The moment Garrick dismissed the class, the orderly atmosphere of Combat Grounds Four collapsed.
Students immediately began moving.
Some left in groups.
Others rushed ahead alone.
Conversations erupted from every direction.
The assessments were over.
Which meant the rankings would soon be updated.
And apparently that mattered a great deal.
I watched several students practically sprint toward the Academy Crystal.
The stamina assessment had nearly killed them ten minutes ago.
Yet somehow they had found enough energy to run across half the academy.
Motivation truly was a miraculous thing.
I adjusted the padded gloves hanging from my belt and joined the flow of students leaving the training grounds.
The afternoon sun hung high above the academy.
Mana-powered airships drifted lazily through the distant sky.
Training fields remained active despite the assessments having ended.
Some students practiced sword forms.
Others exchanged spells.
A group of second years appeared to be chasing one another across a rooftop.
I decided not to ask questions.
Experience had taught me that academy students were rarely doing anything sensible.
The closer we got to the Academy Crystal, the larger the crowd became.
By the time I arrived at the central plaza, it was packed.
Students occupied every available space.
The massive crystal towered over them all.
Twenty meters of translucent blue crystal.
Streams of glowing energy flowed endlessly through its core.
Information continuously shifted across its surface.
Names.
Ranks.
Records.
Achievements.
Announcements.
The entire academy practically revolved around the thing.
Several freshmen were already gathered beneath it.
Many looked nervous.
Others looked excited.
A few looked terrified.
Which probably meant they had performed poorly.
I found an empty section near the edge of the crowd and stopped.
The crystal pulsed.
A ripple of blue light swept through the plaza.
The noise immediately died down.
Thousands of eyes turned toward the crystal.
Then the rankings appeared.
Freshman Rankings.
The entire plaza erupted.
Students immediately began searching for their names.
Apparently self-interest was universal.
I opened my Student Crystal.
A smaller version of the rankings appeared instantly.
The list extended far beyond what I cared to read.
I skipped most of it.
Then checked the top ten.
And paused.
Rank One.
A name I recognize.
The Vampire class holder.
Right.
Him.
Apparently he remained firmly attached to the top position.
Rank Two.
An unfamiliar name.
Female.
someone I didn't remember.
Then came Rank Three.
Benjamin.
I stared at the ranking for several seconds.
Third.
Not bad.
Not first either.
Which meant two freshmen had somehow managed to outperform me.
The vampire didn't surprise me.
The second-place student intrigued me slightly.
Then again, rankings were based on overall performance.
Not simply strength.
And while I excelled at many things—
Subtlety was not among them.
I continued reading.
Rank Four.
Alisa.
That made sense.
The girl had dominated the speed assessment.
She had also performed well everywhere else.
Consistent.
Reliable.
The sort of student academies loved.
The sort of student I generally avoided.
The rankings continued.
Several unfamiliar names occupied the next positions.
Then—
Rank Ten.
Adrian.
Or rather—
Raiden Nox de Peroza.
Second prince of Peroza.
Current user of the Shadow Knight class.
And apparently still pretending to be an ordinary student.
A respectable ranking.
High enough to earn recognition.
Low enough to avoid attracting excessive attention.
His father would probably approve.
The crowd around the crystal was becoming louder.
Much louder.
Students pointed toward certain names.
Arguments erupted.
Predictions were made.
Egos were wounded.
Academy life in its purest form.
A nearby student suddenly pointed toward the rankings.
"That's him."
Several heads turned.
Then several more.
Then several more.
Ah.
Wonderful.
Now they were looking at me.
I considered leaving.
Unfortunately, that would only make things worse.
The last thing a crowd needed was a target that started running.
Another student squinted in my direction.
"That's Benjamin?"
"The one from Class One?"
"The guy who threw someone through a wall?"
That had happened once.
One time.
And somehow it had become my defining characteristic.
Truly unfair.
I pretended not to hear them.
It didn't help.
The whispers continued spreading.
Some students looked impressed.
Others looked skeptical.
A few appeared offended.
Those were usually the entertaining ones.
One boy from another class folded his arms.
