CHAPTER 107: ACADEMY MEDALLIONS. (KOFI DONATION BONUS)

[This Bonus Chapter is courtesy of tanllwyht01! Thanks a bunch!]

Valeria watched the disappointment wash over Ren’s features and felt an unexpected pang of maternal sympathy pierce through her ancient composure.

The boy had no conception of what he truly was, no understanding of the forces awakening within him or the catastrophic consequences his very existence would inevitably bring to the world around him.

But that innocence was precisely what made him so dangerous.

Seven centuries of accumulated wisdom told her that the most destructive magical entities in history had always begun as promising young students whose exceptional abilities seemed like natural evolution rather than existential threats.

The corruption came later, as their power grew beyond their capacity to comprehend or control it.

She maintained her carefully constructed facade of institutional authority while her mind raced through possibilities with the speed and precision that had kept her alive through numerous catastrophes.

The immediate crisis had been managed through decisive intervention, but the real challenges were only beginning to reveal themselves.

Her enhanced senses, honed through centuries of detecting threats both magical and political, identified at least three separate individuals in the crowd whose magical signatures didn’t match their apparent identities.

External observers who had undoubtedly traveled considerable distances to investigate persistent rumors of the impossible male weaver.

They had witnessed everything.

’Complications beyond measure,’ she thought grimly, her fingers unconsciously tracing protective patterns against the crystalline surface of her observation chamber.

’I’ve bought the boy precious time, but at the cost of revealing his existence to precisely the people who cannot be allowed to possess this knowledge.’

The political ramifications alone could destabilize the careful balance of power she had spent decades establishing. The magical implications were potentially devastating.

Below in the arena, Ren stood perfectly motionless, his analytical mind clearly working through the implications of her mental intrusion with the methodical precision that had carried him through the tournament.

She could practically see him cataloguing possibilities, trying to understand what she could possibly mean by calling him dangerous.

If only he knew how devastatingly accurate that assessment truly was.

Valeria had been present during the last Voided purge three centuries ago, had witnessed firsthand the reality-bending destruction that chaos wielders inevitably brought when their power reached full manifestation.

The final confrontation had lasted three days and nights of continuous magical warfare, leaving permanent scars in the dimensional fabric that still ached whenever she passed near the desolate wasteland that had once been a thriving province.

The entity they had ultimately destroyed had once been a promising young student, brilliant and determined, convinced that her unique abilities were gifts to be celebrated rather than curses to be contained at any cost.

Her progression from exceptional student to reality-warping monster had taken less than three years.

By the end, twelve Domain Weavers—including some of the most powerful Carvers in recorded history—had died bringing him down.

Even their pyrrhic victory had come at the cost of rendering an entire province uninhabitable for generations, its very existence a permanent reminder of what unchecked chaos power could accomplish.

’But this one shows different patterns,’ she told herself, studying Ren’s composed reaction to her mental communication with the analytical precision of someone whose survival had always depended on accurate threat assessment.

’He displays none of the early warning signs of chaos corruption. No megalomaniacal tendencies, no reality dissociation episodes, no developing contempt for normal magical practitioners.’

Yet.

The historical records, preserved in archives that only she could access, were unambiguous about the typical progression pattern.

Voided always began as exceptional individuals whose abilities seemed like natural magical evolution rather than dangerous mutations requiring immediate elimination.

The corruption manifested later, as their power outgrew their human capacity for self-control.

"Meet me in this Arena by midnight," she projected directly into his consciousness, her mental voice carrying undertones of absolute command accumulated through centuries of unquestioned authority.

"There are things you must learn that cannot wait for normal academic progression. Bring no one. Tell no one. Your very survival depends on absolute discretion."

She watched him nod almost imperceptibly, his analytical mind already working through the implications of a private audience with the Academy Head herself. Smart boy.

That intelligence might be the only factor capable of saving him from the fate that had befallen every other chaos wielder in recorded history.

For now, though, institutional tradition demanded its proper observance.

The tournament might have ended in ways that defied precedent and expectation, but four and a half thousand prospective students were waiting for the ceremony that would officially mark their transition from candidates to full academy members.

This was spectacle she could allow to proceed normally—a carefully orchestrated display of institutional power that would remind everyone present of the academy’s unquestioned authority and accumulated prestige.

Valeria settled back into her observation throne with practiced grace as the witch began organizing the massive ceremonial proceedings.

The ancient sorceress might be theatrical and occasionally prone to dramatic flourishes, but her mastery of large-scale magical manipulation remained absolutely flawless after centuries of practice.

"All prospective students, arrange yourselves by final ranking!" the witch’s voice boomed across the entire arena complex with magical amplification that reached every corner of the expanded facility.

"The Academy Medallion Ceremony will now commence!"

What followed was a demonstration of magical logistics that left even experienced practitioners genuinely awestruck.

With a series of complex gestures that seemed almost casual in their execution, the witch began levitating and organizing forty-five hundred students into perfect geometric formation across the vastly expanded arena space.

Bodies moved through the air with precision that defied normal physics, settling into rows and columns that created living patterns visible from every elevated seat.

The sheer scale of the magical manipulation was staggering—coordinating that many individual movements simultaneously required computational abilities that bordered on the supernatural.

Valeria allowed herself a small smile of professional approval.

The witch might be ancient and occasionally prone to dramatic excess, but her technical mastery remained undiminished by the centuries.

The medallions themselves materialized from dimensional storage in quantities that spoke eloquently of institutional resources beyond normal comprehension.

Bronze gleamed for the vast majority—4,092 medallions that would grant access to the academy’s standard curriculum and basic facilities.

Each bronze medallion was a masterwork of magical engineering in its own right, containing enhancement enchantments that would amplify the wearer’s natural abilities by approximately fifteen percent while providing basic protective functions against common magical hazards.

For most students, these would represent the pinnacle of magical artifacts they would currently possess.

388 silver medallions appeared next, their surfaces gleaming with internal light that spoke of significantly more sophisticated enchantment work.

These were reserved for elite class students who had demonstrated exceptional capability during the brutal selection process and had enough OP.

Their enhanced privileges and access to advanced coursework would prepare them for leadership roles throughout magical society.

The silver medallions contained enhancement and defensive magic nearly twice as powerful as their bronze counterparts, along with communication enchantments that would allow direct contact with academy faculty regardless of distance.

They also carried monitoring systems that would track the wearer’s magical development and alert instructors to any concerning changes in capability or behavior.

Eighteen gold medallions manifested with ceremonial gravitas appropriate to their rarity, each one pulsing with magical energies that made the air shimmer around them.

Supreme class recognition was reserved for students whose abilities transcended normal academy expectations entirely.

Among them were Lia, Sertina, Sera, Lydia and other extremely talented girls.

The gold medallions contained enhancement and defensive magic that would amplify the wearer’s abilities by nearly fifty percent, along with access to restricted magical resources that normal students would never encounter.

They also carried more sophisticated monitoring enchantments, designed to track not just magical development but psychological stability and ethical decision-making patterns.

And finally, with appropriate ceremony for their unprecedented nature, two diamond medallions materialized—crystalline artifacts that seemed to contain actual captured starlight within their multifaceted surfaces.

Imperial class recognition reserved for students who would fundamentally reshape magical understanding itself.

Valeria observed with professional interest as the diamond medallions settled around Ren and Mirabella’s necks with ceremony appropriate to their historic achievement.

The crowd’s reaction was thunderous, recognizing instinctively that they were witnessing the creation of future legends whose names would echo through history.

These were the top prospectives from all three side blocks!

These were the winners!