I stood up. There was nothing for me to do in the class, so I planned on going to the training grounds. It's been a while since I trained.
"Rank 1!" I turned my head towards the boy who had called out to me as I recalled the information from the novel, Lenny, an E+ ranker, his class blood manipulation.
"Let's have a duel," He said with a cheeky smile that was annoying to look at.
Deciding to ignore him, I started walking once again only this time he spoke bullshit that wasn't easy to ignore.
"I will use my ticket if you don't agree to it"
Right, he was that kind of guy.
In the novel he had done the same, challenged rank 1, Alyssa, and gotten his ass handed not one-sidedly but yes, he lost.
There was a difference though.
Alyssa agreed to a duel without him needing to use the ticket and that was why he was able to get into the ranks of the top 21 students instead of getting expelled.
"What makes you think I will fight you even if you use the ticket?" At my words, his cheeky smile vanished.
"You will lose and become the bottom rank... you could get expelled for not being in the top 21 spots"
"That's not the truth, I could easily use my ticket on someone who is in the top 21 to get into the ranks again and save myself from being expelled. If I don't want to fight you, you can't make me. So shut it and look for someone else to entertain you." Saying so, I left the place.
I was sure he wasn't going to bother me again.
I wasn't like Alyssa who would entertain some fight-loving maniac nor do I have any intentions of involving myself in pointless duels.
The entire week will be mostly duels among students to get into a higher class as they realize the differences in treatment between being in the lower class and the higher class, just like it had happened in the novel.
The main cast will fight to keep their ranks while others will fight for the chance to gain a higher rank.
I stepped out of the building and looked towards the central quadrant, the highest building that was visible from anyone in the academy, and at the top floor of that building was where Regis Randolph, the headmaster of this academy sits, of course, I can't really see him since it was far away.
I shook my head as I started walking towards the training arena.
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As Noah left the classroom, Lenny had a disgruntled expression, he wanted to fight the strongest and see how strong he was but Noah didn't even bother to give him a thought, it was like he wasn't even a blip on his radar and that kind of pissed him.
"Dude, just focus on getting into the top 21. Don't fight with those who are from this class and already in the top 21 ranks, fight with the ones outside from this class" Daphne shook her head, baffled by Lenny's attitude as she prepared to leave as well.
"What you're saying only works if we know who the other top 21 ranked students are outside this class. How would you even know who to challenge? With expulsion on the line, it's safer to just go after the ones we know are in the top 21, which means, the students from this class"
At those words, all eyes turned to Allen in the classroom as the realization dawned on them, who are they going to challenge?
They know they need to challenge the ones who are within the top 21 ranks and then take those ranks for themselves but ...how are they going to find them was the next biggest question.
"Finding the ranks shouldn't be that hard, should it? I am sure everyone must be dying to know about the top rankers. Sooner or later the news would spread" Daphne replied, her green-colored eyes looking directly into Allen's.
"Just like we have been given the task to get into the ranks by the end of the day, those guys might also have been given the task to hide their ranks until the day ends"
"There's no guarantee that's the case"
"Just like how there's none that it could be the case"
Daphne's expression turned into a serious one, not just hers but others in the class also had a change in their expression, if what Allen said was truly the case it wouldn't be easy to find their opponents, no, the truth was it was almost impossible.
How could they find a handful of students among the 2000 before the day ends and have a duel with them?
"Before we discuss all that how about we check on how many people in our class are facing the threat of expulsion? My rank is 4th, so I am safe." Ashly suggested.
"I guess, we can do that. Should we go with the order then? We all know the first rank is Noah, so who is the 2nd ranker?"
No rank was announced publicly announced except the first rank, in that sense, Noah was probably going to be having a lot of duels than anyone else.
"I-I am the second ranker" It was Alyssa said, a little startled to have found herself in a situation where she needed to speak up so randomly.
"I am the 3rd rank" Aqua followed Alyssa's suit.
Ashly already told her rank was 4th, so they all skipped and went for the next rank.
Margaret - 5th ranked
Ash- 6th ranked
Lisa - 7th ranked
Emma -8th ranked
Aleister - 9th ranked
Marianna - 10th ranked
Ketharine - 11th ranked.
"Rank 12? No one?" After a pause, they continued.
"So, 10 of us are at risk of expulsion, huh?" Max muttered, leaning back in his chair.
"From rank 12 to rank 21... those are the ones we need to find out about."
