Emma, who is a genius in her own field, is supposed to be a future leader with stats already at 24 and 25, while the rest are still around 20, and she was shocked. Only a few people knew her stats had reached the threshold of 25. Once a person crosses 25, they become a top-class person. With a couple of 100s or so people in the world who have even crossed the 25-point barrier, for Hani to be close to crossing 25 for all stats was shocking.
What is this overpowering skill... How is she an F-rank? Emma was trying to shake her head to try and figure out this situation. She tapped her forehead with her palm, rapidly trying to get the facts straight one by one.
"Well, one fact is for certain right now, Hani," she placed a hand on Hani's shoulder, "You cannot tell anyone about your stats... don't go to the ranking centre, don't tell the teachers and not even your friends."
"What about Stella?" Hani asks, tilting her head. If Emma says my stats are good, I have to show off to Stella! Then she won't think of me as weak.
"You idiot! Especially Stella... she comes from a family that likes to experiment on people with weird abilities. If they get their hands on you, you might as well say goodbye to your comfortable life!" Emma bonks Hani's head, trying to get the information into her head.
"Your skill is rare, and you have not developed yourself, Hani... your stats have outgrown you, so until you train and catch up, until you are able to protect yourself, don't tell anyone. Lie about your stats or use my name, saying I trained you and taught you some tricks to look strong." Emma did not know what to do at this point, knowing how her ability could shake the world, she could not trust even her parents to help. Deciding it's best to make Hani stronger, Emma made her choice to help her.
At least this way, Hani will probably keep a distance from Stella. I am gonna have to train her until she is skin and bones!
After discussing the situation with Hani, the two girls step outside the room. As they opened the door, Stella was still standing there, pouting. "I can't believe you guys actually locked me out! I have been waiting so long." Stomping her feet, it was the first time in her life she had been disregarded like that by someone who was not her father.
Eager to get close to Hani, Stella linked her arm with her, "I promise to keep your secret, Hani, so let's be friends!" Stella smiled, eyes sparkling, head tilted.
Mesmerised by Stella, Hani's heartbeat starts to rapidly increase. She could feel Stella's body pressed against her arm as she blushed, and her face began to turn red. "Y-yes! Of course!" she blurted out, looking away from Stella, unsure if glancing at her will make her heart explode. She clenched her teeth to try to calm herself down as Stella watched the effect she had on her.
Being around Hani is more fun than I expected, she is so cute to tease! I will probably also be able to learn more about her skill if I am close to her... I have never heard of anything like it before! Stella smiled to herself.
Seeing this much skinship between them, Emma did not like it, but the bell for class rang, signalling that their time together had ended. Reluctantly, Emma had to let go of this situation and go to her class. She watched as Stella and Hani, still with linked arms, walked towards their class before they vanished behind the door. Stella turned around and gave Emma a knowing grin, pissing her off.
The whole class set off in whispers as they saw Hani and Stella together. The same questions were running through everyone's head.
What is going on? Is Stella protecting Hani? Did Leo really do something bad, and did Hani actually break all three layers?
No discussion was made, only whispers, as the two girls sat in their seats as the teacher walked in, indicating the start of the class.
Still filled with excitement, Hani kept peeking at Stella throughout class. She would turn around to look at her, sneaking glances once in a while. Peeking again at Stella, their eyes locked, she looked back at Hani, making Hani redden as she quickly turned away and dug her head into her arms. Stella caught me looking! Maybe she thinks I am odd now...but she looked back at me... so it's not bad, right? Hani convinced herself.
Unbeknownst to them, Leo, who sat behind Stella, was watching this whole situation unfold. How the hell did that F-ranker do it? Seriously, why is Stella protecting that girl, and when did they even get so close? I am gonna get to the bottom of this one way or another and teach that bitch a lesson. Leo still could not grasp the fact that Hani had bested him. She was also listed as one of the tournament participants, and couldn't cause trouble, saying it was all a trick either. Breaking three layers was hard enough, but with a ruler, it was undeniable. A skill with accurate precision. There was no way for Leo to counter that with multiple eyes that had seen this.
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With 64 spaces and nearly 50 participants who passed the test, only 4 could break all three layers. People were not surprised by this fact since their high school was one of the world's elite hero schools, and many geniuses walked the corridors. It was Hani's situation that shocked everyone.
Having no one in this school with a rank lower than a B, Hani's identity as an F-rank was not advertised. However, being a school that not only welcomes geniuses in the field but also in the books, it was the first time someone below a B rank had passed the exams with flying colours to get the scholarship. Still, the teachers did not like to advertise it, and only a few people outside class 1-C knew Hani was F-rank, most people knew there was a probability of one's existence, but never bothered enough to know who she was. Now it was different.
Rumour spread that Hani was close to the weapon master, Emma, who was believed to be of S-class in the future, and Stella, who is already a world-class S-rank healer. Talks about how Stella provided experimental elixers made by her family for Hani and how she was trained by the highly skilled Emma, who was unrivalled even among S-ranks for her weapon mastery, spread like wildfire.
Some believed this to be true, others just treated it as it is, rumours. But there was a special group of people who believed something else. Hani had become skilful in a way nearly no one could achieve, as an F-rank. The only person who had ever done something like this before they were a D-rank a person who went down in history. A man called a rankless genius who was able to outperform his low rank and reach skills rivalling S-rankers. The story is not talked about often, as some people do not believe this to be true. But some people believed and had even seen it. This group of people saw with their own eyes the skill Hani performed, and nothing could fool their eyes. They all thought, Is this the rise of another rankless genius again?
Everyone started to make their own moves. Hani was someone they had to get involved with one way or another. Either to confirm their doubts or to get close to a future powerhouse, but some, like Leo, were planning to destroy her.
Is Hani going to be able to survive this newfound fame?