The tension inside the classroom thickened with every passing second. The teacher stood at the front, a list of rankings trembling in his grasp. His voice, usually sharp and authoritative, wavered as he began announcing the names.
One by one, the students' rankings were revealed. Gasps, cries of disappointment, and sighs of relief filled the air. The passing grade was 50 marks — and only five students had managed to score above that line. The rest, over thirty students, had failed to qualify, sentenced to another year in the third grade.
As the teacher continued down the list, unease crept over the room.
Only one name remained.
"Kazuki Ayanami," the teacher finally called out, his voice strained.
A suffocating silence fell upon the classroom.
"Last place."
The words felt like a hammer striking stone. Every head in the room turned to Kazuki — the boy known throughout the kingdom as a prodigy, the one with two Spirit Forces, the highest Spiritual Force in the realm, a Celestial Spirit user, and a student who had previously passed directly into the second grade by acing his entrance exam. In that second grade, he had achieved full marks in every test, every assessment.
And now… dead last.
The room was consumed by shock.
"What…?""How's that possible?""Is this a mistake?""He was calm this whole time — why? How?"
The teacher's face twisted in disbelief as the memory of Kazuki's previous perfect record flashed through his mind. How could someone like Kazuki, who treated the eligibility exam like an ordinary formality, have scored the lowest?
But what shook them even more… was Kazuki himself.
He didn't flinch. He didn't react. No flicker of surprise, no trace of disappointment, not even an eyebrow raised.
Kazuki sat there, a faint, knowing smile on his lips.
The students around him exchanged nervous glances. Fear and confusion gripped their hearts. There was something deeply unsettling about his stillness.
"He knew.""He's known it from the start…""Why would he stay so calm? What is he planning?"
The rumors began to churn instantly, the unease thickening.
Kazuki, meanwhile, cast a glance out the window, watching the distant clouds move across the sky.
"Let them panic," he thought, the corner of his mouth curling upward."In the end, the mark sheet is only a tool for the next phase."
His mind was already several moves ahead,and he already planned all of this for a greater reason.