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- Oliver -
| Approved
Oliver sat in stunned silence for a few seds, processing Isabe's oute. A surge of excitement coursed through him. 'Wow!' he thought, a broad grin spreading across his face as he settled bato his seat.
His gau vibrated softly, alerting him to new messages in their group chat. He raised his wrist, the translut interface illuminating with notifications.
---
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[BelRedFanGirl]: Oh my god! I don't know what to think!!!
[BelRedFanGirl]: I'm being taken to select my division. I'll update you all as soon as I'm done.
[OliverKR]: Nice! Don't worry; it's still going to take ages here.
[KathSaysH: No kidding, They've just reached number 200.
---
Oliver chuckled softly at their exges. Numbers were progressing slowly, and with no familiar names being announced, Oliver found his attention waning. Deg to pass the time, he tapped into the app to see the public's rea to Isabe's result.
As he accessed the maihe trending tag #MissileGirl immediately caught his eye. The niame had stuck since Isabe's dispy in the previous trial. As he watched, ents were p in, lines of text updating iime.
"Impressive! She's really going to bee a Ranger."
"Yeller might not be the most prestigious, but with her synization level, she's set freatness."
"My uold me that 50% is good, 60% is exceptional, and 70% is the stuff of legends. Anything above that usually requires years of training."
Oliver raised an eyebrow at that st ent. He wasn't sure how accurate those figures were, but it was clear that Isabe's performance was turning heads. He tinued scrolling, abs the mix of specution and accim. The public seemed captivated by her potential—her high synization with the Yellow Division fueled plenty of discussions.
For a few minutes, Oliver lost himself in the ohread. Seeing how quickly news spread and how eagerly people dissected every detail was fasating.
His ption was interrupted when his peripheral vision caught movement oage. A new didate was stepping onto the ptform. Oliver gnced up, momentarily setting aside his gau.
"Number 1513," Quinn's voice resohroughout the arena.
Oliver's eyes immediately locked onto the young man, making his way to the ter. Tall and powerfully built, his head was pletely shaved, revealing a tattoo on the side of his scalp. It was Kyle—a figure hard tet.
'So, you made it through as well,' Oliver mused, watg Kyle's fident stride.
Kyle moved with unwavering assurance. His focus was unbroken as he headed straight toward the official standing beside the evaluation crystal. Without a hint of hesitation, he pced his hand upon the shimmering sphere. The crystal reacted as it had with the others, pulsing with a brilliant light.
Above them, the holographic dispy flickered to life, projeg his synization pertages:
? Yellow Division - 3%
? Blue Division - 6%
? Red Division - 28%
?? Bck Division - 53%
? Pink Division - 6%
The oute was clear and unequivocal.
| Approved
'Is he aiming for the Red Division as well?' Oliver wondered. ‘All the heirs of houses seem to have the same goal.'
"Perhaps," Athena's voice echoed softly in his mind. "But he would fare better joining the Bck Division; it suits him more."
'Why is that?' Oliver inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"Each division is aligned with a specific type of crystal," Athena expined. "And each crystal has preferences for its users—ranging from their bat style to their very temperament. His demeangests he's someohe Bck Crystal would favor."
'You speak as if the crystals have minds of their own,' Oliver remarked, a hint of skepticism in his thoughts.
Athena offered no reply, leaving his question to hang in the silence of his mind.
Oliver's gaze followed Kyle as he was led away from the arena floor.
Leaning ba his seat, Oliver pted Athena's words. The notion that the crystals themselves could influence or choose their wielders was both fasating and uling. He realized there was still so much about this system that he didn't uand.
Amidst the sea of didates being called, Oliver did notice several faces he reized but whose names eluded him—a boy who had been part of Damian's group during the test on GL581, for instance. Yet it wasn't until Quinn announced "Number 3164" that a familiar figure stepped forward, stirring a mix of surprise and nostalgia within him.
From one of the far ses emerged a girl with striking, fiery red hair casg down her back. A deep scar etched across her faterrupted her otherwise por plexion, culminating in a meical eye that gleamed uhe arena's lights. Astrid. It had been a long time since Oliver had seen her—ever since his six months in fi, their paths hadn't crossed. Despite the distahat had growween them, he felt a flicker of warmth. After all, it was Astrid who had takeime to help him hone his bat skills; he owed much of his progress to her mentorship.
With a resolute expression, Astrid strode toward the tral ptform. Her movements were measured, almost methodical, betraying none of the hat others had dispyed. Reag the colossal crystal, she pced her hand upon its smooth surface without hesitation.
The crystal responded instantly, pulsating with a vibrant inner light that seemed to sync with an unseen rhythm. Above, the holographic dispy sprang to life, digits, and pertages flickering ience:
? Yellow Division - 2%
? Blue Division - 7%
? Red Division - 21%
?? Bck Division - 42%
? Pink Division - 52%
| Approved
A murmur rippled through the spectators. Astrid remained impassive, her face a mask of stoicism. Oliver couldn't help but feel a swell of pride for her.
'Does her personality really fit with the Pink Division?' he mused, direg his thoughts inward toward Athena. 'Shouldn't she o be aligned with medical operations? Her boon don't seem to match that at all.'
