Chương 30: Chapter 28: Results Day (1)

"Influence is like perfume. If everyone can smell it, you used too much." – Zhulia Rumiosi, Matriarch of the Rumiosi Clan A week later, Aloric sat in Classroom One again, waiting for Teacher Daisor to arrive. The classroom looked the same as always. Same rows of desks. Same worn floorboards. Same afternoon light slanting through the windows. Same faint scratches on the desk where some bored student from years ago had carved a crooked little sword into the wood. But it did not feel the same.

Nothing had felt the same since the exams. Perilia had insisted that he had done enough to graduate.

After listening to the description of all his tests, she had just smiled and told him that he was worrying too much. It had not helped. Not really. Aloric had spent the past week imagining one disaster after another. Teacher Daisor announcing that he had failed the written test. The examiners deciding that his substitution recovery had been too poor. The mana control test being marked down because his first attempt had looked less like a mana technique and more like the last breath of a dying candle.

The background checks somehow finding some problem with him even though he had never done anything more suspicious than accidentally breaking a neighbor's window with a ball when he was a kid. Every path in his head had led to the same place. Failure. But finally, the waiting was over. Almost. Around him, the rest of Classroom One sat with the same restless tension. The clan students looked calmer on the surface, some talking in low voices, some leaning back in their chairs as if this was just another lesson.

But even they were quieter than usual. Arla kept tapping one finger against her desk. Sikkar had tried to look smug when he entered, but even he kept glancing toward the door. Sulia sat beside him with her chin raised, probably pretending not to care about anything. The clanless students were in worse shape. Yibleen had both hands folded tightly in front of her, like she was praying to a deity. A few others sat with pale faces, barely whispering. One boy near the window kept rubbing his palms on his trousers.

Another stared so hard at the front of the room that Aloric wondered if he was trying to crack the lectern with sheer panic. Aloric understood them too well. His own legs had started fidgeting under the desk. He caught them with both hands and forced them still. Calm down. Just calm down! The door opened. Every whisper died at once. Teacher Daisor stepped into the classroom and closed the door behind him. He was not wearing combat attire today.

Just his usual academy clothes, neat but practical, the kind he wore during normal lessons. His rank-marker was not active either. There was no dull yellow glow on his wrist now, no silent reminder that he was a Tarim of Korsivir's manaweaver force. Today, he looked like their teacher again. That somehow made Aloric's chest tighten more. Daisor walked to the lectern with a scroll in one hand. It was not an ordinary classroom scroll.

The parchment looked thicker, with narrow blue borders painted along the edges and an official red seal tied near the top. Whatever was written inside had been checked, approved, and finalized. The results. Aloric's heart began beating harder. Teacher Daisor placed the scroll on the lectern but did not open it immediately. Instead, he looked at them. For a few moments, he said nothing. Then he gave a small smile.

"Well. The time for results is here." No one laughed. No one whispered. Aloric had to remind himself to breathe.

"Before I announce the results," Daisor continued, "I want to say something." His gaze moved across the class.

"I know all of you have worked hard over the past four years. Some of you worked harder than others, while a few spent more time annoying your classmates than studying." His eyes shifted briefly toward the Rumiosi twins. Sikkar stiffened. Sulia's eyes narrowed. Daisor continued smoothly.

"Some of you could have given more effort, while some of you wanted to give more effort but had family responsibilities, health problems, or other burdens that made that harder than it looked from the outside. But before I read anything from this scroll, I want all of you to know this." His voice softened slightly.

"I am proud of this class. No matter what your score is today, I know you have all grown. I know you have tried. And I know that, in whatever place the city sends you next, you will continue doing your best to keep Korsivir safe from the threats beyond our walls and live as good citizens of this city." The classroom stayed quiet. Teacher Daisor looked down briefly, then blinked once or twice before looking up again.

"You all are the best class I have taught in years," he said.

"And no, before anyone asks, I am not exaggerating to make you feel better." For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then someone from the other side of the classroom shouted, "Thank you, Teacher Daisor!" A few others joined in almost immediately.

"Thank you for teaching us!"

"You're the best teacher!"

"Thank you for keeping the troublemakers under control!"

"Hey!" Sikkar snapped, twisting toward the voice.

"How dare you say that?" Sulia demanded, rising halfway from her seat. Teacher Daisor grinned.

