The polished stone corridors of High Pristina Academy were eerily silent in the early morning hours.
Instructor Gage walked with measured, unhurried steps toward the training courtyard, his tailored suit immaculate despite the previous night's carnage.
The message written in blood on the council chamber doors had sent tremors of fear through the entire faculty wing.
Most of the instructors were now hiding in their quarters, too terrified to venture into the open hallways.
Yet, as Gage rounded a corner leading toward the eastern courtyard passage, two figures suddenly stepped out from the shadows ahead.
Elena and Vivienne stood side by side, their expressions calm but watchful.
Elena held a leather bound research notebook clutched against her chest, her brilliant eyes studying Gage with an intensity that suggested she had been waiting for this exact moment.
Vivienne stood with perfect posture, her hands resting casually at her sides, her combat-trained physiology radiating a quiet, controlled readiness.
Gage did not slow his pace.
He simply continued forward, his piercing gaze acknowledging their presence without breaking stride.
"Instructor Gage," Elena began, her voice carrying the precise, measured tone of an academic.
"We need to discuss the midterm festival."
Vivienne nodded in agreement, stepping slightly forward.
"The event is scheduled for one month from today."
"On the surface, it appears to be a celebration of the academy's achievements."
"In reality, it is a carefully orchestrated culling mechanism."
Gage stopped walking.
He turned his head slightly, his icy eyes locking onto the two instructors with a calm, terrifying clarity.
He narrowed his eyes, allowing his minimalist system interface to activate.
Two translucent parchment windows erupted into existence, displaying the detailed metrics of the two young instructors standing before him.
Target: Elena Magic Theory Instructor Overall Potential Tier: S
Current Physical Attributes:
Mana Capability: SSR / EX
Strength: SS / SS
Agility: SS / SS
Endurance: SSR / SSR
Combat Mastery: SSR / SSR
Target: Vivienne Combat Tactics Instructor Overall Potential Tier: SS
Current Physical Attributes:
Mana Capability: S / S
Strength: S / S
Agility: S / S
Endurance: SSR / SSR
Combat Mastery: SSR / SSR
Gage closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, processing the data.
Elena possessed a theoretical brilliance that was rare, her mana capacity already at SSR tier with the potential to eventually reach UR.
Her physical attributes were exceptional, strength and agility at SS rank suggested she possessed far more combat capability than her theory, focused career implied.
Vivienne, meanwhile, represented the pinnacle of what conventional martial training could achieve.
Her endurance and combat mastery were already locked at SSR tier, meaning she had reached her absolute ceiling within the academy's traditional hierarchy.
She was perfected, but she was also finished.
Gage opened his eyes, his expression remaining completely neutral.
"Explain the mechanism," he commanded, his low voice cutting through the silence like a blade.
Elena stepped forward, opening her leather notebook to reveal a meticulously detailed breakdown of the festival structure.
"The midterm festival operates under the guise of a grand tournament," Elena explained, her finger tracing across the complex diagrams she had sketched.
"However, the bracket pairings are entirely rigged."
"Every single commoner student will be matched against a carefully selected noble opponent with overwhelming magical advantage."
"The intention is to create predictable losses that justify mass expulsion."
"Once the commoners are eliminated, the academy can claim their removal was earned through legitimate competition."
Vivienne continued, her voice steady and tactical.
"The festival also serves as a political stage for the noble houses to demonstrate their bloodline's superiority."
"It reinforces the hierarchy that keeps commoners subjugated."
"This year, with Crimson's unexpected victory over three Class A elites, the old guard is panicking."
"They need to reassert control before the commoner population realizes their 'weakness' is entirely artificial."
Gage stood motionless, processing the information with an absolute, chilling calm.
"And you are telling me this because?" Gage asked flatly.
Elena and Vivienne exchanged a brief glance.
"Because we believe the evaluation is wrong," Elena said quietly, her brilliant eyes meeting Gage's without flinching.
"The academy's fundamental understanding of human potential is flawed."
