The Duke's Worthless Daughter Awakens an SSS+ Guide Core

The final candidates crossed the finish line one after another, their lungs burning as the complex obstacle courses gradually came to a halt. The towering walls descended smoothly back into the metallic floor while the rotating platforms locked themselves securely into place.

A clear, resonant mechanical chime echoed throughout the massive arena, drawing the attention of the exhausted applicants. The automated voice delivered the next update to the waiting crowd.

[Phase Two Complete.]

Merianah slowed to a steady stop, her breathing remaining perfectly controlled despite the intense physical exertion. A thin layer of sweat clung to her silver hair, but her facial expression remained completely composed. Compared to the desperate gasps and hunched figures surrounding her, she appeared almost entirely unaffected by the race.

Above the central arena, the massive holographic screens flickered to life, displaying the preliminary rankings for everyone to see.

Speed Assessment Rankings

1st — Candidate No. 43

2nd — Candidate No. 8

3rd — Candidate No. 112 ...

9th — Candidate No. 27

A sudden wave of intense surprise swept through the crowded viewing stands as the spectators processed the names.

"Ninth place?"

One spectator whispered in disbelief, rubbing his eyes to check the numbers again.

"The Emperion girl actually made the top ten?"

Another observer shook his head, unable to comprehend the unusual result.

"How did she manage to rank that high when she barely looked like she was running?"

Kaelen Viremont frowned deeply as he glanced toward the scoreboard, his previous satisfaction evaporating instantly. He had placed seventh himself, which meant he was only two positions ahead of the young woman he had just dismissed. His confidence faltered significantly as a strange sense of unease settled into his chest.

"This makes absolutely no sense," he muttered to himself, his hands clenching into tight fists.

He had watched her avoid nearly every direct obstacle instead of forcing her way through them with raw power. He wondered how such a conservative strategy could have possibly earned such a high ranking from the automated scoring system.

Before the murmurs in the crowd could grow any louder, Colonel Serena Vale stepped forward on the command platform once more.

"The results have been officially verified by the technical committee," she announced, her voice easily cutting through the noise.

"The third and final assessment of the morning will now begin."

Immediately following her declaration, every remaining obstacle vanished entirely beneath the seamless metal floor. The individual platforms transformed once again, shifting their physical layouts to accommodate the upcoming trial.

This time, dozens of slender metallic poles emerged in a perfect circle around each individual candidate. Small spherical devices rested silently atop every single pole, each one glowing with a faint, steady crimson light.

Merianah narrowed her eyes as she observed the new machinery, identifying the technology instantly.

"Drones," she thought, recognizing the classic design of automated combat training units.

The mechanical announcement followed right on cue, confirming her suspicion.

[Phase Three: Reaction Assessment.]

The digital voice paused to allow the applicants to brace themselves for the final challenge.

[Objective: Evade incoming attacks for a total duration of three minutes.]

The system delivered the final, restrictive parameter of the trial.

[Counterattacks are strictly prohibited.]

Several applicants exchanged puzzled looks, clearly thrown off by the defensive nature of the test.

"No attacking allowed?"

A commoner candidate asked his neighbor, looking down at his fists in confusion.

"We are only supposed to dodge the incoming fire?"

One nervous noble trainee swallowed hard, trying to project an air of confidence despite his racing pulse.

"That sounds relatively easy compared to the maze," he whispered, though his shaking hands betrayed his true anxiety.

Colonel Serena’s sharp, discerning gaze swept across the entire expanse of the arena, catching the relaxed postures of the overconfident students.

"If any of you truly believe that this phase will be easy," she stated, her voice dropping to a dangerous register, "then you have already failed the mindset of a true warrior."

Without offering another word of explanation, she raised her right hand to signal the technical crew. The crimson spheres detached from their mounting poles simultaneously, rising into the air with a low, collective hum.

