The whole team remained frozen as Felix sat down without a word.
No one knew what to say.
But it was Lord Severian who finally broke the silence.
"Congratulations, Team Aurora," he said, his tone even. "As the first team to arrive in full, you have the privilege of choosing your opponent for the third contest."
"Wait, what?" Ethan blurted, whipping his head toward Severian.
"We get to choose?" Aurora asked, tilting her head slightly.
Severian nodded. "Correct. The faculty will not always determine matchups. The selection process will vary each time. For this round, we decided to base it on arrival. Since you were the first team here, you will pick first." He gestured for Aurora to step forward.
Aurora turned to her team. "Depending on the choices, what should I pick?"
"The academy would probably frown on us picking the strongest available opponent," Jace mused. "That'd be reckless."
"And picking the weakest would make it seem like we lack confidence," Felix added, speaking up for the first time. His voice was level, but there was no missing the edge of frustration beneath it. "Hell, even taking a team ranked in the double digits might be seen as playing it safe."
Aurora nodded, standing. "Alright. High to mid rank." Without hesitation, she made her way toward Severian.
Severian's gaze remained steady as she approached. "Hello, Aurora." There was the faintest trace of warmth in his voice, almost imperceptible, but there.
"Grandfather," she replied, allowing the smallest smile to break through her usual calm. "What are my options?"
He handed her a ledger. "Here. Choose a team and sign your name beside them."
Aurora scanned the list:
Rank 2 – Ian
Rank 6 – Igor
Rank 8 – Uriah
Rank 15 – Ulysses
Rank 17 – Adeline
She didn't deliberate long.
With a steady hand, she wrote her name next to Igor and passed the book back.
Severian took a moment to review the selection before giving a slight nod of approval. "Good choice. Strong, but not excessive. Confident, but not arrogant."
"Thank you, sir." She gave a respectful bow before turning and heading back toward her team.
Jace had watched the entire exchange between Aurora and Severian. He couldn't hear what was said, but he didn't miss the moment they seemed to share. "Maybe Lord Severian actually cared for her, beyond her just being a member of his house." He thought to himself.
Aurora rejoined the group, her expression as composed as ever. "Team Igor. Rank 6." She wasted no time. "I'll start researching them tonight during our cooldowns in mana training."
Before anyone could respond, Felix spoke up.
"I know you said you wanted to train solo, Orion," he started, his voice tight. "But I can't pass out like that again." His fists clenched against his knees. "And I'm not confident in handling that training alone."
A heavy silence settled over the group.
Some of them looked at Felix. Others awkwardly looked away, as if giving him space.
"Yeah man of course," Orion agreed. "You're free to join whenever."
"Thanks," Felix's hands didn't relax. "I can't get another letter like that again."
Jace's curiosity stirred. "They sent you a letter?" He had hoped to avoid the topic, but now that it was out there, he couldn't ignore it. He was interested in how the promotion/demotion process actually worked.
Felix nodded. "Yeah. I woke up in my room, and there was a letter on my desk." His jaw tightened. "It listed the reasons for my demotion… and all my uniforms were already switched to the new colors."
Ethan's hands balled into fists. He hated the sound of that. "So they don't even tell you face to face?" His frustration seeped into his voice. "They just leave a letter like you're not even worth their time?"
"Honestly, it makes sense if you think about it," Aurora said thoughtfully. "With the number of promotions and demotions that happen after every contest, it's probably more efficient to notify people that way." She paused. "And… safer."
Jace frowned. "Safer?"
Aurora gave him a knowing look. "Do you really think every student takes demotion well?"
"You know what, fair enough." Jace exhaled, admitting Aurora had made a solid point.
One by one, the group gave small nods, each silently considering how they would react if they had been the one demoted.
Aurora shifted the conversation back. "Putting that aside for now, this contest might be a problem for us."
Selene frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
Jace leaned forward. "I think I get what she's saying." He gestured toward the contest breakdown. "We have two one on one duels, which means it feels like Lyra and I have to take those spots."
Aurora nodded. "Right. And our usual two on two pair is Ethan and Selene. But then there's Tag, which is almost definitely going to require speed."
"Oh," Selene murmured, pressing a fist against her mouth. "I see the problem now."
Felix adjusted his glasses. "So we'll have to swap out one of our regular duelists to make sure we have a speed threat for Tag."
"Alright," Astra chimed in. "So we keep Ethan and Selene in the duo match, leave Jace as a solo, have Lyra handle whatever Tag ends up being, and rotate between Aurora or me for the second duel, depending on what our research tells us."
"That sounds like our best plan for now," Aurora agreed. "If the Target Challenge is precision-based, Felix is the obvious pick. If it's about hitting as many targets as possible, then Orion makes more sense."
Jace nodded, thinking through the possibilities. "Yeah, I agree. We'll have to wait and see exactly what those two new challenges involve before locking in our choices."
Felix's expression grew complicated. "You guys still trust me? Even after I messed up the last challenge?"
Ethan looked at him like he was insane. "Of course, man. You're the brainiac, why wouldn't we trust you?"
Felix gave a weak smile and nodded. He had lost a lot of his confidence after being demoted, but knowing his team still believed in him was reassuring.
"What if the Target Challenge is just throwing pies at each other? 'Cause I'd dominate that for sure," Astra joked, breaking the tension. The group couldn't hold back their laughter.
"Sounds like we need to have a pie-throwing contest at some point," Jace managed between laughs, wiping away a tear.
As the others continued to chuckle, Felix clenched his fists. He couldn't let himself be the weak link again.
Noticing this, Jace placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, offering a small nod. No words were needed.
Before Felix could dwell on it further, Lord Severian called the start of class, drawing everyone's attention to the front.