"So you two finally admit that you are the troublemakers of the class? Nobody took your names." The class burst into laughter. Even some of the students who had looked close to collapsing from nerves managed to laugh at that. Sulia turned toward Daisor, offended.

"That's not fair!"

"Stop laughing!" Sikkar barked at everyone around him. That only made everyone laugh harder. For a few moments, Classroom One sounded almost normal again. Then Teacher Daisor tapped his knuckles against the lectern twice. The room quieted slowly. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Thank you, all of you," he said.

"For saying I am the best teacher. I know I am far from it, and there were many times I could have done better for you. But I appreciate it nonetheless." He placed one hand on the official scroll.

"Now that we have relaxed a little, let's return to why we are here." The tension returned at once. Aloric's fingers tightened around the edge of his desk. He would have passed, wouldn't he? He was not going to go home today and tell Perilia that everything she had done for him had still not been enough. He was not going to look at her tired face and say that he had failed. He was not. Right? Teacher Daisor untied the seal and opened the scroll, reading it for a moment.

"I will begin with the highest scorers in each test section," he said.

"Classroom One usually contains many of the strongest students of each year, so a high rank in this class often translates to a high rank across the academy. But remember, your final result is determined by your overall standing among all final-year students, not only the students in this room." Aloric swallowed. Right. Not just Classroom One. More than two dozen final-year classes had taken the exam.

"All right," Daisor said.

"We will begin with the written test." Arla Farritz, sitting in front of Aloric, went very still. Her fingers were already curled tightly around the edge of her desk.

"As expected," Teacher Daisor announced, "the first rank in the written test, both in Classroom One and across the entire final year, goes to Nemirie Qanza." A few students clapped. Nemirie did not look surprised. She sat with her arms crossed, green hair falling neatly over one shoulder, wearing the faintest smirk, as if the result had never been in doubt. Maybe, for her, it had not. Arla shot to her feet.

"That's not possible!" The room froze. Arla stared at Nemirie, then at Teacher Daisor.

"I had to have scored better than her today. I know I did! There has to be a mistake!" Teacher Daisor's expression softened a little.

"I am sorry, Arla. There was no mistake in counting the scores."

"But—""Nemirie was the only student in the entire final year to answer every single question correctly." That hit the classroom harder than the first announcement. Every single question? Aloric stared at Nemirie. Even the political ones? Even the border-realignment explanation? Even the strange questions that had made his head hurt just by existing? Of course she had. Teacher Daisor continued, "If it's any consolation, you were not far behind. You ranked second in the written test across all final-year classes."

Second across the whole academy. For almost anyone else, that would have been unbelievable. Arla did not look comforted.

"But..." Her voice weakened.

"But I tried so hard! I studied everything I could think of. I can't afford to be second as a Farritz. They'll call me a failure..." Her head dipped. Her shoulders trembled. Aloric stared at her back. He had known Arla wanted to beat Nemirie. Everyone knew that. She had chased that first rank for years, loud and stubborn and confident enough to make it seem like the rivalry was half competition and half habit. But he had not expected this.

He had not expected second place in the whole academy to feel like failure to her. His own goal had been much smaller—to pass. Just pass. Survive the written test, then do well enough in the practical sections to make up for the questions where his headaches had slowed him down. But looking at Arla now, he realized something uncomfortable. It had not only been the clanless students who were afraid. The clan kids had looked fine on the surface, but they had been carrying the weight of their own expectations.

Their own targets. Their own ways to fail. Aloric reached forward awkwardly and patted Arla's shoulder a few times after she sat down.

"It's okay, Arla," he said quietly.

"You did your best." Arla did not turn around. After a moment, she gave a tiny nod. Teacher Daisor gave her a few seconds, then continued.

"Next, the combat test." That pulled everyone's attention back to the front.

"This one will not surprise anyone. The highest score in the combat assessment goes to Velron Rudox." Velron gave a small nod. He did not smile. He did not look pleased in any ordinary way. But there was a sharper light in his eyes now, and the barely hidden glare on his face made him look less like someone happy with a result and more like someone waiting for another fight to begin. Typical Rudox indeed. Sikkar leaned back in his chair with a scoff.

"Must be easy to score high when the examiners are biased toward Rudox brats." Velron turned his head slowly. The air around him seemed to sharpen.

"You want to test that?" he asked.

"Right now?" Sikkar's grin faltered for half a heartbeat, then returned.

