He was staring at him now, his expression dark, his brows slightly furrowed like he didn't like what he just saw. Luke followed his line of sight for a second… then understood.
The girl. Luke looked back at him, his expression calm, but his eyes held something colder now. So they're together…that's all he could think, since his memories were incapable of making him remember.
"Karl Christoff!" George's voice echoed again.
Karl smirked a little and went to the large crystal orb with proud confidence, he touched the orb and it glowed red because of his elemental ability which was fire.
The woman beside George reveals to George about the freshman mana gauge and he was impressed, "80.4, A rank." he announced and the crowd filled with freshmen gasped, he was the highest so far.
Karl combed his hair with his hand, then a name was called, "Quinn Eren." When he passed Karl, Karl blue pupils dilated, he just felt the most powerful aura ever.
Karl then returned to his crew and he continued staring at the white haired guy, who looked drained of energy and he lazily placed his hand on the orb, the air around the guy shook, the orb turned gold.
It was even expanding, then when he removed his palm, George revealed with a doubtful voice mixed with a happy one, "95.4, S-rank and our new record holder." the highest ever recorded from a student, and he just left there without an expression on his face.
Everyone was shocked, the guy had surpassed the infamous Holden. The woman beside George turned to him and said, "Our academy will always be known for having the ones with outstanding talent." She dramatically wiped a tear from her left eye.
"That is outstanding!" the S-rank students exclaimed with utter shock.
"Who is that guy," Karl asked himself.
"Interesting." The crimson haired girl said.
After the murmurs had died, the man then called out, "Ethan Don."
Ethan flinched slightly. "That's me…" he muttered, then looked at Luke. "I'm going."
Luke gave a small nod. "That guy is truly outstanding, he even surpassed the king of Aether, the one who was even stronger than the strongest from other academies." With the memories he knew Holden Valero, the second strongest now with this Quinn being first. "I wonder why his not here."
Ethan walked forward, trying to stay calm, though his steps were a bit stiff. At the center, a large crystal stood on a platform, now glowing faintly. Beside it was the woman named Hannah holding the tablet with George staring at Ethan, her eyes fixed on it, ready to record the result.
"Place your hand on the crystal," George said. "Focus your mind. Let your mana flow."
Ethan swallowed and did as he was told, placing his hand on the crystal. He closed his eyes, trying to focus, his face tense. The hall grew quiet as everyone watched.
Luke narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed, then Ethan did the same. He focused, not on the crystal…but on himself and the crystal turned cold with a chilling aura around it since Ethan's elemental power was ice.
The woman's eyes stayed on the tablet for a moment before she revealed it to George and he spoke. "Mana gauge… 31.1 C-Rank."
A small wave of murmurs spread across the hall, he was the one bullied by Karl, they didn't even expect him to be in rank E but lower than that, but he was even stronger than many that laughed at him.
Ethan's shoulders dropped in relief, his face slowly breaking into a smile. He looked like he couldn't believe it himself.
Luke watched him and gave a small nod, a faint smile on his own face. Ethan himself looked surprised as he stepped back, glancing at his hands like they suddenly meant something more.
"Next… Luke—Aurelion" George called out his full name, his voice calm as ever.
Luke stepped forward without rushing, his movements slow, almost lazy. As he walked, whispers started around him.
"Isn't that the useless one?"
"He looks half-asleep…"
"Look at his eyes… does he even care?"
His white hair, just like Quinn's own, fell slightly over his face, his blue eyes dull, with faint dark circles under them like he hadn't slept well in days. He didn't react to any of it.
He reached the crystal. "Place your hand and focus," George said.
Luke raised his hand and placed it on the surface. It was cold. He closed his eyes slightly and tried to focus, gathering whatever he could feel inside him and pushing it forward. For a second, nothing happened.
Then—The crystal began to darken, not glow, darken. The light inside it dimmed, turning into something deeper, something strange. A few people frowned at the sight, not understanding it.
Luke's brows moved slightly, but he didn't stop. He pushed a bit more. "What is this anomaly!" Hannah exclaimed because of the result she saw on the tablet, it was not giving any numbers, it told the POWER DENIED, POWER UNDEFINED, POWER CANNOT BE GAUGED. This was an anomaly.
Then the tablet started glitching and the woman showed it to George who exclaimed, "How can it be?" The mana gauge was at 50 at first and then it just counted from fifty with a glitchful speed to 100 and still counting, then Luke felt his power starting to restrain in his body.
The mana gauge in the tablet then stopped at, 80.9, but George and Hannah were sensible enough to know this was not the original gauge of his man and he quietly removed his hand to anticipate for George result, he knew this body was useless so what was the point in waiting time for his stupid trash gauge.
Silence filled the hall. All eyes turned to the George and Hannah with the tablet. She stared at it for a few seconds, her expression slowly changing, confusion mixing with disbelief because of the formal anomaly.
George saw the new gauge of the man and announced, "…Mana gauge… 80.9…A-rank"
A second of silence in the freshman crowd, then the hall exploded.
"What?!"
"That's impossible!"
"80.9?! No way! His stronger than the guy named Karl and Karl beats the life out of him, was he just hiding his true strength when he was stronger than Karl."
Luke himself stood there quietly, he was stunned. Then, slowly…He smiled, not outwardly. But inside. Peak A-rank… just a step into S-class.
He hadn't expected that. Not at all. George's eyes rested on him for a moment longer than usual, but his expression didn't change. He simply turned slightly and raised his hand.
"Enough," he said. The noise died down. With a single motion, he opened a portal. Space in front of him twisted, then split open, forming a dark, unstable tear. The Rift.
Cold energy spilled out from it, heavy and dangerous, making the air feel thick. "This is the Rift," George said calmly. "Enter, survive, and form your contract… or be consumed." The portal swirled slowly, like it was waiting.
Luke looked at it, his eyes filled with enthusiasm, he was looking at a real life portal, this felt so unreal to him.