Ch.109. Rank Determination Match (1)

# 9. Ranking Match (1)

“It’s raining.”

Raindrops were falling steadily outside the window.

I was gazing intently at the scenery beyond that window.

Today felt somewhat gloomy, perhaps because of the rain.

-Ding!-

My phone suddenly rang.

I immediately turned on my phone to check what the notification was about.

It was an acceptance message from the Imperial Academy, and as soon as I saw its contents, my gloomy mood completely vanished.

I had, as expected, been accepted into Class A, and the schedule for the ranking match was included in the notice.

I immediately shared this news with my family, who rejoiced as if it were their own achievement.

Watching their reactions, I felt a sense of fulfillment and was strongly motivated to do even better in the future.

For that to happen…

‘I need to do well in the ranking match…’

I opened my status window to check my current stats.

Name: Albert Veros Race: Human

Level: 68 Traits: Desperate Person, Regressor

HP: 34/34 MP: 24/24

Strength: 16 Magic: 12 Agility: 21 Defense: 10 Magic Defense: 9

Skills: [Mortal’s End (Unique): E+], [Pitch-Black Sword (Unique): E-], [Unwavering Faith: B], [Reinforcement: E+], [Swiftness: E-], [Desperation: E+], [Absolute Loyalty: B+], [Regeneration: B-], [Killing Intent Detection: F], [Killing Intent Release: E+], [Regressor’s Privilege (Unique)(5): SSS]

I thought these stats weren’t bad for my current situation, but there was one thing that bothered me.

It was the rank of [Mortal’s End].

The intimidation effect of [Mortal’s End] activates at rank D.

However, my current rank was E+.

‘Can I raise it?’

There was only a week left until the ranking match.

Even though rank advancement was easier thanks to the regressor buff, raising it two levels within a week seemed difficult no matter how I looked at it.

As I was agonizing over this, Aelin approached me.

“What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be shedding tears of joy over your acceptance by now?”

I was happy about being accepted, but not to that extent.

I spoke to her in a calm tone.

“Hey, raising a skill by two ranks in a week. Do you think it’s possible?”

“From where to where?”

“From E+ to D.”

“Impossible.”

Her firm and heavy declaration of “impossible” echoed in my mind.

My head was gradually filling with despair.

“Any chance?”

“None.”

“Not even 1%?”

“I said none, didn’t I?”

Her sharp words were a huge blow to me.

“If it were from F- to F+, maybe, but going from E+ to D is unreasonable.”

“What if I succeed?”

Her continued assertiveness momentarily irritated me.

“If you do? I’ll call you oppa.”

“I don’t want that.”

“What!?”

Just imagining her calling me “oppa” gave me a shock that made me feel like throwing up.

I really hoped she wouldn’t do something so terrible.

No, she absolutely must not.

“Let’s bet on something else.”

“Then…”

She flicked the earring hanging from her ear.

“I’ll give you one of these.”

“Huh? Really!?”

You might wonder what’s so special about an earring, but the one she’s wearing isn’t just an ordinary decorative piece.

Her earring was an item.

More precisely, it was an extremely rare artifact.

Items can be created artificially, not just found in dungeons, and artificially created items like her earrings are called artifacts.

And her artifact, created by Dren Vulcanus, known as the Empire’s genius inventor, boasts terrifying performance.

It increases the wearer’s highest stat by a whopping 20%.

Moreover, she wears these earrings on both ears.

With these artifacts alone, her magic power increases by 40%.

Making a bet with such an item showed her confidence.

“Yes, really.”

“Is it okay to bet something like that?”

“Do you think raising two ranks in a week is easy? Besides, I’ll be fine without just one of these.”

It was certainly confidence typical of her.

“And I’m kind of tired of them anyway. I want to try something else.”

Even if you wear multiple items in the same slot, only one effect can be active at a time.

“Still, that’s…”

“So, are you in or not?”

“Of course I’m in! Look, I’ll be living in dungeons for the next week, just so you know.”

I made my declaration boldly and immediately rushed to the Hunter’s Guild.

Getting soaked by the steadily falling rain.

***

The week we had left passed incredibly quickly.

I don’t know if it actually passed quickly, but that’s how it felt to me.

