Red Spire's dining hall buzzed with fresh rumors.
Half the applicants were already eliminated.
Cid sat alone. Hood up, eating slowly.
Across the room, Elias entered with a fresh bruise on his cheek. Half covered by his long white bangs still smiling.
Like always, he sat beside Cid without asking.
"Hey, what are you eating,"Elias said, voice light.
Cid didn't respond.
Elias picked at his food.
"You hit hard, I don't lose often."
Cid finally looked at him.
"You didn't lose because you were weak."
"Experience," Cid said. "I figured you out."
Elias chuckled. "Smart."
Then a bell rang, very loud.
A teacher stepped onto the cafeteria platform.
"Remaining 7 applicants, report to Trial Hall."
Trial Hall.
Clean white stone. Rows of students lined up under a pale blue sky.
A strange orb was seated at the center, glowing faintly.
One of instructors, a tall woman with a cold voice and sharper eyes, stepped forward.
"Congratulations on surviving the entrance trials."
She gestured to the orb.
"This is a Calibration Orb. It reads the volume of Power flowing through your body."
"The stronger your base, the higher your class."
Cid stared at the orb.
Another instructor called out names one by one.
They each stepped up.
One touched the orb and it glowed faint yellow.
"Bottom Class."
Two. Glowed a solid orange.
"Mid Class."
Then...
"Elias Vorian."
Elias stepped forward, hands in his coat pockets.
He placed a single hand on the orb
For a moment... nothing
Then...
WHUMMMM.
The orb pulsed deep crimson and then darkened into a violet black.
The crowd gasped.
Murmurs among the students, jealousy.
Even the instructors shifted.
"High tier Elite," one muttered.
Elias turned and walked back toward Cid, face unreadable.
Cid didn't say anything.
Elias gave a forced smile. "Guess I passed."
Then...
"Cid Eiran."
All eyes turned.
Cid stepped up.
He reached out, palm on surface.
Waited.
No glow. Not yellow, not orange.
Nothing.
Instructors whispered.
Students laughed.
"Calibration failed."
"Is he... Powerless?"
Cid pulled his hand back. Jaw clenched.
One of the staff stepped forward.
"Try again. Right hand this time."
He did.
Still nothing.
Dead silence.
An upperclassmen snorted. "Dead orb."
Another, "Guess someone cheated their way into the third trial."
Elias frowned from the back.
Cid turned around slowly.
The instructor marked something on a parchment.
"...Cid Eiran. Null reading."
"We'll review your admission. Wait for summons."
He stepped down.
Walked past the other students, didn't say a word.
The rest of the students went ahead and had their evaluation.
Later, in a quiet hallway.
Cid was walking,
"Was this all a lie? Did i imagined the strength in my veins?No. I know what it was."
Elias found him.
"You okay?"
Cid didn't stop walking.
"It's broken," he muttered. "That orb."
"Maybe," Elias said. "Or maybe they don't know what to measure."
Cid stopped.
"I know I have Power. I've trained for it. Bled for it."
"Then, let them stare, let them talk, just survive."
Cid didn't answer.
But his eyes were sharp again.
That night.
A knock on Cid's dorm door.
He didn't answer.
It opened anyway.
Yami stepped inside, chewing a piece of dried meat.
"You sulking?"
Cid sat on the edge of the bed. Eyes cold.
"They think I don't have power."
Yami tossed something at him.
A folded parchment.
Cid caught it.
One line.
A knock on Cid's dorm door.
He didn't answer.
It opened anyway.
Yami stepped inside, chewing a piece of dried meat.
"You sulking?"
Cid sat on the edge of the bed. Cloak on. Eyes cold.
"They think I don't have power."
Yami tossed something at him.
A folded parchment.
Cid caught it. Unfolded.
One line was written.
"Report to the Teachers Hall. At sunrise."
Yami turned to leave.
"Wear something decent."
Yami turned to leave.
The next morning.
Teachers Hall.
Long glass windows. All four class heads sat in high chairs. White coats and neutral faces.
Cid stood in the center alone.
One instructor, the same man who ran the orb test spoke first.
"I'm Teach. Oniya, I ran the orb test."
"Your reading was null."
"But we reviewed your second trial. Footage. Tactics. Control."
He shuffled some papers.
"Your opponent was Elias Vorian. An elite-tier. Power attribute: Crush."
"And yet..."
"You defeated him."
Another instructor leaned forward.
"You controlled trajectory, prediction, manipulation and mid-combat adaptation."
"That's more like raw power."
"What do you think Prof. Elene?"
A pause.
A silver-haired woman at the far end spoke.
"We've seen enough."
"Cid Eiran."
"You are placed in Elite class."
Silence.
Cid didn't flinch. Didn't grin.
Prof. Elene raised a brow.
"Any questions?"
Cid looked up.
"...When do classes start?"
Outside the hall.
Yami smirked.
"Told you."
Cid walked past him.
But paused.
"…Thanks."
Yami's grin widened.
"Oh? A thank you? From the kid with a vendetta complex?"
Cid kept walking.
Yami muttered behind him.
"Better keep up, Invert."