novelraw Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85 : Rank 2
Sal had no choice but to wait for the results in endless anxiety along with other students.
As the ranking entered the 750s, sighs of relief burst out simultaneously from about three-quarters of the circular auditorium.
It was hard to see it as consideration for the bottom 250 students, but it was understandable since it was also a signal that the remaining students were not at risk of expulsion.
Smiles slowly blossomed on the faces of mid-ranked students, but top-ranked students seemed rather increasingly tense.
Because fierce ranking fluctuations were forecasted among the top hundreds.
And as if realizing that relief, cheers and congratulatory sounds burst out from here and there.
Many teams seemed to have succeeded in raising the rankings of their lower-ranked team members through this tournament.
Sal looked at the screen searching for familiar names, but because he had few exchanges with others within the class overall, there weren't many names he knew.
As Divinity had warned, he was still in a state where he hadn't properly formed relationships with his peers.
Sal stopped checking the current ranking and scanned the lower-rank list again to check if there were any names he missed.
Then there was a name that caught his eye.
It was Josh Mitchell, and his current ranking was 846th.
However, he didn't remember what his original rank was.
And subsequently, Anderson Royce's name came into view in the early 700s.
It was a moment where he could feel a little relieved at least.
"Good job, Stephen!"
Sal turned his head at Divinity's voice heard from behind and confirmed her congratulating one of her team supporters.
Jack and Blanid also looked back and smiled, but Sal fell into thought for a moment.
'Is a ranking in the 600s something to be celebrated at this point?'
But seeing Stephen's bright laugh, it seemed it was sufficiently something to be proud of for him at least.
Similar situations continued a few more times in Divinity's team, and then the first shocking event occurred.
Sal almost missed it, but Barry was watching the screen without taking his eyes off.
"Dominic is in the 600s!"
At those words, everyone raised their heads simultaneously and looked at the screen.
The person engulfed in the biggest shock was the party involved, Dominic.
"No way!"
He shouted choking up, but he was buried by the cheers and applause bursting from here and there in the spectator seats.
No one sent him sympathy.
The fact that he, who was evaluated as promising and powerful, had fallen from the top 30 like this must have clearly hurt his pride greatly.
Simultaneously, the names of lower-ranked team leaders of the Silver Cohort also began to appear one by one.
Gerard Kilsey had risen to the 500s before anyone knew it.
"Seriously...?"
Jack couldn't continue his words seeing his name appear on the screen.
Because the name he thought would have disappeared mixed in the lower ranks was shining proudly in the middle of the screen.
His new ranking was 473rd.
"Good job, Jack!"
Blanid cheered and slapped Jack's shoulder, then anxiously examined the screen wondering if her name would also be nearby.
But names continued to change, and her name was hardly visible.
The name that appeared next was Anthony.
His new ranking was 412th.
He stared blankly at the screen unable to close his mouth.
It was clearly a rapid rise even he hadn't expected.
And finally, Blanid's name appeared.
"391st...? No way...."
She burst into tears covering her face with her hands, and Jack hugged her tightly.
The next was another surprising moment for Sal.
Melanie's name appeared right after Blanid, and she was positioned at a whopping 365th place.
Barry shook his head at Sal and said.
"This is really crazy. Should we just go for a walk and come back when it's over?"
The moment Sal tried to get up right away, Divinity patted the back of his head and stopped the two playfully.
"No! You have to stay until the end until all our names appear.... Besides, if you leave first, it looks totally arrogant!"
Barry sighed and plopped down in his seat.
Barry, who was still shaking his head looking at the screen, smiled bitterly at some point.
"Your girlfriend is doing well."
Sal smiled brightly seeing Hannah's name on the screen.
She recorded 272nd place, and her ranking had certainly risen significantly compared to before.
Sal wanted to hear quickly what kind of performance she showed in this tournament and how much the gauntlets he made helped the team.
"I don't really know names other than team leaders. It's not just me, right?"
As Sal said laughing awkwardly, Barry scoffed.
"You're better than me. I don't even remember their names well."
Then he pointed roughly toward Jack without even turning his head.
Blanid took her hands off her face for a moment, laughed, and hit Barry's shoulder.
