The reaction that followed Charlotte Raven’s name was not loud enough to become disorderly, but it was far more noticeable than the one Ariana had received.

A low murmur spread through the Eastern Grand Hall as several students turned toward her, some with surprise, others with curiosity, and a few with expressions that made it clear they were still processing what the ranking meant.

Charlotte had not merely remained in the top five. She had climbed above Chris Rature, a prince of Tempest, a Lightning Magic prodigy, and someone many had once assumed would remain among the highest-ranked students by default.

Whether anyone liked Chris or not, his power was undeniable, which made Charlotte’s placement above him impossible to ignore. It told everyone that the academy had valued more than direct combat dominance, and it also told them that Charlotte had performed far better than many had assumed.

Charlotte herself stood beside Liam with a look that was far too pleased for someone who claimed not to care about rankings. In truth, she did not care about the list the same way some of her classmates did.

She had no desperate attachment to being praised by the academy, no aching need to prove herself to instructors, and certainly no interest in shaping her entire identity around a number.

However, knowing that she was not below the stinky, arrogant, not-so-husband material prince who so often made himself a problem for her "bae" was a different matter entirely. That was not about ambition. That was simply satisfying.

Her golden eyes slid toward Chris within the crowd, and her lips curved into a cheeky smile.

"Well, would you look at that," she said lightly, loud enough for those nearby to hear but not quite enough to be called openly disrespectful. "Seems even Nalim agrees that some people are better off staying beneath me."

Dylan, standing nearby, almost laughed but seemed to remember halfway through that his body did not have enough strength for that kind of reaction. The result was a weak choking sound that made him cough into his fist.

Liam glanced at Charlotte but did not comment, though the flatness in his gaze said enough. Charlotte only looked more delighted.

Chris heard her.

He did not look at her directly, but the tension in his shoulders deepened, and the anger already simmering within him sharpened.

The humiliation from Regulus’s evaluation had not yet settled, and Charlotte’s rank only worsened it. To be criticized so brutally was one thing. To then see Charlotte Raven placed above him was another. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

And worse, she knew exactly how to enjoy it.

On the stage, Sir Kaelen stepped forward again as Charlotte’s highlights began playing across the magical screen.

The first image showed her alone in a dense stretch of forest, crouched low on a thick branch while several Horror-class demons moved below her. Her golden eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, and for a moment she looked more like part of the forest than a student trapped inside it.

Then she moved.

Her body blurred down from the branch with feline precision, her claws tearing through the throat of one demon before it even knew she was there. She landed, twisted, avoided a second demon’s claws by less than an inch, and kicked off a tree trunk to reposition before striking again.

"Charlotte Raven," Kaelen began, his voice stern but carrying genuine approval, "you are one of the clearest examples this assessment has provided of what it means to want to survive."

The hall quieted slightly as the screen shifted to another scene.

Charlotte was shown moving through a region of Nalim that many students clearly recognized as dangerous from the terrain alone. The trees were dense, the air heavy, and the screen captured glimpses of hostile presences lurking around her path.

Yet Charlotte did not move like someone lost or panicked. She moved with purpose. She stopped when needed, changed direction when scent trails warned her of danger, avoided unnecessary fights, and attacked only when escape or concealment was no longer practical.

Kaelen’s gaze remained on the screen for a moment before returning to the crowd.

"Your survival instincts were excellent. Regardless of the situation you were placed in, you consistently prioritized what would keep you alive without allowing panic to guide you. You avoided unnecessary engagements, identified changes in the environment quickly, and trusted your senses when many students would have ignored similar warnings out of pride or curiosity."

Several students looked toward Charlotte again, perhaps remembering her usual carefree attitude and comparing it to the serious evaluation being given now.

Charlotte seemed entirely comfortable with both versions of herself existing at once.

"Your feats were also impressive," Kaelen continued. "You were placed within one of the more dangerous zones in Nalim, and you managed yourself remarkably well. You sustained yourself, preserved your reserves when needed, and demonstrated a level of environmental adaptation that many students lacked. More importantly, you recognized when something was beyond what you should face alone, and you withdrew before that decision became too late."

Charlotte smiled faintly at that, because she knew very well which region he was referring to.

The screen then displayed her Beast Magic more clearly. It showed Charlotte in her beast-dominant half form, her body covered in dark fur, her long hair wild around her face, her tail balancing her movements as she darted through the trees with terrifying speed.

She moved almost silently, shifting from branch to trunk to ground with a fluidity that barely resembled human motion. Her claws tore through one Horror-class demon, then she twisted around another, using its momentum against it before finishing it with a precise strike to the core.

"As a Beast Magic user myself, though of a different nature than yours, I can say confidently that your control has improved considerably," Kaelen said. "Once again, you have proven why you remain above your fellow Beast Magic users. You understand your body well. You understand when to lean into instinct and when to restrain it. That distinction is not as simple as it sounds."

The next scene on the screen caused several students to murmur again.

It showed Charlotte facing three Advanced Horrors.

This time, the form she took was not the lighter human-dominant half transformation most students had seen from her before, nor was it a complete jaguar form. It was something more dangerous, something closer to the were-jaguar state she rarely allowed anyone to witness.

Her body looked caught between human and beast, power and control, instinct and identity. She moved with frightening ferocity, meeting the Advanced Horrors in a fight that looked far more brutal than many expected from someone who often presented herself as playful, seductive, and disinterested in effort.