There was only so much eating, chatting, and waiting for everyone to get their level zero status to happen before quiet boredom settled in the crowd. Asper caught a few taking a nap. Some students mingled and formed different groups. Raff, of course, had a large tight-packed cluster of admirers around him as he smiled and chatted with most everyone who interacted with him. Asper considered getting up and joining him but didn't want to be lumped in as a one skill student hoping to get help. He was also feeling a bit blue as the statuses kept coming. No one else had such a bare display. Even the name of his skill was boring, Generalist. He eyed the currently displayed status and wondered what Bee Zaphod's unusual Two-Minds skill meant.

Once the girl, Bee, headed back to the stands, a boom like a peal of thunder shook the stadium. Pulling everyone back to attention. "Now that you have your status. You will get to see the power of magic that can be gained through the academy!" A wave of yellow light rippled out towards the incoming students. The moment the wave hit Asper's nose, he sneezed.

Annoyed, he turned to a student near him. "That wasn't very…" the words fell from his mouth as he watched the girl he had been talking to slump downward a loud snore erupting from her mouth. Asper's eyes quickly darted to scan the crowd. Everyone was teetering over, their eyes closed, and breathing deeply asleep. Even Raff.

Immediately Asper's thoughts went to the idea that this could be another error. With only one skill, he knew it would be bad enough if they discovered he'd made it through on a mistake, so he steeled himself. Thinking, well, I can pretend to sleep with the best of them. He slumped down and closed his eyes.

He tried to sleep. He was tired from the journey and the long ceremony granting statuses, but lying there trying to sleep just forced all of the day's events to loop in his head. Then the howling started, and a shiver crept up his spine. He had to peek, so he cracked his eyes a little.

Spectral wolves were prowling amongst the students, translucent and glowing blue like they were made of moonlight. Sniffing each sleeping student carefully, then howling a mournful cry.

The wolves were so distracting through his squinted eyes he almost didn't notice the Masters of the school were wanding with the wolf until one stepped into his sight a short distance away, and he forced his eyes shut. "I don't see the point in checking every year. There hasn't been a Born snuck into the starting class for over a decade."

"But, it did happen once." Responded the deep voice of the male Master. "Three of those spawn try every year. You know how strong they can get. If that Raff didn't check clean, I'd have sworn he was one."

"You saw that cultivation in his status. Those things don't work that way, Brawn."

Asper could hear the Brawn spit. Wanting to see, he relaxed his closed eyes just enough that he was squinting through them again. "Cultivators showing up at level zero. Disgusting, unnatural, unheard of. This is a cursed year I tell you. If I had my way, Winny, I would ship the lot of them to research."

Through squinted eyes, Asper watched Winny laugh and pet one of the spectral wolfs. "Every year, you say it is a cursed year."

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"This is the first time I've said it on orientation day!"

A glowing blue muzzle moved from the side and blocked Asper's view. He fought to keep from jumping and remain perfectly still. A nose as cold as ice poked him in the cheek, and the spectral wolves breath chilled rather than warmed. The prospective student wondered if this was how they were going to find out he was a mistake. Then the large, wet, moonlight-tinted tongue licked the side of his face, and it went numb where the slobber stayed.

Brawn barked a laugh. "I think one of your puppies like this one."

"Maybe he's just hungry." Winny replied back in a joking tone.

Hungry? Asper wondered fearfully. The wolf then gave him a few more licks until his face felt like he had slept funny. Even his eyes started to tingle. His heart began to race. Then the wolf got up and walked away, moving to actually sleeping students.

Now that he was listening for it, he could hear the two Masters walking away. They started up the conversation again, but he was in the wrong position to listen in. He stayed there, still, face numb, and attempted to process everything he had heard. Time passed the wolves left, the Masters left, and Asper lay there, in the dark, unable to sleep.

It was a uniform rousing for the rest as all the other nee students opened their eyes at the same time. Happy pleasant mummers drifted around. "I've never felt so well-rested."

"Amazing, isn't it!"

"I feel like I can take on the world!"

Asper pulled himself up with the rest of them, hobbling a bit from how his body stiffened up while he lay awkwardly still. The young man couldn't help but feel irritated at everyone else's good mood. He looked around and saw Raff wave in his general direction. Unsure if it was actually him being waved at, he half-heartedly lifted his hand for a small wave back.

Raff felt amazing. His first few moments after waking were trying to decide if the feeling was real or magic-induced. He looked inwardly and felt his body as the familiar thing it was. How his blood flowed, took in air, muscles quivered. He was simply rested to the peak of what his body had needed.

A cast of his eyes at everyone else showed him that most everyone was enjoying the same feeling. Then he saw that exception that was the seemingly unexceptional Asper. He gave a little wave to that boy with the wonder of surprising him.

A voice boomed through the stadium. "Now that you are all well-rested. Today we will begin evaluations. Each of you will be assigned to a group and rotated between stations in the outer ring. Felicia will lead you back." A flash of light drew everyone's attention to the green-clad girl who had greeted them after they third ring standing near the exit that was on the opposite side of where everyone had entered.

It was a brisk exodus as the invigorated youths gathered up and followed Felicia through a new section of the woods. This time the area wasn't just a sparsely populated woods. Buildings dotted the landscape. The dark barked trees often growing through the middle of them. The pace was kept quick, so the time to gawk at the buildings was short.

At the wall to the third ring, Felicia marched right through and into it. The whole group of students was not so brave as to do that after their experiences there.

Rian had managed to step into the lead again. When her own feet halted before she crossed back into the third ring, she cursed herself. It was only during that trip to get your status that you faced your fears, but just the idea of meeting that deep feeling of isolation and loneliness that had gripped her, caused herself to hesitate. She gave a quick look back to the hundreds waiting around her, their past experiences showing on their faces. With a breath, she let their presence fill herself with strength and determination, and then she stepped forward.

Nothing happened. The girl who had planned and researched so much felt silly for that little creeping bit that had thought something would. She assured herself that everything was going to go according to her plans. The students continued on towards the first ring of Pricore Academy that would be their home and school for the next year.