Sir Regulus stepped forward again, his expression measured as his eyes rested on Dylan. "Dylan Wellington, you were quite an interesting student to watch during this assessment."

Dylan lifted his brows faintly, as if not sure whether that was a compliment or warning.

"For me, at least," Regulus added.

Dylan gave a tired little grin. "I’ll take it."

Regulus continued as if he had not heard him. "You displayed many qualities during this assessment that, under different circumstances, would place you firmly within the top five. Your environmental awareness is among the best in your year. Your survival instincts are sharp. Your ability to read terrain, create distance, and use surroundings to compensate for disadvantage was on full display throughout Nalim."

The screen showed Dylan sliding down a slope while firing backward at pursuing demons. One arrow struck a tree root, another split through a hanging branch, and a third hit a rock formation just as the leading demon stepped onto it. The demon lost balance, and the ones behind it crashed into it, buying Dylan enough time to vanish into thicker brush.

Another highlight showed him setting up a crude alarm system with thin wires and metal scraps, catching a stalking Horror before it could ambush him while he rested.

Regulus’s voice carried a faint but unmistakable note of approval.

"Your skill with a bow remains impressive. I understand that some may consider my praise biased, as I am an archer myself, but that does not change the truth. Your draw speed, your accuracy, your ability to fire multiple shots within seconds and still maintain practical aim are exceptional. As I told you once before, almost a year ago, you are one of the best prodigy archers I have seen at your age in a long while."

Dylan’s grin became slightly more genuine, though his exhaustion prevented it from fully becoming his usual bright expression.

Regulus went on. "Your magic is also worth mentioning. You possess an affinity that is complicated, unusual, and, as far as academy records show, unprecedented in its exact form. Despite that, your mastery over it is very good. You have developed ways to apply it creatively, not simply as a direct weapon, but as a means of control, misdirection, and support for your archery."

The screen showed Dylan using steel magic to alter the path of several small projectiles mid-flight, curving them around obstacles and forcing demons into exposed positions. Another clip showed him reinforcing arrowheads at the moment of release, allowing them to pierce through armor that normal arrows likely could not have penetrated.

"As much as you may act like a jokester among your peers," Regulus said, his tone still even, "and as much as you may occasionally appear to be one of the least serious students in the room, your mental capacity is high. To use an affinity like yours effectively requires intelligence, understanding, and constant calculation. I know you possess those qualities."

Dylan scratched the side of his face, seeming both pleased and slightly embarrassed.

"However," Regulus continued, and Dylan’s grin immediately tightened because he knew what was coming, "the reason for your drop in rank is your own curiosity and carelessness. You know that very well, so I will not spend long explaining it."

A few students glanced toward Dylan, and he looked away with a weak cough.

Regulus’s gaze remained steady. "There were multiple moments where you had already secured safety, only to risk that safety because you wanted to test an idea, investigate something unnecessary, or push an advantage beyond what was wise. Curiosity can serve you well. It has served you well. But in a survival assessment, curiosity without restraint becomes a liability. That is what cost you."

Dylan sighed softly, then nodded once. "Fair."

Regulus gave him a brief nod in return. "Your talent is not in question. Your discipline must continue to improve."

The screen faded from Dylan’s final highlight, where he sat halfway up a tree at night, exhausted and half-covered in leaves while still holding his bow across his knees. Lucia tapped her clipboard again, and the next image appeared.

"Rank six, Maxwell Samson," she announced.

Max stood a little straighter when his name was called. He looked battered, but far more stable than many around him. His academy attire was torn across the shoulder and chest, and his bracer remained secured around one forearm, scratched and scuffed from use but still intact. The green gem at its center was dim now, though the small metal shards around it had clearly seen combat.

Max’s expression carried surprise and relief at once, as if part of him had expected to fall and another part had hoped desperately that he would not.

Kaelen stepped forward once more. "Maxwell Samson."

Max looked toward him attentively.

"You are another promising student who has shown immense growth," Kaelen said. "Diverse in your own way, adaptable, and like Erica Roswell, an Enhancement Magic user. In truth, when it comes purely to the application and consistency of Enhancement Magic, you remain one of the best users of it within this academy."

On the screen, Max’s time in Nalim began playing. One highlight showed him fighting with a spear against a Horror-class demon, his body reinforced with Enhancement Magic as he sidestepped a charge and drove the weapon into the demon’s exposed core.

Another showed him switching from spear to dual blades after his weapon became lodged in a creature’s armor, his movements heavy but fast, direct but not reckless.

Then came a scene where his bracer activated, producing the green translucent shield with four steel shards at its cardinal points. He used it to withstand the impact of a charging demon before forcing the shield forward and staggering the creature long enough to finish it.

"Beyond your proficiency with your magic," Kaelen continued, "what makes you stand out is your combat capability. Your mastery over multiple weapons is rare among students your age, and even rarer is your ability to switch between them without losing rhythm. Spears, swords, short blades, heavier weapons; you are not perfect with all of them, but you are competent enough with several to adapt based on the situation. That is valuable."

Max’s eyes remained on the screen, but his expression had steadied.

Kaelen continued.

"Your resilience is also noteworthy. Nalim placed you in situations where many would have either overextended or retreated too early. You endured, adjusted, and continued moving. Like Sir Regulus said of Dylan, you possess qualities that could place you within the top five. Your time within Nalim proved that."

The screen showed Max defending a narrow path between two large stones while several Feral-class demons tried to swarm past him. He used his bracer shield to block one side, his axe to cleave through another, and Enhancement Magic to reinforce his legs enough to hold his position without being driven back.

The footage then shifted to Max carrying his own supplies across unstable ground, testing each step before committing, showing more patience than some might have expected from him.

"Your survival instincts were strong," Kaelen said. "Your decisions were generally sound. You understood when to fight, when to move, and when to conserve your strength. However, you can still do more. You sometimes rely too heavily on durability and reinforcement, trusting your enhanced body to absorb punishment that could have been avoided entirely. That habit may not cost you against weaker enemies, but against stronger opponents, it will."

Max nodded slowly.

Kaelen’s gaze shifted briefly toward the bracer on Max’s arm.

"As for that self-made shield you used during the assessment, it has potential. It is incomplete, and there are weaknesses in its stability and duration, but the concept is strong. Continue improving it. Work with your Forgemastery and Enchantment instructors. If refined properly, it could become a valuable part of your combat style rather than simply a defensive tool you use when cornered."

Max looked slightly surprised by the direct praise of the bracer, but there was visible pride in his expression as well.

Kaelen’s tone grew firmer. "You have done well to climb from tenth when you first entered the academy to sixth now. But do not allow yourself to settle there. The moment you become satisfied with your current position, those below you will catch up and surpass you, while those above will widen the gap between themselves and you."

The words struck Max with enough weight that his expression became more serious.

Kaelen looked at him a moment longer. "You have the ability to climb higher. Whether you do so depends on how much discipline you apply from this point onward."

The screen lingered on Max for another few seconds, showing him standing alone at the edge of a rocky ridge near the end of the assessment, bracer damaged, weapons worn, but posture still firm. Then the image faded.

Lucia allowed the hall a brief moment of silence as the students absorbed everything that had been said so far. The lower half of the top ten had already shown how competitive their year had become. Lucian, Erica, Ariana, Dylan, and Max had each proven something different within Nalim, and yet there were still five names remaining above them.

The tension in the hall shifted again.

Lucia lowered her gaze to the clipboard, then looked back toward the students.

"We will now proceed with the top five."