Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Ranking Match

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Ranking Match

-"I challenge you to a Ranking Match, you son of a bitch."

-"Two days from now, at the Public Sparring Arena, in front of the entire first year."

Our delinquent girl blew this thing up in spectacular fashion.

A challenge for a Ranking Match dropped into the classroom like a bomb.

"She came out way hotter than I expected."

I could not stop the corner of my mouth from twitching.

An event labeled [Ranking Match] in-game.

Just as the name said, it was a duel where two people clashed over their ranks.

At the same time, once it happened, it was hard to back out.

"The penalties are huge."

Normally, in a Ranking Match, the lower-ranked side challenged the higher-ranked side.

The whole point was to beat a cadet above you and move up your rank.

There was nothing to gain from targeting someone below you.

"Not that it's forbidden or anything..."

Still, nobody wanted to do that.

To begin with, Ranking Match was a privilege given only to the Top Seat of each class.

So it was often used by lower-class Top Seats to challenge the bottom student of the class right above them, to move up a class.

Even then, you only got that chance once per term.

There was no reason to waste such an important opportunity on someone ranked below you.

If you lost, your rank dropped and you got humiliated. If you won, you barely broke even.

"But... Caitlin fired it off anyway."

The delinquent girl's goal was only one thing.

-"Try getting humiliated in front of everyone."

-"Scared? Want to get on your knees and beg?"

She wanted to grind me into the dirt.

She wanted to make it a huge spectacle and crush me in front of everyone.

"Yeah, she's not normal either."

Did that Parent-Diss from the other day stick with her that much?

She burned a once-per-term chance like this?

Should I call that vicious, or just pathetic...?

"...Well, the Parent-Diss was probably just a trigger. She likely already had it out for me from the start."

I had been drawing a lot of attention lately.

I was the Class E Top Seat, I beat the Class C Top Seat, and then I took first in practical training after overtaking every upper class...

My track record was bizarre enough that I had become a major topic around the academy.

Noisy.

And when things got noisy, enemies showed up fast.

In that sense, I must have looked pretty irritating to her.

"So this is why being famous is exhausting."

What a pity.

"Well... not like I can avoid it anyway."

Ranking Match was an event you could barely refuse.

Sure, I could skip the duel and say screw it, but then my term grades would take a massive hit.

"I do want to keep my Class E Top Seat."

Honestly, I had no reason to refuse.

If anything, I was grateful.

I did not expect her to hand me such a perfect stage.

Thanks to that, my plan to secure my place in this academy should move even more smoothly.

"The bigger the audience, the better."

A stage where the entire first year would watch.

And I did not stop there. I raised the stakes myself.

-"How about we add a wager? Just dueling sounds boring."

-"The loser... becomes the winner's lackey from now on."

I even put a Servitude Bet on the duel.

Caitlin looked startled by how aggressive I was, but after my follow-up taunt, she accepted on the spot.

-"Scared?"

A magic word that made people see red.

That blond, tanned punk clenched her teeth and barked out a yes.

Just like that, a full-stakes Servitude Bet was set between the Class B Top Seat and the Class E Top Seat.

-"Hey... heard the news? Ranking Match is tomorrow."

-"Heard it already! No classes tomorrow either, perfect."

-"I still can't believe those two are actually clashing..."

Maybe because it was such a juicy topic.

The news spread by word of mouth to the whole student body.

-"Seriously? The Class B Top Seat and the Class E Top Seat are doing a Ranking Match...?"

-"If it's a Ranking Match, nobody can run."

-"They used their once-per-term chance on this? Seriously?"

-"The Class E Top Seat got screwed. Why pick a fight with Caitlin of all people...?"

Students whispered among themselves.

-"There wasn't any news for a while, so I thought it would fizzle out. I didn't think they'd drag it all the way to Ranking Match..."

-"Class E Top Seat is that masked guy, right? He's screwed."

-"Right? He is about to get humiliated in front of the whole school."

-"Why feel bad for him? He's just paying for showing off."

-"I agree. Honestly, that Viktor guy rubbed me the wrong way too."

Most of them were predicting my loss.

No, "predicting" was not even the right word.

They were sure of it.

-"Caitlin is famous, right? She is rough, but her Lightning Magic is top-tier for the year..."

-"How does the Class E Top Seat win that? Honestly, even against the bottom of Class A he'd barely have a chance."

-"Still... Viktor, right? I heard he crushed the Class C Top Seat pretty easily."

-"What kind of comparison is that? The Class B Top Seat and Class C Top Seat are worlds apart."

-"It's true he's way too strong for Class E. It's almost weird he was admitted there at all..."

-"I agree. But if you ask whether he can beat the Class B Top Seat, I still have to shake my head."

Debates flew back and forth.

Not a single person thought I had the advantage.

Most expected me to get crushed in a second. A few said maybe I could hold out a little longer.

"Hyung-nim... are you really going to be okay?"

Class E was no different.

"Hmm?"