"Crimson's transformation isn't just physical conditioning, it's a complete paradigm shift."
"We want to understand it."
Vivienne nodded, her hand moving to rest on the hilt of her training sword.
"And because the old guard's assassination attempt last night was cowardly and pathetic," she added with a hint of disdain.
"They sent five Midnight Phantoms to kill you, and you didn't even stand up from your chair."
"Anyone competent enough to survive that deserves respect."
A faint, barely perceptible smile touched the corner of Gage's mouth.
"You are both remarkably observant," Gage said, his voice carrying a dangerous edge of amusement.
"Most would have fled in terror."
"You instead chose to approach me with information."
Elena straightened her posture, her brilliant mind already working through the implications.
"The festival isn't a threat to you," she said, her voice filled with quiet certainty.
"You've known about the culling mechanism all along."
"Your training of Class F wasn't just random conditioning."
"You were preparing them for this exact gauntlet."
Gage turned his body to face the two instructors fully.
His tailored suit coat swirled with the motion, and his piercing gaze shifted between them with calculated precision.
"Class F was assigned to me as garbage to be disposed of," Gage said flatly.
"A dumping ground for the talentless commoners the academy wished to quietly eliminate."
"However, garbage in this world is simply misidentified treasure."
"The flaws the academy perceives, the lack of mana, the physical vulnerability, the lower social standing, these are not weaknesses."
"They are the absolute foundations upon which true monsters are built."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle.
"The midterm festival will not be a culling," Gage continued, his voice dropping into a register that made the stone walls seem to vibrate.
"It will be a reckoning."
"Class F will enter that arena, and they will systematically dismantle every noble student foolish enough to stand against them."
"The academy's hierarchy will crumble, not because I forced it, but because the commoners will prove with their own strength that the evaluation was always fraudulent."
Vivienne's eyes widened slightly, a rare expression of genuine shock crossing her controlled features.
"You're going to use the festival to expose the entire system," she whispered, understanding flooding through her.
Elena's mind was already racing ahead, her brilliant intellect grasping the strategic elegance of the plan.
"Not just prove Class F is strong," Elena added, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"But prove that the academy's fundamental understanding of power is wrong."
"That flaws aren't limitations, they're the blueprint for transcendence."
Gage nodded once, a barely perceptible acknowledgment.
"Now you begin to understand," he said calmly.
"The title of this evaluation is not ...The Rise of Class F...."
"It is 'I Can See Your Flaws. Now Let Me Turn You Into a Monster.'"
"And by the time the festival concludes, every powerful faction in this empire will know exactly what that statement means."
Gage resumed his walk toward the courtyard, his pace unhurried and his posture immaculate.
Elena and Vivienne watched him pass, their expressions filled with a mixture of awe and deep, profound respect.
"He's not just a teacher," Vivienne murmured, her combat, trained mind finally grasping the full scope of what she was witnessing.
"He's an architect of transformation."
Elena clutched her notebook tighter, her brilliant mind already theorizing the mechanisms behind Gage's methodology.
"His system isn't just rewarding student growth," she whispered.
"It's systematically deconstructing the academy's entire power structure and rebuilding it around principles they never imagined."
As Gage reached the iron gates of the training courtyard, he paused for a single moment.
Behind him, Elena and Vivienne stood in the corridor, their understanding of Class F, of Gage, and of the coming festival fundamentally and irrevocably altered.
The stage was set.
The actors were in position.
And in exactly one month's time, the midterm festival would become the most significant turning point in High Pristina Academy's history.
Gage stepped into the courtyard, where Crimson and the rest of Class F were already beginning their morning routines, completely unaware that their moment of reckoning was approaching.
He looked down at his leather notebook, picking up his black ink pen and jotting a single, decisive entry:
Festival Preparation Phase Initiated. Stage: Public Validation.
Objective: Transform perceived flaws into undeniable superiority.
Expected Outcome: Complete institutional restructuring.
The game enters its final phase.
Gage closed the notebook with a soft, decisive snap.
The evaluation of High Pristina Academy had officially begun.