"I don't buy it."
His friend nodded.
"Neither do I."
An excellent start.
The rankings had been public for less than five minutes.
People were already questioning them.
The academy would never change.
A familiar voice spoke from nearby.
"Looks like you've become popular."
I turned.
Adrian stood several meters away.
His own Student Crystal floated above his palm.
The boy appeared as calm as ever.
Which was impressive considering he had just entered the freshman top ten.
"Popular is a strong word."
"It's accurate."
"I prefer infamous."
"That too."
The conversation ended there.
Neither of us seemed interested in continuing it.
Comfortable silence settled between us.
Or perhaps indifferent silence.
A subtle but important distinction.
More students arrived.
The crowd continued growing.
At some point I noticed that students from Classes 1B, 1C, and 1D had begun gathering around the rankings as well.
Many of them were openly studying the top ten.
Others were searching for specific names.
Some appeared relieved.
Others looked devastated.
One girl burst into tears.
Another immediately began laughing at her.
Academy culture was alive and well.
A few minutes later, a commotion erupted near the center of the plaza.
Several students suddenly moved aside.
The crowd parted.
Interesting.
Someone important had apparently arrived.
I glanced over.
Then immediately lost interest.
I didn't recognize the individual.
Which meant they weren't currently relevant to my life.
A useful categorization system.
The crystal above the plaza shifted again.
Additional assessment records appeared.
Strength Rankings.
Speed Rankings.
Endurance Rankings.
Stamina Rankings.
Predictably, my name occupied the top position in strength.
That attracted another round of attention.
Apparently people enjoyed numbers.
Especially when those numbers belonged to someone else.
I was beginning to regret participating honestly.
Then again—
Lying during an assessment would only create problems later.
A sudden vibration interrupted my thoughts.
I looked down.
My Student Crystal had lit up.
A notification appeared.
Duel Request Received.
I blinked.
Then stared at the message.
For a moment I simply stood there.
Not because I was surprised.
Because I wasn't.
Rankings had consequences.
That was hardly revolutionary information.
What surprised me was how quickly it had happened.
The rankings had barely been public.
Yet someone had already issued a challenge.
Impressive efficiency.
I opened the notification.
A name appeared.
Unfamiliar.
Expected.
I closed it.
The crystal vibrated again.
Duel Request Received.
Then again.
Duel Request Received.
Then again.
Duel Request Received.
I stared.
The crystal continued glowing.
Another notification appeared.
Then another.
Six.
Exactly six.
Six duel requests.
In less than a minute.
I looked at the Student Crystal.
Then at the crowd.
Then back at the Student Crystal.
Apparently ranking third had consequences.
Several nearby students had already noticed.
The whispers intensified.
"Oh."
"Someone challenged him."
"No."
Another student pointed.
"Several people did."
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Students stopped looking at the rankings.
Now they were looking at me.
Wonderful.
Exactly what I had always wanted.
Attention.
Adrian glanced at my crystal.
His expression remained unchanged.
Which somehow made it worse.
"Busy afternoon?"
"Apparently."
"You planning to accept?"
"Planning and doing are different things."
A fair answer.
The crowd slowly grew quieter.
Not silent.
Just attentive.
Waiting.
Watching.
The six duel requests floated before me.
Each one represented a challenger.
A student convinced they could defeat me.
Some were probably seeking glory.
Others wanted ranking points.
A few likely believed the academy had made a mistake.
I couldn't even blame them.
Strength alone didn't guarantee victory.
I knew that better than most.
Slowly, I opened the first request.
The crowd leaned forward.
The plaza became noticeably quieter.
Even students who had no idea who I was seemed interested now.
Curiosity was contagious.
The request expanded.
A name appeared.
A rank.
A class.
For several seconds, I simply looked at the screen.
Around me, anticipation continued building.
Everyone wanted an answer.
Acceptance.
Rejection.
Anything.
Instead—
I closed the screen.
The silence that followed was magnificent.
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
I ignored them.
The six duel requests remained unanswered.
For now.
And judging by the expressions around me—
That answer had somehow disappointed everyone.
Good.
That improved my mood considerably.