Lionheart Duchy. Lionhearts Adventurers' Academy.
2nd Year Monthly Ranking Wars.
Recent spells cast at various locations seemed to have stirred up the battle ring set up for second-year students.
The rankers involved were panting. Some more than others.
"We… we accept defeat."
A group of LA students had fought against another group. The match between the two groups had barely started. Yet, the results came in just a few minutes. The spectators weren't surprised.
"Lionel's Lions are defeated by White Ravens."
The referee announced the result with an impartial tone. And some spectators in the audience became wild. And yet, those who had won barely smiled at each other before retiring from the stage.
This was going to be their last match together for a long while. They would be sent on on-field assignments on some days. That's because they all had broken into the Ace ranks.
"Damn. Isn't White Raven getting better with each match? Especially Ace Renita. How is she just a ranger with all that close combat experience?"
An audience member asked another viewer who was just as impressed with the White Ravens. They were first-year students after all. It was natural that they would get impressed by the performance standards set by second years. But there was something else that had attracted the audience. Something that was beginning to set White Raven members apart from the rest of the second-year students.
Renita Diabreo. Bel Longstone. Oriana Amaris AKA Anna. Ramy Richards. And Rebecca White AKA Becky. These were the participants in the match that had just concluded.
"Ace Renita is indeed a show-stealer, Sunny. But you know who else has improved tremendously?"
Sunny pondered a bit when he was asked that question. He looked at the departing figures of White Raven members and zeroed in on one particular figure.
"Ramy Richards? The guy just cracks me up every time he speaks. But hell, I couldn't have imagined that the sound element could get this destructive. I think he could have soloed his opponents if he had the right defensive artifacts to wear."
Nax chuckled a bit before responding.
"Hehe. Yeah. The guy's hilarious. And he is making full use of his affinity for the elements of sound. But that is expected from a class like his. He is a Knight class, Sunny. So it's not a surprise when he performs this well."
Nax also looked at the almost disappeared White Ravens and couldn't help looking at the spectacle-wearing guy with geek vibes who was seen laughing awkwardly with his team. It was as if he was getting shy because of the praise he was receiving from his team members.
"What I'm surprised by the most is the prowess of historian Ace Bel. It's a non-combat class, Sunny. How did he conjure those powerful apparitions is still beyond me. If I didn't know any better, I would have taken him for a ranker with a summoner class."
Sunny opened his eyes wide in surprise when he was reminded that Bel was a historian. White Raven had insisted that Bel fight the fight despite the norm that historians would stay away from their team's ranking battles as much as they could.
They were told that Bel should generally be included in the White Ravens' formation by someone in the team who had left the Lionhearts duchy for a while. He didn't want a historian on his team that could become a burden. So he had pushed Bel to have real combat experience. The fruits of that decision and Bel's efforts were now showing.
Becky and Ana had already become famous. Becky had stepped up her game by a notch ever since she had come to know that her team's de facto leader had left her in the dust. With an Adept ranked mage guiding her, her journey as a mage became streamlined.
Becky would complete missions in Besanc to pay for the tuition fee of an Adept-ranked mage. She had been busy with missions, daily practice, and tuition all this time. And now she was gearing up to go on on-field missions to broaden her horizons.
Renita Diabreo had gotten even more serious in her ranking journey than she ever was. She had focused more on her elemental attainment than breaking into the next rank. As a result, it took some time for her to break into the Ace rank.
As a result, she advanced directly to the liquid stage of the Ace rank when her breakthrough came. Students had started calling her a prodigy because of that. So for the most part, she would be alienated from comparisons. People wouldn't compare prodigies with any other rankers.
Oriana Amaris had seen steady progress. She had broken into the Ace rank before Renita. But now the tables had been turned after the latter's breakthrough.
The White Raven members who were absent from today's team formation had also advanced to Ace rank. Jake had already received his on-field assignment regarding potioning. The guy was mostly focusing on his potioning stuff while treating his position as a tank as his secondary profession.
The most outstanding member among the White Ravens was none other than a certain berserker who had surprised everyone with his performance a few months ago. With his exceptional battle skills, he had managed to surpass his teammates and almost all second-year rankers.
"Guys… the Boar Berserker…. He has arrived to meet White Ravens."
Out of breath, someone approached the waning audience. To get here, he had used his movement spell with all his vigor.
The first-year students who had decided to go about their affairs suddenly turned around and started heading in the same direction White Raven members had walked.
Boar Berserker.
This was the title given to Steve Austin by the first-year students after they saw his battle against Rudy and his team. And that was not a one-off. He again outperformed his opponents in another ranking war and bested dual berserkers by battling solo.
His beastly performance in these battles was the main reason behind his title. Another reason was the fact that he now had bonded with a boar-type demon beast.
