Chapter 95: Yuna 'Top Ten'

On ability demonstration exam, the Diamond Class as expected, the performance gap between students was striking. Those who performed well did exceptionally well—showcasing refined control and raw power that left a strong impression. However, those who performed poorly, though still technically passable, looked unimpressive by comparison. Their abilities paled next to their classmates' brilliance, making their output appear dull and underwhelming.

Next came the Club Class. Their performance, while not dazzling, was consistent across the board. Every student performed above average. No one stood out too much, but no one dragged the class down either. It was a textbook example of stable, collective strength. Even Alaster, who caught Yuna's attention the moment he stepped forward due to his striking appearance, delivered a competent—if uninspired—performance. It was clear he hadn't used his full strength. His strike was clean and efficient, but lacked force. He was simply going through the motions.

Then came Heart Class.

Thanks to their recent breakthroughs and increased training, everyone in Heart Class performed surprisingly well. Though many still struggled with control—their powers surging too much or reacting slightly erratically—the raw strength they displayed was undeniable. No one fell below the average line, and some even turned heads with their improved force output. Together, they left a strong impression of a class that was growing rapidly and improving together.

The other card classes watched with mixed, complicated expressions. Heart Class, long dismissed as "the weakest," was now showing the results of collective effort. It wasn't just one or two students excelling—the entire class had grown. It was impressive.

That is… until Yuna stepped forward.

For a demonstration like this, elemental users were expected to use a basic offensive ability to strike the stone pillar. Yuna had hesitated before making her choice, carefully weighing each of her elements.

• Fire? Too dangerous. Ever since the incident where she burned a man alive while rescuing that child—and used her named fire in the process—Yuna had been reluctant to summon it in the capital unless absolutely necessary.

• Earth? She hadn't studied it yet.

• Water? Too unstable. She'd only just begun mastering it and didn't want to risk a public mishap. Cough, like that fishy, cough….

• Wood? Only applicable for nurturing, and most of her experience revolved around the Moonlit Orchid. She certainly wasn't using that in front of a crowd—especially not with Austin watching her every move.

That left her with wind, the element she was most familiar with. Though she hadn't formally learned any offensive wind techniques, like the standard Wind Cutter, she figured she could probably improvise something. She'd felt close to wind for years—maybe it would respond out of habit?

So, with a surge of false confidence, Yuna stepped forward.

The crowd grew curious. Whispers rippled through the audience.

"Wait, isn't that the Heart Class girl who never fights?"

"Yeah, I think she's the one Austin hunted meat for."

"Is she a hidden ace?"

Most of them didn't realize the truth—that the others had served Yuna voluntarily. They assumed she was merely a beneficiary of Austin's protection, someone being cared for rather than someone in control. With her low presence and lack of public combat feats, their assumptions painted her as some passive background figure—perhaps even a liability.

But now she stood before the stone pillar, calm and silent.

"...Wind Cutter," she murmured.

A pulse of wind surged from her hand, forming the edge of a blade. It whirled forward, a brief flicker of pressure twisting the air.

But then—just as it neared the pillar—the wind began to lose its edge.

The sharpness fizzled. The pressure scattered. The once-promising force dwindled visibly, the energy bleeding out until, upon contact, the attack struck the stone with nothing more than a faint—

"Puff."

Everyone stared.

The stone pillar, glowing faintly with scoring runes, registered her attempt—and flashed her score in bright, humiliating clarity:

-1

Yuna "..."

Wind you have failed me!!!!

The entire hall went dead silent.

No one knew wind could lose a point.

Yuna stood there, unmoving. Silent.

Behind her, the stunned audience didn't even know how to react.

Some gasped. Some choked on laughter they didn't dare let out. Some just blinked, stunned.

The silence hung thick in the air.

So much for being the mysterious ace.

...

It was embarrassing, to say the least. But ever since being isekai'd into another world, Yuna had grown thicker skin—no, more like an impenetrable wall. No amount of mockery or scolding could make her twitch. So, under the scornful and smug gazes of the students around her, Yuna calmly walked back to her Heart Classmates without a care.

Theo reached out and gently grabbed her arm, pulling her into their group. Almost immediately, she was surrounded by Juno, Celeste, and the rest of Heart Class, shielding her like a protective barrier from the judging stares around them.

Cerise leaned in and whispered, "Mom, how did you even manage to score negative one? That's amazing."

Yuna's mouth twitched. She couldn't tell if the pink-haired boy was teasing her or genuinely impressed. Either way, her hand itched, so she smacked him lightly on the head.

