I Entered the game to save Rose

Chapter 3: The Opening Ceremony

Most of the conversations blended together as we passed, but a few phrases still reached me through the crowd.

"Are you psyched for the Affinity test."

"My brother said the crystal can tell immediately."

"What if I don't get the element I want?"

The words tugged at something in my memory.

Right.

The opening ceremony.

The test.

I vaguely remembered it from the game, though most routes had rushed through it so quickly that I'd never paid much attention.

At the time, I had been far more interested in whether Rose would survive.

The Grand Hall of Aurelia Imperial Academy was already full by the time we arrived, voices rising and falling beneath the tall arched ceiling as first-years filled the lower rows while upper years and faculty observed from above. The entire space felt structured in a way that made it clear nothing here was accidental; even the banners hanging along the walls followed a deliberate order, representing the four regions of the kingdom in their respective colors.

We separated to go and stay in our respective seats and I tried to focus on the movement of people instead of the weight of the hall pressing in from all sides, but it was difficult when every student seemed to be waiting for the same thing.

The Affinity Test.

At the center of the hall, suspended within a silver framework engraved with runes, stood the crystal. Even from a distance it felt wrong to look at for too long, not because it was unpleasant, but because it gave the impression of something that was aware of being watched.

I took my seat with the first year as the Headmaster stepped forward to begin the ceremony, his voice carrying easily across the hall as he spoke about discipline, responsibility, and the role of magic within the kingdom. Most of it faded into background noise for me, not because it was unimportant, but because every student in the hall knew what mattered most was coming after the speech ended.

One by one, names were called.

The first student who approached the crystal was from the South, identifiable by the red trim on his uniform. He walked forward with visible hesitation, placing his hand against the surface as instructed. For a brief moment, nothing seemed to happen, and then the crystal responded with a steady red glow that spread through its core like fire being drawn through glass.

A wave of applause moved through the hall as the Headmaster announced Fire Affinity, and the boy exhaled sharply before stepping back, visibly relieved.

The next student came from the West.

Her uniform carried brown accents, and she moved with more confidence than the first. When her hand touched the crystal, the reaction was slower, deeper, as though the stone itself was settling into something heavier. Green-brown light spread outward in layered patterns before stabilizing, and the announcement of Earth Affinity followed shortly after.

The reaction from the crowd was milder this time, but still respectful, as expected for a common elemental result.

It continued like that for several more students, each one approaching the crystal in turn. Fire appeared again, then Wind, then another Earth user, the pattern familiar enough that even the tension in the hall began to settle into expectation. The academy had done this every year; most results were predictable, and even the rarer affinities only shifted the mood slightly.

Then the next name was called, and the atmosphere changed subtly as a girl stepped forward whose uniform carried a deeper crimson than the others, marking her as someone from a more prominent Southern house.

She moved with certainty, placing her hand against the crystal without hesitation.

For a moment, nothing happened again, but this silence felt different from the others. The air seemed to hold its breath longer than before, as though waiting for something it wasn’t entirely sure would arrive.

Then the crystal reacted.

The red light that emerged was not steady like the previous Fire user. It surged outward in uneven waves, bright enough to reflect off the silver framework and spill into the hall itself. Heat followed it almost immediately, subtle at first, then stronger, enough that I noticed students shifting in their seats.

The Headmaster straightened slightly as the glow intensified.

When the announcement came, it carried a different weight.

“Advanced Fire Affinity.”

The girl stepped back with a composed expression, but I noticed the way her fingers tightened briefly before she returned to her seat. The distinction clearly mattered here more than I had initially assumed.

The line continued to move forward after her, but I was no longer paying attention in the same way. Something about the way the crystal had reacted lingered in my mind, not because it was surprising, but because it suggested there were layers to this system that I had not understood from the beginning.

Then my name was called.

“Geraldine Valmont.”

The sound of it seemed louder than it should have been.

I stood before I could overthink it, stepping away from Rose and Rowan as the path toward the platform opened for me. The crystal waited at the center of the hall, unchanged, as though it had been observing every student before deciding I was next.

Each step felt heavier than the last, not because I was afraid of magic itself, but because I couldn’t stop thinking about what it meant to be seen by everyone at once like this.

When I finally reached it, I placed my hand against the surface.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then the crystal went dark.

Not dim.

Completely dark.

The absence of light spread outward from my hand as though something inside it had been extinguished entirely. A confused murmur ran through the hall, and I felt my pulse tighten slightly as I waited for the reaction to correct itself.

Instead, the silence stretched.

Then, very slowly, silver light began to form beneath the surface.

Not red.

Not green.

Not blue or white.

Silver.

It moved like liquid lightning trapped under glass, spreading through the crystal in branching paths that did not resemble any elemental pattern I had seen so far. The sound came next, faint at first, like distant thunder, even though the sky above the academy was still visible through the high windows.

The light intensified. A low vibration spread through the hall itself, subtle enough that it was felt more than heard. Students began to shift, some standing slightly as the crystal continued to glow with a brightness that did not match any known affinity classification.

I became aware of movement at the edges of the hall.

Faculty members had risen from their seats and The Headmaster was no longer sitting. Even Rose had stood

The crystal’s silver light continued to expand, and for the first time since entering the hall, I had the distinct impression that whatever was happening was not part of the ceremony at all, but something that had interrupted it.

And then, from somewhere beyond the hall, thunder answered.