The examination grounds had quieted after Stage One, though tension still lingered beneath the surface like restrained thunder.
Auren Vellmare sat near the outer formation wall, elbows resting against his knees, staring at the faint moisture trembling across his fingertips.
"You think you failed?"
The voice was calm.
Auren looked up. Aryan stood nearby, expression unreadable beneath the drifting mountain light.
"No," Auren admitted after a moment. "That's the problem."
Aryan waited.
"I think I did… average."
Around them, nobles moved between sectors while instructors finalized records. The air carried heat, ozone, and the scent of exhausted chakra.
"Stage One only measures control," Aryan said quietly.
"There are still three stages left."
Auren exhaled slowly. "Easy for you to say."
Aryan ignored the remark.
"The written examination is included in the final ranking," he continued. "As are all four stages."
Auren frowned slightly. "They combine all of it?"
Aryan nodded once.
"Written judgment. Manifestation. Power output. Applied usage. Combat."
His gaze shifted toward the distant arena.
"Vajraśila doesn't measure who is strongest."
A brief pause followed.
"It measures who remains complete under pressure."
For the first time since morning, Auren's breathing steadied.
Not because his fear disappeared.
Because someone stronger than him spoke as though fear itself was normal.
Before Auren could answer, a deep metallic vibration rolled across the grounds.
The arena was resetting.
The nobles rose immediately.
Whatever softness remained from the morning vanished beneath the afternoon sun.
Light fell directly upon the Grand Examination Grounds now—sharp, merciless—casting no shadow deep enough to hide weakness.
The circular testing formations dissolved into the stone.
Then the walls rose.
Massive black structures emerged from beneath the arena floor, each nearly fifteen meters tall and layered with glowing measurement arrays. Runes spread across their surfaces like veins of molten silver, numbers sleeping silently within them.
Power Walls.
Ancient academy instruments designed to measure destructive elemental output through chakra release alone.
Each wall could calculate elemental force up to ten thousand units before entering overload containment.
A low murmur spread through the nobles.
Even those who carried confidence now looked tense.
Control could be hidden behind discipline.
Power could not.
A senior examiner stepped forward.
"Stage Two," he announced, "measures elemental output."
His voice echoed through the formations.
"You will release a direct offensive manifestation against the Power Walls. The walls will calculate destructive force, chakra density, compression efficiency, and elemental stability."
His eyes swept across the students.
"Raw destruction alone does not produce high scores. Unstable output lowers evaluation."
The runes ignited fully.
"Begin."
The thunder sector moved first.
Kael Rithvar walked toward the wall with steady steps, electric-blue cloak shifting behind him. His jaw remained sharp with confidence, though tension flickered briefly in his shoulders.
Lightning gathered instantly around his arm.
Not scattered.
Condensed.
The air screamed.
Kael thrust his palm forward.
A spear of thunder exploded across the arena and struck the wall with a violent flash of yellow light.
The formations shook.
Numbers ignited across the surface.
7,000
A sharp wave of whispers spread instantly.
"Seven thousand…"
"At this age?"
"Incredible output…"
Kael lowered his arm slowly, breathing controlled despite the strain behind his eyes. Pride returned to his posture immediately as he walked away beneath the attention of the crowd.
But not everyone looked impressed.
Some looked threatened.
Myra Valencrest followed within the water sector.
Deep blue chakra spiraled around her arms with graceful precision before condensing into a rotating sphere of compressed water pressure.
She released it.
The impact struck with heavy force—not explosive, but crushing.
The wall pulsed blue.
6,800
Several instructors nodded immediately.
"Extremely refined."
"Minimal chakra waste."
"She compressed the pressure perfectly."
Myra hid the relief in her chest behind calm composure, though her fingers relaxed slightly at her side as she stepped away.
One by one, the nobles advanced.
Renn Althoros shattered the wall with dense earth impact.
6,450
Elira Sunfall's radiant flames burned with controlled intensity.
