The landing platform was just the beginning. It fed into a vast, open plaza carved from the geode's own crystal, which pulsed with a soft, internal light under their feet. The plaza, dubbed the "Starfall Court" by a flowing script of light that hovered in the air, was a maelstrom of controlled chaos. It was the antechamber to the academy proper, and it was packed.
Thousands of applicants milled about, a living tapestry of the collided worlds. Kaelen's Omni-Lingual Mind was bombarded with a cacophony of languages, his enhanced vision tracking movements that were utterly alien.
A group of Wops clicked their mandibles in a complex, rhythmic code, their glossy exoskeletons reflecting the crystal light. A trio of Dragonkin in human form exuded an aura of smug superiority, their eyes occasionally flashing with reptilian gold. A silent, hulking Golem, its body made of enchanted stone and glowing runes, stood motionless, processing its surroundings. There were Beastkin with feline grace and fur-covered ears, Desert Elves with skin of polished copper and eyes of burning sand, and countless humans from cultures Kaelen had no data on.
And everywhere, the air hummed with power. Appraisal magics, subtle and not-so-subtle, washed over the crowd like invisible tides. Kaelen could feel them—gentle probes from curious peers, more forceful scans from unseen overseers. Each time one brushed against him, the Veil of the Humble Leaf skill hummed in response, its subroutine diligently overwriting his level 45 reality with the bland, acceptable data of a level 18.
[Passive Scan Detected. Origin: Unknown Elf. Appraisal Deflected.]
[Passive Scan Detected. Origin: Dragonkin Male (Kaizar). Appraisal Deflected.]
[Aggressive Scan Detected. Origin: Academy Security Golem. Appraisal Deflected.]
The constant, low-level strain was a new kind of challenge. It was a relentless, psychic siege.
"By the Root," Shine whispered, her knuckles white as she gripped the strap of her pack. Her own veil was holding, but the pressure was immense. "It's like being in a river with a thousand currents pulling at you. How are you so calm?"
"The system is under a constant load of 3.4%. It is manageable," Kaelen replied, his voice low. His eyes never stopped moving, analyzing the flow of the crowd, identifying potential threats, exits, and sources of information. "The scans are predictable. They follow a pattern. The Golems scan every 4.2 minutes. The random scans from applicants spike after any notable display of magic or aggression."
He was treating it like a data stream to be monitored and managed, which, to him, it was. Shine could only marvel at his composure.
Their immediate goal was simple: find the registration pavilion. Massive, glowing crystal slabs floated throughout the plaza, displaying information that shifted and updated.
WELCOME APPLICANTS.
THE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS COMMENCE IN 7 DAYS.
REGISTRATION: CENTRAL PAVILION.
LODGING: SEEK OFF-CAMPUS IN LAST REST OR APPLY FOR ACADEMY BARRACKS (SPACE LIMITED, FIRST-COME BASIS).
"The barracks," Shine said immediately. "We can't go back to that inn. We need to be here."
The line for the barracks application was long and moved with agonizing slowness. It was here they saw their first real taste of the academy's internal hierarchy. A group of applicants wearing the sigil of a noble house from a techno-magical city-state were waved to the front of the line by a robed official. Murmurs of discontent rippled through the crowd, but were quickly silenced by a look from a nearby security Golem.
When they finally reached the front, a bored-looking gnome with magnifying lenses over his eyes looked them up and down. "Name. Race. Place of Origin."
"Shine. Sylvan Elf. The Sylvan Glade."
"Kaelen. Human. The Umberwood."
The gnome tapped their names into a flickering crystal device. "Sylvan Glade, eh? Fancy. Not many of your kind leave the trees. Barracks are full. Try the 'Starlight Hostel' in the lower district. Next!"
Shine's shoulders slumped. Defeated by bureaucracy.
The "Starlight Hostel" was a grim, multi-level structure carved into a less-gleaming part of the geode. It was overcrowded, loud, and cost three times what their attic room in Last Rest had. Their new room made the previous one look palatial: it was a narrow closet with two hard cots, a single flickering light crystal, and a palpable smell of dampness.
Shine sat on the edge of her cot with a sigh. "Well. This is... humble."
"It is four walls and a door. It is sufficient," Kaelen said, already running a diagnostic on the room's structural integrity. "The lock is substandard, but I can reinforce it with a minor stasis field."
He placed his hand on the door, and a faint shimmer of purple energy—a whisper of Absolute Stillness—washed over the mechanism. [Door Security: Upgraded.]
The next week was a lesson in controlled tension. They explored the staggering public areas of the academy: the Grand Arcadium, a library that was a literal forest of glowing, crystalline bookshelves that stretched up into infinity; the Aetherium, a vast arena where they watched older students spar with spells and technologies that made Shine gasp and Kaelen file away for future analysis; the Chromatic Bazaar, a market that sold everything from ancient elven relics to cutting-edge cybernetic enhancements.
Everywhere they went, the air of impending judgment was thick. Rumors about the exam were rampant, wild, and contradictory, whispered in hushed tones in every corner. They offered no concrete information, only fueling the anxiety. They saw Kaizar and his ogre bodyguard again, the Dragonkin effortlessly charming a group of star-struck applicants. They saw the shrouded figure from the inn, who seemed to be watching everyone with cold, calculating interest. They saw fights break out, alliances form and shatter, and countless displays of power as applicants tried to intimidate their rivals.
Through it all, Kaelen and Shine moved like ghosts, their true power hidden, observing everything. Their bond, forged on the road, became their anchor in the tumultuous sea of ambition. They were a team. A unit.
On the eve of the exams, they stood once more in the Starfall Court. The crowd was even larger, the tension now a sharp, metallic taste in the air. The floating crystal slabs now displayed a single, stark message:
ASSEMBLE HERE AT DAWN.
It was finally happening. Shine took a deep, steadying breath. "This is it."
"Indeed," Kaelen said. His gaze was fixed ahead, not on the crowd, but on the grand, sealed gates that led to the academy's inner sanctum. The gates were made of a strange, dark alloy and covered in intricate carvings that depicted the history of the Collision. They were shut, impenetrable, a final barrier.
As they stood there, a figure emerged on a balcony high above the plaza, looking down upon the gathered masses. It was a man, tall and severe, with robes that seemed to be woven from shifting mathematical equations. His eyes glowed with a soft, golden light. A Sanction of Knowledge, Kaelen realized with a jolt, though a mere echo, a distant relative of Logos. A Dean of the academy.
The Dean's gaze swept over the crowd, analytical and dismissive. It passed over the posturing Dragonkin, the hulking Ogres, the cunning Wops. It passed over Shine.
And then it stopped on Kaelen.
For a single, heart-stopping second, the gaze lingered. The golden eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. It wasn't recognition. It was… curiosity. A master mathematician noticing a single, anomalous variable in a vast, complex equation.
Then the look was gone. The Dean turned and walked back into the shadows of the balcony.
The moment shattered. The crowd's noise rushed back in.
Shine, who had felt the weight of the gaze without understanding its source, shivered. "What was that?"
Kaelen remained still, his own internal systems recalibrating after the unexpected scrutiny. The Limiter on his neck felt cold.
"A reminder," he said, his voice quiet, yet filled with a new gravity. "The experiment is being observed."
He looked from the sealed gates to Shine, his ally, his friend, the one illogical variable he had chosen to keep. The journey was over. They had reached the gates of tomorrow. And tomorrow, the test would begin.