"Ow! Mooom," Cerise pouted, rubbing his head. "If you keep knocking me on the head, I'll turn into an idiot!"

"Aren't you already one?" Yuna retorted dryly.

Cerise gasped, clutching his chest with exaggerated disbelief. "How can you call your smart, talented, and incredibly pretty son an idiot?"

Yuna just rolled her eyes.

Theo, rarely the calm one, patted her hand gently. "It's okay, Yuna. You've been too busy helping us with training to focus on your own practice. Sorry for relying on you so much."

Yuna: "…"

Her lip twitched harder.

Yes, Theo had definitely mutated more than just his mana. In her opinion, the holes in his brain had also grown wider after the mutation. She was convinced of it.

Rather than explaining herself, Yuna simply waved her hand and said, "The class ranking depends on you guys. I've worked my ass off to get your training right, so show me the results of my hard work."

She didn't feel the slightest shame demanding excellent results from them—even after her own infamously terrible performance. She had poured her efforts into helping them grow. Whether her own score was -1 or -100, Yuna frankly didn't give a damn. She never intended to be the strongest; Her classmates, on the other hand, were determined to grow stronger—and since she had put in the effort to help them improve, they had to prove that her hard work wasn't in vain!

From the outside, the other card classes watched the scene unfold in stunned silence. Yuna, the girl who had just scored negative one, was now surrounded by her classmates—teasing her, laughing, patting her shoulder like she was some treasured mascot.

Not a hint of shame. No ridicule. Just affection.

"She must've seduced her whole class the way she did with Austin and those other four from the last hunting trip," Cailum sneered from beside the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince glanced coldly in Yuna's direction, faint disgust flickering in his eyes.

"What's so special about her?" Cailum continued, voice dripping with scorn. "Is she using dark magic or something?"

He had always looked down on Yuna—this girl who never fought, never trained publicly, and yet seemed to have everyone wrapped around her finger like she was the center of the universe. The fact that Austin—Austin, of all people—had fallen for her only fueled his distaste. Austin was someone the Crown Prince had high hopes for, someone he had intended to draw into his faction.

To him, Yuna's existence was a disgrace.

He watched her now, surrounded by her classmates, laughing and giving orders like a commander in disguise. To him, it wasn't charm—it was enchanted manipulation.

Meanwhile, Yuna, patting Theo's shoulder and giving him last-minute encouragement, remained blissfully unaware of how others saw her. And even if she had known, she wouldn't have cared.

Then, as if in answer to her declaration, Heart Class erupted into action.

After Yuna's negative score, it was as though her classmates were determined to make up for it—and they did. Especially Theo, Juno, Cerise, and Celeste. Their performance was stunning.

On a scale of 1 to 10, they each scored an incredible 9.8, surpassing even the Crown Prince and the Club Class representative by 0.3 points—the highest scores of the day.

Their overwhelming performance sent a ripple through the student body. Whispers turned into awe-struck chatter. The improvement was undeniable, and more than a few students looked on with a complicated mix of confusion, envy, and admiration—the kind of quiet reverence usually reserved for the top ten in class rankings.

The final group, the Spade Class, then stepped forward.

As expected of the combat-heavy class, their members performed exceptionally well—almost as if they were trying to make up for their low scores in the previous evaluation. Not a single student scored below an 8.

In comparison, Diamond Class had huge gaps, with top performers shining and low performers dragging the class down.

Club Class maintained consistent scores between 7 and 9.

Heart Class, aside from Yuna's -1, averaged between 8 and 9.8—making her the class's only blemish.

Spade Class, with their uniform strength, ended up ranked 1st overall this time.

The final rankings shifted:

• 1st Place: Spade Class

• 2nd Place: Club Class

• 3rd Place: Heart Class

• 4th Place: Diamond Class (a dramatic fall from their top spot)

In individual rankings, the top ten remained largely the same, with only minor shuffling:

Celeste held onto 3rd place.

Juno and Cerise remained securely in the top ten.

Theo rose to 11th place, just shy of the spotlight.

The protagonist of naturally held his usual top-tier rank.

As for Yuna…

Well, Yuna ranked in the top ten too—

Top ten ....counting from the bottom.

The next day marked the beginning of the summoned ability exam. Yuna sat quietly, gazing at her seemingly ordinary yet spiritual raven. Hoping it might secretly be some kind of hidden powerhouse, she tried once more to sense any sign of its abilities. But all she felt was an endless, blank void—her senses filled with dimness and darkness, completely devoid of any power fluctuation. Her hopes were dashed then and there.

From that moment on, Yuna resigned herself to the fact that her raven was just an ordinary, albeit adorable, companion.