Chapter 14: Final Exam

The grand amphitheater hummed with electric tension as thousands of freshmen packed shoulder-to-shoulder beneath the towering arched ceilings of the assembly hall.

Morales stood near the center of the crowd, his hands tucked casually into his pockets. He let his gaze drift across the sea of wealthy heirs and heiresses.

’Still can’t clear my head that I’ll be in same rich school as some people here.’ One of the students would say the group of friends eyes looking at Morales.

’It’s about time I start building my inner circle and expanding my harem crew,’ Morales thought to himself with a faint, confident smirk. ’Too bad the academy keeps throwing administrative hurdles in my way.’

High above the stage, the massive holographic screens flickered to life, bathing the entire hall in a brilliant golden glow. The same distinguished administrator who had welcomed them on day one stepped back up to the central podium, adjusting his silk collar.

"Attention, freshmen!" the administrator announced, his voice booming through the auditorium’s acoustics. "The initial capital evaluation phase has concluded. The master system will now project the standings for the top tier of the incoming class."

A synthesized, high-end AI voice instantly took over, scrolling through the rankings across the glowing screens in real-time.

"Starting from the Top 500... down to the Top 200... narrowing to the Top 50..."

Excited gasps, cheers, and sighs of relief rippled through various sections of the crowd as familiar names flashed across the display.

"And now... the Top 20."

A sharp hush fell over the amphitheater.

High up on the VIP balcony, Jayden crossed his arms, a smug, arrogant smirk plastered across his face as his eyes tracked the display.

Rank 15: Jayden Vance.

He chuckled softly, enjoying the admiring glances from his lackeys. But as his eyes scanned just one slot higher, his smirk vanished instantly.

Rank 14: Morales Brown.

The hall erupted into absolute chaos. "What?!"

"Morales Brown? The scholarship kid?!"

"How the hell did a peasant rank higher than a Vance?!"

Murmurs exploded like wildfire. Even the administrator at the podium squinted at the floating data ledger, a look of genuine shock flashing across his face.

"What the fuck do they know, how did that bastard surpass me, I had a fucking diamond card how did he get so high with that poor card. What the fuck is going on." Jayden murmured in disbelief, he hated how Morales surpassed him in this exam, he hated every inch of it.

Jayden comes his hand through his hair, staring at the back of Morales who slightly turned his head and smirked at him, ’Goddamn piece of shit!’ He gritted his teeth, still think about how Morales did it.

Even Layla and Chloe was shocked to the core since they knew that Morales said he would make Layla top 10, but if he were to do that he might not reach top 20 but he did, then what if he still had that $AC, he might even get to top 5.

That was what Chloe actually thought but Layla was filled with doubt, because he would be this high if he had made her top 9, since deposition was through their phones and she hadn’t checked it, she doubted h him.

’Well it was worth giving Layla so that I wouldn’t enter top 10, can’t have target at my back this early.’

Down in the crowd, Layla stared at the screen in pure disbelief. She hadn’t expected to rank high at all after her midnight deal, but as her eyes darted up the list, her jaw dropped.

Rank 9: Layla Vance.

Her breath hitched. She wasn’t just in the Top 10, she was ninth! Up on the balcony, Jayden shot her a look of pure, burning jealousy, wondering how she had bypassed him.

But Layla didn’t spare him a single glance. Instead, her wide, trembling blue eyes snapped down to Morales standing below.

Who is he? she thought, a cold chill running down her spine. How did a poor outcast manipulate the market so brilliantly?

Out of all ten thousand applicants, Morales was the only scholarship student to break into the Top 20.

The other scholarship students looked at him with a mix of awe and deep suspicion, whispering among themselves about what kind of deception he must have used to acquire such capital.

Before the murmurs could die down, a soft, familiar scent drifted through the air.

Before Morales could react, slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist from behind. Soft, voluptuous curves pressed firmly against his back as a familiar, breathless voice whispered excitedly in his ear.

"Rales! Did you see?!" Chloe beamed, her emerald eyes sparkling with unrestrained joy as she hugged him tightly in front of everyone. "I got 20th place! I made the Top 20!"

The entire courtyard erupted into a fresh wave of shock and deafening murmurs.

The elite daughter of the Sterling family, one of the most powerful corporate dynasties in the country, was openly clinging to a scholarship outcast, looking at him with genuine, unfiltered adoration.

Up on the VIP balcony, Jayden’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. Jealousy clawed at his chest, furious that a penniless nobody had captured the genuine affection of an elite heiress.

The administrator cleared his throat loudly into the microphone, using a master command to quiet the room.

"Silence!" the administrator commanded. "Now that the initial hierarchy is established, we move to the final stage of the orientation examination."

The holographic screens shifted, displaying the parameters for the next phase.

"The rules remain conceptually identical to the first test, but the stakes are multiplied," the administrator explained coldly.

"You are no longer just preserving capital, you are actively expanding it through any means necessary while managing corporate operations, trade syndicates, and institutional liabilities. If your capital hits zero, you are expelled instantly."

The administrator leaned forward, his eyes sweeping across the crowd.

"Within this simulation, you are permitted to use corporate bribery, industrial espionage, market manipulation, and direct physical confrontation to outmaneuver your rivals.

However, one absolute law applies: No killings. Break this rule, and you face immediate tribunal execution."

Rules

1. No Killing. No student is allowed to kill another participant, directly or indirectly. Any violation results in disqualification.

2. No Outside Assistance. Students must survive using their own abilities and the resources they obtain during the exam. No outsiders may interfere or provide help.

3. No Leaving the Examination Zone. Escaping the designated examination area, regardless of the reason, results in disqualification.

4. No Tampering with the Examination System. Students may fight, steal, deceive, betray, form alliances, and commit other illegal acts against fellow participants, but interfering with the academy’s monitoring systems or attempting to manipulate the exam itself is forbidden.

5. No Revealing Confidential Examination Information. Students must not leak the academy’s confidential instructions, hidden objectives, or examination secrets to outsiders.

As the details of the final test washed over the students, Morales stood calm and composed, pulling up his encrypted system interface in his mind.

[System Status Update]

[Current Total Net Worth: $500,000,000]

Thanks to his recent acquisitions, his network node expansions, and the massive payouts from claiming elite heirs, his net worth had officially skyrocketed past two hundred million dollars.

A dark, ambitious grin touched the corners of Morales’ lips. Five hundred million was impressive for a freshman, but it wasn’t enough.

After the ending of the exam where all dollars are converted to $AC credit before entering the school.

He intended to break into the absolute Top 10 wealthiest students by targeting the primary female heirs of the largest mega-corporations on the globe.

’Let them scheme,’ Morales thought, feeling the steady hum of power vibrating through his system interface. ’Whether this academy likes it or not, the System has already chosen me to sit at the very top.’