The translucent display stabilized in glowing clarity, lines of text and ranking positions unfolding across its surface. Names appeared in structured order, revealing the placements of the remaining ninety second-year students.
The reaction was immediate and deeply human.
Some students leaned forward hard enough to nearly stand.
Others searched frantically.
One boy near the middle visibly sagged with relief.
Another stared in utter disbelief.
Several whispered sharply to those beside them.
A few second-years looked smug.
A few looked crushed.
A few looked as though they were doing mental arithmetic to understand how exactly they had ended up where they had.
Mystica, standing at the pulpit, watched all of it with serene amusement.
She did not rush them.
That was not her style.
She gave them enough time to find their names, confirm their positions, compare them to expectation, and begin processing what the results actually meant.
