Ranking!

Link sat in his room, looking out the window. The town looked a bit empty, he didn't see much of the staff except the few shopkeepers and some guards.

When he came back, he appeared inside the student dorms. He looked around the place and walked in the town, trying to see if any of his friends came back, but he noticed that only a few students returned.

Link didn't wait until the last day, he broke the emblem a couple of days early. He knew that what he did back in Yanda City was something that will get him in some trouble, which was why he decided to leave early, trying to avoid whatever the Kingdom might throw at him.

He wasn't scared, but if he fought and killed whomever they sent, Link would be killing innocent people. He noticed that he became a bit cold to the whole killing thing, but he still wanted to draw a line and set rules for himself.

The day went by quickly. In the morning Link was about to go out, but the moment he opened his door he saw a guard standing there. He looked at Link and greeted him, introducing himself.

The guard's name was Joel. He was sent by the Academy to check on Link's mental state and see if he needs help with anything.

From what Joel explained, students usually come back traumatized, their Mana core crippled or even cursed. The reason why it took them so long to come check on Link was because the staff member that sent him back reported that he saw nothing wrong with him, plus Link never seeked medical help of any sorts so they were not in a hurry.

"Thanks, but I'm fine" Link smiled, shaking Joel's hand.

"I understand. If you need any help speak with one of the guards outside" Joel continued "And congratulations on breaking through to Level 3"

A few minutes later, Link sat back down on his bed, thinking.

"How did they know I broke through?" Link thought.

<It probably wasn't that hard for them to know since you're only a Level 3>

For the remaining days, Link spent them either browsing the Shop for Skills and items, or he was found reading in the Library, adding more knowledge to his Scholar Skill. The Mission Hall was closed for the time being unfortunately which led to him getting stuck with few things to do.

At the Library, he couldn't find the Librarian which was a bit odd. He was a bit disappointed since he wished to thank the man for the book he gave him. It made things a lot easier for him back in that Continent.

****

The days passed and students started to show up. Some wore fancy armor with impressive weapons while others wore torn clothing with dirt and mud covering them. The other unfortunate students were missing an arm or had new scars.

The number of students kept increasing slowly until the last second of the test, which then the Academy gave the students a 2 days break for them to rest before they release the results.

Link still was unable to find Samuel, Tom and Fei. He was getting worried, looking around for them.

There were a lot of students but Link noticed the decrease in their numbers. He could still remember the number that gathered in the Town on that day, but now it was way off. There were around 200 students or less.

"I guess a lot of students didn't make it" Link muttered to himself, he felt his heart drop thinking about his friends. "If anything happens to Samuel, Ranold is going to kill me" Link thought.

Link was walking around Town, looking inside his inventory. He approached a guard and asked him "Would it be possible to exchange gold into credits?"

What Link needed right now was Beast Souls, ones higher than his current Killer Bee Set.

"Yes, I believe that is possible, but you're gonna have to wait until they call all students and announce the results" The guard answered before walking away.

Link bowed a little then walked away himself, he approached a couple of kids he recognized from his class and asked them about his friends, but apparently none saw them.

The worry in Link's heart started to grow little by little, until he heard someone call for him from behind.

"Link!" A familiar voice yelled.

Link turned around. His worry vanished when he saw Samuel waving at him. They walked to each other and started talking.

Samuel unfortunately couldn't find Tom and Fei as well, so Link and him walked around looking for them. As they did, Samuel started telling Link about what happened to him.

When they first were teleported away, Samuel found himself in a field. Grass and sheep were everywhere. He wasn't sure where he was but he saw a boy around 10 years of age run to him.

"Are you a Conjurer? How did you appear out of thin air?" The boy had blue eyes and short black hair. He wore clothing Samuel was way too familiar with. He wore farmer clothing.

Samuel saw this type of clothes a lot back in his village. His grandfather owned a small farm which he would go sometimes to help him take care of it.

Samuel spoke with the boy for a while. He figured out that he was in a small village that belonged to a Kingdom named Loudania. The boy's name was Louis. He showed him the way back to his village and introduced him to the village elder.

The appearance of a mysterious teenager with armor scared the residents, but after speaking with him they calmed down a bit. Samuel managed to buy a map of the region that could lead him to the closest Town. As he was speaking with the elder in his home, they were startled by screams from outside.

Samuel ran out, seeing Goblins running around, attacking everything in sight. Without hesitation, Samuel circulated Mana in his legs and muttered some spells. With every step he took as he ran forward, the ground created a small crater that supported each step and allowed him to put more force and dash forward.

There were 12 Goblins in total which was a bit too much for him, but using a spell to trap some Goblins inside a hole in the ground, Samuel managed to kill most of them, while the rest were suffocated inside the hole by burying them in soil.

The villagers were grateful as this attack occurred constantly. The Goblins would steal everything they could take with them while attacking and killing some villagers. Samuel collected the Beast Cores off of the Goblins and offered half of it to the Village. The people tried to refuse but Samuel explained that he would have had to find and hunt each Goblin by himself if not for them attacking.

The Goblins were unlucky enough to encounter Samuel like that before he left, the villagers saw him as a blessing sent by god.

They welcomed him with more enthusiasm this time and offered food and shelter until he got himself together.

After three days, he headed towards the Town, which he reached without much trouble. He registered as an Adventurer and started doing Quests. He saved up the Gold steadily while he hunted and trained. From his story, Link was glad to hear that he didn't get much trouble in his time there.

