Chapter 147: Academy’s Entrance Phase One [1]

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Academy’s Entrance Phase One [1]

It took less than a minute.

What looked like stepping into a magical portal resolved into solid floor under our boots and a ceiling so high I wasn’t sure even my chains would reach it.

The hall swallowed sound and scale at the same time, pillars like support beams for a sky, light pouring from sources I couldn’t place, enough open space that a thousand people could have stood without touching shoulders.

"Wow..."

I glanced sideways.

"You been here before?"

"Does my face look like I’ve been here before?"

"Your face looks like it’s about to invent a problem," Gianna said.

"Participants?"

We three turned toward the voice.

A woman with glasses stood a few paces off the arrival plate, black hair pulled into a clean ponytail, blazer sharp enough to count as armor in a different kind of war.

A holographic pad floated near her wrist, already scrolling.

"Your tags, please."

Gianna produced the credentials Jenna had handed over in the pre-dawn quiet.

The woman scanned them once, twice, then looked up with a professional interest that wasn’t quite polite.

"Everheart and Lawless."

A small nod.

"We have very high expectations for you."

Her eyes moved to me next, violet hair, the heavier bracelet, the way I stood a half-step between the two of them without thinking about it.

"Support?"

"Indeed."

"Please register yourselves."

We started walking toward the processing tables deeper in the hall.

"Ooh... Look at that."

Five other teams were already clustered near the line, and the first thing that hit me was how little they matched the clean dual-unit diagrams Jenna had drilled into us.

One group had three women flanking a man built like someone had stacked a hulk out of muscle and bad intentions.

Another held five women and two guys who wore matching collars that looked less like fashion and more like hardware.

In a far corner, two guys and two girls stood in a tight square, talking low.

And off to the side—

A girl with three guys.

I pulled Gianna and Rei closer by instinct, voice low.

"Isn’t that cheating? Why does a girl get two—no, three—supports in a place where even one is considered a lot?"

Gianna didn’t break stride.

"Don’t question other people’s choices."

"No. Explain. I’m actually intrigued."

Rei’s mouth curved without warmth.

"Might be a big guild. Might be supports in name only, padding for optics. Or her core really does need that much throughput, and the board signed off because the alternative was watching her burn out mid-phase."

"Mm. Cool."

We joined the line.

Ahead of us, a blonde woman from the five-and-two team was chewing bubblegum like the hall owed her entertainment.

She turned, idle at first, then her eyes landed on me and widened.

"Holy shit."

She didn’t bother lowering her voice.

"Look at how fucking sexy he is..."

Her teammates turned.

The two collared supports with her locked onto me immediately, their glare sharp enough to file under territorial.

I kept my face as straight as I could, fighting the urge to glance at Gianna or Rei for the reaction I already felt through the anchor and the secondary tension at my shoulder.

"This is... way too easy," I muttered under my breath.

"Let’s just complete the test and go back happily."

"Revien," Gianna said, warning soft and precise.

We reached the registrar’s station.

Another pad, another set of tired eyes that had already processed too many names before sunrise.

"Name."

"Revien."

"Class?"

"Support."

"What support?"

I blinked.

"Core support?"

The registrar’s gaze sharpened, wary in a way that meant the wrong answer could become a flag.

"Tell me your class. What do you do?"

Fuck.

I couldn’t put Succubus on a Sector 1 form with observation boxes and Empress-line optics in the same building.

The word alone would turn every rumor Jenna had been managing into a public spectacle before the first tether opened.

Gianna stepped in without looking at me.

"He’s Acolyte."

The registrar held Gianna’s eyes for a beat, then mine, then noted something on the pad with a flick of her stylus.

"Acolyte. Support track."

Another tap.

"Go through to the main hall. Orientation feed starts when your hall is full. Don’t leave the marked zones. Do not initiate contact with other units until instructed. Don’t ever try starting a fight inside."

"Understood," Gianna said.

We moved.

The main hall beyond the processing line was somehow larger than the arrival chamber, tiers of seating, suspended display panes already cycling generic academy seals, a central floor marked with grid lines that would mean something once the Inverse rules went live.

I stopped instantly at the sight.

Inside were hundreds of teams pooling around, their whispering alone sounded like a speech in the hall.

"So many..."

"You expected less?"

"I expected way less. This is a city on its own."

Teams filtered in and claimed space with the careful indifference of people who were already measuring each other.

Rei’s voice stayed low.

"Acolyte."

"It was that or invent something dumber," Gianna replied.

"It’ll hold until someone asks what an Acolyte actually channels," Rei said.

"Then you’re going to need a better lie or a very boring demonstration."

"I’ll be boring," I said.

"Jenna’s favorite instruction."

The blonde with the bubblegum had drifted closer to her own cluster, still watching me over her shoulder.

One of her collared supports said something sharp.

She laughed and popped a bubble loud enough to carry.

Gianna’s anchor tightened once, controlled.

"Ignore them."

"I am."

"You’re cataloguing," Rei said.

"I can see it on your face."

"I’m counting how many gold nodes are already treating the hall like a hunting ground."

I kept my eyes moving: hulk-and-three, collar pair, the girl with three supports who still hadn’t looked in our direction.

"If open tether is the final phase, half of these compositions are built to peel, not to clear."

Gianna nodded once.

"Then we do what we trained. Sever. Recover. No collections. No spectacle."

Rei’s braid shifted as she scanned the upper tiers.

"Observation boxes are already lit. Someone’s watching intake before the clock starts."

"Giselle?" I asked.

"Or people who want to look useful in front of her," Rei said.

"Same problem, different height."

Without warning, a static screech erupted from the speakers, instantly killing the noise in the room.