"Good morning, students of Arethia University."
The speakers crackled to life at exactly 8 AM in the morning, the magical amplification sharp enough to make half the crowd flinch. The voice that followed was deep, authoritative, yet far too cheerful for this early hour.
"Today marks the beginning of your magical assessments. To all our students, particularly our newest arrivals, I wish you the very best of luck. Remember: these assessments measure not just your power, but your control, your knowledge, and your potential. Approach them with confidence and integrity. The assessment hall is now open. Please proceed in an orderly fashion to collect your assigned numbers."
The speakers cut off with another crackle and scramble that followed was definitely not orderly.
"Orderly fashion," Pearl muttered, clutching her notebook like a lifeline as the crowd of students surged toward the assessment hall entrance. "Right. Because this looks orderly."
Des was beside me, his fingers against his skin in that rapid-fire pattern that meant he was about three seconds from a full panic spiral.
What if I fail?" What if I'm like zero units? Is that possible? Can someone have zero units? What if..."
"You'll be fine," I said, because someone had to say it, and Pearl was too busy taking notes on the crowd's behavior to notice Des's impending breakdown.
"The assessment hall was quite disappointing. It wasn't even really a hall.
It was just an enormous open arena enclosed by high stone fencing and lined with towering pillars that probably served no real purpose beyond intimidation. Rows of elevated seating surrounded the space, already filled with upper-year students who had come to watch.
Great. An audience.
At the front of the hall stood two separate stations, each marked with glowing symbols. An angry looking professor with blue hair stood at a podium, his voice magically amplified as he addressed the crowd.
"Can I have your attention, please?" and the hall fell silent.
"The assessment is divided into three portions," he announced. "First: Power Output and Magical Control. You will place your hands on the measuring device, and it will calculate your current magical capacity and control precision. It will then convert your output into units and assign a corresponding star ranking based on academy standards. Second: Combat Readiness and Spell Accuracy. You will demonstrate your ability to cast under pressure and respond to simulated threats. Third: Intelligence and Magical Knowledge, a written examination testing your theoretical understanding."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the nervous first-years. "We will begin with Power Output."
I ended with number 250, the last number, which was fine by me. It just meant that I had time to mentally prepare. The measuring device was brought in. It was a crystal sphere mounted on a metal stand, glowing faintly with inner light.
The first student, a girl with blonde hair tied back in a neat braid, stepped up, placed her hands on the sphere, and waited. The crystal flared, pulsing with light, and a number appeared in the air above it.
"2.5★ — 860 Units"
Decent. Respectable for a first-year. The girl looked relieved as she stepped away.
More students went. Most hovered around 2 to 2.5 stars. A few hit 3 stars, which earned impressed murmurs from the watching upper-years.
"2★ — 723 Units"
"2.5★ — 959 Units"
"3★— 1001 Units"
One guy , broad-shouldered, definitely from a warrior family based on his posture, hit 3.5 stars and looked smug about it.
"3.5★ — 1340 Units"
A ripple of impressed whispers followed. That was already pushing into high-tier first-year territory.
Des swallowed hard beside me.
Then Serena Carver, in her expensive robes stepped up. She placed her hands on the sphere with so much confidence.
The crystal blazed.
"5★— 2,208 Units"
The hall erupted in gasps and whispers. Four stars for a first-year was a big deal, and five stars was apparently something else entirely. The girl smiled, perfectly composed, and walked away like she'd expected nothing less.
"Did you see that?" Des whispered, his anxiety temporarily forgotten in the face of sheer awe. "Five stars. That's... that's insane. That's like… second year level."
Pearl was scribbling furiously in her notebook, probably documenting every detail for future reference. "Above expected range. Significant anomaly for a first-year."
I watched as more numbers were called, student after student, results flashing in the air. Most were average. A few were impressive. None came close to four stars.
"Desmond Chadwin."
Des froze.
"Oh no."
He looked at me with sad eyes.
"You'll be fine," I said, nudging him forward.
"I am not fine," he whispered, but went anyway.
He placed his trembling hands on the crystal and the light shook. Then it stabilized.
"4★ — 1650 Units"
Des blinked.
"…I passed?"
"You didn't just pass," I said. "You're amazing. You're the first person to get 4 stars. And you're not even a noble."
He let out a shaky laugh, stepping away, with his hands on his collar. "Now amazing is a far stretch. But if you think so... Who am I to argue?"
"Pearl Weel."
Pearl straightened immediately, adjusting her grip on her notebook before stepping forward with surprising calm.
"You've got this Pearl, Des yelled. "It's not hard at all!" (Says the guy who was so nervous that he couldn't eat or sleep).
Pearl placed her hands on the sphere.
The crystal responded quickly, glowing brighter than most before her.
"3. 5★ — 1266 Units"
A few impressed murmurs rose from the stands.
Pearl's eyes lit up; not with pride, but curiosity. "Fascinating… stable output, minimal fluctuation…"
She walked away already writing.
I was busy congratulating Pearl and didn't hear the next name till I saw someone who looked annoyingly familiar go up.
His name was Kel—no, Kevin… uhhhmmm, Kes??
I racked my brain trying to remember the name.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by people screaming in the crowd.
"5.5 stars, can you believe it??"
"That's the son of the Arden family for you!"
I looked up to see the score displayed above the crystal.
"5.5★ — 2,280 Units"
Ah.
Kai Arden.
Right. That was his name.
He still had that proud, overbearing look on his face that made me want to punch him but I pushed away the thought.
After that, the people who went for the next thirty minutes were mostly unremarkable with most of them having the same ranking of 2 stars.
Until he stepped up.
I recognized him immediately. Malachi Della. Future king. The guy I'd bumped into during orientation and had been trying very hard not to think about since.
He walked in with so much aura and charm that I could swear more than fifty girls fainted. Every eye in the hall seemed glued to him as he placed his hands on the crystal.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the crystal exploded with binding light, almost too bright to look at directly. The glow filled the entire hall, and I had to resist the urge to shield my eyes.
The number appeared, massive and unmistakable:
"7★— 3,000 Units"
The hall went dead quiet.
Then everyone started talking at once.
"Seven stars…"
"That's impossible…"
"He's first-year, how is that even…"
"That's final-year level…"
"Well, he is royalty…"
Then some girl screamed, "I love you, Prince Malachi!" and suddenly the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
Malachi stepped back from the device, completely unbothered by the commotion, and walked away with easy grace, making me feel he'd expected exactly this result. He was probably used to being exceptional at everything.
I watched him go, my face carefully neutral even as my brain registered the fact that yes, he was still unfairly attractive, and yes, that was extremely inconvenient.
Pearl elbowed me.
"Did you see that?"
"Everyone saw that," I said