The Sovereign Veil Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Filing the Applications

Read chapter 17 of The Sovereign Veil by GodEmperor on NovelPedia.

Two days later. Exactly one week after the grueling placement examinations, the preliminary baseline results were released across the Terra-Nova network. Thanks to the integration of the Coalition's advanced AI grading algorithms, processing millions of candidates took hours instead of months. Lucian checked his datapad. [Candidate: Lucian Croft. Strategic/Cultural Score: 385.] Lucian stared at the number, feeling a rare moment of genuine embarrassment. For a thirty-something transmigrator harboring the memories of an aggressive corporate shark, scoring a 385 out of a standard 600 was objectively pathetic. Under normal circumstances, his predecessor's memories alone should have carried him to a respectable 450. But Lucian had treated the entire civilian placement exam like a joke, randomly checking boxes and turning in a highly inflammatory geopolitical thesis without proofreading it. His smart-comm vibrated. A notification from the 7th Academy's senior channel popped up: [Mandatory Attendance Tomorrow. Instructors will guide all baseline and Awakened candidates in finalizing their official academy applications.] A secondary, private ping followed. [Quinn Sterling: What was your final cultural score?] Lucian remembered her 'intervening' in the courtyard and looking at him like a disappointed parent. Annoyed, he swiped the message away and ignored her. Five minutes later. [Quinn Sterling: I'm sorry! I know it's my fault you were too distracted to focus on the exams.] Lucian rolled his eyes. The sheer ego. But he was bored, and teasing his lethal, newly Awakened ex-girlfriend sounded entertaining. [Lucian Croft: Can a simple 'I'm sorry' truly compensate for my shattered academic future and bleeding heart?] He waited. Ten seconds passed. [Quinn Sterling: How do you want me to compensate you? As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse.] Lucian chuckled, his fingers flying across the holographic keyboard. [Lucian Croft: Excellent! Can we hit the hotel again and actually finish what we started that night?] A long, agonizing silence stretched across the digital void. Ten minutes later. [Quinn Sterling: Hmph! Dream on, you absolute degenerate. You are no longer my boyfriend.] (Attached: Pouting holographic emoji). Lucian shook his head. You literally just said you wouldn't refuse. Fifteen seconds later. [Quinn Sterling: Unless... you are willing to wait for me for seven years while I refine my Dao.] (Attached: Blushing holographic emoji). Lucian replied with a single, devastatingly efficient word. [Lucian Croft: Scram.] Still trying to bench me as a seven-year backup? My multiversal portfolio is way too vast for that kind of commitment. The conversation ended abruptly. On the other end of the network, Quinn stared at her comms, her face turning crimson with absolute fury. She gritted her teeth so hard her Aether-core flared. "Lucian Croft! I hope you stay single for a century!" In reality, Quinn's 'seven-year prerequisite' was just a defense mechanism. She was an eighteen-year-old girl terrified of her own newly awakened lethal potential. The next morning. Lucian drove his sapphire V12 coupe to the 7th Academy. He parked and strolled into the senior homeroom. Most of his classmates were already present, including Quinn. Seeing Lucian walk in, Quinn audibly snorted, turned her head sharply, and deliberately ignored him. Instructor Xu, looking perpetually exhausted, was walking the aisles, helping students finalize their digital application forms. Lucian walked up to his desk and grabbed a physical application tablet. While the Coalition managed everything via quantum-net, formal academy drafts still required a localized, physical biometric signature. "Lucian, you... underperformed," Instructor Xu said softly, trying to be diplomatic. "Given the circumstances, have you considered deferring and retaking the exams next cycle?" Quinn subtly tilted her head, her ears straining to catch his response, her teeth sinking into her botto