"Next assessment."
The instructor's voice echoed throughout the central arena.
Dozens of conversations immediately died down.
Students who had been discussing rankings turned toward the main platform.
Even students from other years looked up from their own evaluations.
The instructor continued calmly.
"Zynar."
For a brief moment, silence spread across the surrounding arenas.
Everyone had been waiting for this.
Throughout the entire day, rankings had continuously shifted as students completed their assessments.
Finn had climbed.
Dorian had impressed everyone with his mastery of wind magic.
Seraphine and Lyra had displayed exceptional control.
Aldric had shown why he was considered one of the strongest students in the academy.
Yet one name had remained absent from the rankings.
Now the final evaluation was beginning.
At the edge of the arena, Zynar stood up from where he had been waiting.
His expression remained indifferent.
No excitement.
No anticipation.
No concern.
He simply walked toward the evaluation platform.
The contrast between him and the other students was impossible to ignore.
Many students had spent days worrying about rankings.
Yet the person everyone expected to rank near the top looked as though he were merely taking a walk.
Finn folded his arms.
"Why does he always look like he doesn't care?"
Crest adjusted his glasses.
"Because he probably doesn't."
"That's irritating."
"It is."
Nearby, Dorian silently watched.
Aldric remained seated with his attention fixed entirely on the arena.
Even Seraphine found herself watching more closely than before.
The barriers activated.
The first assessment began.
Multiple combat projections materialized across the arena.
Unlike the projections used for ordinary students, these appeared stronger.
Faster.
More heavily armed.
Several students immediately noticed.
"They increased the difficulty."
"They definitely did."
"That's not the same assessment we had."
Professor Tal remained expressionless.
He had personally adjusted the evaluation.
Not because of favoritism.
Because using the standard assessment on Zynar would be meaningless.
The first projection moved.
A swordsman.
Fast.
Its blade descended toward Zynar's neck.
Zynar stepped slightly to the side.
The attack missed.
His own sword moved.
One strike.
The projection disappeared.
The movement had been so efficient that several students almost missed it.
A second projection attacked immediately.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
The arena transformed into a coordinated assault.
Yet Zynar continued moving calmly.
His sword never wasted movement.
Never swung unnecessarily.
Every action existed solely to achieve a result.
Defend.
Counter.
Eliminate.
Defend.
Counter.
Eliminate.
The rhythm continued flawlessly.
Minutes passed.
The number of projections increased.
Attacks came from multiple directions simultaneously.
Most students would have been forced onto the defensive.
Zynar simply continued.
A spear projection lunged.
His sword shifted slightly.
The spear broke.
A second projection attacked from behind.
He turned.
One strike.
The projection vanished.
The audience gradually became quieter.
Not because the battle was flashy.
Because it wasn't.
There was no unnecessary spectacle.
No overwhelming display of power.
Just absolute efficiency.
Professor Rhett crossed his arms.
"Look carefully."
Several younger instructors focused their attention.
"He never overcommits."
Another instructor nodded.
"And he never hesitates."
That was the unsettling part.
Every decision appeared immediate.
As though he already knew the correct answer before the attack even arrived.
The first phase ended.
The projections disappeared.
Not a single hit had landed on him.
The second phase began immediately.
The arena changed.
The floor shifted.
Stone pillars emerged.
Visibility dropped.
New projections appeared.
These moved faster.
Worked together.
Adapted.
The academy was now testing adaptability.
Most students struggled heavily during this section.
Changing environments often disrupted combat rhythm.
Yet once again, Zynar showed almost no reaction.
The moment the environment changed, he adjusted.
The moment the enemy strategy changed, he adjusted.
The moment new obstacles appeared, he adjusted.
The audience slowly realized something.
His greatest strength might not actually be his swordsmanship.
Nor his aura.
Nor his physical ability.
It might be his judgment.
Because regardless of what the academy threw at him—
he adapted instantly.
No confusion.
No hesitation.
No wasted thought.
Finn stared.
"...This is ridiculous."
Crest nodded slowly.
For once, he had nothing else to add.
Even Aldric's gaze sharpened.
The prince understood combat better than most students.
Which allowed him to recognize how abnormal this was.
Zynar wasn't merely responding correctly.
He was responding perfectly.
Again and again.
The assessment finally ended.
The barriers lowered.
The combat instructors quietly exchanged looks.
His score appeared.
The numbers were absurdly high.
Yet the ranking board remained unchanged.
Because the magic assessment still remained.
Many students expected the next section to be simple.
After all, Zynar was primarily known for combat.
Not magic.
At least, that was what most believed.
The magic arena activated.
Multiple reinforced targets emerged across the field.
Powerful defensive enchantments covered their surfaces.
The targets were designed specifically to withstand high-level spells.
Professor Tal spoke calmly.
"Begin."
Zynar raised one hand.
Nothing happened for a moment.
Then—
the atmosphere changed.
Several magic professors immediately frowned.
Mana wasn't gathering.
Something else was.
Dark energy flowed around Zynar's hand.
Not chaotic.
Not unstable.