Athena's voice resonated softly within his mind. "Medical operations enpass more than healing," she expined. "They involve rescue missions, crisis ma, the transport of critical resources. Ultimately, the Pink Crystal values those who make sound decisions under pressure. Astrid embodies that decisiveness. Still, she also shows strong alig with the Bck Crystal."
"What exactly does each crystal seek in a person?" Oliver pondered. "Are there specific characteristics they look for?"
But Athena offered no further insight, leaving his question to linger unanswered.
"Number 4288," Quinn announced, pulling Oliver's attention back to the arena.
A slender boy with an air of quiet elegance began his dest toward the tral ptform. A long scar stretched from oo the iving him a ptive, almost haunted appearance. 'So he made it through as well,' Oliver thought. 'Damian Nemo.'
Uhe others, Damian seemed hesitant. His steps were tentative, and there was a slight tremor in his hands as he approached the crystal. Pg his palm on the glowing surface, he closed his eyes.
The holographic dispy updated.
? Yellow Division - 12%
? Blue Division - 52%
? Red Division - 19%
?? Bck Division - 9%
? Pink Division - 0%
The verdict:
| Approved
'Just barely,' Oliver thought.
"Number 5122." Mier, Quinn called the st person Oliver knew in the arena.
Oliver felt a subtle shift imosphere as he sed the stadium. His gaze settled on Katherine. Her long, golden hair flowed behind her. She moved with an air al fidence, her posture straight, eyes focused ily ahead. As she reached the ptform, the usual whispers among the recruits hushed to an anticipatory silence.
Katherine approached the crystal, pg her haly upon it. She closed her eyes, a serene expressioling over her features. Time seemed to stretch thin; Oliver felt his heartbeat echo in his ears, each pulse matg the throbbing glow of the crystal.
Digits began to materialize on the holographic dispy, iing slowly as if building suspense:
? Yellow Division - 22%
? Blue Division - 9%
? Red Division - 71%
?? Bck Division - 12%
? Pink Division - 20%
The moment the number for the Red Division appeared, the stadium erupted in a wave of astonished excmations.
"Seventy-one pert?!"
"Is that even possible? No one else has brokey pert!"
"Figures—it had to be a princess. Those from the Great Houses always have an edge."
Oliver shared their astonishment. Despite the myriad evaluations he'd witnessed, none had reached such a high level of synization. A mix of awe and admiration welled up within him.
Katherine opened her eyes as the final verdict illuminated above her:
| Approved
A faint smile touched Katherine’s lips, but she remained posed. An official gestured for her to proceed, and she gracefully desded from the ptform, disappearing from view as she was led toward the stage.
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[BelRedFanGirl]: I just saw the broadcast, gratutions!
[BelRedFanGirl]: e on, Oliver, you're the only o now.
[OliverKR]: Don't worry; my number's ing soon.
[KathSaysH: We're all waiting for you. Good luck!
---
The procession of didates tinued, eaame called, bringing Oliver's turn ever closer. With each passing moment, his heartbeat seemed to grow louder in his ears. He tried to steady his breathing, but anticipation coursed through him like aric current.
"Number 6121," Quinn's voinounced crisply, eg throughout the arena.
Oliver rose to his feet, his legs feeling both light and leaden. He began his dest doweps, moving toward the ter of the arena. The vastness of the stadium seemed to shrink around him, fog all attention on his solitary figure.
"I will do fine. I will do fine," Oliver repeated under his breath, each word a silent affirmation.
As he approached the ptform, the full gravity of the momeled upon him. The five Generals sat before him, their gazes sharp and appraising. Their presence was a blend of authority and power that weighed heavily in the air. For a fleeting moment, he felt like an artifa dispy, subjected to scrutiny and judgment.
The arena was bathed in brilliant light, with spotlights verging onto the tral stage. Above, dozens of drones hovered silently, their lerained on him, capturing every movement and expression.
Oliver stepped forward toward the crystal at the ter of the ptform. He reached out and pced his palm against the cool surface, fingers spyed. Closing his eyes, he waited.
Uhe exam at the Academy’s entrahere was no energy being drawn from him. Instead, a gentle warmth spread from the point of tact, and drowsiness seeped into his limbs. His eyelids grew heavy, and as he gave in to the sensation, the world around him faded.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a vast chamber that seemed both a and timeless. The walls were adorned with eborate carvings and symbols he couldn’t figure out. At the far end of the chamber stood a throne.
Seated upon it was a woman of striking presence. She appeared as if sculpted from starlight and shadow, her form both solid ahereal. Golden armor adorned her, intricate desigched into the metal, glinting softly. Her hair was a deep sapphire blue, casg over her shoulders like a waterfall of twilight. It moved gently as if stirred by an unseen breeze. Her eyes met his—pools of profouh, filled with the wisdom of ages and the mysteries of the universe.
"I told you that you would be OK," her voice resonated, eg not in the chamber but within his very mind.
Before Oliver could utter any word, the chamber dissolved around him.
His eyes snapped open to the deafening roar of the arena. The sound hit him like a wave, a cacophony of gasps, whispers, and excmations. Blinking against the sudden brightness, he gnced around in fusion. The atmosphere had shifted dramatically—the energy in the air was electric. Even the gaze of the Generals was one of disbelief.
Above him, the result resented on the hologram.
? Yellow Division - 18%
? Blue Division - 82%
? Red Division - 20%
?? Bck Division - 0%
? Pink Division - CLopes
