Everyone had returned to the hotel lobby, and they all stared at the ranking leaderboard astounded by the results.
“H-How is this possible!?”
“Is this some sort of mistake!?”
“Did the system glitch!?”
“How can someone gather so much XP in just one day!?”
Everyone chatted amongst each other in disbelief.
[Ranking Leaderboard]
1.Claire Uleastrea Vaylinmoor: 3,040xp
2.Emilia Felroth: 940xp
3.Tatsuo Sōryū: 920xp
4.Eldrin Valleth: 920xp
5.Tai Leek: 840xp
6.Ken Granfold: 640xp
7.Lydia Everfield: 640xp
8.Alice Cucinare: 620xp
9.Nelly Lux: 600xp
10.Katherine Locket: 540xp
…………..
………
…..
..
.
“3,000xp? What kind of assignment did she take part in to gain that much xp?” Nelly wondered out loud.
“I don't think she took part in any assignment,” Ken responded.
“Then how did she gain that much xp?”
“The Alumni are worth 1,000xp each, my best guess is, she went up against them and won,” Ken answered.
Joining Ken and Nelly's little conversation, Lydia said, “I'd expect nothing less from Miss. Vaylinmoor.”
“Oh, hey Lydia. This doesn't surprise you?”
“No, Miss. Vaylinmoor is the 10th Seat Candidate for the Assembly.”
“!”
Hearing this, the memory of when Claire was trapped in the magic barrier and talking about the Assembly Candidate popped into his head.
***********
A few weeks ago.
“But, Rank 10 is empty,” said Ken.
“That's because Rank 10 is reserved for a certain first year. The reason their name isn't there yet is because first years don't receive their rankings until after the Ranking Exams.”
“So if I can beat this person during the Ranking Exams, I'll gain a seat at the Assembly. Which’ll give me a chance to take the number one seat in The Assembly.”
“That’s correct. But be warned, this first year is a powerful individual, their magic dwarfs every other first year. They are also said to be an awesome mage.”
“I'm sure all that is just exaggeration, I'll find this person and take them out during the Survival Exam,” Ken replied.
With a smug look, Claire said, “I wouldn't take them so lightly.”
*********
“So, that whole time she was just praising herself. She must be really confident in her magic.” Ken thought to himself.
Letting out a deep sigh, Nelly said, “I have no plans of trying to beat her. As long as I don't get expelled I'll be happy.” Turning around, she said her goodbyes before walking off, “I'm going to go take a long bath. In the name of Solis, I hope we get to partner up again Ken.”
“Yeah, me too.” Ken waved.
Returning his attention to Lydia, he asked, “How about you? Do you aim to surpass Claire?”
“Challenging Miss Vaylinmoor isn't a requirement for me to accomplish my goal… but, as a warrior mage, I'd be damned if I don't aim to beat the strongest.” She answered. “How about you?”
Lydia’s answer brought a toothy smirk to Ken's face, “If I defeat her during this exam then the 10th Seat on the Assembly will be mine, which will open the pathway for me to reach Rank 1, so yes, I will defeat her!”
“I've tested my magic against yours and although I haven't seen your full capability I know you are powerful…”
“But…?”
“Hmmm… how do I put this? If you have the power of 100 mages, then she has the power of 1000.”
“Is she really that powerful?”
“I attended middle school with her and I've seen her in action. So I can confidently say, I've yet to come across any first year who I can confidently say she would lose to.”
“Hmmmm…”
“But again, I haven't seen you at full power, so I could be wrong. “
“Thanks for the heads up, Lydia. If the time ever comes and I face her, I'll be sure to fight her at full power from the start,” said Ken.
“That would be most wise. “ Lydia said, nodding her head. “I'm currently one rank under you Ken Granfold, don't get sloppy on your next assignment.”
“I'll be sure to keep you on your toes.”
With a slight smirk, Lydia replied, “Wouldn't want it any other way. Anyways, I'm heading back to my room, hopefully, we face off in the next task.” with that, she walked off.
Looking back up at the Ranking Board, Ken thought to himself, “Looks like some students participated in higher-rewarding exams. No matter, from here on out, this exam will only get more intense… I can't wait!”
While Ken continued to stare at his rank, Katherine approached him. “Ken.”
“Hey, Katherine. You left the potion brewing class in a bad mood, you looked frustrated, sorry for putting you on the spot like that.”
Slightly shaking her head, Katherine replied, “No need to apologize… Truth is, I was disappointed in myself.”
“Huh? Really?”
“The potion you made deserved the A+. I'm willing to bet if Julia could give you a higher grade, she would have.”
“Oh, well thank you. Nelly and I worked hard on it.”
Tightly balling up her fist, she continued to say, “You were right. I lost because I was scared of jumping when I needed to… I lost to you because I was afraid of losing. I lost because I thought the safest option was the best option.”
“Katherine…”
Fixing up her glasses, she looked Ken directly in the eyes, showing her will to not give up, “Ken Granfold, thanks to you, I know now for me to survive as someone who wants to seek true knowledge… To stand above you, I must not hesitate, I must know when to jump. So, I promise you, the next time I go against you, I won't lose!”