Controlled.
Perfectly controlled.
The students recognized it instantly.
"Demonic energy..."
"He's using demonic energy."
"Directly?"
Murmurs spread throughout the arena.
Even among noble families, very few individuals could manipulate demonic energy this naturally.
Then lightning appeared.
But it wasn't ordinary lightning.
The color itself felt wrong.
Dark strands moved through it.
Black mixed with deep violet.
The lightning twisted unnaturally around his arm.
Yet what unsettled everyone wasn't the color.
It was the feeling.
The spell felt hungry.
Hungry.
As though it desired something.
As though it wanted to consume.
The entire arena became silent.
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
"...What is that?"
Even she couldn't fully understand what she was seeing.
The elemental structure itself appeared altered.
Nearby, Isolde felt a chill run down her spine.
The spell didn't feel destructive.
It felt predatory.
Seraphine unconsciously tightened her grip on her sleeve.
The lightning seemed alive.
Not literally.
But it carried an instinctive feeling that made people uncomfortable.
Even Aldric's expression became serious.
Meanwhile Dorian stared at the lightning in disbelief.
Among the students present, he understood demonic energy better than most.
He had experimented with it himself.
He had infused it into his wind magic.
He knew what happened when demonic energy interacted with spells.
Or at least, he thought he did.
Because what he saw now made no sense.
His thoughts became chaotic.
I used demonic energy before.
My wind became stronger.
Sharper.
More violent.
But...
Not like this.
Never like this.
The lightning surrounding Zynar wasn't merely enhanced.
Its very nature had changed.
The spell looked as though it wanted to devour whatever stood before it.
Dorian had never seen anything remotely similar.
Not even in magical texts.
Not even among experienced mages.
Professor Tal narrowed his eyes.
Professor Rhett remained silent.
Several magic instructors had stopped writing entirely.
They were simply watching.
Because none of them had expected this.
Zynar lowered his hand.
The lightning moved.
A single bolt crossed the arena.
It struck the target.
The audience expected an explosion.
Instead—
the lightning clung to the target.
Silence.
Then the target began disappearing.
Not breaking.
Not shattering.
Disappearing.
The dark lightning spread across the surface.
Eating.
Consuming.
Devouring.
The reinforced magical target vanished piece by piece beneath the lightning.
Students watched in complete silence.
Even after the target was gone, remnants of the spell continued moving briefly before finally fading.
The arena remained deathly quiet.
No one knew what to say.
A magic professor finally spoke.
"...That wasn't normal lightning."
Another nodded.
"The elemental foundation changed."
A third stared at the destroyed target.
"I've never seen anything like that."
The silence deepened.
Because everyone understood something.
That magic wasn't simply stronger.
It was fundamentally different.
And that realization left a lasting impression.
For the first time that day, students from every class—
from Class E to Class S—
understood something clearly.
Zynar was not someone who could be measured normally.
The final calculations began.
The ranking board activated.
Names shifted.
Scores updated.
The giant display above the arena glowed brightly.
Every student stared upward.
Waiting.
Watching.
The academy became silent.
Even Finn stopped talking.
Slowly, the rankings finalized.
The names appeared.
Zynar — 100
Aldric Solvane — 98
Caelum Voss — 96
Dorian Velkros — 95
Seraphine — 94
Lyra Vale — 93
Isolde Vayne
Finn
Crest Dunmore
The remaining students followed below.
Silence lasted for several seconds.
Then the arena erupted.
Conversations exploded everywhere.
Students discussed rankings.
Compared scores.
Argued.
Analyzed.
Finn pointed dramatically toward the ranking board.
"FIRST PLACE!"
Several nearby students laughed.
Crest adjusted his glasses.
"I don't think he's surprised."
They both looked toward Zynar.
As expected—
he wasn't.
There was no satisfaction.
No pride.
No excitement.
He merely looked at the ranking board briefly before turning away.
As though the result had never mattered.
Nearby, Dorian studied the rankings.
Fourth place.
A respectable position.
Yet his thoughts remained focused elsewhere.
On the lightning.
On the spell.
On the impossible hunger hidden within it.
Meanwhile Aldric looked at the ranking board calmly.
Second place.
His expression never changed.
Because rankings were only numbers.
The true evaluation would begin during combat matches.
And he knew it.
Across the arena, Seraphine quietly looked at her own ranking.
Fifth.
Then her gaze shifted toward Zynar.
For a moment, she remembered the lightning.
Remembered the uncomfortable feeling it had produced.
There was still far too much about him nobody understood.
Far too much hidden beneath that calm expression.
High above the arena, Professor Tal closed the evaluation document.
Beside him, Rhett looked toward the rankings.
"They won't stay like this."
Tal nodded.
"Of course not."
Because today's rankings only represented the first stage.
The true competition had yet to begin.
Combat evaluations.
Direct confrontations.
Student versus student.
That was where rankings would truly change.
Tal looked toward the students below.
"The second stage begins tomorrow."
And with those words—
the next phase of the ranking session officially approached.
[End of Chapter 49]