Chapter 161: The Failure and The Defeated
They were failing, and they were failing massively.
An hour had already passed, and yet Nolan could still see that all the names were still in red.
But what was surprising was the fact that as Nolan looked around, he couldn't quite pinpoint who had really failed.
All of the newcomers were silent, and some whose names Nolan recognized and knew had failed were simply quiet, staring at the panel.
It was mystifying to Nolan.
He had expected a little tantrum, maybe some of them breaking down in tears, clenching their teeth, or fists trembling with frustration.
Yet, contrary to what he had anticipated, everyone was eerily calm, their eyes fixed on the ranking tab.
It revealed to Nolan the mental state of the Celestial Heirs were tougher than that of regular students on earth.
Two hours passed, and to Nolan, it felt like every name would remain red.
A slight fear gripped his heart until, eventually, a new score appeared: a perfectly nailed 150/300!
This time, Nolan heard a scream of joy.
He turned to the side and spotted a small, red-skinnedboy bouncing up and down in his seat.
It was easy to tell that he had passed, and Nolan couldn't help but click his tongue at the boy's luck.
He had been saved by just a single point, while nearly 700 students who scored 149 had failed to pass the test.
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Itwas clear the boy had quite the stroke of good luck.
From the young man upwards, names began appearing in green, indicating they were above the 150-mark, and tears of joy filled the hall.
Nolan's eyes remained glued to the screen, and he was surprised by some of the names he saw.
The first name he recognized was Lily, the library girl.
She had scored around 190, and when Nolan turned slightly, he saw her calmly sitting in her seat.
Though he couldn't see her facial expression since she was facing forward, he was surprised at her composure.
It was like the calmness of someone who knew they wouldn't fail.
Another familiar name was Wiro, who had scored 159. The bully had managed to pass, albeit narrowly.
As more names were uploaded, after about two hours, the pace at which they appeared slowed considerably.
It was clear that the list was nearing its end. Nolan's eyebrows furrowed as his heart slowly increased it's thumping. The truth was, he had yet to spot his own name and that gave him quite the chills.
Finally, the last name appeared, and everyone turned their gaze to a particular person seated at the front.
The figure was none other than someone Nolan was very familiar with.
Just as he stared at the figure, he felt those cold, piercing eyes lock back onto him—eyes that seemed to hold a dangerously burning flame within.
The person was none other than Quinn!
It seemed Quinn had recovered quickly from his injuries and had even managed to participated in the test eve though Nolan didn't sightehim through the entire three day duration.
At the moment, he was apparently the highest-ranking student.
The intensity of Quinn's stare was so glaring that most of the students couldn't help but glance back and forth between Quinn and Nolan.
Even the Ascendants at the front cast curious glances between the two.
'Failure…' Quinn's lips moved.
Though no sound came out, everyone in the room seemed to hear what he had said as they watched him flash a mocking smile at Nolan.
That was when it struck them: Nolan's name really hadn't appeared on the list.
Could it have been that Nolan failed so massively that his score couldn't even be bothered to he recorded by the academy!?
They were expecting to see a defeated expression from Nolan, but to their shock, his lips also parted into a grin of mockery as he turned his gaze back to the rankings.
His reaction stunned everyone.
They thought the names had finished being uploaded, but to their absolute shock, when they looked back at the rankings, they saw a new name above Quinn's.
The name was simple, not particularly special, yet it sent a loud gasp throughout the hall.
1st – NOLAN GOTSCHALD!
It was like someone loudly read the names out throughout the room, but what shocked everyone the most was the score.
Mark: 285/300!
He had surpassed Quinn's score by a wide margin of 50 points.
Incredulity filled the room as every pair of eyes turned to Nolan. The same was true for Quinn, who stared at him in disbelief.
But Nolan didn't return his gaze.
Instead, he looked back at the Ascendants on the platform, maintaining a silence that spoke louder than any words ever could.
Quinn's hand clenched into blood-red claws, digging into his own palms and drawing blood.
'Defeated!'
It was the word that rang through the minds of every student in the hall. Yet, it was nothing short of extraordinary yo everyone still.
The academy's weakest student had surpassed every single one of them in the Ascendants' test. It was an astonishing development and like a tight slap on the face of those who ahd formerly bullied Nolan and called him trash in the past.
Just how had he done it? Only a few months ago, nearly everyone had been laughing at him, mocking him as worthless.
How had he changed his status so drastically within a mere couple of weeks?
Some began to wonder if there was something backing him.
Or perhaps the rankings had been forged, and the academy had tweaked the results in Nolan's favor?
But that hypothesis didn't make sense.
If Nolan had any credible background, he wouldn't have been deemed trash and so badly bullied in the first place.
It was impossible for the academy to tweak his name to first due to some hidden background, and the chance of the rankings being wrong was close to impossible.since it came from the academy itself.
A mistake of placing the trashest trash of the academy at the top of the Ascendants ranking was too much of a mistake.
So how?
How had the weakest and most despised student in the academy become the top scorer, just 15 points away from a perfect score?