Ken was a little taken aback by her words. Up until now, Katherine had only shown interest in books and knowledge, she had never been this forward about anything else.
With a wide toothy grin, Ken replied, “I won't lose either!”
“That's all I wanted to say.” With that, Katherine walked off.
“Well, I should head back to my room as well.”
…...............
Arriving in his room, Ken lounged on the couch staring at the ceiling. His two roommates were nowhere to be found.
“I wonder what Hanako is doing, I should call her, it feels like I haven't spoken to her in a while.”
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
“Huh…?” Looking at his student cell a gleeful smile came across his face. “She must have felt me thinking about her!”
-Hanako Sakura-
“I was just thinking about you.”
“Ahh… R-Really?” She responded.
“Yeah, I wanted to call and ask if you wanted to… Eat dinner together?”
“Oh, w-well, Koko is hosting a d-dinner gathering in her dorm… And she has invited us and some other m-members… Of our dorm…”
“Yeah, I'd love to come. When is it?”
“It's in 30 m-minutes.”
“Thank you for letting me know. I'll be there.”
“Alright, see you th-then. I'll text you the room n-number”
“Great.”
-End Call-
“I was hoping it'll just be the two of us eating together… But eating with everyone also sounds nice.”
…….................
After taking a shower, Ken made his way to room F14—Koko’s room. While making his way there, he just so happened to run into Hanako, who was also on her way there.
“Hanako!” Ken waved.
[Hanako Sakura. Rank 18: 320xp]
“K-Ken.”
“You're running late as well?”
“Y-Yes… I lost track of time while in the bath.”
“Yeah, I lost track of time as well. Let's head in together.”
Nodding her head, the two continued their walk together. They soon arrived at room F14. Knocking on the door they waited until they were let in by Koko, and were led into the dining area where they were met by Katherine, Lydia, Rufus, Drew, Nero, and a new face, someone that wasn't part of their dorm—a Snow Elf.
“Hey everyone, we have arrived.” Said Ken.
“Is it just me, or are the two of you always together? You two wouldn't happen to be dating in secret now would you?” Lydia questioned.
"N-No, it's not l-like that… we're just—”
Cutting off Hanako, Koko gibbed, "No way! Hanako is way out of Ken's reach."
[Koko Engot. Rank 20: 310xp”
Koko's words felt like an arrow shooting into Ken's self-confidence.
"Hey, what do you mean 'out of reach'!?"
"She means, Hanako is too pretty for you." Kathrine sighed, shooting another arrow into Ken's self-confidence.
"Too pretty? Jeez, love is too complicated. Now I know why Grandpa sucked at it." Ken thought to himself.
Chipping into the banter, the snow elf voiced her opinion, "No, I think they would be cute together."
“Really!?” Ken's eyes lit up.
"Dear Aemma, don't give Ken a false sense of hope," said Koko.
“Nero, you think I have a chance right?" Ken asked, desperate for someone to be on his side.
Nero stayed silent for a few seconds, before completely ignoring Ken's question, and instead said, "I'm hungry, let's eat already,"
[Nero Jaq'war. Rank 13: 520xp]
"Wow, Nero has such low faith in me being with Hanako, that he thinks it's not even worth thinking about!" Ken sobbed on the verge of giving up all hope.
Looking at both Ken and Hanako, Lydia started rubbing her chin, "Hmmm… Now that I think about it, Ken and Hanako might actually make a cute couple, that's if he plays his cards right,"
"Now that I think about it, I want to barf" Said Kathrine, mimicking a barfing motion.
“I came here to have dinner, not be stabbed by your negative opinions!”
Correcting the misunderstanding flying around, Hanako blurted out, "Ken and I are just friends!"
This caught everyone's attention, which she quickly regretted, and immediately looked down, closing herself off.
Hanako's words “Just Friends” were the final and biggest arrow shot into Ken's self-confidence.
Walking up to Ken, Drew placed his hand on one of his shoulders, slowly shaking his head in pity, he said, "Damn, she really friend-zoned you.”
[Drew Oreom. Rank 16: 420xp]
Placing his hand on Ken's other shoulder, Rufus also slowly shook his head in pity before saying, "Just know, Drew and I, thought you had a chance buddy."
[Rufus Drolt. Rank 17: 420xp]
The two boys' pity only made him feel worse, "I don't need you two to pity me," he sniffled before shrugging them off of his shoulder.
“Moving on!” Koko stood next to her roommate–the snow elf–and introduced her, “Guys this is Aemma, one of my roommates. These two are Ken and Hanako, more of my dorm friends.”
“Hey.” Aemma waved. She had pale blue skin and long white hair.
[Aemma Wenoth. Rank 15: 400xp]
“Hey.” Ken and Hanako waved back.
“Now, with introductions out of the way, let's eat!”
The rest of the night was spent eating and playing board games, deepening their connection with one another. It wasn't until midnight that everyone said their goodbyes and returned to their own dorm.
