[First Round]
— Zeke Klein (Upper Class)
—Renny Sherly (Middle Class)
— Tom Hollyberry (Lower Class)
[Contestants Get On Stage!]
Jerry gulped in relief, partly because he wasn't among those who would get on stage, and also because... of the people on the list!
Zeke Klein was the Sixth Seat of the Rankers—the same rank he had among the Elite Ten.
Needless to say, he was extremely strong, and Jerry knew very well the disparity between them both.
If he had gotten picked with him, the chances of him winning and fulfilling his goals were slim. Of course, he realized that this meant he was secretly wishing to be paired against weaker opponents, but, Jerry didn't care!
Among the Elite Ten of the Upper Class, none could be considered weak by his standards. He would still be facing challenges no matter the opponent that came his way.
At least, if the enemy was of a low Rank, the chances of winning were higher!
'Damn, even the Middle-Class Elite is of Rank three...' Jerry gave another gulp.
As for the Lower Class Elite, he belonged to the lesser rank of their group—number seven. It was fairly obvious how this would pan out.
Following the name on the list, the respective students stood from their seats and walked to the stage.
It didn't take long for the large, round, platform to occupy four persons—three contestants, and the moderator.
"Are you guys ready?" A voice echoed.
It was an unnecessary question, but the students all responded with nods.
Jerry glanced at each of them.
The Upper-Class boy was famous for his specialty in lightning Magic, and could cast very quickly. Even though the Lower Class Elite had an affinity for Water—and in a way, could use that to his advantage— the gap in skill was too wide to allow that.
Jerry didn't really know the ability of the Middle-Class Elite, but regardless... the contest had the rank of third in his Class for a reason.
That meant he was strong.
"Ready..." Jerry was roused from his thoughts by Klaus' voice.
The moderator had already totally stepped off the stage.
That was a testament to how extreme the match would turn out.
"... Begin!"
Bursts of mana climbed as the pressure of a blood-curdling match filled the Hall. People cried in shock and excitement as they stared wide-eyed at the stage for the clash to commence, when suddenly...
... A voice peaked.
"I surrender!"
The battle-tensed atmosphere instantly receded and for a moment, the world seemed to pause.
Someone had just given up... right when the match started!
This was the tournament of the strongest in the Academy. No weakling was among those who contested. If it was a First Years' match, no one would be surprised, but this... was something concerning!
In a match among the best of the best, there was no way anyone would be so weak-willed as to surrender without even trying—or so they thought...
Who could have done something so ridiculous?
"I surrender... I'm out." The voice came again, and Klaus had to climb the stage to stop the match—at least until whoever forfeited left the stage.
The crowd, though dazed for a moment, finally found the source of cowardice among the thee fighters. The shameless boy had already raised both hands in surrender, so it couldn't have been clearer to anyone who watched.
Of course, it was the Lower Rank Elite—Tom Hollyberry—who threw in the towel.
The boy's shameless smile seemed to show a bit of nervousness and fear, but his will to come out of the fight unscathed far outweighed any of those expressions.
"Tom Hollyberry is out of the match. Please leave the stage." Klaus spoke blandly.
His eyes showed no energy, no excitement—this was a sharp contrast from the usual energetic boy.
The frail Lower Class student nodded and began leaving the stage with zero hesitation. The crowd stared in silence for a moment... and then the jeers came!
"Booooo!!!"
"What a loser!"
"He's a Lower Class, after all..."
The audience, clearly irritated by the boy's cowardice, slowly diverted their blame to the entire Lower Class.
"Urgh!" Jerry felt a sting within him as he covered his face slightly, in shame.
He, an innocent and fired-up student, had been caught up in a colleague's cowardice. Of course, Jerry had already expected this much.
In the face of strong adversaries, the weak crumbled—the same could be said especially for those in the Lower Class who didn't even want to try!
As Tom Hollyberry returned to his seat, he flashed a relieved smile and crashed on his buttocks, getting comfortable.
"Haaa... I was scared for a moment there. What if the moderator hadn't stopped the match?" He murmured.
It appeared the boy was more concerned about his safety than the disgrace he had brought upon the entire Lower Class.
"Welp, you could have just run off the stage if worst came to worst."
"True. I plan on doing the same if a surrender doesn't work out."
"Let's just pray I don't get paired with a Martial Artist. Those guys are quick on their feet. Before I can even get the chance to surrender, they could..."
"Hey, what's wrong with Martial Artists?!"
The other members of the Elite Ten simply ignored that their fellow had just disgraced them and laughed it off, discussing among themselves like nothing happened.
Jerry knew quite well how they were able to even do such a thing.
'They're all planning to throw in the towel!'
He sighed, completely ridding himself of anger. There was nothing getting upset would do to help him.
He had already known this much before coming for the tournament—that there was no one he could count on to have his back among his peers... no one but him!
Even if the others gave up before trying, he wouldn't dare.
It was thanks to the cowardice of others that the Upper-Class Elite Ten had managed to hard the title of Rankers all to themselves. But, that would soon change!
All he needed was one win... just one turnaround...
... And then the winds would begin to blow in favor of the Lower Class once more!