The girl watching the ranking match on the screen beside me seemed to have spent the week with thoughts completely opposite to mine, but that wasn’t my concern.

What mattered was that I had lost our bet.

“It didn’t work out.”

“I told you it wouldn’t.”

“Honestly, it seemed doable…”

At first, I thought it was a bet I could never win.

However, when my rank increased by one level just a day after making the bet, I felt hope for the remaining six days.

“You thought it was possible too.”

Since I had informed her of this fact, she must have spent the remaining six days feeling anxious.

But my hope was all in vain, and her anxiety disappeared in an instant.

“No, I didn’t. I knew from the beginning it wouldn’t work.”

She might have known it wouldn’t work at first.

“Let’s stop talking about that and look at this.”

She was pointing at Briton on the screen.

“Do I have to reach the finals to face him?”

“Not confident?”

“I’m facing Raicle in the quarterfinals, and Chris in the semifinals.”

Why aren’t these guys facing each other?

I cursed my terrible bracket luck.

If Raicle and Briton faced each other in the semifinals while I faced Chris, I thought I’d have a chance, but my luck was just too bad this time.

“You’re lucky. If you do well, you might face all three of them.”

If I win, that’s how it would go.

“That would be nice.”

“But that girl you’re facing in the Round of 16 is also strong.”

Girl?

Looking at who it was, it turned out to be someone I knew very well.

Eve.

The face of Eve, one of my few former party members, was a welcome sight.

“Why? Do you know her?”

“We were quite close. This should be interesting.”

My heart raced a little at the fact that my Round of 16 opponent was Eve.

Every time I saw her shooting magic bullets at opponents, memories of the past came flooding back.

“You were close with her?”

She was looking at me with disbelief.

“Isn’t she a bit difficult?”

She does get angry easily and has a snippy way of talking, but once you get to know her, she’s actually quite kind.

“But once you get to know her, she’s a good kid.”

“I wouldn’t dare speak to her first.”

“That’s understandable.”

She did look quite intimidating on the surface.

“I’ll introduce you to her later.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Oh? Then never mind.”

She definitely seemed uncomfortable around Eve even back then.

Did something happen between them?

“Hey, did something happen between you and Eve…”

She cut me off and said:

“Nothing happened.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Fortunately, judging by her reaction, it seemed like nothing had actually happened.

“Stop worrying about unnecessary things and get going. It’s your turn.”

“Alright, I’ll win cleanly and come back.”

I got up from my seat and headed to the arena.

As I stepped onto the arena, I saw my opponent who had already arrived and was waiting for me.

“Hello?”

He awkwardly greeted me first, and I returned his greeting.

“Oh, hi.”

“You didn’t use any skills during the exam, did you?”

“It was too easy.”

This guy had already done his research on me.

That fact created one question in my mind.

‘Why didn’t I do the same?’

I was so absorbed in my bet with her that I hadn’t thought to research my opponent.

Not that it would make me lose, though.

“You won’t be able to do that this time.”

His words sparked a bit of competitive spirit in me.

I was planning to use skills from now on anyway, but his words slightly wounded my pride.

I took out the dagger I had brought just in case.

“A dagger?”

“I’ll beat you with just this. Come at me.”

With those words, the match began, and they clashed at high speed.

***

“Wow, these young ones are really full of spirit, aren’t they?”

Riel and Diana were watching the ranking matches of the new students from the stands.

Riel was thoroughly enjoying the exciting matches.

“Wow, did you see that just now!? How did they manage that hit?”

Riel praised the outstanding performance of the new students.

“They just won. That girl is quite skilled too.”

Diana also complimented her performance.

“Oh, is the next match that boy’s?”

“That’s right.”

A few minutes after the previous match ended, new competitors entered the arena.

Among those competitors was the boy she had been keeping an eye on.

“Oh, he is handsome indeed. Though he seems a bit like he has middle school syndrome.”

“He’s using a dagger this time?”

After exchanging a few words with his opponent, he pulled out a dagger instead of the iron sword he had used in the exam.

As soon as he drew his dagger and the match began, he charged at his opponent first.

He approached right up to his opponent’s face and swung his dagger with precision.

“Wow, he’s such a man.”

The spectators marveled at his bold fighting style, and many people began to wonder about his identity.