Chapter 57
-You challenge me to a ranking duel, you son of a bitch.
-The date is two days from now, at the public training arena, in front of every first-year student.
Our delinquent queen had really gone and done it.
A challenge had dropped into the classroom like a bomb.
‘She came out hotter than I expected.’
I couldn't help twitching the corners of my mouth.
Ranking duel.
The event was listed in-game as [Ranking Duel].
It was, quite literally, a duel in which the two sides clashed over their rankings.
At the same time, it was an event that was difficult to back out of once it occurred.
‘Because the penalties were severe.’
Normally, in a ranking duel, the lower-ranked student challenged someone above them.
The goal was to defeat a cadet ranked above them and raise their own position.
There was nothing to gain from designating a student ranked even lower.
‘It wasn't exactly forbidden or anything···.’
Everyone would think, Why bother?
To begin with, ranking duels were a privilege granted only to the top students of each class.
Thus, they were often used by students in lower classes to challenge the student at the bottom of the class immediately above them in order to move up.
Even that was limited to one opportunity per semester.
There was no reason to waste such an important opportunity on a lower-ranked student.
A loss meant not only dropping in rank but also suffering utter humiliation, whereas a win merely meant breaking even.
‘And yet··· Kaitlyn had gone and done exactly that.’
The delinquent girl's goal was only one thing.
-How about getting humiliated in front of everyone, just once?
-Scared? Want to crawl over here and beg?
To grind me underfoot.
She intended to make a huge spectacle of it and trample me in front of everyone.
‘This girl isn't normal either.’
Maybe she had enjoyed the crude parent insult she had received that day.
To spend her once-per-semester opportunity like this···.
I couldn't decide whether to call it ruthless or just pathetic···.
‘······Well, that parent insult was only a trigger. Maybe she had found me obnoxious from the very beginning.’
I had certainly been doing a lot lately to attract attention.
I was the E Class top student who had defeated the C Class top student, and I had beaten all the higher-ranked classes to take first place in the practical training···.
Given how bizarre my track record had been, I had become a topic of conversation throughout the academy.
I was noisy.
And being noisy meant making enemies easily.
In the same vein, it seemed I had really rubbed the delinquent girl the wrong way.
‘Is this what they mean when they say being famous is exhausting?’
It was unfortunate.
‘Well··· it's not as though I have a way to avoid it.’
Ranking duels were difficult events to refuse.
Of course, I could simply refuse to show up on the day of the duel and brazen it out, but that would bring enormous disadvantages to my grades for the semester.
‘I do want to keep my position as E Class's top student.’
In fact, I had no particular reason to refuse this event.
If anything, I was even grateful.
Who would have thought she would bring me such a perfectly arranged stage?
Thanks to her, my plan to establish my position within the academy seemed likely to proceed more smoothly.
‘The more spectators, the better.’
A stage watched by all the first-years.
I didn't stop there; I went so far as to pile on another condition.
-How about putting a bet on it? Just having a duel sounds boring.
-The loser becomes the winner's lackey from now on.
I had even wagered becoming the winner's slave on the duel.
Kaitlyn seemed flustered by my aggressive response, but after hearing my follow-up provocation, she readily accepted the proposal.
-Scared?
A truly magical word that made her see red.
The blond, tanned delinquent ground her teeth and called my bluff.
And so, between the B Class top student and the E Class top student, a slave wager with everything on the line was set.
-Hey··· did you hear? They say there's a ranking duel tomorrow.
-I heard it ages ago! It's great that there's no lecture tomorrow.
-No way, they really are going to clash······.
Perhaps because it was such a provocative subject.
The news spread from mouth to mouth until it reached the entire student body.
-Seriously? The B Class top student and the E Class top student are going to have a ranking duel···?
-If it's a ranking duel, they can't run away, either.
-They're using their once-per-semester opportunity like this? Seriously?
-The E Class top student really picked the wrong person to mess with. Why did he have to provoke Kaitlyn···?
Students whispered among themselves.
-I hadn't heard anything, so I thought it had fizzled out. I never expected them to take it as far as a ranking duel···.
-The E Class top student? You mean that guy, right? The one who goes around wearing a weird mask. I feel sorry for him, too.
-Right~ Isn't he going to be humiliated in front of the whole school?
-What's there to feel sorry about? He's just reaping what he sowed by acting up.
-I agree. To be honest, I never liked that Victor guy either~!
Most of them seemed to be betting on my defeat.
Or was even calling it a prediction a little strange?
They were all certain.
-Kaitlyn's famous, isn't she? She may be a little delinquent, but her lightning magic is supposedly the best in the year···.
-How could the E Class top student possibly win? Honestly, even the bottom-ranked student in Class A would have a hard time if they were told to fight her.
-Still··· Victor, was it? I heard he easily beat the C Class top student.
-Hey, you can't compare them! The B Class top student and the C Class top student are worlds apart.
-He is definitely stronger than an E Class student. Strong enough to make you wonder why he was admitted to E Class···.
-I agree with that. But if you ask whether he can stand up to the B Class top student, I still have to shake my head.
An animated debate passed back and forth.
There wasn't a single person who thought I had the advantage.
Most predicted I would be crushed in one second, while a few merely offered that I might hold out for a little while.
“Big brother··· are you really all right?”
The E Class kids were no different.
“Hmm?”
“I heard you've been scheduled for a ranking duel with the B Class top student.”