"You're really the worst."
Sal examined the screen again and realized Barry's name hadn't appeared yet.
It was a good sign.
But suddenly he didn't remember at all what rank he was initially.
"By the way Barry, what rank were you when we first started?"
Barry shrugged his shoulders continuing to look at the screen.
"Probably around the early 900s? As soon as I arrived at the dormitory, I took a nap so I didn't even see messages related to the race and meetings. So I'm telling you this situation feels totally awkward for me too."
Hearing that, Sal burst into laughter, laughing to the point tears gathered in his eyes.
"Really? You took a nap on the first day?"
Barry waved his hand as if it was no big deal.
"I was tired."
Then eventually he also burst into laughter and shook his head.
"It was the most expensive nap in my life. But well... seeing the ranking go up like this, it is thanks to Divinity making me feel guilty and making me use my ability, right?"
Then he turned around and smiled brightly at Divinity, and at that moment, unlike the Divinity Sal knew, she silently raised her middle finger.
Barry looked at Sal and laughed.
"Couldn't help it."
One of the most dramatic ranking rises in this announcement was Whisper.
She, who was originally one of the lowest-ranked team leaders in the 900s, had entered within the top 200.
Sal smiled seeing her almost suffocating while being hugged tightly by Nova.
Since Whisper was one of the toughest opponents even for Sal in the tournament, seeing her get rewarded like this warmed his heart.
As that thought occurred, Sal inadvertently scanned the Silver Cohort side, and Jenny Stravos looking up at the scoreboard with a tense expression came into view.
She was Team Leader 17, meaning her initial rank was 969th.
The fact that her name hadn't appeared yet meant she was probably one of the figures with the most dramatic ranking rise across the entire auditorium.
Sal was waiting for the names entering the top 100.
Because this ranking would be an indicator showing how far the original top 10 team leaders of each Cohort survived.
Just then, Barry raised one hand high, and the green runes engraved on his arm began to glow.
Before Sal could ask what was going on, fireworks erupted over the spectator seats.
People in their seats cheered in pleasant surprise.
The moment Sal looked at Barry with a bewildered face then looked up to check the scoreboard, he could know the reason.
Barry Francis - Overall Rank 98th
"Just because they congratulate me, the rank won't go down a few notches, right!"
Barry laughed and quickly turned off the power of the runes.
Sal slapped his knee and laughed.
"Good job, really. You deserve it."
Unlike usual trying to pass it off with a joke, Barry nodded.
"Thanks, Captain."
There was not a bit of mockery or playfulness in those words.
However, Divinity looked at Barry with a somewhat frowning face.
"Is that satisfactory? If it were you, it should be higher. Based on the original ranking system, you're barely 9th in our Cohort."
Barry turned around, realized she was serious, laughed, and shrugged his shoulders.
"It's only the 1st month. There's plenty of time to get into the Savior list, right?"
Just then, Sal tapped Barry's knee and said.
"The tables are turning slowly. Michael, Xander, Zachary, and even Christopher are out of the top 10, and even Dominic is eliminated, so at least five new faces will come in. No, four. Since you already took one."
Divinity shook her head and sighed.
"It's not that simple of a problem. You heard Headmaster Quest. As rankings mix this time, some Cohorts might have more people in the upper ranks."
Sal nodded still not taking his eyes off the ranking table.
Of course, he was most curious about when his name would appear, but at the same time, he also wanted to know where Nova had risen to.
Soon familiar names began to come up one by one.
Sal was surprised that a significant number of Silver Cohort team leaders still maintained high rankings.
Just then, Divinity's voice was heard from behind Sal again.
"Ah... Victoria won't feel good. Seems like she dropped about 20 steps."
Barry pointed at Blanid and made a gesture as if it was all her fault, and Blanid laughed and pushed his shoulder once more.
Divinity continued speaking looking at the screen.
"Evan dropped too.... Seems like a similar drop range. What rank was Lucia before the tournament?"
Sal answered over his shoulder.
"39th. 4th within the Cohort. Still, I don't think she'll drop that much."
Divinity nodded and looked at the ranking table.
