Rankings

I was standing in a corner by myself, after being berated by Bayyan for trying to defend myself against Troy's stupidity.

Having seen my former friend's distant gazes, I had resolved myself to accept the situation.

I would be alone from now on. Thankfully I still had my master, Mike, and, most importantly, Misa.

'I don't need anyone else...'

My body was a bit sore after overclocking, but, fortunately, as it was only for a couple of seconds, it wasn't that bad.

Drinking my red wine, I waited for the evening to end, as a portal wouldn't open until then.

Music, happy laughter, and dancing. Everyone else appeared to be having a great time, socializing with students from the other class.

I could see James clustered by girls from the B-class, all seemingly hoping to get to attend to his need tonight, Sarah, getting hit on repeatedly by guys, and Brad repeatedly hitting on girls.

All of a sudden, the lights went out, and a single spotlight shone on a person standing on a stage in the front.

It was our principal, contrasting everyone by wearing a grey robe.

"Good evening, young students! I hope you are having a great time and that you are enjoying yourself."

Posturing himself a bit, he waved his hand, and a white screen appeared behind him.

"As per tradition, we will now announce the rankings of the two classes. Keep in mind that Sarah from the A-class is excluded, because of her pure support abilities."

A girl appeared on the screen, "Rank 29, Lina Stone."

'Ouch... I'm glad I'm not her...'

It was kind of brutal, just announcing the last place rank without any sort of hesitation.

The principal continued down the list, showing the students behind him when he spoke.

After a while, a familiar face popped up,

"Rank 10, Troy Smith!"

'He is the second-highest rank of the B-class?! No wonder he was so cocky!'

It appeared that Troy wasn't weak, no, far from it. Kirkegaard was an elite academy, even the weakest of the B-class would be strong, not to mention someone on top of the B-class.

'Then why was Bayyan so worried about him dying? Am I really that scary?'

"Rank 9, Rog Trisk!

'Who is that?'

It was quite a weakness that I didn't know anyone from the parallel class. There was a very real threat of then trying to challenge me, as to find themselves a place in the A-class.

A green-haired young man, with an incredibly esthetic face, almost looking like an elf.

Letting my eyes move around the dark room, I found him standing in the crowd, surrounded by a couple of guys and girls.

A bit slimmer than James, he looked to be either a mage, ranger, or assassin.

"Rank 8, Arthur Pradd!"

Arthur had gotten the lowest ranking in the A-class. Not surprising as he didn't actually get to fight more than one match, which he had lost splendidly.

Murmurs started to spread around the room, once again reigniting the hit topic that I had almost killed my classmate.

"Rank 7, Akane Hitomi!"

'Wait... what?!'

There had to be something wrong. By all logic, I should have been ranked 7th.

I had also only fought one match, and although I had won quite convincingly, it should have been apparent that it was mostly because of the matchup.

A mage would always have a hard time against an assassin, especially one with good mobility.

It wasn't unreasonable at all that the two pure mage types had a rough time in the ranking battles, thus they would have to show their worth later on through expeditions and dives.

One's ranking was primarily dependent on duels, but other factors would also play a part as time went on.

It could be said to be quite controversial that one could challenge someone to a duel for their ranking, but it was seemingly something that the school was quite fond of.

Maybe it was because it promoted individual strength. Even if you had comrades to fight with, in the end, your own survival always depended on your own strength.

'So... what ranking did I get?'

The principal continued, not minding my inner thoughts.

"Rank 6, Brad Lersten!"

'I'm actually ranked higher than Brad? This is insane!'

"Rank 5, Suzuka Tanaka!"

The girl which whom I was going to duel, had somehow gotten a lower ranking than me. Suddenly, I had a lot more on the line for the upcoming duel than before.

The room had gotten completely quiet, and tension started to rise. Everyone knew about the remaining students, as well as the fact that I was one of them.

'Please let me be the 4th then...'

