Leo stared at the score until his vision blurred. In the hyper-competitive ecosystem of the Aethelgard Academy, a 2.9 out of 10 on the "Potential for Action" (Act) scale was more than a failing grade—it was a social death sentence. Most students hovered around a 7.0. The elites, the ones who would go on to command fleets or stabilize tectonic plates, were solid 9s.
He walked through the maze with his hands in his pockets. Spikes rose from the floor and retracted, never sensing his weight. High-pressure water jets fired, but the droplets simply rolled off him as if he were made of air. 2.9 / 10 Act...
The red numbers on the portal glowed with a mocking intensity: . Leo stared at the score until his vision blurred
The next day, the "Dullard Trials" began. It was a cruel tradition where those in the bottom percentile were forced to navigate the Kinetic Labyrinth—a shifting maze of high-velocity traps designed to force an "Act-Surge." The elites, the ones who would go on
Leo didn't answer. He felt the same as he always did: heavy, slow, and perpetually out of sync with the frantic rhythm of the world. While other students were practicing lightning-fast "Act-Surges"—bursts of magical or physical speed—Leo struggled to even summon the will to run for the bus.
"It has to be a glitch," his roommate, Silas, said, though he instinctively took a half-step back, as if Leo’s lack of kinetic energy might be contagious.