"I'm just saying what everyone's thinking."

"No," Teacher Daisor said sharply.

"You are saying what you think will annoy him." Sikkar opened his mouth. Daisor's voice hardened.

"Enough. Both of you. You are going to be allies now. You will stop trying to turn every room into a battlefield." Velron looked back toward the front, though his jaw remained tight.

"And there was no favoritism in the combat assessment. Each student was tested by a Tarim in simulated combat, while a team of examiners judged every aspect of the performance. The final score was compiled from those assessments. Do not claim bias just because you dislike the result." Sikkar muttered something under his breath. Aloric could not hear it clearly from where he sat, but he was quite sure it was not an apology. Teacher Daisor let it pass and looked back at the scroll.

"Next, the coordination and awareness test. The highest score goes to the pairing of Yibleen Delacie and Nemirie Qanza." Yibleen's eyes widened. Nemirie's smirk returned.

"They exceeded the time limit," Daisor continued, "but their marks for scroll collection and awareness of the test area were high enough that even after the deduction for being late, they scored above every other pair in the final year." A murmur passed through the room. Yibleen sat a little straighter, pride and disbelief mixing on her face. Sikkar and Sulia both looked as if they were about to object. Teacher Daisor did not even give them the chance.

"Unless either of you has something useful to say," he said, without looking away from the scroll, "stay quiet." Sulia shut her mouth. Sikkar crossed his arms and looked away.

"Next," Daisor said, "weapon throwing accuracy. The highest score in Classroom One and across the final year goes to Ralovit Vayot." Ralovit thrust one fist into the air.

"Fuck yeah!" A few students laughed. Some clapped. Someone near the window gave a short cheer. Teacher Daisor gave Ralovit a look. Ralovit lowered his fist slightly.

"Sorry, Teacher."

"You do not sound sorry."

"I'm not," Ralovit admitted. That earned another ripple of laughter. Teacher Daisor sighed, but there was no real anger in it.

"At least be proud quietly."

"Can't promise that," Ralovit muttered, though he did look pleased. Teacher Daisor returned to the scroll.

"Finally, for the mana usage test, the highest score goes to Yibleen Delacie." This time Yibleen actually looked around, as if expecting someone to correct the teacher. Nobody did.

"Me?" she asked.

"Really?"

"Yes," Daisor said.

"Your mana-sensing ability was the strongest shown in this exam. It still needs training, but the examiners were highly impressed by its range and reliability for an academy student." Aloric clapped at once. Several others joined in. Hovaru grinned and clapped loudly enough that Yibleen's face went red. Aloric remembered the examiners in the final tent mentioning that someone from his class had shown strong mana sensing. So it had been Yibleen. That explained why she had received high marks for the bonus section.

Mana sensors were rare and sought after in every manaweaver city, at least from what Perilia had told him. If Yibleen's talent was truly that strong, the city would value her highly despite her civilian background. Teacher Daisor continued, "Nemirie Qanza was not far behind in this section either. Her rune knowledge and successful rune-barrier demonstration were far beyond what we expect from most academy students." This time, more students turned to stare at Nemirie. Even Aloric looked at her.

A rune-barrier demonstration. That had to be what the examiners had mentioned during his own mana test. But once he thought about it, maybe it should not have been that surprising. Impressive, yes. But not shocking. Nemirie was from the Qanza clan—the rune-specialist clan that helped maintain the mana barrier around Korsivir and led the city's Barrier Division.

A city as large as Korsivir could produce more rune masters than most places on the continent, especially with the Qanza clan training generation after generation in rune work. Not many, of course. Even in this city, there could not be more than a dozen of them, at least from what Aloric knew. But if anyone in their class had grown up near that kind of training, it would be her. Still, knowing that and actually creating a rune barrier before graduation were two very different things.

Runes were not something a student simply picked up because they were bored. Even Arla, who had ranked second in the written test across the entire academy, probably had no hope of forming a proper rune barrier. Aloric certainly did not. Most of what he knew about runes came from staring blankly at painfully complicated squiggles in an academy textbook until his head started aching. Nemirie only frowned slightly, as if not getting first place in the mana test bothered her more than being praised had pleased her.

That suited her perfectly. Teacher Daisor let the class settle before rolling the scroll open further.

"Finally," he said, and the room quieted again, "I will announce the overall first rank in Classroom One, which is also the highest rank among all final-year students in the academy."