Chapter 9: The Academy Rankings
"The world belongs to those capable of summoning power."
The teacher’s voice echoed calmly throughout the classroom.
Kael was sitting in the back of the room.
Or at least... he was trying to listen to the class.
Because honestly, it was hard to concentrate when:
half the academy kept staring at him weirdly,
Darius probably wanted a rematch,
and Seraphina was sitting behind him, staring at the cat.
Again.
The teacher continued writing magical symbols on the board.
"Over four hundred years ago, humanity was on the brink of extinction during the Era of Rifts."
Illusory images appeared above the classroom.
Destroyed cities. Giant monsters. Summoners fighting.
Even Kael stopped being distracted for a moment.
"Abyssal Beasts emerged from dimensional cracks and wiped out entire continents."
The image showed a black dragon destroying a giant wall.
Several students swallowed.
"Normal humans were incapable of facing them."
"Until the first Summoners appeared."
The images changed again.
Warriors. Spirits. Magical creatures.
"Since then, the world has been divided by ranks."
The teacher drew several large letters:
F
E
D
C
B
A
S
"Most summoners never exceed C-rank."
Some students began to get nervous.
"B-rank are already considered professional elite."
"A-rank are monsters capable of changing wars."
"And S-rank..."
Silence.
"They are living calamities."
Kael raised a hand slightly.
"Professor."
"Yes, Kael."
"Where does a fat cat that destroys monsters with slaps fit in?"
Absolute silence.
The teacher stood still for a few seconds.
The entire class slowly turned toward Kael.
The cat opened one eye.
Everyone immediately looked away.
The teacher cleared his throat.
"...We’re still investigating it."
Kael sighed.
"Understandable."
Several people started whispering again.
"It’s definitely A-rank..."
"No. That’s scary even for A-rank."
"What if it’s S-rank?"
"DON’T SAY THAT!!"
The teacher quickly banged the table.
"Silence!"
Then he sighed deeply.
"Either way, that brings us to the next topic."
A huge golden symbol appeared on the board.
TOP 10 — ARCADIA ACADEMY
The entire class reacted instantly.
"The Big Ten!!"
"Finally!!"
"Did they update the rankings already!?"
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"What’s that?"
The whole class looked at him in horror.
"You don’t know what the Big Ten are!?"
"What kind of rock were you living under!?"
"They’re the biggest celebrities in the academy!"
Kael crossed his arms.
"I lived in a slum, thanks for asking."
Uncomfortable silence.
The teacher decided to intervene quickly before someone socially died.
"The Big Ten are the most powerful students in all of Arcadia Academy."
The list slowly began to appear.
Each name accompanied by a title.
1 — Seraphina Vale
"The Glacial Princess"
The entire class sighed automatically.
Kael looked back.
Seraphina was still staring at the cat.
Completely disconnected from the fact that she was literally the number one student in the academy.
"...Don’t you ever get tired of looking at it?"
"No."
Immediate response.
Absolute terror.
The list continued.
2 — Leon Drakenhart
"The Sword Saint"
3 — Valeria Crimson
"The Crimson Witch"
4 — Magnus Ironblood
"The Berserker King"
...
10 — Darius Ravencrest
"The Crimson Beast"
Several people started getting excited.
"Darius was amazing!!"
"Until yesterday!!"
"The duel was humiliating!!"
Kael honestly still felt a little guilty about that.
Well. A little.
The teacher continued.
"Rankings change depending on:
performance,
combat,
achievements,
and potential."
Then the teacher sighed.
Very deeply.
Like someone tired of existence.
"And due to yesterday’s match..."
Kael felt an immediate sense of dread.
"Oh no."
The list began to change.
Darius’s name slowly descended.
And another name appeared above.
10 — Kael Veyron
"The Summoner of Contempt"
Absolute silence.
Kael: "..."
The whole class: "..."
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
"WHAAAAAT!?"
"HE’S ALREADY IN THE TOP 10!?"
"THAT’S ILLEGAL!!"
"HE’S ONLY BEEN AT THE ACADEMY FOR THREE DAYS!!"
"The Summoner of Contempt??? What a ridiculous name!!"
Kael immediately stood up.
"No, no, no, no, no!"
He pointed at the ranking in horror.
"I don’t want that!"
The teacher raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
"Isn’t there an option to decline fame?"
"No."
"WHY NOT!?"
"Because the ranking doesn’t ask."
Kael slowly sat back down.
Defeated.
"My life got ruined way too fast..."
Luna, from the window, gave two thumbs up.
"I’m proud of you, big brother!"
"Luna, what are you doing at the window!?"
"I came to accompany..." She looked to her right and there was no one. "...well, it doesn’t matter. I’m happy for you anyway. You’re famous now."
"Thanks, but I feel like people are going to try to assassinate me now!"
Several people indeed already seemed to be considering it.
Murmurs immediately filled the classroom.
"That spot belonged to Darius!"
"He only won because his cat is broken!"
"There’s definitely a trick!"
"How does someone like that get into the Top 10 so fast!?"
Kael slowly began to sink down onto his desk.
"I want to go back to being poor and unknown..."
Then he felt a presence behind him.
He slowly turned.
Seraphina was leaning over his seat.
Very close.
Too close.
"Congratulations."
Kael blinked.
"...Thanks."
She stared at the sleeping cat for a few seconds.
And then added:
"The little fat king deserves that spot."
Silence.
The entire class froze.
Kael: "..."
Students: "..."
Teacher: "..."
"When did you get here?"
"Does that matter?"
"Yes. Don’t you know what personal space is?"
Seraphina calmly sat back down.
As if she hadn’t said anything strange.
Kael slowly turned back to the front.
"I’ve definitely lost the ability to be surprised."
The teacher rubbed his eyes with two fingers and spoke.
"Miss Seraphina... What are you doing here again?"
"I’m learning about ranks."
"Do I have to repeat again that this is not your class and you shouldn’t be here...?"
"Can I take the fat cat with me?"
"Miss Seraphina..."
Seraphina got up from her seat and went to her class.
.
.
.
Elsewhere in the academy...
A huge magical board publicly displayed the rankings.
Hundreds of students looked in surprise at the new Top 10.
Especially the new fifth place.
A young man sitting on a tree branch watched the board in silence.
Black hair. Relaxed smile. And strange golden eyes.
"The Summoner of Contempt... hm."
He smiled slightly.
"What a stupid name... I like it. Sounds fun."
Then he slowly closed the book he had in his hands.
And jumped down from the tree.
"I think I’ve found my next victim."
