Chapter 380:Admission.

Chapter 380: 380:Admission.

By the time Silver and Ravenna finally reached the front of the special-admission line, the evening crowd had thinned enough that the registration hall no longer resembled the chaotic entrance Silver had seen from the taxi.

Several desks had already closed, academy representatives were beginning to remove temporary signs from the outer sections, and only a scattered number of candidates remained inside with parents, guardians or attendants waiting behind the barriers.

Silver glanced toward one of the large clocks mounted above the hall.

They still had time, plenty of it. He found that strangely funny especially after everything that had happened.

Ravenna noticed the smile.

"What are you laughing at now?"

He looked toward the clock.

"I spent half the night convincing myself I was going to miss admission, asked an Association commander for a helicopter ride instead of a proper reward and then spent most of the taxi ride watching the time like it was counting down to my execution. Now we’re standing here with hours left... it feels sort of unreal, like I’m in a movie or something."

Ravenna stared at him, her eyes widening.

"You asked for the helicopter?"

"Technically, I asked them to help me reach Alpha Three. The helicopter was their best solution."

Mallory, standing behind them, looked incredulous.

"So after everything you went through, when they offered you a reward, you asked for transportation?"

He nodded like it was the most obvious thing.

"I needed transportation."

Ravenna looked at him for several seconds, then her expression softened.

"You could have asked for money."

"I have money."

"Equipment."

"I’ll replace what I lost."

"A new sword."

Silver’s expression became slightly pained at the reminder.

"I definitely need one of those."

"Then why didn’t you ask?"

He looked at her.

"Because none of those things would have gotten me here before admissions closed. Most importantly, I couldn’t wait to see you."

Ravenna became quiet.

Silver immediately realized that perhaps he’d said that a little too sincerely, because the faint redness that had finally left her cheeks after the system conversation began returning.

Mallory smiled.

"I think I’m going to stand a little farther away again."

She turned toward her.

"Stop doing that."

"I’m protecting my peace."

Silver laughed, but before Ravenna could answer, a voice came from the registration desk.

"Next candidates, please."

She immediately straightened. He looked toward the desk, then toward her.

"This is us."

Ravenna tightened her grip around the folder.

"Finally."

They stepped forward together.

The woman behind the desk appeared to be in her thirties, dressed in the same brown-and-green academy colors Silver had noticed on several representatives around the grounds.

A badge identified her as administrative staff rather than a student representative, and the terminal in front of her was connected to several scanners built directly into the desk.

She smiled professionally.

"Good afternoon. Special admission?"

Ravenna nodded.

"Yes. Two admissions."

The woman looked between them.

"You’re applying together?"

"We both have direct admission letters."

Ravenna opened the folder. She removed hers first, then Silver’s.

The administrator accepted them. Her eyes moved across Ravenna’s letter before she scanned the identification seal.

A green indicator appeared.

"Ravenna Arkland."

"Yes."

The administrator looked toward Ravenna.

"Contractor identification."

She handed it over.

The card was scanned. The administrator studied the information for several seconds before nodding.

"Everything matches. Your admission recommendation is valid and your candidate profile has been registered. I’ll finalize your enrollment after confirming the remaining information."

She placed Ravenna’s documents aside, then picked up Silver’s. Her eyes moved across the name.

She scanned the seal, then she looked toward Silver. Her eyes briefly dropped toward the bandage visible beneath his sleeve, then toward the smaller dressing near his face.

He smiled reading the question from her face.

"Long trip."

The administrator stared flatly at him.

"I wasn’t going to ask."

"You were thinking about it."

"I’ve processed more than two hundred candidates today. I’ve learned not to ask questions when someone arrives looking unusual."

He nodded approvingly.

"That’s probably a useful skill here."

Ravenna elbowed him very carefully.

"Behave."

The administrator’s mouth twitched.

"Contractor identification, please."

Silver handed it over.

She scanned, her eyebrows rising slightly.

"Rank Two."

Silver sighed.

Ravenna looked toward him.

"What?"

"I’ve heard those two words far too many times today."

The administrator looked confused.

He shook his head.

"Nothing. Please continue."

She checked the profile.

"Your admission letter is valid. You are registered as an expected special-admission candidate, but there were no preliminary arrival records attached to your profile. Your information was sent to the academy by your family way before your arrival."

Silver leaned against the desk slightly. He knew about that, it was a way to make admission smooth for children from super elite families.

"I was delayed."

Ravenna muttered, "That’s one way to describe it."

The administrator looked between them.

He smiled.

"I had some problems on the road."

"Are those problems related to the injuries?"

"Unfortunately."

The administrator seemed tempted to ask but professional restraint won.

"You’re here before the deadline, so your arrival time isn’t an issue. Special admissions remain valid until seven this evening. As long as your documents are verified and your enrollment is completed before processing closes, you’re officially admitted."

Silver looked toward Ravenna.

"See? I had plenty of time."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"You arrived after three in the afternoon."

"Which is before seven."

"You had absolutely no idea how long getting here would take."

Silver smiled.

"But I made it."

Ravenna opened her mouth.

The administrator raised a hand.

"Would you like me to give you two a moment?"

She immediately looked embarrassed.

"No. Please continue."

Silver laughed.

The administrator shook her head slightly and returned to the terminal.

"Both of you need to confirm your personal information. You’ll also be asked to verify your combat classification, known abilities and emergency contact details. Ability information submitted to the academy is protected under academy confidentiality rules, although certain instructors and medical personnel may access relevant sections when necessary."

Silver’s attention sharpened.

"How detailed does the ability section need to be?"

"General classification, not every technique."

He relaxed.

He had absolutely no intention of typing Soul Capacity Limit Removed into an academy terminal.

The administrator continued.

"For example, if you’re an elemental Contractor, you list your primary element and any confirmed secondary classifications. If you have specialized physical enhancement, sensory abilities or unusual transformation characteristics, those should also be registered broadly. Individual techniques can be evaluated during class placement."

Silver nodded.

"That works."

Ravenna completed hers first.

Fire. ℴ

Combat-oriented.

Sword primary.

Rifle secondary.

Her profile already contained much of the information from previous academy documentation, so the process moved quickly.

Silver’s took longer.

The administrator looked at his classification.

"Spatial."

"Yes."

She glanced at him.

"Rare."

"So I’ve been told."

"You’ll probably attract attention during placement."

Silver sighed.

"I was hoping to avoid that."

Ravenna looked at him.

"You’re a spatial Contractor. How exactly were you planning to avoid attention?"

"By standing quietly in the back."

"That isn’t going to make your ability less rare."

He considered it.

"Maybe everyone will be distracted by you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Why me?"

Silver looked at her white hair, then her face, then back toward the terminal.

"No reason... you’re just too beautiful."

Ravenna narrowed her eyes.

Mallory covered a laugh behind them.

The administrator finished processing the profiles, then she turned the terminal toward them.

"Read the academy regulations acknowledgment before confirming."

Silver looked at the screen; it was very long.

He scrolled through it. Ravenna leaned over.

"Are you actually reading it?"

"Yes."

She just shook her head

He continued scrolling.

"Also, I learned recently that entering agreements without checking who you’re dealing with can end badly."

The humor disappeared slightly.

Ravenna understood the reference to Larry immediately. Her hand touched his arm. Silver glanced toward her but she didn’t say anything, not like she needed to.

He returned to the regulations.

Eventually, both confirmed. Two soft tones sounded after the administrator pressed several keys.

ENROLLMENT CONFIRMED.