Once she recovered from Charlotte’s words, Ariana turned her attention back to the top of the screen. She did not have to search far. Humility was part of her nature in many situations, but when it came to theory, she knew where she belonged. She began at the top because anything else would have been dishonest.
There she was.
Ariana Merdin — Core Myst: 98/100. Primordial Magic Theory: 97/100. Alchemy Theory: 96/100. Advanced Myst Structures: 100/100. Total Theory Score: 391/400. Rank: 1.
Ariana stared at her scores quietly.
For a moment, she did not smile widely. She only looked at the row, eyes moving from one number to the next, absorbing the confirmation. A perfect score in Advanced Myst Structures. Nearly perfect in Core Myst and Primordial Magic Theory. Alchemy only a few points below that. She felt pride rise inside her, warm and steady. Not arrogance. Not the kind of loud confidence Dylan wore like a festival cloak. Something more private. Something earned.
She had studied. She had understood. She had deserved it.
Her hands curled lightly in her lap, and a small smile finally appeared.
Sheila searched a little lower and found her own name in eighth.
Sheila Granger — Core Myst: 90/100. Magic Theory: 92/100. Knight Combat Theory: 86/100. Combat Strategy Theory: 89/100. Total Theory Score: 357/400. Rank: 8.
Sheila looked at the numbers longer than she expected to. They were better than she had feared. Core Myst had gone well. Divine Light Theory had been strong. Knight Combat was respectable, and Healing & Support had landed higher than she thought after a few difficult application questions. Eighth was good. More than good, considering the weight of everything else that had been pressing on her during the week. She let out a quiet breath, accepting the result with something close to relief.
Then, like many others, her gaze moved toward the top of the ranking.
The first name was no surprise.
Ariana Merdin.
At this point, the second-years had accepted that when theory was involved, Ariana occupied a place most of them could only visit in dreams. The second and third names were not too shocking either: Felix Armand, known for his cold precision in written work, and Celia Roanne, a quiet Water Magic student who had always performed well academically.
Felix Armand — Core Myst: 96/100. Wind Magic Theory: 94/100. Knight Combat Theory: 88/100. Combat Strategy Theory: 91/100. Total Theory Score: 369/400. Rank: 2.
Celia Roanne — Core Myst: 96/100. Water Magic Theory: 95/100. Knight Combat Theory: 85/100. Healing Principles Theory: 90/100. Total Theory Score: 366/400. Rank: 3.
Those made sense.
Then the fourth name appeared.
Dylan Wellington — Core Myst: 96/100. Forgemastery Theory: 100/100. Knight Combat Theory: 78/100. Alchemy Theory: 91/100. Total Theory Score: 365/400. Rank: 4.
The hall seemed to hesitate.
Then disbelief spread like someone had dropped a live creature into the middle of the room.
Students stared. Some leaned forward. A few looked away and back again, as if the screen might correct itself. Dylan Wellington. Fourth. Not eighth like the infamous first-year surprise. Fourth. Above students known for studying seriously. Above people who had spent the entire week looking like they were trying to become one with the library shelves.
His Core Myst score was nearly the same as the students above him. His Forgemastery Theory score was perfect. His Knight Combat Theory was not great, but decent enough not to drag him down too far. His Alchemy score was only a few points below Ariana’s.
It was absurd.
Worse, it was documented.
Nearly every eye moved toward Dylan.
Dylan basked.
He rose just slightly from his seat, not fully standing, but enough to turn his upper body and spread his arms like a man receiving applause from a kingdom that had finally recognized its rightful genius.
"Please," he said, voice rich with false modesty. "Do not let my overwhelming brilliance frighten you. I am still the same humble man you all knew before this screen revealed the truth."
Maxwell stared at him in horror. "Humble?"
Dylan placed a hand over his chest. "Deeply."
Asher’s face had gone through several stages of disbelief and landed somewhere near betrayal.
"He cheated," Asher said again, louder this time.
Dylan turned toward him with a grin. "Asher, your inability to understand genius does not make genius illegal."
"You scored ninety-six in Core Myst."
"Yes."
"You?"
"Yes."
"You called Myst density ’spicy pressure’ last week."
"That was a teaching metaphor."
Liam slowly looked at him.
Dylan noticed. "A very advanced teaching metaphor."
Charlotte laughed openly now, no longer bothering to hide it. "Stars above, this is beautiful. The clown has been hiding a scholar under all that noise."
"Not hiding," Dylan said. "Decorating."
Ariana looked both impressed and unsure whether she should be concerned. "Dylan, your Alchemy score is very high."
He pointed at her. "Thank you, future queen of all written things."
Ariana blinked. "That is not a title."
"It should be."
Sheila, still looking at the screen, smiled faintly despite herself. "You really were serious during the test."
Dylan looked offended. "Princess, I am always serious."
Maxwell said, "You once argued that a failed bracer mechanism was expressing enthusiasm."
"And I stand by that emotionally."
The hall continued reacting around them. Some students laughed now because once the shock settled, Dylan’s performance made it difficult not to. Others looked more disturbed than amused, as if his high ranking threatened their understanding of academic justice. The idea that Dylan could be shameless, ridiculous, perverted, loud, and still academically sharp made him feel almost unfair as a person.
Liam stared at Dylan’s scores for several seconds.
Then he accepted the fact plainly.
Dylan was far more intelligent than Liam had given him credit for.
It was not luck. Not anymore. First year could have been dismissed. This could not. Dylan’s written performance, the confidence he showed during exams, and the way he often understood things faster than he pretended all pointed in the same direction. The fool act was real in the sense that Dylan enjoyed being ridiculous, but it was not emptiness. There was a capable mind beneath it, quick, flexible, and apparently disciplined when the topic interested him.
For some reason, Liam found that interesting.
Not enough to say aloud.
But enough to be curious.
Before the hall could fully turn into a scene in front of the academy’s superiors, Lucia stepped forward again.
"I believe you have all taken enough time to review the scores," she said.
The room quieted in guilty waves.
Lucia’s eyes moved across the students, lingering just long enough on Dylan to make him sit more properly, though his grin remained undefeated. "If you did not get to examine your results fully, you will each receive a personal parchment after this announcement containing a detailed breakdown of your scores and academic notes from your instructors."
Several students relaxed slightly at that. Others looked as though they were dreading the detailed notes even more than the public score.
Lucia tapped her clipboard, and the glowing screen dimmed slightly but did not vanish entirely. "Now that your Theory scores have been shown, it is time for your final briefing on the Bastion Assessment."
The mood shifted immediately.
Scores still mattered, but Eldervale mattered more. The reminder of deployment pulled the second-years out of their reactions and back into the larger pressure waiting only days ahead. Seats creaked softly as students straightened. Conversations died. Even Dylan, still glowing from his impossible fourth-place ranking, quieted enough to look toward the stage with real attention.
Lucia turned slightly toward the center of the stage.
"Please welcome Headmaster Thion Layenhart."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter