the Ranking

He hadn't gone through the portal yet.

The system opened.

HP 50

Magic 0

He had used everything for the safe place.

He saw a timer in the top corner.

8:31 minutes

He still had 8 minutes left. He pressed first on his profile.

Attacks:

Pack bite

Wolf strike

Then he looked at ranks:

Pup level 6 – Trainer level 10 – Wolf level 40

Wolf king level 60

Level 80 – ?

Level 100 – ?

Level ? – ?

Level ??? + ???

He now had more important things to do than think about that. He stepped into the portal and found himself back in the bathroom. No time had passed; time apparently stood still in the forest.

He quickly changed clothes and ran to the assembly. Everyone was already there, and there were about 10 crates with a crystal inside.

Glus said, "Hello and welcome to your ranking. Good luck. I will walk around now."

Before he could finish, Ilius, the master doctor, came and announced that a triple murder had occurred. Glus looked serious and said, "Whoever did it, we will find them."

Mike stood next to Lasa. "Hey, what rank are you?" He tried to act normal, even though he was very nervous and scared.

She laughed, "I'm rank B."

Mike: "Rank B?"

He was happy to hear that. But before he could say anything, she jumped at him, so happy that he couldn't help but laugh. Even though the situation was serious, he had to smile, thanks to her.

Now it was Mike's turn. He took a crystal, connected it to the machine, and pressed the button.

The system opened.

1 new message

Someone is trying to measure your powers.

It was blocked.

Do you want to fake it and appear as Sal-1?

He understood—the system would pretend that he is Sal-1. That was good, but Giel and Kad wouldn't believe it. Still, he had no choice.

"Yes…"

Mike stands in front of the machine and inserts the crystal. The machine begins the measurement. Suddenly, the screen displays:

"Rank measurement in progress…"

Then it shows:

"Rank: Sal-1"

Mike breathes a sigh of relief because this disguises his true rank, which is much higher. He knows that Giel and Kad will be suspicious, but he has no choice.

Next to him, Kad whispers:

"Sal-1? That's not what I expected…"

Kad looked at Mike with a serious expression and slowly shook his head.

"That just can't be your real rank, Mike. You're much stronger than that number shows. I've seen you fight, you have abilities that go far beyond Sal-1."

Giel took a step forward, his forehead creased with worry.

"The machine must be broken or something is wrong with the measurement. You can't be as weak as it shows here. I know you, and you're a fighter. This just doesn't add up."

Giel nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. You're better, we can feel it. Let's find out what's really going on. Maybe we can check the measurement again or ask someone who knows about this."

Mike answered:

"Guys, what's wrong with that? Just accept it, I… I am a Sal-1."

But then the screen lit up.

Before a new message from the system appeared:

System has detected that Sal-1 is unnecessary, so the system has decided to rank you Sal-2.

The screen glowed.

Error, measurement restarting…

Rank: Sal-2

Congratulations!

Kad and Giel looked at it, and Kad said:

"Yes, I knew it. That's what I thought."

Giel shouted:

"Then you must be a really strong Sal-1!"

He laughed.

"Okay, let's all take a deep breath," said Mike.

"Now it's your turn, both of you."

Kad's rank: Sal-1.

Kad wasn't surprised and said:

"Yes, just as I thought. Still weak."

Giel was happy it was his turn.

Sal-2.

"You are stronger than an ordinary Sal-2. Congratulations!"

Giel said, "Look, it says you're stronger than an ordinary Sal-2."

Kad replied:

"Oh man, I'm so jealous of you guys. I guess I'm the weak one in our group."

We walked around a bit and saw how many were happy.

"Yeah, I'm rank 1!"

"I'm rank 2!"

Elsewhere, some kids looked desperate.

"No, I'm rank -1!"

"What? Rank 1? That's not good!"

"Yeah, I'm lucky I can level up."

Then suddenly, a cheer broke out: "He's rank A!"

All you could hear was a boy shouting his name — Has.

Has was actually rank A.

Could I beat him? Definitely not, right?

I walked up to him.

"Hi, Has, was that your name, right?"

I didn't know what answer I was hoping for, but he was nice.

He replied,

"Yes, exactly, my name is Has Has Dusu.

And yours?"

He grinned.

"My name is Mike, Mike Tyl."

"What's your rank, Mike Tyl?" he asked.

I didn't know my real rank.

What should I say? "Cub"? No.

I said,

"Rank 2, is that okay?"

Has answered,

"Yeah, totally. That would've been enough for me, to be honest."

Mike asked, "What's your ability?"

Before Has answered, let me tell you all the abilities:

Mike – System, but people think it's strength.

Giel – gravity magic.

Kad – very agile.

Lasa – always good at healing, she has healing magic.

Has answered,

"My magic is light magic.

Yours, Mike

I have strength, some kind of superhuman strength. It is what it is, right?"

Has answered,

"Exactly."

Then I went back to my group.

"Hey Mike," they greeted me.

To be honest, I was a little annoyed because I'm sure I could easily be rank B or A, but everything in its own time, right?

Lasa looked at Mike with a soft smile.

"Do you remember how we used to play Sal when we were kids? In that old backyard, with wooden planks as swords?"

Mike grinned and nodded.

"Of course I remember. You always pretended to be a Rank-S Sal. And I was your rival… or your helper, depending on your mood."

Lasa laughed quietly, then her expression turned thoughtful.

"Yeah… I always wanted to save the world. I thought if I was just strong enough, I could push all the bad things away. Just like that—with one strike."

Mike nodded slowly, his eyes distant.

"Same here… I wanted to be strong. Not for fame or anything like that. I just wanted… to make sure no one had to suffer like we did. After everything that happened."

Lasa went quiet. Her gaze dropped slightly, and her voice turned soft.

"Your parents…"

Mike looked into the distance, his voice heavy with memory.

"Yeah. That was probably the moment it started. When I made a promise to myself: I'll become strong. Strong enough to protect. So I'll never be helpless again."

He looked at her and gave a faint smile.

"And I always knew you were stronger than you think. Not just with magic. But here." (He lightly tapped his chest.)

Lasa met his gaze—gentle but determined.

"So… what do you think? Will we make it? Become strong? Maybe… even together?"

Mike looked straight at her, his voice steady and full of resolve.

"Yes. Together. Just like back then. Only this time… it's real."

But then

Ilius and Glus were talking, and Glus said:

"Okay, I have to go somewhere quickly.

Please wait for a Commandant. He will arrive any moment, and no one is allowed to leave the cafeteria."

Voices were heard saying things like:

"Huh, why?"

"What happened?"

"What's going on here?"

But I was the only student who knew what was going on.

I was scared. I sat down on a chair next to me were Giel, Kad, and Lasa talking, but I didn't understand a word — everything was silent.

Then Commandant Zoio appeared and said:

"Please be quiet for a moment.

"You are all in danger. We don't know how it started, we don't know why – and worst of all, we don't even know what exactly is happening."

She paused. The silence that followed was filled with tension so thick, it felt like the air itself was holdin

From now on, we are under full lockdown. No one leaves the building without express permission. As of this moment… you're not just students anymore. You are targets."

You're all asking yourselves: Why

Then

I have something to tell you. A murder has been committed…"

—————————————-

System initializing…

New Quest Available

Accept Quest?

The player, Reader, notices… there is only one option: Yes.

He taps it.

Quest:

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