Vivienne tried to physically end the test.
"Don't take off the wristband!" Galen Keyes shouted as he rushed toward her in a few long strides, trying to hold her down. "It'll cause mental backlash!"
Mental backlash?
Yshi attempted to forcibly retract her mental tendrils, only to feel a sharp sting. She instinctively halted the attempt, allowing the test to continue.
Damn, what kind of machine is this?
334…
Already beyond the threshold of an S-.
Rustling stirred among her classmates.
"S-rank?! We've got an S-rank Sentinel in our class?"
"Dude, she's a Sentinel! That's S-rank mental power!"
"She's still climbing! There's more?!"
396…
Galen Keyes glared at her viciously. A-level and above?
Pretending to be average—just as I thought, a sneaky little thing trying to conceal her true strength!
"Almost 400 now—wouldn't that be S+?"
"Wait, isn't she a Guide pretending to be a Sentinel?"
"Stop reading those clickbait novels!"
451…
Some students had already whipped out their terminals, broadcasting the data everywhere. Others held their breath, eyes locked on the numbers. Tony Zane swallowed hard. "Our class just hit the jackpot…"
Joey Yu tilted her head toward the ceiling with a dreamy sigh. "With this kind of power, I mean… if you can bond with her, being a Sentinel doesn't seem so bad."
523…
579…
Galen Keyes' expression twisted between green and purple like a shifting kaleidoscope—lovely to watch. He had guessed Yshi would test high, maybe S-rank, but not this high.
This could easily be the highest recorded mental power among this year's freshmen.
Finally, the number stopped climbing—603.
...
Joey Yu's mouth fell open. "What level is that?"
"No clue. Anything above 300 is S-rank, right? I heard 350 is already S+."
"Yeah, but I've never seen anyone go past that."
"I remember General Iris has an S+—something around 400."
"If 400 is S+, what the hell is 600? Double S?!"
"Double S? You serious? Isn't the Crown Prince a double S?"
Beep—
The machine blared a piercing warning tone. Red lights flashed rapidly, indicating the test was complete. A report projected onto the screen: the test subject possesses high-level mental control and manipulation capabilities, capable of creating and maintaining a mental domain, and has potential for large-scale mental influence…
But the most eye-catching detail was the glowing red mark at the top right corner: SS.
Jan Squire lowered his gaze, eyes landing on Yshi—who looked calm on the surface but was clearly emotionally dead inside: SS-rank. Well, that explained a lot.
General Iris must've sent her to the academy for one reason and one reason only….
Click—Galen Keyes slapped the power button, cutting the test report off cold. The astonishing results disappeared from the screen. With a stiff, insincere smile, he ripped off the wristband from Yshi's arm. "Miss Ixchel, you really are full of surprises."
"Not as much as you, Professor," Yshi replied as she took off the helmet, "always so… consistently yourself."
Galen stiffened. He always forgot how sharp her tongue could be.
"I hope you keep this arrogant attitude," he said darkly.
Vivienne glanced at him with mild indifference. But curiously, after the test, Galen Keyes didn't pursue the matter further. He simply let her return to her seat and continued teaching as if nothing had happened.
The rest of the class, however, was buzzing like a beehive. Everyone was wide-eyed, some already uploading posts to their socials. No one was focused on the actual lesson.
...
When class ended, a swarm of chatty students rushed to surround her.
"Can I add you on terminal?"
"Damn! An SS-ranked classmate sitting right next to me!"
"This is amazing!" Tony Zane whistled. "Even the old rooster Galen backed off! SS-rank, baby—future superstar!"
Is that really how it works?
Vivienne couldn't tell what Galen Keyes' goal was.
If he really meant her harm, wouldn't letting her forcibly terminate the test have been the best way to cause serious mental backlash?
Or… did he do all this just to confirm her rank?
...
The rest of the day's classes were thankfully free of crazy teachers like Galen. Lectures ran as scheduled. Vivienne forced herself to focus, but the truth was—without a solid foundation, she could only catch bits and pieces.
To make things worse, she constantly felt eyes boring into her from behind. Several classmates kept sneaking glances at her like she was some kind of rare animal in a zoo.
Yshi: "…"
Military History was the final class of the evening. Exhausted and half-asleep, Yshi dragged herself back to her dorm after the lecture, washed up, and passed out almost instantly.
Even her dreams were a chaotic mess.
Two factions of foot soldiers were fighting in a pixelated battlefield. The red team suddenly summoned sleek mech suits and demolished the blue team.
But then a lone officer in blue—wearing a giant military cap—dug a device out of the sand, and beep beep beep, he started transmitting a coded message…
And BOOM!
The blue team summoned something too.
A giant rooster.
A massive, majestic rooster stood tall and shrieked into the sky—
Cluck cluck cluck cluck!
The next morning, Vivienne woke up from that ridiculous dream to find a friend request flashing on her terminal.
[StudiousPorter] would like to add you as a friend.
Still brushing her teeth, Vivienne stared at the screen in a daze.
StudiousPorter. What kind of AI-generated username…
Her raven-black hair spilled loosely over her shoulders like flowing ink. Water glistened on her lips. As she tilted her head to rinse her mouth, sunlight filtered through the window, casting soft gold across her porcelain skin.
A few strands of hair clung to her dewy cheek.
[StudiousPorter] is now your friend.
[StudiousPorter]: Hi
[Vivienne]: hi
[StudiousPorter]: Wanna date me?
[Vivienne]: ?
Is this how people on Capital Planet confess love now?
Vivienne looked at her reflection in the mirror. Same familiar face. Her black hair shimmered under the light as she tucked a strand behind her ear.
Thinking back to the matchmaking corner at the park, she was starting to see the pattern…
Another message arrived.
[StudiousPorter]: My family's net worth is over ten billion. If you date me, I'll wire you two hundred million immediately. We get engaged at year's end, married next year.
[Vivienne]: ?
Déjà vu. Another guy throwing money at her?
It was tempting—star coins would always be her one true weakness.
But logic prevailed.
[Vivienne]: We don't even know each other, do we?
[StudiousPorter]: You're the SS-rank freshman, Vivienne, right?
[Vivienne]: …Yes.
[StudiousPorter]: Then I got the right person. So… date me?
[Vivienne]: But I don't even know what you look like, Porter.
[StudiousPorter]: [1394320.jpg]
[StudiousPorter]: [1394321.jpg]
.....
He sent four pictures in a row: abs, pecs, full-body (face covered), and one close-up of just his eyes.
Yshi nearly choked on her mouthwash.
[StudiousPorter]: Do you recognize me now?
[StudiousPorter]: I can send more if you want.