novelraw Chapter 84 : Chapter 84
Chapter 84 : Chapter 84
Chapter 84 : Rank 1
"Good, nice to meet you all again! This Combat class was one of the most impressive events in Academy history. And this is all thanks to you.
Although we set quite high standards, many of you showed performance far exceeding those expectations!
As many as two teams emerged setting a perfect record of 19 consecutive wins.
Especially surprising is that one of the winning teams was the last selected team in the selection order.
Gold Cohort Team 1, the team led by Erica Clifton, with an average team score of 92%! This is one of the highest average scores counted in Academy history! A big round of applause for Erica and her team, please!"
Finding five people in a crowd of over a thousand was much simpler than thought.
Because the entire Gold Cohort turned their heads in unison toward a girl sitting in the front row.
She was sitting with her arms crossed, and her team members were sitting next to her with drooping faces.
For a team that took 1st place with a perfect record, they didn't look happy at all.
And Sal was startled.
Because Erica suddenly turned her head sharply and glared at his side.
Although sitting on the opposite side of the circular auditorium, he could feel her gaze pinning him accurately.
Sal got goosebumps at those eyes where not a single speck of goodwill was felt.
"Wow, really scary...."
Barry muttered, looking alternately at Erica and Sal.
"I'm saying this sincerely, Sal. You need to stop catching the eyes of crazy girls. It's bad for your health."
An awkward silence flowed for a moment, and soon Barry continued laughing.
"Imagine. Say you date her and go to her house to greet her parents. Try not to get your ulterior motives caught by Neuro.... Could you survive?"
At that moment, Sal's gaze flashed and returned to Barry.
"Now... did you say she's Neuro's daughter?"
Barry nodded slowly as if Sal was an idiot.
"She's the 1st in the entire Academy ranking. Have you been living under a rock or something?"
Sal sighed and shook his head emphatically.
And he looked again at Erica, who was still glaring at him.
"I was cooped up in the Workshop...."
"Now, it was one of the best results counted in our Academy history! But this record was broken by the very next team. A perfect record of 19 wins out of 19 matches, and a team average score of 93.2%! Silver Cohort Team 2, the team led by Salvatore Argento!"
Tremendous gazes flocked toward Sal's team.
"It is truly a special thing that the two teams selected last in the selection order produced such results. It deserves to be celebrated properly. Rewards have already been assigned according to each Cohort's standards, but this time we would like to give a special reward targeting the entire first year this year."
Quest gave a glance to Sal and Erica's teams and continued speaking again.
"The first winners would naturally be the two teams that achieved perfect scores, right? Both teams will receive the benefit of exemption from external activity costs for the remainder of this semester. So that you can accumulate more field experience. Furthermore, to commemorate the tremendous achievement, we award the 'Challenge Crest'. This emblem will be attached to your school uniform and will also be authenticated on your Q-Card so it can be verified at all Guilds."
Sal's team members couldn't get a hold of themselves at the added rewards.
"Now, before moving on to the ranking announcement you must be most curious about, we need to rearrange each Cohort ranking table based on overall grades."
Sal looked up at the screen and was surprised to see separate screens prepared for the Gold Cohort and Silver Cohort.
The name seen first was Erica, and turning his eyes to the Silver side table, he saw his name.
The same ranking as before was displayed, but soon the ranking rearrangement began.
1. Salvatore Argento - Team 2 - 93%
2. Jenny Stravos - Team 17 - 89%
3. Divinity Khan - Team 1 - 87%
4. Lucia Hernandez - Team 4 - 83%
5. Whisper Ding - Team 12 - 82%
6. Victoria Chase - Team 7 - 79%
7. Evan McGregor - Team 6 - 72%
8. Crypto Daniels - Team 18 - 71%
9. Gerard Kilsey - Team 20 - 68%
10. Sanna Sinervo - Team 16 - 65%
11. Marta Virgo - Team 14 - 64%
12. Borja Diez - Team 15 - 63%
13. Con Lafleur - Team 13 - 61%
14. Trent Gold - Team 11 - 60%
15. Dominic Walters - Team 3 - Failed
16. Xander Michaels - Team 9 - Failed
17. Zachary Lowe - Team 10 - Failed
18. Michael Welling - Team 8 - Failed
19. Christopher Gage - Team 5 - Failed
20. Harold Gunn - Team 19 - Failed
Sal had never expected the score difference between teams to be this minute.
There were many cases where the average score upset the team balance.
Weak teams with strong team leaders seemed to have taken a particularly big hit.
It was welcome news that Divinity rose one step, but it was heartbreaking that Nova fell two steps.
But thinking about it, Nova was by far the strongest existence within the team, and due to that, there was a high possibility other team members couldn't display their brilliance properly.
