Chapter Two: The Lowest Rating

Lin said nothing. His mother's priority-care request still read ENROLLMENT PENDING. He could not afford a fight on his first day. Vines covered half the old hangar. Inside were seven students: one who hardened paper for three seconds, one who heard metal fatigue, and a short-haired girl with no power at all. She wrote equations with one hand and tossed a coin with the other. “Windspine: eight minutes, nine seconds. Rift Sense: nine minutes, forty-seven. You spent twelve seconds avoiding Qi Jin's foot in the corridor.” Lin caught her coin. “How do you know?” “Your irises show color when you invoke a gift. Su Mi. Unpowered. First in theory, last overall.” She drew two bars on the board, cut them into pieces, and rearranged them.