twice.

Three times.

Weight shift.

Breath control.

Hip rotation.

Draw angle.

Burst timing.

Then stopped.

Understood.

He had it.

Kael exhaled slowly.

So this is what cheating feels like.

The demonstrations continued.

One after another, the first-years stepped into the arena.

Some performed well.

Some performed acceptably.

Some embarrassed themselves.

The gap between classes became obvious almost immediately.

Class 1-A was exactly what its placement implied.

Refined.

Prepared.

Efficient.

Not every student was exceptional, but most were competent enough to avoid looking incompetent.

Class 1-B performed slightly worse.

1-C worse still.

By the time the lower classes began rotating in, the quality drop became impossible to ignore.

More hesitation.

Poorer control.

Slower execution.

Sloppier mana usage.

By the time it reached Class 1-D, the instructors had already stopped pretending the lower classes were expected to impress.

The difference showed immediately.

The ogres were the same.

The students were not.

Several hesitated the moment the constructs advanced.

One overcommitted and nearly got his arm broken.

Another burned half her mana pool on a single panic-cast and still failed to finish cleanly.

One beastkin student did well.

A spear user from the demi-human group scored cleanly.

Lillian performed modestly—nothing impressive, but no major mistakes.

Controlled.

Safe.

Unremarkable.

Exactly what he expected.

Useful later.

Not now.

Kael watched in silence as the scores continued to rise and fall.

By his count, only seven first-years so far had scored high enough to be worth remembering immediately.

Aurelia.

Zion.

Felix.

Two others from 1-A.

One from 1-B.

One from 1-C.

All familiar names.

All relevant.

All characters who, at minimum, mattered during the academy arc.

Which meant the trend was holding.

The important pieces were still where they were supposed to be.

Good.

That made the board easier to read.

One by one, the remaining students cycled through.

Then Kael’s name appeared overhead.

KAEL DRAVEN – CLASS 1-D

A few nearby whispers started instantly.

House Draven.

Weighted bands.

Class 1-D.

Questionable placement.

Kael stepped forward and entered the arena.

The weighted bands pulled at his limbs with every step.

His body was still sore from yesterday.

Still adapting.

Still heavier than it should have been.

Good.

That made the test useful.

He stepped into position.

Across from him, the summoning array ignited.

Mana surged.

The construct formed.

A D-rank ogre.

Larger than the previous ones.

Broader frame.

Heavier weapon.

Denser mana output.

Its yellow eyes locked onto him as it exhaled a hot, low growl through broken tusks.

Kael stared back in silence.

Then slowly rolled his shoulders.

Right.

Let’s see where I stand.