Chapter 5

'They're quite good.' Dion thought to himself upon seeing his classmates go through the various tests their teacher had prepared for them. It was a single test that tested the student's reaction time, mana, physical strength, endurance, and ability to slay a monster.

Each person went in order of what ranking they went in, with the twentieth ranked student going first. From him up to the fourteenth student received the ranking of B all around with a small degree of variability in their more specific categories.

However that had changed from the seventh rank and up. Students twentieth through eighth each received a rank of B to B+ however from seven and up everyone had gotten the ranking of A, skipping the A- rank entirely.

It wasn't just shocking because of their age, it was also shocking because of the sheer difference between the ranks, especially at such a high level. The level of difference between a mere E rank and a D rank was insurmountable let alone the difference between B and A rank.

The E rank was the rank of strong humans that were at the peak of physicality in Dion's old world like those who entered the Olympics. The D rank were people that E ranks could even react to moving let alone fight.

Humans in the C rank usually possessed a similar degree of physical strength to a person in the D rank however they had the added bonus of mana which is said to boost their power by at least ten times.

In the B rank people are now referred to as walking natural disasters. Each person contains the destructive power of a natural disaster. However, like natural disasters, humanity can control and mitigate their threat with relative ease.

However, things change in the A rank. In the A rank, a person is able to destroy a city or two with ease. From this rank onwards, the only thing that can defeat them would be somebody of the same rank or higher.

People in the S ranks have the threat level of a tactical weapon on par with the nukes from Dion's previous world. If they were to act, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they could topple a weak kingdom. It had happened in the past after all.

In the SS rank, people are no longer ranked as humans. While people in the S rank are considered horrifying weapons those in the SS rank are considered to be higher existences, they are considered to be Demi Gods and the two that exist have cult like followings to this day.

There have been a total of six examples of SS rank beings in this world though Dion was only aware of one of them. The person he had met early in the evening, the kind and doting younger sister like woman Lucille Oran was a so called Demi God.

Finally, there is the EX rank. It was a rank shrouded in mystery not only to Dion but to the rest of the world. It was a rank given to those humanity simply could not comprehend. In the game, the existence of such a being had been teased though there was no real proof.

If the top seven had proven themselves to be rank A at the very least then it served as an uncrossable gap to the rest of the class. However, it was an expected gap for most of the class due to hearing about the group's repeated achievements over the years.

As the sole exception to that experience, many of them hoped that Dion would fail in some way. Whether it be because of their sense of inferiority, their pride, or merely wishing to see somebody fail it did not truly matter.

"Afina Astros: A rank." Dimitri announced, the result being one that everyone already expected. With the exception of Dion the entire class was confident all members of the top seven would be A rank. Some even thought it was possible for them to receive A+ though it was an unpopular assumption.

The difference between A-, A, and A+ was worlds apart. Despite the one letter difference, it put them into a whole new category of power. An A- minus rank couldn't go up against an A rank and an A rank couldn't hope to fight against an A+.

However, it was shocking how close the top seven were to receiving that ranking. While their specific status differed from person to person, they each had one or two stats reaching the A+ ranking. Luna Nox for example had an A+ ranked strength and endurance.

They each had different specialties however they all shared the same weakness, a lack of combat experience. Despite their confidence and fame, they had very few actual combat experiences without a safety net which made their movements unrefined.

Rising to his feet Dion made his way over to the training area where Afina Astros was currently leaving. He could practically feel the competitive flame in her eyes as she looked at him though he ignored it.

Even if he treated it as a competition his results ultimately wouldn't change, in fact, they may become worse. If he allowed his mind to be clouded by competition then he would be more prone to making mistakes he otherwise wouldn't make.

Stepping into the area the walls shimmered and his surroundings appeared to change from the futurist gym he had entered into an open field of golden wheat. So far, all twenty students had a different testing ground and area in this field.

Afina Astros had a cave like area which made it obvious where enemies were coming from at the cost of less space to utilize. On the other hand, he received the opposite situation. He had plenty of space to move around as he pleased but it would be difficult to find his enemies.

A soft breeze ran through the field spreading the scent of nature all throughout the area despite the complete lack of it in reality. The field was more of a virtual reality that could be programmed however the owner wanted. Dion didn't completely understand it but he didn't have to either.

'27 medium sized monsters. Mana levels are B- rank. Considering their positioning they have a certain level of intelligence. They're probably Felanums.' Dion thought to himself, his eyes closed as he felt the breeze flowing past his skin.

Felanums were goblin like creatures that made colonies in seemingly random areas and had the intelligence needed to create and utilize fairly advanced weaponry such as blowpipes. They were considered to be the evolved form of the Destrius who shared similar traits but possessed less intelligence.

The Felanums stood at roughly 2.5 to 3 feet tall and had extremely horrid physical strength. By themselves they were C+ rank at best however in a colony, especially one as large as this, they were frequently ranked B+.

This is because they had the ability to plan ahead of time. While they weren't obvious, certain portions of the ground were moved to create small mounds. If Dion were to wager a guess he'd say there was a sharp stick of some kind underneath them. He'd have to be careful where he walked.

'It's impressive that they could replicate this so well.' Dion thought to himself, his eyes now open and searching over the area. In the span of a few short seconds the field had been prepared, his senses tricked, and traps set onto the floor.

In all likelihood, the machinery used both physical illusion magic and modern machinery to receive such a result. It was an amazing creation that Dion was quite interested in learning more about when he had the time. However, that could be ignored for now.

Right now, he had to slaughter a few Felanums.