Before anyone could say anything else, a rustling sound of a bag emerged as Margaret stood up, unlike others who used dimensional storage items to keep their materials in, Margaret used her satchel bag to carry the physical books and kept her weapons on her back.
"Where are you going?" Elinalise asked, a little out of curiosity to talk with her since they were both beastfolk.
"...Home" Margaret replied as she readied to step out of the classroom.
"But the talk isn't over?"
"No danger" That was all Margaret replied with but enough to help them all understand what she meant, she wasn't in danger of expulsion as such she saw no reason to waste her time here.
On the other hand, Elinalise didn't seem to like her reply as she glared at Margaret.
"I could just ask for a duel with you and then you might become the one in danger of expulsion"
"Duel"
In the next instant, Margaret pulled out her scimitar, lighting cackling around the blade as she pointed it towards Elinalise.
Elinalise in reply let out a smile, her left brow squinted, as she poured aura in her hand, fire sparks coming out of her hands.
"Stop, dumbass," Allen said, giving Elinalise a chop on the head.
"She started it!" Elinalise shouted rubbing her head, the aura that she had poured out was now gone.
"Are you sure you want to leave?" Allen turned his attention towards Margaret as he posed the question
"Leave"
"...Sure, then. Anyone else who wants to leave can leave as well but keep in mind, if you aren't going to be helping us then we would aim for your rank instead." Allen said.
Those who were already in rank 21 had to worry about protecting their ranks while those who weren't in the top 21 ranks in the class had to worry about getting into them.
They had two options, to destroy each other or to help each other.
No one moved except Margaret who left the classroom.
"Can't we leave just like her?" It was Maria who posed that question to her sister Sofia.
"You don't want to stay here?" Sofia asked.
"Nah~ It's boring, too boring here!" Maria grumbled, kicking her legs in the air, sprawling herself on the desk.
"Just wait for a little while" Sofia replied patting Maria's head.
"Anyway, how are we going to find these guys? Is there even a way to?" Max asked.
"The surprise quiz that happened in the middle of last month—check the top scorers from that and see who visited the training facility the most or logged the most hours there. Ranks are given based on improvement and hard work over the month, so that'll narrow it down. We can decide what to do from there.
Also, I think it's a good idea to have a group chat with our class members," Allen replied.
"Um... hey, guys, I think we don't need to do anything at all" It was Marianna who spoke up in a hesitant, slightly scared voice.
"Why is that?"
"Look at the video that just got uploaded on the school forum"
At her words, everyone did what she said with a confused look on their faces, and after watching the video they had a horrified look.
It was a video of Noah in a duel with another student. The moment the duel started, Noah tore apart the student's arm with sheer brute force, but that was just the beginning. Noah proceeded to break his bones and stomp on him.
The other student's cries were visceral; each scream made viewers flinch or look away.
Normally, in duels the students don't feel pain, their dresses were designed in such a way that they absorbed all the damage, once the damage reached a certain limit, the dress would then act like a straitjacket, ending the duel there.
But this duel was being carried out in the virtual simulation with the setting of pain receptors being turned on, that was the condition Noah came up with as someone who was challenged for the duel.
Even though the student's body wasn't really being physically damaged, the pain he was feeling was almost no different than real.
Soon, after the duel ended, everyone was disgusted creeped out, and scared.
And then Noah spoke up looking directly at the camera.
"Y'all have about three hours, or whatever. Just do this fast. Tell me the names of all the top rankers, or the top rankers can just reveal their ranks on the forum. Also, don't—and I mean, don't—waste my time with pointless duels."
"Great, so now we owe one to a psychopath of all people," Daphne said in the classroom that was filled with silence.
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As I reached the training facility, I ended up meeting up with a familiar face.
"You ditched me!" Cressida accused me the first thing upon seeing my face with a smile on her face.
This is not what I signed up for.
Unlike, last month when the seniors were prohibited from entering the first-year premises or the first-years prohibited from entering the premises of the seniors, those restrictions no longer existed.
In other words, from now on we will be seeing a lot of our seniors walking around.
"I so didn't"
"Does that mean you don't like the idea of ditching me? My, oh my, are you falling for me already?" she said so with a mischievous smile and bright eyes.
This girl is gone case, for real.
"So? Why did you decide to show your face?" Deciding not to argue with her or entertain her, I asked the question
"...Well, you went away without telling me anything about why you went outside the academy or what you did while you were outside the academy or anything" Cressida replied with dissatisfaction and a little seriousness in her voice
"You said you won't ask any questions"
"I said the questions and answers could wait until you have rested enough" She shrugged her shoulders, as we both entered the building.
