Chapter 414:Preliminary

Chapter 414: 414:Preliminary

By the time the last interview ended, the afternoon had already begun slipping toward evening.

Silver and Ravenna left the evaluation building together, their identification cards temporarily marked with instructions directing them toward the central first-year assembly hall.

The academy had given the special-admission students nearly an half to eat dinner, recover and wait while their performances were processed alongside the records of the general-entry students, and Silver had expected that time to feel considerably longer than it actually did.

Ravenna’s hand had found his almost immediately after they left the interview corridor. It was becoming natural remarkably quickly.

His fingers rested between hers as they walked, their shoulders occasionally brushing while streams of other first-years moved through the academy around them.

Every now and then Ravenna glanced toward him as if checking that he was still there, and Silver had stopped teasing her about it because he occasionally caught himself doing exactly the same thing.

There was something almost ridiculous about how difficult it was to stop touching each other.

They had spent months travelling together, training together, hunting together, arguing, eating, sleeping together or separately and gradually becoming such a constant presence in each other’s lives that he hadn’t noticed exactly where companionship had ended and something deeper had begun.

Now there was no ambiguity.

She was his girlfriend and he was her boyfriend.

Apparently that revelation had destroyed whatever invisible barrier had previously kept them from constantly reaching for each other.

He squeezed her hand.

She looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Squeezing my hand and then pretending you didn’t want anything."

He thought about it.

"I like holding your hand."

Her expression softened.

"Then you can just say that instead of squeezing over and over again."

"I just did."

"After I asked."

Silver smiled.

Ravenna shook her head, but she moved slightly closer until their shoulders touched.

They reached the dining hall, collected food and chose a quieter table near one of the windows. Ravenna sat beside Silver rather than across from him, something she probably wouldn’t have done unprompted, and their hands separated only because eating while holding hands presented certain logistical problems neither of them was committed enough to overcome.

He had nearly finished his meal when she looked at him.

"You’re staring again."

He continued chewing. She patiently waited for him to finish.

He swallowed before speaking.

"I wasn’t."

"You were."

"I was looking in your direction."

"For almost a minute."

Silver smiled.

"You’re very observant."

Ravenna’s eyes narrowed.

He leaned closer and kissed her cheek. The irritation disappeared immediately.

She stared at him. He returned to his food as though nothing had happened. A few seconds passed, then she leaned over and kissed his cheek in return.

He stopped. She calmly picked up her fork and continued eating. He looked at her but was ignored.

Silver laughed quietly.

"This is becoming a problem."

"What is?"

"You."

Ravenna finally looked over.

"I was perfectly fine before you came back."

"I somehow doubt that."

Her expression changed.

He immediately regretted the joke.

She looked down at her plate for a moment before quietly saying, "I wasn’t."

Silver didn’t answer immediately, his hand moved beneath the table. Ravenna felt his fingers touch hers. She turned her hand and their fingers intertwined again.

He leaned close enough that only she could hear him.

"I’m here."

She looked at him.

"I know."

That was enough.

They remained like that until an academy announcement ordered all first-years selected for leadership consideration to report to Central Assembly Hall Two.

Silver raised an eyebrow. Ravenna finished the last of her water.

"Looks like they finished."

He stood.

"You nervous?"

"No."

"Not even a little?"

She looked at him.

"I know I did well."

There was no false modesty in the answer which he liked. Ravenna knew exactly how capable she was and didn’t need him to tell her.

"Good."

Ravenna stood.

"And you?"

He thought about the pressure test, the combat simulation, his interview, soul Capacity sitting on a file that no longer represented the limits of his core, and the system still refusing to respond.

"No idea."

She smiled.

"You’re lying."

"A little."

She took his hand again and they left.

Central Assembly Hall Two was smaller than the orientation hall, although it still accommodated several hundred students. Most of the successful general-entry candidates were already present, including Antony and the four people who had completed Day Two alongside him.

Antony spotted Silver almost immediately, then his eyes dropped to see they were holding hands.

He smiled.

Silver saw the smile.

"Don’t."

Antony hadn’t even said anything.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were going to."

"I was going to congratulate you on completing your evaluation."

He blankly stared at him before rolling his eyes.

Antony smiled wider.

Ravenna tightened her grip on Silver’s hand.

Antony immediately raised both hands.

"I respect the relationship."

Rebecca, standing beside him, looked confused.

"Why are you afraid of her?"

He glanced toward Ravenna.

"Experience."

She smiled pleasantly.

Antony moved slightly behind Gareth.

Silver laughed.

They took seats. Ravenna sat beside Silver again. Antony and his group occupied the row behind them.

Silver noticed Dillian several rows ahead. This time the recognition came without surprise. Dillian hadn’t noticed them yet, or perhaps he had and simply hadn’t reacted.

He wasn’t sure which.

The last time they’d properly seen one another had been at the research centre before separating at Delta four, back when Silver’s concerns had revolved around Cruella, Ravenna’s hostility toward her and deciding how much distance he wanted between himself and the original protagonist.

Now they were first-years at the same academy.

He found that almost funny. The world apparently enjoyed pulling people back together.

An officer entered and conversation gradually stopped.

The screen behind him illuminated.

[ALPHA THREE ACADEMY]

[FIRST-YEAR PRELIMINARY LEADERSHIP EVALUATION]

The officer stood before them.

"Some of you completed the general-entry examination. Others completed today’s direct and special-admission evaluation. Those processes were not identical, and therefore your raw scores were not directly compared."

Silver listened carefully.

"Instead, academy evaluators reviewed performance according to common criteria: judgment, combat ability, energy control, adaptability, resource management, teamwork where applicable, objective prioritization and leadership potential."

The screen changed.

[PRELIMINARY.]

The officer emphasized the word.

"Nothing displayed tonight represents a permanent hierarchy."

Antony whispered behind Silver, "That means people are going to treat it like a permanent hierarchy."

Rebecca whispered back, "Obviously."

The officer continued.

"Your placement today will influence initial class leadership and training-unit assignments. It will not guarantee those positions permanently. Leadership within Alpha Three Academy is earned continuously. A student who performs poorly may be replaced. A student who improves may rise."