Hundreds of tactical drones floated silently above the platforms, filling the upper airspace of the stadium. Each unit rotated slowly on its axis as thin targeting beams scanned the candidates standing below.

Merianah remained perfectly still in the center of her platform, her posture relaxed yet incredibly alert. She did not waste her focus by watching the physical bodies of the hovering drones. Instead, she closely monitored the movement of their shadows, their spatial spacing, and their relative firing angles.

She knew from extensive experience that the habits of automated machinery were no different from those of predictable enemy patrol units. Everything in a program followed a specific, logical pattern.

The countdown timer appeared overhead once more, ticking down the final moments before the onslaught.

Three...

Around her, several candidates instinctively assumed traditional boxing stances, raising their guards to protect their faces. Others crouched low to the ground, preparing to sprint across the limited surface of their platforms to avoid the beams.

Merianah simply relaxed her shoulders, letting her arms hang loosely at her sides. Her breathing slowed to a rhythmic pace, and her heartbeat settled into a deeply familiar, calming cadence.

She suddenly remembered another sky from her previous life, a memory that stood in stark contrast to this pristine environment. She did not think of this clean, artificial dome.

Instead, she envisioned a ruined, crimson sky filled with heavy black smoke and ash. She remembered the terrifying shrieks of infected creatures charging through the crumbling streets of Earth’s final days.

She could still hear the sickening screech of collapsing skyscrapers and the deafening, constant roar of military explosions. Compared to the absolute horror of that apocalyptic battlefield, this controlled testing arena felt almost entirely peaceful.

Two...

One of the drones directly above her platform rotated slightly, its internal gears clicking into place. Merianah’s crimson eyes shifted almost imperceptibly as she caught the minute adjustment.

"There it is," she thought, tracking the invisible trajectory.

She had already calculated its exact firing angle before the weapon had even charged.

One...

The entire arena erupted into a chaotic display of light and sound as the trial officially commenced. Scarlet energy beams shot across hundreds of platforms simultaneously, creating a dense web of dangerous projectiles.

Several candidates reacted purely on instinct, diving away at the very last second to escape the searing light. Others hesitated for a fraction of a moment, paralyzed by the sudden sensory overload.

Their brief hesitation cost them dearly. High-velocity energy bolts struck the protective barriers around their bodies, causing loud warning alarms to blare across the stadium as they were eliminated.

Merianah moved. She did not leap quickly, nor did she make any dramatic, panicked movements to escape the fire.

She took one small, deliberate step to the left, followed by a slight turn of her right shoulder. She then executed another precise half-step backward, her boots barely scraping the metal floor.

Three crimson beams sliced harmlessly past the exact space where she had been standing only moments before. Throughout the entire sequence, she never once looked rushed or overwhelmed by the incoming barrage.

Watching from the elevated command platform, Colonel Serena’s analytical expression finally changed, a look of profound shock replacing her usual stoicism.

"No," she whispered, leaning heavily over the security railing to get a closer look.

The senior technician blinked in surprise, turning away from his console to look at his superior.

"Is something wrong, Colonel?" he asked, noticing her sudden tension.

Serena stared intently at Candidate Twenty-Seven’s live video feed, completely captivated by the display.

"She is not simply dodging the attacks," the colonel stated, her voice trembling slightly with realization.

Below them, another heavy barrage of scarlet beams converged on Merianah from four entirely different directions simultaneously. Without breaking her fluid rhythm, the young woman shifted seamlessly through the narrow openings of the laser grid.

She moved as though she had known exactly where each individual beam would appear long before it was fired. Serena’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits as she processed the terrifying implications of the footage.

"She is reading the entire structure of the battlefield before it even happens," the colonel murmured.

For the very first time since the admissions examinations had begun that morning, the seasoned Director of Admissions felt a cold chill run down her spine. The silver-haired girl below was not moving like an ordinary eighteen-year-old academy applicant.

She was moving like a hardened veteran who had survived countless brutal wars.