The building was nearly empty; I guessed it had to do with the briefing on higher and lower-class rankings. Most students were probably still in shock, processing everything they'd just learned.
"What will you do once I tell you all you want to know? Report me?" I asked
"That will depend on what you tell me" Her voice was a bit sharp but still playful.
"And what if you don't like what I will tell you?"
"Then I will have no choice but to report you to the headmaster"
"You said you love me, now you are trying to fuck me over, some love it is"
"Love and Duty are two different things"
It's so nice to see she has her brain still working. I am so proud, not really.
But it was good to see that she wasn't someone who would get blinded by love and shit.
"So?" She urged me, bumping me with her shoulder.
"I can just lie, you know?"
What could she do if did? While it was true that she wasn't completely blinded and all, she was still not doing her job properly.
This is by no means an investigation.
And there's no way she could make me speak up by just asking me.
"Then just don't lie" She pouted.
No, don't pout, won't change anything.
And what the fuck does asking me to not lie supposed to do? Change my mind?
"Hey, I helped you, you know! You were looking so wasted back then but now you look fine, thanks to me!" She huffed.
"I would have been fine on my own"
I was just not in the right state of mind at that moment.
You know, everyone has a point in life when they feel like shit.
That just happened to be mine.
Still am, but it is what it is.
In response, Cressida simply doubled down her stare on me.
Heaving out a sigh, I spoke up.
"Are there any kids from first-year who dropped out?" I asked
For all it is, I do owe her for helping me out at that time and she was also kinda first person in this world who I met properly and talked with, and even back then she helped me learn how to navigate this world.
Cressida tilted her hand, confused about why I had asked her such a question but she propped her chin with her hands a little, looking thoughtful.
"I don't think it's a problem to tell you. Yeah, there have been a few drop-outs. It's a little unusual since people don't usually drop out like this in our academy but it's not really that big a number either, just 8 students, still a big number considering that's a number that we get by the end of every year. Anyway, why did you ask?"
"Remember when I entered the academy you said you could tell it was because of the matter related to Julianna?"
"I do..." Her voice trailed off a little, still confused.
"So, yeah, that's your answer. Try to look into the connections between those 8 students" I replied as I kept walking.
On the other hand, Cressida seemed to have stopped in her tracks, realizing what I had meant to say right away, in her hands was a tablet and her eyes were moving like crazy reading something from the tablet, her hands were shaking a little.
"Oh god, no no no, just no..." She kept muttering under her breath, desperately hoping to be wrong.
But..
She looked up at me who was now standing a little further away from her.
"You... you didn't..."
"I did"
...it was the truth.
There was nothing that could change it.
"You psycho..." Her voice shook and it made sense.
Oh well, it seems to be the end of her first love.
"That's why you don't fall at first sight" I shrugged.
"Oi, I want to have a duel with you!" I turned towards the voice, the boy seemed muscular and I recognized him right away, he was the 3rd rate villain of the novel who would just try to create a nuisance for the protagonist throughout the time he was in the novel.
It seemed like this time I was the one who became the target for his annoyance.
I turned towards Cressida who still seemed to be struggling after realizing what I had just done.
"I will show you what a psycho really looks like"
Saying so, I accepted his challenge for a duel, not like I had much of a choice since he just thrust out the challenge ticket on my face.
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The room was dark, everything inside the room was destroyed and trashed, shards of glass sprawled all over the floor, splinters of wood poking out. It was a mess.
Under the blanket, Julianna remained curled up, her body still, tired and heavy. She had been like this for days now, how long had it been since she had eaten, she didn't know how long since she slept, she didn't know, not that it mattered. She wasn't feeling hungry, she wasn't feeling sleepy, she was just ...numb, staring at the empty air.
And with every breath she took she realized she was alive, still alive while her sister wasn't.
When her aunt mistreated her, when her body was burned, when her friends left her, and when everything around her felt miserable and she wanted to end it all, she kept holding on to the hope, and hope that she would one day be able to meet her sister.
And then in a single instant, just a single sentence, that was all it took to rip apart all those years of waiting, hoping, searching, all of it crumbling away, shattering like a fragile glass into pieces she would never be able to find again.
In the silence, thick and stifling she thought about all those nights she had spent wondering about her sister, all those things she had wanted to tell her sister when she found her, all that time, all of it ...just like that, was gone.