“That demonic bitch. How long is she planning to torment people···?”
The Shuttles reacted with concern.
Even they seemed to think that beating the B Class top student was beyond me.
Each of them muttered with resentful expressions, seeming to realize their own helplessness.
“Damn it··· I'm sorry we can't be of any help···.”
“We were scared stiff last time, too, and couldn't say a thing···.”
“Let's just forfeit! Big brother, you can't let them toy with you like this!”
The children seemed to shrink back whenever Class B became the subject.
I heard that, among all the classes, Class B was the most contemptuous of the lower classes.
Apparently, even normally, they would pick fights for no reason when passing by E Class, or jeer and belittle them as they went···.
‘I suppose··· that's exactly the position they'd occupy.’
Students in Class A wouldn't bother taking an interest in something like that, while Class C occupied an ambiguous position—not quite a top-ranked class.
They were high-ranking enough to be considered upper class, but not high-ranking enough to reach the very top, so they vented their frustration on those below them.
I could understand the E Class students' reaction a little better.
‘No wonder they seemed especially wilted whenever Class B students were around···.’
I needed to set them straight this time.
At the academy I attended, playing delinquent was forbidden.
I smiled to reassure the worried Shuttles.
“Don't worry, everyone.”
A relaxed smile slipped through.
“I'll give you all quite a surprise.”
““······.””
Despite my significant remark, the children, Shuttles included, wore dubious expressions.
Some even looked troubled, thinking I was merely pretending to be all right.
“Damn it.”
“Those demons···.”
“We shouldn't have let you make that bet···.”
It was as though they hadn't even heard me say I would win.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘These kids really don't trust me enough.’
Well, I could understand.
Even I would tell a Bronze player to stop talking bullshit if they claimed they could beat a Grandmaster player.
‘I need to drive the point home this time.’
Give them unwavering faith.
Show them that I was strong enough, and someone they could trust and follow.
Like it or not, I was in the position of raising these kids and putting them to use.
Ding—!
[Sub Quest]
-Title: Level Up Together!
-Description: Raise every E Class student to a skill level of B or higher.
-Penalty on failure: None
-Reward: Character-exclusive item ‘Black Tuner's Scales (S-)’
[Time limit: Before graduation]
I cast a quick glance at my status window.
‘It was about time I started training them. Once this matter was over, should I put them through group special training···?’
Whether the surroundings were noisy or not, I simply waited calmly.
All the while hiding a smile full of anticipation beneath my mask.
‘Looks like I'll be getting a fine slave.’
I hummed a quiet tune.
***
And so, the next two days flew by.
Ranking duel.
The day of the event everyone had been waiting for had arrived.
As Kaitlyn had announced, the venue was the public training arena, surrounded by countless spectator stands.
“This place really is huge, no matter how many times I see it···.”
We had taken the new-student welcome exam here, but even seeing it again, the scale was astounding.
Victor stood in a circular arena easily large enough to be a soccer field.
The spectator stands in his view shimmered, packed with countless onlookers.
At the same time, the arena's scenery was being clearly broadcast on holograms suspended like giant display screens.
“There are an incredible number of spectators, too.”
Victor muttered as he looked around.
There were not only first-year cadets, but also a few second- and third-years, along with faculty members.
Waaaaah—!
The students chattered among themselves, creating a din resembling cheers.
As he basked in the intense attention, his eyes met those of the person standing across from him.
“Hmph···.”
Bright yellow hair and copper-colored, tanned skin.
She was a woman with an exceedingly casual, rough-edged air.
The distinctive yellow sparks crackled around her eyes.
With her arms folded, the girl sneered as though surprised.
“You didn't run away? Honestly, I thought you wouldn't even show up.”
“Of course not. After putting a bet like that on the line, I have to attend.”
“Hahaha! The loser becomes the winner's lackey··· Can you handle that?”
“Who knows.”
“People shouldn't act up without knowing their place. You should've toned down your tough act.”
“It wasn't some reckless bet. I only asked for what I needed, that's all.”
“Tsk, tsk··· You mean you thought it was worth a try? Fuck, that's so absurd I don't even know what to say.”
“You're free to interpret it however you like.”
Kaitlyn openly sneered.
The girl clenched her fist, then began releasing electricity from her fingertips.
Kzzzt—!
Bright yellow currents whipped around the training arena.
Her hair fluttered as though caught in a rising wind.
“You're taking a beating today.”
A grand declaration.
As the temperature rose sharply, the announcer's voice rang out.
《Contestants, stand by at your respective positions.》
《The duel will be conducted in the form of a spar, and will end when one participant subdues or incapacitates the other.》
《Additionally, the match will end if either side declares surrender.》
The rules were the same as those of the new-student welcome exam.
Before long, the bell announcing the start of the duel rang out.
Ding—!
A clear starting chime rang through the arena.
Immediately afterward.
“Die, you son of a bitch···!”
KABOOM—!
Kaitlyn's rapidly fired fist collided with Victor.
However, a pitch-black scythe already stood between the two of them.
Kaitlyn furrowed her brow irritably.
“Ha···! You reacted to that?”
“You're quick. Just as I'd heard.”
The scythe remained without a single scratch, while electricity erupted explosively.
The sound of their glancing clash rang all the way to the arena ceiling.
Their first clash erupted noisily.
“Hup···!”
And so.
The duel to decide who would become the lackey began.