Final Examination

The other students shifted. Some frowned.

Arthur remained still.

"An S-rank talent is not something you 'work toward.' It is not something you 'catch up to.'"

His voice hardened.

"It is a gift from god. A mark of supremacy. An S-rank talent holder can do in one year what an A-rank may take ten to accomplish."

Arthur's fingers twitched slightly at those words.

"If you are not S-rank, the academy will not place you there. You will have to do the impossible. Prove you are so monstrously strong that you cannot be ignored."

Another pause.

"If you are not in Class S, you will never receive the same resources, the same mentorship, the same recognition. And if you wish to challenge those at the top, you will do so with less—while they grow stronger with more."

The words hung in the air.

Arthur exhaled slowly.

"But—" The instructor smirked. "I will not crush your ambitions before you've had a chance to fight for them."