Chapter 71 Situation Out Of Hand? (2)
"You saw it too, right?"
Professor Iris asked, her gaze fixed on the ongoing ranking battles taking place in the auditorium. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as students clashed in intense combat, their powers on full display.
Professor Iris was selected to be the one who would be in charge of ranking battles of the Freshmen in Freljord academy so any injuries or mishaps that occur during the ranking battles would be her responsibility, which is the reason why she was watching over all the battles.
"I have sharp eyes, nya!"
A black feline responded, waking from its slumber and stretching lazily on Professor Iris's lap. The cat's sleek fur glistened under the warm glow of the arena lights, and its piercing eyes hinted at a hidden wisdom.
As Professor Iris ran her hand over the cat's head, the cat purred contentedly.
"That was such an ominous energy, it was foreboding, yet not malevolent," Professor Iris struggled to find the right words to describe what she had witnessed. "It felt both dark and holy simultaneously."
"What was his name again, nya?"
The feline asked Professor Iris.
"Eren Pendragon."
Professor Iris responded.
"Hmm ... .Eren Pendragon…huh? I've been hearing his name more frequently than I expected, nya," the cat mused curiously.
Continuing it's coversation with Professor Iris, the cat observed a corner of the auditorium where a black-haired girl with glasses was fighting against a young man who wielded dual swords. There was an air of intensity surrounding them, different from the battles that had taken place before.
'Compared to that, what that girl has is…'
There was something about the girl that intrigued the feline, but it chose to keep its thoughts to itself.
"What do you think that power was?" Professor Iris inquired, her eyes fixed on the cat, seeking answers. In response, the feline gracefully leaped off her lap and onto the railings, playfully stretching its body. "Who knows? Do you think I know everything, nya?"
A mischievous smile curled upon the professor's lips as she continued her questioning. "You don't?"
"Maybe I do, nya!" the cat replied, its tone filled with playfulness. "But even if I did, would I tell you?"
Professor Iris sighed, familiar with the cat's evasive nature. "You won't tell me, even if I ask, right?"
The cat glanced back at her and replied, "You still ask after knowing that, nya?" Its intentions were clear, it was not going to answer any questions.
"Anyway, I want to meet an old friend of mine, I think he would love to hear about what I witnessed."
The cat said turning it's back to professor Iris as a pleasant expression that was hard to notice in the feline's expression spread on its face.
"I will be away for some time, so look after the academy in the meantime, Iris!"
"What do you mean—" Professor Iris began, but her words were abruptly cut off as the feline took a step forward, dissolving into a mysterious mist that cloaked its form and vanished from her view.
Frustration welled up within Professor Iris as she realized that the feline had long departed from the scene, "Damn it! She always does this!"
And for the next five minutes, Professor Iris unleashed a torrent of curses before finally managing to regain her composure.
***
The grand arena was bathed in the radiant glow of magical devices, casting an enchanting illumination upon the vast auditorium. As Eren stepped into the arena, the memories of his earlier battle weighed heavily on his mind, and a bitter curse escaped his lips. Fate seemed determined to test him once again.
"Why the fuck are there still these many students?"
Though all the ranking battles had concluded and only special battles that got delayed due to injury of either the challenger or defender were left to commence, a multitude of students were still present in the arena.
What Eren didn;t know was the fact that they were all eagerly awaiting the clash between Eren and Zephyr.
But too bad for them that Eren had no intention of engaging in another fight today.
He was already injured and he refused to make his condition more severe.
Even then, Eren cursed some people under his breath.
Zephyr's ranking battle had been postponed due to Eren's unconscious state, but there were others who had also challenged him too, which is exactly the reason why he was fuming.
[You have been challenged to a duel in a ranking battle.]
[Challenger => rank- 173, Raymond Penin]
[You have been challenged to a duel in a ranking battle.]
[Challenger => rank- 25, Chris Parmond]
Both of them were Babel's henchmen and the fact they challenged me was definitely because of the instructions from Babel.
"F*ck these geniuses," Eren muttered, his frustration palpable. He couldn't fathom why they held such animosity towards him, despite his lack of any wrongdoing. He hasn't even done something that could make them hate him not in his two lives.
In comparison, Evan seemed angelic.
Though rage simmered within him, Eren found solace in the fact that even if he conceded defeat in these three matches, his rank would only drop to 98. It was all part of his calculated plan.
"I want to concede the matches," Eren approached the staff in charge and announced his surrender in all three challenged matches.
His body was in no condition to fight.
Eren wanted to rest and get back to his peak condition before they traveled to the royal museum.
He couldn't risk getting more severely injured by fighting a monster like Zephyr.
The staff member nodded knowingly, having witnessed Eren's collapse in the arena earlier that evening. With Eren's concession, the rankings were swiftly updated, indicating Zephyr's victories, Raymond's triumph, and Chris's unexpected downfall.
[Eren Pendragon conceded, from the ranking battle, Victory - Zephyr.]
[Updated rankings, Zephyr- rank 95, Eren Pendragon - rank 96]
[Eren Pendragon conceded, from the ranking battle, Victory - Raymond Penin.]
[Updated rankings, Raymond Penin - rank 96, Eren Pendragon - rank 97]
[Eren Pendragon conceded, from the ranking battle, Victory - Chris Paramond.]
[Updated rankings, Chris Paramond- rank 27, Eren Pendragon - rank 97]
A faint smile graced Eren's face, a small glimmer of joy amid the melancholy caused by his rank's decline. His gaze shifted towards Babel Von Agnus and his gang, and there he found one particular person visibly annoyed.
Of course, it was Chris!
Not only did he fail to decrease the rank of Eren, his rank has also decreased by 2.
"Ha! Serves you right, bitch!"
"Ha! Serves you right, bitch," Eren silently cursed, making his way back to his dormitory. However, just before he could leave the arena, two unexpected messages materialized before his eyes, further adding to his astonishment.
[Your rank in freshmen ranking has decreased by 1.]
"What?"
Eren's brows furrowed in confusion as he quickly surveyed the updated rankings, searching for an explanation. It didn't take long for him to discover the reason behind the unexpected shift.
Ezio, previously ranked in the hundreds, had ascended to the 81st position, causing a domino effect on Eren's rank.
[Update rank, Eren Pendragon, rank - 98.]
Though unexpected, Eren consoled himself, for he still resided within the top 100.
But fate had other plans in store. Another message appeared, sending a shockwave of disbelief through Eren's mind.
[Your rank in freshmen ranking has decreased by 1.]
"...?"
This time, the cause of the decline was someone entirely unexpected.
[Esmerald, rank -89]
"What the heck?"
Eren's bewildered expression mirrored his incredulous thoughts. Esmerald, the geek he had encountered in Curses class, had catapulted from the ranks of the 600s to the 89th position. How could such a massive leap be achieved in a mere two months at the academy?
While Eren himself had climbed from 509 to 95, the circumstances were vastly different—Eren was previously within the Kshtriya class, if that was considered, Eren has just jumped about 150 ranks, whereas Esmerald belonged to the Shudra's class right from when she entered the academy, how did she managed to increase her ranking in such a quick manner?
Questions swirled within Eren's mind as he tried to make sense of Esmerald's sudden rise. How had she managed to bridge such a colossal gap in rankings? Was there something more to her than met the eye?
He didn't know about those things, but for now his eyes were pasted on the last message.
[Updated ranking : Eren Pendragon - rank 99]
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