Unable to find their friends, Link and Samuel thought that they would just meet up with them in class after the results came out. They both went to a restaurant to eat before heading towards the Arena to spar.

Their spar ended as predicted, with Link dominating. He was on a completely different Level than Samuel, which again Samuel saw it as more reason to grow stronger. He looked fired up when Link left him in there training by himself.

"I'm glad he's ok" Link thought, walking out of the building.

Link sold all of his Beast Souls, leaving only Zasho. With the money he received he bought some Beast Cores which he consumed then went to the Library. This was all he could do for now.

*****

It was morning, and all students received an order to gather in the Town.

After meeting up with Samuel, they both headed there. Still looking left and right trying to find Tom and Fei.

The place was filled with people, but unlike their first time, this was way less. The headmaster was floating in the air, looking down on everyone. He held a tablet in his hands with two professors by his side.

"Today we will announce the Test results. Unfortunately, we've had too many dropouts and casualties in the process, but that was predictable.

We have been keeping an eye on each one of you. Be it using certain spells or a professor personally followed you around.

We have not informed you of one more thing, which is that the 10K gold is not the only factor in your scores. Collecting the amount only means you're passable as a Student here, and for how and when you got them would play a role as well as your achievements in deciding your scores.

I will be announcing the top 10 scores only. As for the rest, find your names on the list that will be projected behind me after this.

The top 10 scores will be receiving rewards depending on their ranking. I will be going from the number 10 up until number 1. So listen carefully.

For tenth place, we have Gorge Folden. He acquired his 10K Gold and earned achievements quickly. He managed to reach a high ranking in the Guild and Breakthrough to Level 2."

Students started mumbling to each other. While some knew who Gorge was and went to talk to him.

"He Broke Through? That's impressive" Some said.

"I managed to breakthrough too, do you think I'll be on the ranking list?"

"You barely managed to collect the 10K gold, you'll be lucky to be in the top 50"

"Silence!" One of the professors standing by the Headmaster yelled. Each student felt their ears ringing.

"Please refrain from interrupting me and listen" The headmaster said "In the ninth place we have Julia Hart…"

The headmaster went on, naming each student's rank and achievements. Until he reached third place.

"In the third place, We have Fei. He collected the Gold after only being there for 2 months and managed to reach the pinnacle of the second Level. He managed to kill Level 3 creatures while he was only a Level 2 Mage" The headmaster finished speaking, and the crowd started whispering to each other.

"He has no last name? Is he a commoner?" A student asked.

"A commoner reached the pinnacle of Level 2? So he'll be a Level 3 soon? How scary"

"Silence!!!" This time, the yell made the students cover their ears. The professor was obviously angry.

Link and Samuel looked at each other after hearing Fei's name, and they both took a deep breath. "So he's alive" Link thought.

"In second place, we have Chloe. She earned impressive achievements and killed monsters way above her Level with ease. She conquered Creature territories and collected the Gold in only a month. The Academy decided to give her a Level 4 Beast Soul with a type of her choosing on top of the originally promised rewards."

Chloe was standing to the side, a few students away from Link. She looked at him with a smile on her face. "Let me see you beat that" She thought.

She couldn't lie that she was a bit lucky with her teleportation. Being sent to a kingdom where she managed to get resources with ease. She learned new techniques and skills from their massive shops and stores. "Luck is a skill as well" She thought to herself.

"Isn't that the blond girl? The one that explained where the Story of Genes came from?" Link looked at her. "She's better than i thought"

"Now, for first place." The headmaster stopped for a bit, before speaking again. "The one that created a scary gap even between himself and the second place holder, is Link."

Samuel and some of the students that knew who he was looked at him.

"He not only collected the 10K gold in only a week, but his Guild rank was something that none of you managed to reach. He killed three Level 5 Ghouls and conquered countless Beast territories.

He took on an army of veteran soldiers and came out unscathed. He has achieved many more things that I will refrain from speaking of.

The Academy decided to reward him with 2 Beast Souls of his choosing and a Dragon Orb"

The students no longer whispered as they were in shock.

"A dragon orb? What is that?"

"It's a rare item that assists one's training. I can't believe they're giving something like that to a commoner"

"Why can't you believe it? You heard what the headmaster said"

"Link! What the hell?" Samuel asked, grabbing Link by the arm.

Link couldn't think of anything to say back, so he just smiled. He didn't expect the Academy to have had their eyes on him with such detail. They even knew what happened in that cave.

"You, we have to talk after this" Chloe approached Link out of nowhere. She said those few words and then just stood next to him with her arms crossed.

Link didn't think much of it, but something came to mind "How did they keep their eyes on me? And how did I not even detect anything?" Link frowned.

<Doesn't matter how old you are, you're only a Level 3 Mage. While the weakest one in this Academy's staff is a Level 5>

"I need to grow more" Link thought.

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Currently :

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-- Beast Souls :

<Blue Wolf's Beast Soul> <Pet> <Intermediate Level 5> <0 / 16 000> <Skills: …>

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-- Status :

<User: Link>

<Race: Divinity>

<Level 2> <3rd Tier>

<1 020 400 / 1 100 000 Exp> -- New --

<HP: 110 / 110> (-- Without the Armor --)

<MP: 256 500 / 256 500> -- New --

<Strength: 15>

<Agility: 20>

<Stamina: 14>

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