At this point, I could feel the walls start to close in on me, and more and more gazes could be felt from my surroundings.

"Rank 4, Bayyan Rashmir!"

The tension escalated. The silence was no more, and the previously inaudible mumbling could now be heard.

"-Bayyan is rank 4?!"

"-Wasnt he on the verge to attain an M.G. Rank 3?"

"-Doesn't this mean that that Miren guy is really strong? So Troy would have gotten himself killed, after all..."

Misunderstandings were quickly being produced, and I felt a headache emerging.

Not minding the discussions between the students, the principal continued, still wearing a bright smile,

"Rank 3, Lindsey Borr!"

'No... this isn't real... what the fuck are they thinking?! Aren't there a lot of teachers involved in the ranking process?! Shouldn't someone have been opposed to this?!'

It didn't make any sense at all. Me being ranked 2nd was insanity.

Looking at the old drake, I could almost sense a grin hidden beside his warm smile.

As he opened his mouth again, I braced myself. This would be the moment my name started to circulate through the academy, because of some stupid and crazy reason as well.

"Rank 2, James Lumari!"

Time stopped, with not a single mouth opening.

Not a single student, including me, could have seen this coming.

James was a one-in-a-million talent, an inheritor of the light element who had immaculate physical capabilities.

Adding on the fact that he was working hard and never slacked, it should have been an undisputed fact that he would be ranked 1 . Alas, this wasn't the case.

Just like everyone else, my mind was blank. This shouldn't have happened. He was the future hero of mankind, the one to bring salvation in an Era of darkness. Yet, a small pipsqueak was supposedly stronger than him.

The principal turned his head and looked straight at me. His smile was now indisputably one of devilry, fully conscious of what kind of situation he had created.

"Rank 1, Miren Porter!"

*Crackle!*

Without thinking, I used my [Lightning Step] to get in front of him. My whole being screamed at me, trying to get me to stop the bizarre event which was going down.

"Master, stop this!"

The silence of the students had been broken by me, with an impulsive shout.

Whispers and discussions emerged once more,

"-He us the disciple of the principal?!"

"-Is he the grandson of the principal?! What's the principal's name?"

"-He must be from a hidden family!"

'More stupid misconceptions...'

The old man didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, masking his enjoyment behind his blue eyes,

"Hohoho, what do you mean Miren?"

His voice got louder as he the next words,

"Aren't you glad to be the strongest first year?"

'You fucking...'

I had to try and regain my calm, I had already created even more problems with my outburst,

"Mast... Sir, with all due respect, I don't think it is fair to the others for me to be to have the highest rank."

Having every single first year, barring Arthur, look at me felt suffocating, but I had to try and defuse the situation somehow.

"So, do you mean to say that the teachers and I are wrong?"

Heavily emphasizing the I, it became hard to respectfully refute his words. It wouldn't look too good to stand in front of this crowd and openly say that the Principal of Kirkegaard had made a mistake.

"No... I mean..."

Taking my hesitancy as an opportunity, he finished our conversation.

"Then it's fine. The rankings will stand. Now, young people, do make sure to continue to enjoy yourself!"

And with that, he teleported away and the lights came back on.

It didn't take more than a few seconds of disarray until I got surrounded by other students, admiring my status and power!...or not.

Instead, I had gotten even more alienated, as well as become a subject of fear,

"-The guy who almost killed Arthur is rank 1?!"

"-Isn't that bad? If he is the strongest, who can stop him from killing someone else then?"

A single person started to make their way to me, the shining knight who had previously defended me in similar situations.

'James...'

As he walked, clad in a proper black suit and white shirt, he looked more handsome than ever.

Wearing a confident appearance, there was no hesitation in his steps.

He came up to me, and looked down, straight into my eyes.

"Miren..."

I met his gaze, trying to hide my excitement that I could still get along with them in the future,

"Yes?"

"I challenge you to a duel!"