The entire atmosphere immediately changed. The crowd became restless as they exchanged excited glances. Everyone wanted to know who were the top-ranking students of this year.

Elanora smiled seeing the students so excited, "Calm down, dear students. We will call the top-ranked students one by one. There are a total of nine who performed exceptionally."

Arya leaned forward slightly in anticipation, "Are you excited? Mr. Topper?" she playfully asked Orion.

He chuckled in response, "I want to see who else is there. I only remember Sylvia from the test."

"Hehe, at least we three are among them," she cheerfully said.

Vice Dean Elanora's voice echoed gently across the auditorium, each word slipping like silk into the ears of the students, drawing their attention like moths to flames.

"There are ten students whose performance during the entry trials stood out from the rest. While their ranks are numbered from tenth to first, do remember—most of them are separated by mere margins," she said with a calm smile. "Only the top two hold a noticeable gap from the rest."

She glanced toward Vice Dean Hargan who gave a simple nod, confirming her words. The tension in the auditorium grew thicker, hearts beating a little faster as every student silently hoped their name would be called.

"Let us begin," Elanora said, lifting a thin slip of enchanted paper from the podium. All the students seemed to hold their breath.

"Tenth ranked…" Her voice was smooth and calm. "Kale Duskfield."

A tall, lean boy with short light green hair and a green-trimmed robe stood up from the third row of noble seats. His expression was mixed—half pride, half embarrassment at being the last of the top ten. Still, applause rippled through the hall.

"Candidate Kale Duskfield," Elanora read aloud. "Marquess House Duskfield. Five Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: High. Tier 3 Wind Affinity."

Kale nodded slightly at the audience and ascended the steps with confidence, hiding his nerves well.

"Ninth," she continued, her eyes scanning the slip, "Tavian Greyridge."

A young man in commoner's attire nervously stood up. Taking a deep breath, he gathered the courage to ascend toward the floating platform. He was a commoner who was raised in the capital and entered the academy through sheer effort and talent.

"Tavian Greyridge. Thunderpeak Royal Academy Student. Five Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: Intermediate. Tier 3 Fire and Tier 2 Wind Affinity."

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves as they looked at the commoner ascending the steps.

"Hey, it's him, the commoner who passed with flying colors," one student whispered to his friend.

"I heard his talent is one of the best among all the commoners this year," a young noble in the group softly said.

Another student who wore commoner's attire softly rebutted, "Only commoners? His talent is one of the best among all the students admitted this year."

Such discussions spread all over the place as Tavian quickly walked up to the floating platform. Gazing above, he saw the massive statues, and he felt the illusion as if they were staring down at him. Shaking his head, he quickened his steps.

"Eighth, Felira Norwyn."

A petite girl with honey-blonde hair tied in a bun slowly rose. She belonged to House Norwyn, another Marquess House known for its healing and botanical prowess.

"Felira Norwyn. Marquess House Norwyn. Five Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: Intermediate. Tier 3 Wood Affinity, Tier 3 Water Affinity."

Felira bowed her head politely with composure and gracefully walked up the platform and stood beside Kale. The two exchanged a brief nod.

"Seventh…" Elanora's voice rose just slightly with amusement, "Garron Harrington."

A broad-shouldered young man stood from the seats below. His robes were dark brown and gold, and he wore the sigil of House Harrington on his shoulder—one of the three prestigious Duke Houses.

A few students whispered, "Ah, him… Thunder and Earth."

"Garron Harrington. Duke House Harrington. Six Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: High. Tier 3 Thunder and Tier 3 Earth Affinities."

Garron strode forward, arms behind his back with an indifferent face. Despite being ranked seventh as a Duke House heir, no one dared to mock him. His sheer size and natural pressure made that mistake an unattractive one.

"Sixth," Elanora paused, reading the name, then her face lit up with a slight smile as she continued, "Elias Marrow."

A hush fell briefly. A commoner? Above a Duke House heir?

From the back row, a carefree-looking youth slowly stood up. Thin, dark-haired, and wearing worn-out clothes. He barely looked like he belonged in this hall, yet his aura seemed to attract everyone's gaze.

"Elias Marrow. Thunderpeak Royal Academy Student. Five Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: High. Tier 3 Gravity Affinity."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. No one expected an Advanced Elemental Affinity user to come here. Gravity was one of the revered Six Advanced Elements—rare beyond comparison. Only Light and Darkness Elemental Affinities were rarer than Advanced Elemental.

"...Gravity Affinity? Are you fucking serious? Two Light Element users weren't enough that the Heavens sent us an Advanced Affinity user?" someone cursed under his breath, feeling the pressure increase by many folds.

"Shhh, don't say it out loud. He's not a nobody anymore. Even if you're a noble, you won't be able to save yourself from him once he grows up."

Hushed whispers began everywhere as he calmly stepped forward.

Orion, however, narrowed his eyes. 'That's the boy I saw earlier, the one with the decent talent I felt… Interesting. So he had an Advanced Affinity. No wonder I felt something different from him.'

[But look how much he changed, Master. He was tripping all over the place before.]

Orion inwardly chuckled, 'People change at a moment's notice if they get money. He—on the other hand—got an Advanced Affinity. Hmm, should I have also shown an Advanced Affinity?'

[You already showed a Top Tier affinity, Master. That would be too shocking for them. (≧▽≦)/]

Orion shook his head in amusement.

Elias meanwhile reached the top of the floating platform and stood beside the other commoner there. They nodded their heads at each other in greeting.

"Elias…" Elanora turned around and softly said, "You might have a chance to reach the top of even Empires if you can improve your Affinity to Tier 4. It might be impossibly hard, but there is a minuscule chance that a miracle might happen. So try your best to grasp it if that time comes."

Elias's face turned solemn as he bowed, "I will forever remember your teaching, Teacher Elanora."

She nodded her head and turned her gaze back to the paper. "Fifth… Sylvia Stormbolt."

The auditorium once again lit up with excited murmurs at the mention of her name.

"It's the Heiress of House Stormbolt!"

"I heard she has been training with her sword since she was five."

"She might be the most talented swordswoman of our year right now."

Sylvia rose gracefully from her seat. Her long scarlet hair and sharp scarlet eyes looked ahead at the platform as she elegantly walked towards it.

"Sylvia Stormbolt. Duke House Stormbolt. Six Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: High. Tier 3 Thunder and Tier 3 Wind Affinity."

She reached the stage and went to stand beside Garron.

"Fourth," Elanora continued without pause, "Nyss Blackwell."