Walking into the hall, almost every student was already seated but since the hall was huge and there were just 50 of us l, there was more than enough seats.
The seats were arranged in neat rows, divided by class. Our group found spots close to the front, and I noticed Michael standing near the podium, his usual calm expression betraying nothing.
"I still think we're getting top marks," Jun whispered, leaning toward me.
"Why do yo sound so sure?" Blaze replied dryly, arms crossed.
Jun smirked, unfazed. "That's because our team has me, the great sage, and the others do not."
Before I could respond, the hall quieted as the head mistress, kyra, with an air of authority, stepped onto the stage with her assistant trailing behind. She adjusted the microphone and surveyed the room, her piercing gaze making every student sit a little straighter.
"Welcome back," she began, her voice echoing. "for most of you, this is the first time entering a portal and the fact that you were able to brave the dangers shows just how strong you are. I am pleased to announce that, despite the challenges, most of you performed admirably."
A soft murmur spread through the hall before she raised a hand to silence it.
"We will now proceed to the rankings," she continued. "We'll start from the least to highest performing teams. These scores will not only impact your academic standing but your future opportunities within the academy and beyond."
I felt a bead of sweat slide down my temple. I was getting a bit nervous. She then signalled her assistant, Abel, who pressed a button and a screen popped up behind her from beneath the stage.
"These tallies are gotten from your various academy badges which allows us to know how many monsters you defeated in the dungeon" She clarified before starting "A level 1 monster grants you 10 points, 30 for level 2, 100 for level 3, 300 for level 4 and 500 for level 5".
"Team Z from Michael's class" She pulled up their stats on the screen " You defeated 5 Level 3 monsters, 10 level 2 and 20 level 1 monsters before calling for help"
"You gained a total of 1000 points " she displayed their score continuing with a smile " this gives your team A C+"
1000 points only gets you a C+?, getting a perfect score might be harder than we initially thought.
"Still think we've got this, Jun?" I asked under my breath .
"Of course," he replied, still as confident as before.
She continued for a couple of minutes, calling the grade of the first 20 teams, alternating between Michael's and Luna's class, of which none had gotten a B+ or an A yet.
"Now to our top 5 teams" she announced, making me grip my seat in anticipation. Since our team hasn't been announced yet, it's confirmed that we're in the top 5 but I'm wishing for a top 2 rank.
"Team Elysium from Michael's class" She called out "With a total of 200 monsters defeated, of which 100 were level 1, 70 level 2, 29 level 3 and 1 level 4.
You gained a total of 3,690 making your grade a B+" After her announcement, i could hear the team rejoicing.
B+ wasn't a perfect score but it was high enough to get them in the top 5.
"Team Titans from Luna's class" she called out the next team "With a total score of 4000, you earned an A!"
I glanced over at the team, and wow, they had definitely nailed it with choosing their team name. Every single one of them was freakishly tall—like giants among the rest of us. How had I not noticed them when we were entering the portals?
"Team Valhalla from Michael's class takes the third spot" Kyra spoke again "With a total score of 6000, they earn themselves an A+!"
I guess all the members of team Valhalla were blessed by Norse gods, hence the name. Putting that aside, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Our team made it to the top 2 rank.
"For the final two teams, they went beyond my expectations" Kyra spoke with much more excitement than before calming down " Since the start of the academy, this is the first I've seen such performance."
"Team Iris from Luna's class takes the second spot with a total of —" before she could complete her statement, a student stood up and interrupted her.
"I disagree with our team's position head mistress " A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes spoke. Seated close to him were the ones I'd assume were his teammates.
I ignored the boy speaking, my attention drawn to the girl sitting close to him. She had long silver hair cascading down her shoulders, she also had a beautiful sun kissed skin but what really pulled my attention was her eyes.
She had mesmerizing golden irises, and within them, the intricate hands of a clock spun endlessly, as if time itself resided in her gaze.
She must've felt my gaze because she turned to look directly in my eyes. She smiled a bit at me and turned back to the talking blondie.
Her smile made me freeze, I could've sworn my heart skipped a beat looking at it.
{Is someone already in love??}
(S-shut up, I was just curious)
The pressure that suddenly descended in the hall desrupted my inner banter with the author. I turned back to look at Kyra on the stage, her expression looked really cold.
Her expression reminded me of the first time we met. The only thing missing was the starry eyes and Nyx's influence.
(You don fuck up now buddy)
"Mr Draven. I agree that disagreeing with my decision is your right," she began, her voice carrying an edge sharp enough to cut through steel. "But standing up in the middle of an announcement and disrupting the proceedings is a show of arrogance I will not tolerate."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took a deliberate step forward, the weight of her authority palpable. "If you believe your team's position is unjust, there are proper channels to voice your concerns. However, interrupting me in this manner only reflects poorly on you and your team. Consider this your one and only warning."
The tension in the hall was almost suffocating, and no one dared to move or even breathe too loudly. Kyra straightened her posture, her voice now calm "Now, if there are no further interruptions, I will continue."
With that, the pressure suddenly vanished as of it was only an illusion. She adopted the same smile as before and continued.
"Team Iris with a total of 10,000 points gets an S+ rank" her announcement surprised everyone one, even Michael and Luna.
"Finally, at the top position we have team Wukong from Michael's class " I couldn't help but face palm.
I knew it was a mistake to allow Jun to submit our team information was a big mistake and I'm sure the others were thinking the same looking at their faces.
"They have a total of 15,000 points earning them an SS rank" she announced. Looking at the data on screen showing we defeated a level 7 monster (I guess the knight was the level 7 monster since it ) surprised everyone in the hall.
Kyra focused her attention on us for a moment before speaking again.
"The top 2 teams will represent us in the upcoming World Academy Tournament (WAT)" she wrapped up before dismissing us.
We had the entire day and tomorrow to rest so we wanted to head back to our dorms but as soon as we left the hall, we were approached by Team Iris and from the look on Devon's face, he was not happy.