Chapter 158 – Dark Horse.

“ARGHHHH!?”

“Calm down, student. You’re fine.”

A young man screamed as he opened his eyes. Just moments earlier, he remembered a massive club crashing down toward his head. Then, everything had gone white. It took him a moment to understand where he was, especially as the sound of laughter and chuckling filled the air around him.

“It’s always funny when they arrive.”

“Yeah, the last one even soiled their robes. This one might have done the same!”

“Haha, stop it.”

His vision was still blurry from the summoning, but the familiar walls of the academy gradually came into focus. He was lying on a smooth metal slab, trying to catch his breath. His heart pounded in his chest as if it had only just remembered how to beat. Around him were several other students in similar condition. Some were groaning, others mumbling in disbelief as they awoke within the glowing lines of a teleportation array.

“You seem fine. Move off the teleportation circle. Other students might be coming soon.”

Teachers stood nearby, watching closely. The one who had examined him stepped away and continued checking others. A blue light streaked across the sky and struck one of the circular platforms ahead. The roof above, made of a transparent material, allowed the beam to pass through. It hit the platform and reformed into another student, their body solidifying from a cluster of glowing mana orbs.

“Does that mean… I failed?”

The young man’s memory began to return. His face turned red as he realized what had happened. A group of upperclassmen stood off to the side, smirking and whispering, clearly entertained by those who had been forced to withdraw early.

He sat up slowly, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head. His limbs felt heavy but uninjured. His eyes scanned the chamber, taking in the softly glowing lines of the teleportation circle etched into the floor. He was still clutching something. When he opened his hand, he found the test bottle, the one he had been given at the start of the trial. He lifted it to eye level. A faint glow swirled within the crystalline container, slow and weak. The bottle was only a quarter full.

“…Is this going to be enough to pass?”

The young man wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, but the uncertainty in his voice was unmistakable. More students began to arrive, prompting him to step away from the platform. Some looked furious, but most just seemed exhausted. In rapid succession, four more lights flashed across the chamber and struck the summoning pads. One student groaned. A young woman cursed and punched the floor, while another lay down and covered her face with an arm.

The young man rose unsteadily to his feet and made his way toward the exit. Daylight met him as he stepped into the courtyard beyond. The space was wide, bordered by marble columns and shaded by enchanted trees whose leaves shifted color in a slow, rhythmic cycle.

“Student. Your ID.”

A teacher blocked his path. To prevent cheating during the trial, all students were required to return the bottles they had received before leaving. The young man said nothing. He simply handed the bottle over to the teacher. For identification, he reached beneath his robe and revealed a metal plate stamped with the academy’s emblem. The teacher hovered a hand over it, then nodded.

“Exactly twenty-seven units of mana have been gathered.”

The teacher murmured while sloshing around the contents of the bottle. After taking a good look at it through what seemed to be some kind of magical glasses he snapped his fingers. A scroll with names appeared out of nowhere together with a quill. It started scribbling the students name next to a list of others along with the number of twenty-seven.

“Good, move along, you’ll be ranked shortly.”

The teacher added while already turning toward the next returning student.

“Now move along. Others are waiting.”

Still clutching his ID plate, the young man stepped into the courtyard, rubbing at his neck as the warm air wrapped around him. The world felt… slower here. Less violent. His body still remembered the frenzied moments that had led to his early return: the sudden ambush, the blinding spells, the bone-crushing force of that club.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this…”

His mind wandered. This failure was just one in a growing list, and the weight of it was beginning to wear him down. Still, his robe clearly marked him as a member of C-Class. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t disastrous either. As long as he could raise his grades and avoid slipping into D-Class, a category that all but guaranteed failure, he would still have a chance.

Curious about how the others had done, he made his way to the large announcement board near the center of the courtyard. A crowd of students had gathered around it, murmuring and pointing as names rearranged themselves across the surface of a glowing, magically infused crystal panel.

It was the summoner trial scoreboard, and several familiar names stood out. Summoning was a rare discipline, but once all the students were gathered, there were still over a hundred enrolled in the class. The majority belonged to Classes C and D, which held the largest number of students. Everyone aspired to reach at least Class B, as it offered a clear path to a stable and prestigious future. Those ranked lower would likely be overlooked by noble families and forced to seek coin through adventuring or military service.

“Lady Grandwell is in the lead!”

“Who else would it be?”

“Maybe Lord Lampert?”

“He’s second, but I’m not sure he can catch up at this rate!”

Clusters of students gathered around the scoreboard, pointing and chatting excitedly. The magical display only showed the top ten names, and the first three were highlighted with a faint golden glow. At the top sat Katherine Grandwell, the undisputed best in Class A and a noblewoman from a house so powerful that no one dared challenge her position.

“Makes sense…”

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The young man gave a resigned nod and was about to step away when something unexpected happened. The tenth name flickered. For a brief moment, it vanished and was replaced by someone notorious throughout the academy: Gwendolin Rainstar.

“It’s her… but even if she made the list, it’s only tenth place. There’s no way she could catch up to Lady Gran—”

He never finished the thought. The scoreboard pulsed with light as Gwendolin’s name leapt from tenth to ninth, then immediately surged into eighth.

“What is happening?”

More students pressed forward, their curiosity turning into fascination as the board shifted again. They could hardly believe what they were seeing. Whispers turned into speculation. Many were convinced it had to be a trick. Surely Gwendolin was cheating. But then another possibility crept into the conversation.

“What if the rumors are true? What if she was really just biding her time…”

One of the girls spoke quietly, her voice trembling just enough to betray her unease.

“You mean… she pretended to be weak? But why would she do that?”