It was a really nice sight to see Gerard go down in the rankings.
"I think you all have checked the new rankings sufficiently. All teams that achieved an average of 80% or more are teams that serve as examples to the rest of you.
As a reward for this, students who received an average score of 80% or more will immediately obtain qualifications to enter the accelerated course for Intermediate Combat Class."
Sounds of inhaling were heard from here and there.
"And the top 6 teams of each board you see now will advance to the inter-Cohort competition. The Q-Credits awarded earlier were based on existing ranking rewards, but this competition is a stage for those who properly accepted our teachings and achieved teamwork and synergy. Now, from now on, we will reveal the new rankings!"
Sal felt like his stomach was twisted.
'Intermediate Combat Class.... Terrible.'
Since he didn't want to go outside in the first place, the exemption from external activities wasn't particularly coveted either.
The only thing that preserved his smile was Gerard's distorted expression upon hearing the fact that he was eliminated.
"Today is the one-month anniversary of your admission to the Academy. At this point, there is something I want to emphasize to all of you once again. Rankings are not decided solely by the results of this competition. Your attitude, behavior, and will to take one step further. All those factors were reflected in the evaluation."
Sal felt like he met eyes with Quest who paused briefly.
"In this place, there are also students who saved numerous lives with their abilities to stop a terrible future. Some of the Controller students gathered their strength to root out bullying and anti-social behavior. Thanks to that, the campus has become a safer space for first-years than ever before. Also, some students voluntarily created community service programs and willingly gave their time and abilities for people in need. Also, there were students who worked through the night for Guilds building reputation and personal brands. Even among you, there is a Healer who submitted diagnosis reports anonymously. Those reports allowed people who were unaware of their illnesses to receive treatment."
'How does he know everything about things even I'm hearing for the first time?'
"The reason I tell you all this is to inform you that you can absolutely never rise to the top just by attending classes and doing given assignments. We are watching every aspect of you. This ranking change does not affect the Cohort structure. However, from today onwards, it will become sufficiently possible for a specific Cohort to grow rapidly overall and become overwhelmingly stronger than other Cohorts. Of course, right now, we haven't reached that stage yet. Now, no need to wait any longer! From now on, we will reveal the new overall rankings!"
Sal looked up at the screen trying to find his name, but soon ended up disappointed at the fact that rankings were being displayed in reverse order.
He knew this was a production to maximize tension.
Because Quest's expression was plainly revealing that intention.
What was more worrying was that this announcement was the latest ranking.
The names in the thousandth rank appearing on the screen were students highly likely to be expelled from the Academy if they failed to rebound their grades by the end of the semester.
If as expected, the 250 names appearing at first will leave the Academy within a few months.
Blanid was clutching both knees tightly, applying force to the point her knuckles turned white.
Her gaze was fixed on the screen following the names changing every second.
Sal leaned over Barry and placed his hand lightly on the back of her hand.
"You'll be fine. We did really well."
Blanid looked at Sal briefly and half-smiled, but her bloodless face couldn't hide her anxiety.
Jack was also leaning back in his chair pretending to be calm, but his eyes were also fixed on the screen.
Then, as a familiar name appeared on the screen for the first time, Sal's stomach churned.
It was Kane.
He, who was in the 900s rank, hadn't been seen since Sal drank coffee with him in the first week.
Although he vaguely heard a story that he got hurt, Sal, who was frantic with Combat class and Workshop preparations, had forgotten his existence itself.
Soon after, Harold Gunn's name staying in the 900s also appeared.
The possibility was high that his ranking dropped further.
And as the ranking entered the 800s, Sal suddenly thought of one name.
'Melanie...!'
Although her name hadn't appeared yet, if his memory was correct, her original ranking was in the late 900s.
Although he and Divinity had handed Melanie a list of personnel to pick in battle based on foresight information, he realized he hadn't checked her grades at all afterward.
He couldn't believe the fact that he had left such an important moment to mere luck.
"You know, if you're that worried, why don't you just ask me?"
At Divinity's laughter heard from behind, Sal was startled and looked back.
She was sitting next to Anthony, and her team was seated side by side on his left.
Sal scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
"Was it that obvious?"
Instead of answering, Divinity gestured with her chin toward where Melanie was sitting.
"While you were busy making team toys, I saved the world. So don't worry."
Sal sighed in relief and leaned back in his chair.
"This ranking reveal method, it's real torture. Can't you just tell us all our final rankings?"
Sal looked at Divinity with desperate eyes, but she shook her head with a small smile.
"I intentionally didn't look today. Because I wanted to be surprised. I checked only Melanie as an exception, and her result was good. So really don't worry."
After saying that, Divinity winked.