Chapter 412:Her test.

Chapter 412: 412:Her test.

The assessment changed.

Smoke flooded one side of the hall and visibility dropped.

Silver smiled faintly.

Spatial Sense didn’t care much about smoke. He moved through the targets, taking them down one by one until the gun clicked empty on the third.

He didn’t reload immediately since a target was already within melee distance. He pulled his sword out, slashed, pivoted and got the second one immediately after. Only when distance opened did he reload.

The evaluators continued marking.

"Very high environmental awareness."

"High level sense?"

"Almost certainly."

"Teleport frequency is low."

"Efficient."

"He could use it more."

"He doesn’t need to."

The senior instructor watched.

That distinction mattered.

The strongest ability wasn’t always the ability that should be used. Silver had learned that lesson underground.

The final scenario appeared without warning; three hostile targets, one simulated civilian, and one exit.

A countdown.

[EVACUATE DESIGNATED TARGET.]

Silver moved toward the civilian. One enemy fired, he activated the barrier. He grabbed the target and short-Step. They crossed several meters instantly.

A second attack immediately followed the moment he appeared. He positioned himself between it and the civilian. He raised his gun and fired.

One enemy dropped.

He didn’t bother with the others since he’d reached extraction.

[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE.]

The remaining targets shut down.

Silver looked toward them.

"That’s it?"

The speaker activated.

"Assessment complete. Exit through Door Two."

He holstered the weapon. He hadn’t destroyed everything, apparently that was the point.

Ravenna entered ten minutes later and the room was reset. Her objective was the same but her solution wasn’t.

She drew her sword the moment the countdown ended. The first mechanical attacker came toward her.

Fire spread along the blade.

Flame Edge.

She slashed her sword. The target’s reinforced chest split under steel and concentrated heat.

The second attacker immediately followed. Ravenna stepped towards it.

Fire Step.

She accelerated explosively, pure movement enhanced by controlled fire output and crossed the distance before the target adjusted. She slashed the fire coated blade down.

The third fired toward the simulated casualty. She turned and the fire expanded.

Blazing Guard.

The attack struck the defensive flame barrier and lost momentum. She moved immediately and attacked.

The fact that she didn’t remain behind her defensive line and went on offensive was noted.

"She’s aggressive."

"Controlled aggression."

"Watch her spacing."

Ravenna never forgot where the protected target was. Her movements looked offensive because that was her natural style, but every attack pushed threats away from the objective.

Smoke filled the hall.

She couldn’t simply sense through it as Silver had but she adapted. She stopped, listened and watched the smoke movement.

Heat Perception activated.

The battlefield changed for her. Warm bodies and machinery created differences she could follow.

One attacker emerged and she was already waiting. Burning Arc swept outward, fire crossing the floor directly to the approaching construct.

The attacker fell.

Another tried approaching from the opposite side. She drew the rifle and dropped it with one hit.

She didn’t stubbornly insist on using the sword simply because it was her preferred weapon.

The evaluators noticed that too.

"Secondary weapon proficiency is competent."

"Primary specialization remains obvious."

"Very."

The scenario escalated. Two attackers forced her left while another threatened the protected target.

Ravenna’s expression hardened.

She could chase the two; instead she abandoned them and turned.

Fire Step.

She intercepted the third, her flame coated sword destroying it. One of the abandoned attackers fired at her back.

She twisted.

Blazing Guard caught part of the attack but not all. The impact struck her shoulder.

She stumbled and immediately recovered after, her eyes becoming colder.

The evaluators watched carefully.

Would anger disrupt her?

It didn’t.

Ravenna repositioned, used cover, reloaded and waited for the first attacker to exposed itself. It was taken down before it could react.

The second moved. She closed the distance sword drawn and slashed down.

The senior instructor marked something.

"Temperament records suggested possible impulsivity."

"Not seeing much."

"She’s eighteen. Temperament changes."

"Or the records were incomplete."

The final evacuation scenario appeared. Ravenna looked at the simulated civilian, then at the enemies.

She didn’t fight them.

Fire erupted between the hostile targets and the extraction path, to deny space for them to reach the civilian.

The enemies adjusted around the flames, exactly what she wanted. She grabbed the simulated casualty and moved towards the simulated exit way.

One enemy broke through. She released the casualty for half a second, turned and swung the sword, releasing a burning arc.

It knocked it away. She grabbed the target again and continued the extraction.

[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE.]

The machines stopped.

Ravenna lowered her sword, her breathing heavy. Sweat ran along her temple but her eyes were bright.

She’d enjoyed that.

The instructor noticed and so did Ravenna. She smiled slightly to herself.

She had come to Alpha Three for this; not for Silver or because of Silver.

She loved him, and the strange realization still made something warm move through her whenever she allowed herself to think about it.

But Alpha Three Academy belonged to another part of her life; her strength, ambition and future. She wanted to become stronger because she wanted to know how far she could go.

She wanted difficult opponents.

She wanted people who wouldn’t look at Soul Capacity nineteen and immediately decide the result before the fight began.

She wanted to earn victories that couldn’t be reduced to the number she’d been born with.

And if Alpha Three intended to challenge her properly, then Ravenna intended to take everything it could teach her.

When she exited, Silver was waiting outside.

He looked at her.

"How was it?"

She wiped sweat from her forehead.

"Fun."

He just stared before shaking his head.

"You were in there a long time."

"I know."

"You look happy about that."

"I am."

He smiled.

"How many things did you burn?"

She thought.

"Not enough."

He laughed.

A staff member directed them toward the final evaluation area.

Individual interviews.

Silver and Ravenna were separated.

He entered first. There were three officers, a table and his profile on the screen.

The first question wasn’t about today’s test.

"Candidate Ruddington."

Silver sat straighter.

"Yes, sir."

"Six days underground in Death Row Valley."

Hi’s expression changed.

So they knew.

"Approximately."

"Following the collapse associated with a Rank Six queen."

"Yes."

"Your Association report remains preliminary."

"I haven’t given the full one yet."

"We’re aware."

The officer looked at him.

"We aren’t interested in classified operational details today."

He relaxed slightly.

"We’re interested in you."

That was somehow worse.

The second officer, a woman, looked at his profile.

"Your Soul Capacity is seven."

He nodded.

"Yes."

"You remained functional at pressure twenty."

He said nothing.

"Explain."