6,920
Veyron Kaas released a shadow strike that swallowed light upon impact.
6,610
Liora Mistwyn compressed wind into slicing currents.
6,200
Thane Morik's metal construct hit like a falling fortress.
6,770
Seris Halwyn unleashed explosive root growth that cracked across the wall.
6,540
Caelum Rift distorted space itself before impact landed half a second late.
The wall flickered violently.
Several instructors stiffened.
7,250
Silence followed.
Even Kael's expression darkened slightly.
Nyssa Korrin stepped forward last among the prominent nobles.
Curse energy spread like poison through the air itself before striking the wall in near silence.
The runes dimmed briefly.
Then returned.
7,040
A few nobles instinctively stepped backward.
No one spoke.
Then came the triplets.
The atmosphere changed before they even entered the arena.
Whispers spread naturally through the crowd.
"The dragon heirs…"
"The silver circles…"
"Which one is strongest?"
Mentors stopped writing.
Even older students observing from the upper balconies leaned forward.
Aditya entered first.
The heat arrived before the fire did.
Orange chakra spiraled around his arm—not wild flame, but compressed inferno. Dense. Violent. Alive.
For a moment, Aditya remembered the forge fires back home.
The smell of heated metal.
Varesh standing behind him with folded arms.
Again.
Harder.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Then he attacked.
Inferno erupted forward like a dragon's breath unleashed from confinement.
The impact exploded across the wall in roaring fire.
Shockwaves rolled through the arena.
Several younger nobles flinched instinctively.
The numbers ignited.
8,200
Silence.
Then noise crashed through the crowd all at once.
"Eight thousand?!"
"That's impossible—"
"At his age—"
Kael's expression froze.
Not shock.
Calculation.
For the first time that day, pride no longer sat comfortably on his shoulders.
Aditya stepped away breathing slightly heavier now, heat still rising from his skin. But beneath the noise surrounding him, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Home.
The courtyard.
The sound of Sarvani laughing softly during training.
For a brief second, he wished they could see this.
Sasi entered next.
Thunder gathered instantly.
But unlike Kael's explosive violence, Sasi's storm compressed inward first—sharp, disciplined, terrifyingly efficient.
The air dimmed.
Then lightning exploded.
Storm-force thunder struck the wall with blinding speed.
The impact arrived before most students even processed the attack itself.
The numbers appeared.
8,250
The arena erupted louder than before.
Sasi exhaled quietly as sparks faded from his fingertips.
He did not smile.
But deep inside, satisfaction flickered briefly.
Not because he surpassed Kael.
Because his control remained perfect.
Above the arena balconies, several observing nobles exchanged tense looks.
The triplets were no longer impressive curiosities.
They were becoming dangerous benchmarks.
Then Aryan stepped forward.
Silence followed him naturally.
Green chakra flowed slowly around his body, calm as breathing.
No violent pressure.
No overwhelming aura.
Even Auren frowned slightly from the sidelines.
Then Aryan moved his hand.
Leaves appeared.
Small.
Weightless.
Dozens of luminous green leaves drifted forward gently through the air.
Some nobles nearly laughed.
Until the leaves touched the wall.
The entire formation shook violently.
A delayed explosion of compressed chakra erupted beneath the surface of the stone as roots spread internally through the impact point.
The numbers ignited.
8,150
The crowd froze.
Not because the number was highest.
Because none of them understood how something so soft carried that much force.
Aryan lowered his hand quietly.
The leaves dissolved into green light.
High above the arena, one instructor finally spoke under his breath.
"Monstrous efficiency…"
The triplets returned to the sidelines together.
For the first time since arriving at Vajraśila, nobles stopped seeing them as children.
And as the afternoon sun slowly descended behind the mountain peaks, the instructors sealed the Stage Two records.
But no one truly relaxed.
Because Stage Three would begin after nightfall.
And power meant little once the targets started fighting back.