A few days after the disaster of a combat test, Nox found himself back in the auditorium with Devon and Cass by his side.

The entrance test had finally wrapped up....well, the academy was forced to wrap it up and cancel the Stealth test after the VR incident, which meant no new students for the Stealth division, not until something was figured out.

The students were also given a few days to recover from whatever shock or injuries they got from the test.

And today, was finally the day they'd find out who would have their cores upgraded to a more permanent one or have the temporary one removed entirely.

The auditorium was filled to the brim with students as they nervously waited. Their results were both going to be available on their watches and the floating screen above the platform.

Listening to the results were a couple of important people, one of which was from Helion Industries.

He was a handsome man with golden blond hair and blue eyes, kind of like someone Nox knew.

"That's my brother," Cass suddenly whispered with an uneasy look on his face.

Nox and Devon knew that he was from the family that owns Helion Industries, so this reveal didn't come as a surprise.

Besides, the man looked like a copy of Cassian, just older and a bit taller.

"Is y'all just a bunch of pretty boys?" Devon, whose cast had completely been removed, whispered, squinting at the man who just sat there looking bored. "'Cause ain't no way this is fair to the rest of us."

The man suddenly lifted his head and looked directly to where the trio were sitting, before he gave a smile towards Cass.

Now, Nox wasn't exactly an expert at reading people, but he was pretty sure that the man's smile didn't reach his eyes.

It felt more like a mocking smile, something that was confirmed by the way Cass reacted.

"What's your brother doing here?' Nox asked, looking directly at Cassian.

"Talent recruit," Cass answered, "he's here to identify talented candidates before the world even knows about them, so they can poach them as early as possible."

"So he's here for kids going into the Engineering division?" Devon asked, making a face, "man… if they're only scoutin' tech geniuses, I'm already out the damn race."

Getting a sponsor at this stage wasn't so bad, especially when you considered the amount of credits they gave as allowance every month.

"No," Cass shook his head, "they're looking for talents in every field."

Nox frowned a bit before asking, "isn't every Solar Knight expected to join the military?"

Well that's what he knew anyway, even the solar knights in the academy were part of the military, as far as he knew and they'd respond immediately if the Kingdom called.

"Normally, yeah," Cass said, lowering his voice a little, "but there's also a law that lets noble houses sponsor upcoming Solar Knights. And while those knights still have to answer the kingdom's call, they're officially tied to the sponsoring house."

"I see," Nox nodded and looked back at Cass's brother before asking, "and what are the benefits of being sponsored by a noble house?"

Cassian frowned at the question as he looked at Nox, then he just sighed.

"Resources," he answered, "training, access to better solar tech, sponsored knights get priority, sometimes even immunity from certain academy regulations."

"So all that just for you to be in their complete control," Nox said as he finally turned towards Cass again.

"Pretty much," Cass said with a sigh.

Devon nodded slowly, understanding dawning on him.

"So it's like… y'all get all the perks upfront, then spend the rest of your years repayin' the favor with your soul?" He said.

Cass was silent for a while as he looked at the two.

"Depends on the house, though," he eventually added with a shrug, "some treat their knights well. Others…" he glanced back at his brother, who was still wearing a smile, "…not so much."

"I see," Devon nodded.

Before any more words could be exchanged between the trio, a ding was suddenly heard, pulling their attention towards the platform below.

On the platform walking a pretty familiar face, Radiant Garron Boar, well, not like the students knew his name just yet.

He stood there, looking around, causing all the candidates to quiet down.

His eyes rested on Nox for a moment longer than other students, he felt like he was forgetting something important about this particular candidate, but he didn't know what so he just moved on.

He cleared his throat once the room was fully silent.

"Students," Garron began, voice booming through the auditorium without needing a mic, "your performance during the combat portion of the entrance test has been reviewed. Despite… unforeseen complications," a few murmurs broke out, "your results have been finalized."

Garron continued, "the list you are about to see determines what division you are placed and whether you'll have your temporary core upgraded or removed."

This caused the students to shift uncomfortably in their seats, most were nervous since this was a big moment of their lives, others, not so much.

They already knew whether or not they passed, so they saw no reason to be nervous.

Nox's watch vibrated.

He didn't check it just yet.

Because Garron Boar suddenly stepped aside, gesturing toward the floating screen and the results began to upload.

Devon nudged Nox with his elbow.

"Hey, bet you five credits I had a higher combat point," he said mostly because he could see that Nox was nervous.

Nox looked at him for a couple of seconds before sighing, "you're on."

The names appeared one at a time and by them, their scores in each test, arranged in a tabular form.

The students either had looks of happiness on their faces or dread as they say the scores beside their names.

Devon leaned forward, squinting at the screen, "Man… they could've at least alphabetized this. My eyes ain't built for Where-Is-Waldo."

Well, he could've just easy checked on his watch but that part completely slipped his mind.

Cass ignored him completely, his eyes scanning the board really fast, which was unusual for his usually tired self.

"There," Cassian muttered, pointing at the approaching line of Cs.

Devon straightened in his seat, "aight, moment of truth—"

[CASSIAN BURNS — Combat: 15 | Craft: 120 | Knowledge: 200 | Final Score: 335 |

ELIGIBLE DIVISIONS: Engineering, Scholar.]

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