"But think carefully. With the Savior Class and the current Cohort system standard, it means only the top 3 from each Cohort are given Savior qualifications. This seems like it will be really fierce competition."
At those words, smiles slowly disappeared from everyone's faces.
However, Barry shook his head lightly and said.
"It's still the 1st month. There are five months left. Plus, we are all participants in the inter-Cohort competition, right? There will be another chance to show skills there. Considering the prize money and time... we'll be able to equip gear really properly too."
Then he looked at Sal meaningfully and turned his gaze back to the screen.
Sal also raised his head again to look at the ranking table and frowned the moment he confirmed the location where Nova's name appeared.
She had been pushed back to 46th place.
Sal thought she wouldn't be happy with that ranking.
But looking at Nova, she was smiling brightly and giving a thumbs up towards Sal.
Then she pointed at Sal and held up one finger towards the ranking table.
It seemed to mean she hoped he was 1st.
Sal shook his head laughing, then opened both hands and waved them twice.
He didn't know if she understood the meaning, but it meant Sal would be sufficiently satisfied just getting into the top 20.
"Your mime just now was a total failure."
Barry teased Sal without taking his eyes off the ranking table.
"But Lucia is right too. There's no reason you can't be 1st, right?"
Sal shook his head and laughed as if he was talking nonsense.
From the other side of the auditorium, he felt Erica still glaring at him without even needing to look there.
Sal had no ambition to be 1st or anything like that.
He intended to gladly yield that spot to Erica.
"There are people much more outstanding than me. Such people should definitely be 1st."
Sal said that and pointed towards Divinity.
But Divinity didn't ignore it, smiled quietly, and pointed at the ranking table again.
"Keep watching. Your turn is coming."
"Jenny got into the top 30?!"
Barry suddenly shouted, and Sal looked up at the screen in surprise.
Complex emotions swept through Sal inside.
It was relief and impatience simultaneously.
Entering the top 30 meant there was now a considerable possibility for him to enter the Savior Class too.
At that moment, Divinity placed her hand on Sal's shoulder and comforted him silently.
"Don't think too deeply. It's just a number."
As the list of top 30 began, the entire circular auditorium changed its atmosphere.
970 people had already checked their rankings, and now what remained was to cheer for the people who would represent their Cohorts.
Every time a name in the top 30 appeared on the screen, tremendous cheers burst out from each Cohort.
Although some names were unfamiliar, just looking at the reaction of the Cohort that student belonged to, one could quickly know where they belonged.
Competition between Cohorts trying to cheer louder and more powerfully, and the sense of belonging together filled the auditorium.
Every time a name came down one by one, Sal's heart beat faster and faster.
He said 'I don't care about rankings' several times, but the atmosphere of the scene was completely crumbling that thought.
He was really looking forward to whether he could enter the top ranks.
As the 20th place was announced, the cheers grew louder.
And the name of the 19th place was also not Salvatore.
Sal was engulfed in a feeling as if he was out of breath and his chest was tightening.
"Now it's going to get really interesting."
Barry tapped Sal's shoulder, speaking quietly with a voice that couldn't hide his excitement.
Everyone was feeling that Sal would definitely record a high ranking now.
Blanid, Anthony, and Jack were all turning their heads here and there not to miss his reaction while looking at Sal, and Divinity lightly patted his shoulders with both hands sending support.
As names continued to appear on the screen and eventually entered the top 10, Sal was so tense he couldn't breathe properly.
Strength went into Divinity's hands, and the screen revealed the top names one by one at an increasingly slower speed.
Cheers and shouts exploded from here and there in the auditorium.
Each Cohort raised their voices hoping for the person they supported to be 1st.
As names came down to 5th place, the speed began to flow slowly as if almost stopped.
Sal wanted to look toward Divinity, but he couldn't leave his seat as if his body had frozen.
He had to check directly what rank he was.
As 4th place was revealed, applause and cheers shaking the entire auditorium burst out.
At that moment, Sal realized that the Cohort bursting out the biggest cheers right now was Silver.
There were still two team leaders whose names hadn't appeared on the screen!
During those few seconds that felt like time had stopped, finally, the name of the 3rd place appeared on the screen.