The cafeteria was at its loudest during lunchtime. Students argued about strategy drills, recounted mistakes from morning training, and tried to outdo one another with exaggerated stories. Chairs scraped on the floor, trays clattered against the tables, and the atmosphere felt like a constant storm of sound and motion. That chaos made it easy to ignore new faces, but the moment the new cadet walked in, something subtle changed. She moved with a quiet confidence that did not demand attention, yet somehow commanded it. Her uniform was perfectly arranged, her posture straight, and her expression calm. No one knew anything about her, which immediately made her the subject of curiosity.
ย Disbelief Spreads Through the Room
Rank One was not an ordinary placement. It was a title achieved only by those who outperformed thousands of applicants in the entrance exams. It required exceptional physical skill, sharp intellect, and absolute emotional discipline. Students spent months preparing for those trials and most still failed. So when she claimed to hold that rank without a hint of doubt, the reaction was immediate disbelief.
A few cadets burst into laughter. Others exchanged looks that mixed amusement and annoyance. Someone pulled up the academy registry on their tablet, determined to expose her claim as arrogance or delusion. Instead, her name appeared at the top of the list with flawless scores across every category. Strategy, physical endurance, tactical adaptability, precision, and the psychological resilience test were all listed with the highest possible marks.
The murmurs in the cafeteria grew faster and sharper. People whispered theories about how she might have achieved such results. Some thought she had connections. Others insisted she had received special training. A few even wondered if the academy had manipulated the rankings. Through all the noise, she sat at an empty table and ate quietly, unaffected by the growing storm of speculation.
ย The Academy Decides to Test Her
By mid afternoon, the entire campus was buzzing with the rumor that she had been selected for the Midnight Trial. It was a test reserved for extreme situations and almost never assigned to someone on their first day. Instructors used it to expose weaknesses in cadets who needed to be humbled or to determine whether someone had been overestimated. Facing the Midnight Trial without preparation was considered close to sabotage, yet she received no warning and no choice in the matter.
Most students would have been terrified. Instead, she arrived at the training chamber at exactly two minutes before midnight with the same calm expression she had worn in the cafeteria. The metal doors closed behind her, and the atmosphere inside shifted to a tense stillness. The instructors observed from behind reinforced glass while dozens of cadets filled the back row to witness what they expected to be a failure.
ย The Trial Begins
The lights inside the chamber illuminated suddenly, revealing a labyrinth of shifting metal walls. Drones dropped from the ceiling equipped with stun rounds. Mechanical hounds activated with sharp artificial growls. Pressure plates glowed faintly beneath the floor, ready to trigger traps if stepped on incorrectly.
The trial began.
She moved with precision that stunned everyone watching. Rather than reacting with panic like most first time participants, she navigated the maze as if she recognized a rhythm within the chaos. Walls closed behind her but she slipped through tight gaps with perfect timing. Drones fired at her but every blast missed by inches as she calculated each step. Her movements were not frantic but smooth and deliberate as if she had studied this environment long before entering it.
Students whispered in disbelief. Instructors began taking notes more urgently. No one had expe
