The exam hall of Orion High Institute stood like a fortress of glass and steel cold, towering, and untouchable, much like the boy walking toward it.
Jack's black hair drifted slightly in the wind as he approached the gate. Dozens of students crowded the entrance, their uniforms crisp, their eyes filled with nervous determination. Everyone here was the best from somewhere the top one percent of the nation's brightest.
And yet, Jack could feel it immediately the air reeked of anxiety and false pride.
He found it amusing.
Humans still fought for scraps of recognition, clinging to numbers and ranks as if they meant something.
As he stepped through the gate, a scanner beeped softly, identifying his ID code. "Candidate 2045 Jack Cole. Scholarship Applicant."
Some of the students turned when they heard the name. It had spread farther than he expected. The "genius orphan" who had swept through every academic test in Westveil like a storm. Rumor said he never studied, never failed, never smiled.
One of the boys in line, tall with slick brown hair, snorted.
"So that's the kid everyone's talking about? Doesn't look like much."
Jack didn't respond. He walked past him like the comment was wind.
He didn't dislike arrogance it just wasn't interesting when it came from insects.
Inside, the exam hall was silent. Hundreds of candidates sat at digital desks glowing with blue light. The instructors' voices echoed as they explained the test format written, logic, mana measurement, and combat simulation.
Jack leaned back in his seat, glancing lazily at the clock.
Three hours, they said. He'd be done in two minutes.
The test began.
Screens flickered to life with complex equations, historical analysis, and magi theory puzzles meant to break even college level minds.
Jack's pen glided across the screen with fluid motion no hesitation, no pause, no doubt. His answers weren't calculated; they were instinctive. The knowledge flowed like breath.
While others sweated under pressure, Jack's gaze was calm and distant. His mind the same mind that once built an entire universe considered these problems little more than children's riddles.
He finished the written portion in one minutes. The supervisor blinked when his screen flashed Complete.
"Candidate 2045, are you sure you"
"Yes." Jack didn't even look up. "Next."
The logic test came next patterns, illusions, moral dilemmas, paradoxes designed to trap the mind.
He crushed them all.
When a prompt asked, "Would you sacrifice one to save many?", he chuckled softly.
"Why not destroy the problem altogether?" he whispered, tapping Other.
The system paused even the AI didn't have a programmed response for that.
Then came the mana test the part everyone feared.
A crystal orb floated before each candidate, glowing faintly. It measured magical output and control, two things no ordinary human could fake.
Jack placed his palm over it. For a second, nothing happened. The orb stayed dim, almost as if mocking him.
Some students laughed quietly.
Then the lights flickered.
The orb turned black.
A sound like cracking glass echoed through the room as the device's runes glowed red, unstable, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Shut it down!" one of the instructors yelled, rushing forward.
But before they could move, the orb shattered — fragments floating midair instead of falling.
A cold wind swept the hall, heavy with pressure no human could explain. For a moment, every person in the room felt it something vast staring back at them. A force that wasn't supposed to exist in this world.
Then, as suddenly as it came, the feeling vanished. The fragments turned to dust.
Jack lowered his hand. His expression didn't change.
"Sorry," he said quietly, "I forgot to hold back."
The instructors stood frozen, unsure whether to scold or salute him.
After that came the combat simulation a virtual battle against monsters drawn from ancient legends.
Jack entered the pod, sensors linking to his mind.
When the simulation began, he found himself standing in a ruined city under crimson skies. A giant beast roared from the distance a drake class creature, level 85.
He smiled faintly. "Cute."
The monster charged, shaking the ground. Jack didn't move. His eyes glowed faintly for a split second and the drake exploded into particles of light.
Simulation: Terminated.
Time: 00:00:01.
The supervising officer removed his headset, pale. "That… that's impossible."
Jack stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Maybe your system glitched."
He walked out before anyone could stop him.
By the time the results were released, the school's staff was in chaos. Every metric written, logic, magic, combat had been obliterated. His total score broke the limit of the system. The instructors whispered among themselves, calling him a prodigy, a monster, a fluke.
Jack didn't care.
He sat under a tree outside the academy gate, eyes closed, feeling the soft wind. Humans ran around in panic, chasing papers and results. He just enjoyed the warmth of the sun.
"Still boring," he muttered. "Even your best can't surprise me."
Then he heard footsteps.
Four of them.
He didn't need to open his eyes to sense their presence sharp, confident, powerful. The top students of Orion High.
One girl with silver hair spoke first, voice cool and precise. "You're Jack Cole."
"Depends," he replied, still not opening his eyes. "Who's asking?"
"We are the Four Pillars," said a red-haired boy beside her, his tone edged with pride. "Top-ranked students. You broke our records."
Jack opened one eye and smiled faintly. "Oh. So you're the humans who think they're gods."
Their expressions tightened.
"Enjoy your spotlight, newbie," the boy snapped. "Let's see how long it lasts."
Jack stood, brushing off his jacket. For a second, the air grew heavier his aura leaking just enough to remind them what they were standing in front of.
"I'd like that," he said, voice soft, eyes glinting with amusement. "After all, I'm easily bored."
He walked past them, leaving silence in his wake. None of them could breathe until he was gone.
As the sun dipped below the academy's towers, Jack looked up at the darkening sky.
This world was noisy, foolish, and blind but for the first time in a while… it was starting to get interesting.
"Let's play, mortals," he whispered, smiling like a predator waiting for the hunt to begin.
Next: Chapter 8 – "The Four Pillars and the Shadow of a God"