Students shuffled toward the Academy's central courtyard, their hushed conversations creating a backdrop of anxious murmurs. Vel joined the growing crowd, morning mist still clinging to the stone pathways around them.
"I'm confident about my performance, but I can't help feeling nervous," Celia said, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.
Vel gave a small shrug, remembering his conversation with Lyvenna. "Let's go."
Truth be told, he was more interested in his friend's results than his own.
They joined the growing crowd converging toward a massive bulletin board in the courtyard center. Three sections divided the board—standard, elite, and the smallest on the left marked with a swirling cloud symbol for unstable attunement.
"I'll check mine and meet you after?" Celia suggested, nodding toward the larger middle section.
"See you in a bit," Vel agreed, giving her a reassuring nod before they parted ways in the crowd.
Vel worked his way through the press of bodies toward the unstable section. The list was short—only five names where there had been six candidates. His eyes found his own name at the top: Velarian Novalance. Below were Tomas, Mira, Rohen, and Enya.
Someone hadn't made the cut.
The weight of that missing name pressed against his chest. If he could only unravel the true nature of Chaos attunement faster, prove what he suspected about these "unstable" students—maybe fewer would face rejection like this.
Before he could dwell further on this, familiar voices approached.
"Did you see? We made it!" Tomas's excited voice broke through the general murmur of the crowd.
"Well, looks like we all survived the culling," he said, managing a grin.
Mira approached, her auburn hair tied back more neatly than usual. She glanced at the list, eyes narrowing as she counted the names.
"Who didn't make it?" she asked, her voice softer than normal.
Tomas scratched his head. "I thought there were six of us during the assessments."
In the distance, Enya walked over, her steps measured and deliberate. When she reached them, she pointed at the list. "Lars. He was with us during the strategy test."
"Lars?" Vel remembered the older student who'd failed his first entrance test. He couldn't believe Lars hadn't made it this time either. The boy with sandy hair who hadn't talked much to any of them during assessments—part of Vel felt regret, part curiosity about what had gone wrong.
"Maybe he fumbled the knowledge test," Tomas suggested, "or something else happened."
Around the standard and elite lists, the emotions ran in complete opposite directions. Accepted students hugged each other, voices raised in excitement as they compared class assignments. Meanwhile, those who couldn't find their names stood frozen, some fighting back tears while others walked away in stunned silence.
Despite Lars's absence weighing on him, Vel felt grateful for the small group they'd formed among the "unstable" students. At least they had each other.
Vel stepped away from his group and scanned the courtyard for Celia. He spotted her near the standard list, standing on tiptoe to see over taller students. Her shoulders tensed as she searched, fingers tucking and untucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
YOU ARE READING
GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation
FantasyWhen renowned game developer Giri meets his untimely end, he awakens as twelve-year-old Vel in the magical realm of Aeonalus-his own creation. Five hundred years have passed since he crafted the world, and Vel finds himself in the village of Oakhave...