"Um... I heard your Ranking Match with the Class B Top Seat is set."

"That devil bitch. How far is she planning to push this...?"

The Shuttles looked worried.

Maybe even they thought beating the Class B Top Seat was impossible, even for me.

Each of them wore a bitter expression and muttered like they were feeling their own helplessness.

"Damn it... I'm sorry we can't help at all..."

"Last time too, we were scared stiff and couldn't even say anything..."

"Let's just forfeit! Hyung-nim, you can't let them play you like this!"

The moment Class B came up, the kids visibly shrank.

From what I heard, Class B was the worst class when it came to looking down on lower classes.

Even in everyday situations, they would pass Class E, pick fights for no reason, and mock them while snickering...

"Yeah... that tracks."

If it were Class A, they would not even care about that kind of thing. Class C sat in an awkward spot, not quite upper tier.

Class B was different. High enough to feel superior, but not the very top, so they dumped their frustration downward.

I could understand Class E's reaction, at least a little.

"No wonder they always wilt in front of Class B."

I should use this chance to set discipline properly.

No delinquent games in the academy I attend.

I smiled to reassure the worried Shuttles.

"Don't worry, everyone."

A relaxed smile slipped out.

"I'll make sure to shock you."

"..."

Even after that meaningful line, the Shuttles and the others still looked uneasy.

Some looked conflicted, as if they thought I was only pretending to be fine.

"Damn it."

"Those devil bastards..."

"You should not have added that wager..."

Not one voice sounded like it believed I would win.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

"The kids need more faith."

Well, I got it.

If someone told me a Bronze dealer could beat a Grandmaster dealer, I would tell them to quit talking nonsense too.

"I need to hammer it home this time."

Give them certainty.

Show them I was strong enough, and someone worth trusting and following.

Like it or not, I was in a position where I had to train these guys and put them to use.

Ding!

[Sub Quest]

-Title: Level Up Together!

-Objective: Raise all Class E students to at least B-rank ability.

-Failure Penalty: None

-Reward: Character-exclusive item "Scales of the Black Arbiter (S-)"

[Time Limit: Before graduation]

I glanced at the status window.

"Yeah, it's about time to start raising them. Once this is done, maybe I'll begin group special training..."

No matter how noisy things got around me, I simply waited.

Behind the mask, I hid a smile full of anticipation.

"A good slave is coming in."

I hummed quietly to myself.

***

The next two days flew by.

Ranking Match.

The day of the long-awaited event had arrived.

As Caitlin announced, the location was the Public Sparring Arena, ringed with countless spectator seats.

"No matter how many times I see this place, it's huge..."

The Freshmen Welcome Exam had been held here too, but even now the scale felt absurd.

Viktor stood in a circular arena large enough to fit a soccer field.

In his view, the stands were packed with spectators.

At the same time, a hologram floated like a giant display board, broadcasting the arena clearly.

"That's a lot of people."

Viktor looked around and spoke under his breath.

Not just first-years. He could see some second-years, third-years, and even faculty staff.

Waaaaah-!

Students chattered among themselves, creating a roar that sounded almost like cheers.

As he stood in the heat of that attention, his gaze met the person across from him.

"Heh..."

Bright yellow hair, bronze-tanned skin.

A woman with a rough, unruly aura.

Yellow sparks crackled at the corners of her eyes.

With her arms crossed, the girl sneered as if this was unexpected.

"You didn't run? Honestly, I thought you wouldn't even show up."

"No way. We put that kind of wager on it, so of course I had to come."

"Haha! Loser becomes a lackey... can you handle that?"

"Who knows."

"People shouldn't act tough when they don't know their place. You should've toned it down."

"It wasn't a reckless wager. I just asked for what I needed."

"Heh, heh... what, you thought you had a chance? Fuck, that's ridiculous."

"Interpret it however you want."

Caitlin openly sneered.

She clenched her fist, and electricity began spilling from her fingertips.

Kzzzzzt-!

Bright yellow current whipped through the arena.

Her hair fluttered as if the air itself had been stirred into a gale.

"You're getting hit today."

A bold declaration.

As the temperature in the arena seemed to spike, the announcer's voice rang out.

《Cadets, stand by at your positions.》

《This duel will proceed in sparring format and will end when one side subdues or incapacitates the other.》

《Additionally, if one side declares forfeit, the duel will also end.》

The rules were the same as the Freshmen Welcome Exam.

Before long, the signal bell announcing the start of the duel rang out.

Diiing-!

A clear, sharp tone.

And then.

"Die, you bastard...!"

KWA-BOOM-!

Caitlin's fist shot forward and collided with Viktor.

But a pitch-black scythe had already slid between them and blocked her strike.

Caitlin frowned irritably.

"Ha...! You reacted to that?"

"You're fast. Just like I heard."

The scythe stood without a scratch while electric current erupted around it.

The shockwaves ripping past each other slammed all the way up to the arena ceiling.

A thunderous opening clash.

"Hup...!"

And so,

the duel to decide the lackey began.

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