Now, she knew, she knew, her sister wasn't ever coming back, she wasn't going to be able to tell her about anything, nothing she could ever share with her, nothing she could ever talk to her about, nothing to make her proud of her, never to see her smile again, never to feel her warmth again, never to touch her again, never to have her stroke her head, never, never...
Never again...
All the pain that she had been through — the abuse, the loneliness, the betrayals, nothing could come close to what she felt at that moment.
Watching the same look in his eyes, the same voice, the way he didn't even hesitate or flinch or stutter, the way there wasn't a hint of emotion in his voice, the way he seemed to remain unbothered, like it didn't how much of her life he had destroyed, all of it about him, made her suffocate.
The memories she had spent with him, the time when she had told him about her life when she told him about her sister, all of it, he listened to her, stayed with her.
She clenched her fist, tight enough for the blood to seep out but she didn't feel the pain, she didn't feel a thing, all she felt was her emotions drowning her endlessly.
Rage clawing its way up, this sick, twisting feeling, rage clawing up its way. She wanted to scream and shout, make him feel what she was feeling. She had thought she had found a friend, a friend who was there for her, who wasn't going to leave her behind, a friend she could trust but
It was like a knife being twisted over and over, as if she was being choked, drowning, her chest aching until all of it felt... numbing as the realization set in her. There was no undoing it, no bringing back her sister, all those years of waiting and hoping.
Her voice, when she finally managed to ask him why, had been barely a whisper, broken and cracked. He just stood there, silent, with nothing to explain, no words, with that cold and indifferent expression.
Something inside her broke, shattered into pieces, pieces of something that could never be whole again, never will be whole again.
She lost it all, twice over, when her sister had gone missing, and now, once more, when she learned about her sister's death.
There was no going back, no more dreams to hold onto, no more words to say.
And in that quiet, ruined room, lying there alone, Julianna slowly uncurled herself, as a jagged piece of glass lying around hit her, deep enough to feel the pain, to let the blood gush out. She stared at her flowing blood, watching it drip down.
....
All this time she had lived enduring, waiting, and hoping.
But not any-
Julianna Dawn, kindly report to the central quadrant immediately.
The installed AI in the room spoke up, Julianna had no idea why she would be called like that and for what reason but she knew she couldn't just ignore it, so despite wanting to not go she got up and prepared to visit the central quadrant.
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After my duel and making it a little easier for the main cast with their searching, I kept training inside the training facility.
It was quite surprising since I had thought Cressida would report me right away and I would be summoned quickly as well but considering I was still just doing my stuff it didn't seem like she reported me.
For now.
What is she doing? Crying? Feeling betrayed coz of her own expectations? ...or just feeling a heartbreak?
I didn't know.
But it was better this way, the faster she realized it was anything but a dumb decision to fall for me the better.
I was about to open the door of my room and enter but just then I heard the door opening from the room directly in front of mine across the hallway.
I turned around to see Julianna coming out of the room, hoody low over her head and a mask on her face, in her usual get-up.
I didn't know how to strike up the conversation with her, I honestly had no idea.
So, I just stood like a statue looking at her.
But what surprised me was the fact that she was also standing still, that definitely meant she wanted to say something to me but we both didn't know how to break the ice.
Soon after, just when I was about to say something, she beat me to it.
"The academy contacted me, apparently my aunt got hurt, not just her but everyone in her family did, they are all in the ICU, and they ended up receiving severe burns, just like mine" Julianna took off her hoodie from her head and with her clear ocean-colored eyes, looked at me.
"It didn't make me happy. Do you think something like this would change what you did to my sister? I am never going to forgive you." She glared at me.
"I know" I neither denied her accusation nor did I accept it.
Though, I do wonder how she concluded I was the one behind it.
Scary, gut feeling is scary.
"So, you are the one who did it" She scoffed.
Hey, I didn't say I did it.
I stayed silent, waiting for her to say whatever she wanted to.
"...You aren't going to say anything?"
I shrugged.
"I saw, what you did to that guy who challenged you to the duel, you are fucking monster" Her voice was venomous.
Did her hate for me get intensified or what?
"I am dropping out"
Wait what? If you drop out how the fuck am I supposed to keep an eye on you?
This is just gonna make things harder for me, isn't it?
"...The next time I see you, I will make sure to kill you"
She declared in a low voice, putting her hoodie low on her head once more as she left without waiting for a response from me.
Her footsteps faded into the distance.
It wasn't soon after that another bomb was dropped upon me as I looked at the system screen that suddenly popped up.
[The Demon Lord has entered the Hidden Dungeon]
Ah fuck...