Monday arrived with a familiar chorus of bells echoing across the Royal Academy.
The weekend was over.
Students who had spent the last two days resting, training, or visiting the city streamed through the academy gates. The quiet atmosphere of Saturday and Sunday disappeared almost instantly, replaced by lively conversations and anxious speculation.
"Do you think they'll promote anyone?"
"I heard several students moved classes."
"No way... the assessment was only the first one."
Kael walked through the courtyard with his usual calm expression.
His hands rested in his pockets as his eyes scanned the sea of students gathering around a towering black stone monument in the center of the plaza.
The Ranking Monument.
Its polished surface shimmered with mana as glowing names slowly began appearing one after another.
The crowd immediately surged forward.
"They're updating!"
"Move!"
"I can't see!"
Kael stayed where he was.
There was no reason to push through.
Eventually the students near the front began reading the names aloud.
---
"Rank One... Auren Valcrest!"
"No surprise there."
"The monster stayed first."
"Rank Two..."
"Rank Three..."
The crowd remained relatively calm.
Then—
"...Rank Four..."
A brief pause.
"...Caelan Strade."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Then the courtyard exploded.
"What?!"
"Didn't he place twelfth before the assessment?"
"He jumped eight ranks!"
"That's impossible!"
Students turned toward one another in disbelief.
"I watched his assessment," one student said.
"He wasn't the strongest."
"He didn't need to be."
Another nodded.
"He adapted to every situation."
"He changed strategies constantly."
"He used his Path better than anyone else."
An older second-year student overheard the discussion as he passed.
"Raw power wins battles."
He continued walking.
"Versatility wins assessments."
The whispers slowly settled.
Shock remained on many faces, but nobody argued with the result.
If anything...
They accepted it.
---
Farther down the rankings, more changes appeared.
Several students climbed.
Several fell.
Some remained exactly where they had been before.
Near the bottom, familiar names appeared.
"Dren..."
"Moved up one."
"Good for him."
A few lines later—
"Kael Virex."
"Rank... two hundred and two."
Someone blinked.
"Didn't he used to be two hundred and three?"
"He moved up?"
"Only one place."
"Still..."
The whispers were quieter this time.
Less mocking.
More curious.
Moments later another name appeared.
"Tovin."
"Two hundred and three."
He too had climbed a single position.
Finally...
At the very bottom.
"Rank two hundred and five."
"Lenn Oris."
A nervous-looking boy lowered his head as students glanced in his direction before quickly losing interest.
Someone had to be last.
Today...
It was him.
---
Kael finally stepped away from the crowd.
One place.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
He hadn't expected anything different.
His eyes briefly wandered back toward the top of the monument.
4. Caelan Strade.
Eight places.
An impressive climb.
Kael quietly memorized the name before continuing toward the classroom building.
---
F-Class had already gathered by the time he entered.
Students spoke excitedly about the rankings.
Dren waved him over.
"You moved up."
"So did you."
Dren grinned.
"I'll take any improvement I can get."
Across the room, several students discussed D-Class.
"I heard Rhett reached fourth in his class."
"No wonder."
"He's a jerk, but he's strong."
"What about the other two?"
"Brann finished twelfth."
"Kellis is fourteenth."
"They're all still near the top."
Kael listened without joining the conversation.
Information always had value.
---
The classroom door slid open.
Silence immediately followed.
Instructor Vaelis entered with measured steps before placing several documents upon his desk.
He looked around the room.
"I've heard plenty of celebrating this morning."
Nobody answered.
"You misunderstand something."
His gaze swept across every student.
"The assessment was never meant to determine who is strong."
"It was meant to determine where you begin."
The room remained silent.
"Some of you climbed."
"Some of you fell."
"Most of you barely changed."
He folded his arms.
"None of that matters."
Several students exchanged confused looks.
Vaelis continued.
"Today marks your true first day as academy students."
"The entrance examination."
"The assessment."
"They are over."
"What begins now is your education."
His words carried no excitement.
Only certainty.
"The rankings you saw this morning are not permanent."
"They will change."
"Monthly."
He wrote several words across the board.
Merit.
Discipline.
Performance.
"Every month your rank will be reevaluated."
"You may rise."
"You may fall."
"You may even change classes."
A murmur spread through the room.
"So someone from F-Class could reach S-Class?"
One student asked.
Vaelis answered immediately.
"If they earn it."
The room fell quiet again.
"The academy rewards results."
"Nothing else."
His eyes lingered on the class for another moment.
"Your first lesson begins in ten minutes."
"As of today..."
"You are no longer candidates."
"You are academy students."
For the first time since arriving at the Royal Academy...
Kael felt that the real journey had begun.
As the class prepared for their first lesson, his eyes drifted toward the window overlooking the academy grounds.
Far above, students from every class crossed the stone pathways toward their own futures.
Some stood at the summit.
Others remained at the bottom.
The distance between them seemed impossible.
Kael simply observed it.
Then, as the lesson began, he opened his notebook.
There was still much to learn.