Chapter 26: Trial

In the meeting room, the student council continued their evaluation of the students chosen for the school exchange. In turn, the 3 representatives of each division gave the names and characteristics of the students concerned and the council evaluated their competence.

"Dario Colbert, class D22, D-rank lance, his academic results are not as impressive as those of the others but he compensates with a great sense of chivalry. As the 4th son of the commander of the 8th division of the royal knights, he has often been exposed to the world of the best emissaries and is a family of high society. He will be an important representative of our image and I think it would be inconceivable to imagine the selection without him, considering that the following choices will be E-rank."

The group cleared their throats in embarrassment after an unnecessary final statement.

"Hm, okay, thanks Lisa, I think that's a good choice too, any opposition?"

The others chatted briefly then Thomas took his turn speaking.

"No objections from the board, a decision approved, but it will not impact the choice of E-rank students."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Lisa returned to her seat without a care in the world, Iris wrote in a notebook before turning her gaze toward Sunnah.

"And lately the E-rank division, go Sunnah, I've heard good things about these students."

Sunnah stood up shyly and walked towards the center of the room, a paper in her hand.

"Um… So… T-This is the list I could pro… Um, I could write. So… The first student would be…"

***

At the rear of the dormitory, Dora emerged from a dimensional hole, holding a vial of greenish liquid.

"Blahblah, you will only use the store under my direction, ah, my little video game, drink this healing juice and stop training for today~"

(I can hear you~)

"Why do you think I'm talking out loud? My power is greater than it has ever been, why should I always stick to weak monsters?"

(Ah~? Who decided to run away from a little dog? You may be an interesting D-rank, but you're still a D-rank, even worse, you're an Avatar, so you have to max out all your jobs to trigger an evolution... And if I had to be honest, I really wonder if we're really doing the right thing.)

(What do you mean?)

Midgard took a few seconds to think and asked a very strange question.

(Do you really feel a change in your power?)

(What?)

(What I mean is that it's not like you weren't getting strong but... Let's put it this way: when you weren't even E-rank, how did you feel about the increase of your power at that time compared to now?)

Dora briefly glanced at his right hand, taking a moment to appreciate the new system that granted him access to numerous features. He never found any drawbacks to his newfound power; on the contrary, only positive outcomes were unfolding.

(Well, I feel stronger and it's easier to do the daily quests with you, plus I can gain more experience.)

(But you were at the top of Rank E, so you still managed to gain enough experience, for each branch, what I mean is that I'm starting to think that the system is not some kind of buffer but… More like it only shows what's happening in the background, for example, the amount of experience you get after completing a quest is the same as someone else would kill the same Monsters, garbage collection quests give a ridiculous amount of experience, so maybe... We need a real challenge.)

The last statement hit Dora like a punch to the back of his head. Despite gaining stats points and sub-quests, he couldn't understand why they weren't seen as a major benefit.

According to his understanding of Midgard's words, the experience and stat rewards he received would have been the same even without the system if he didn't need a Player to evolve.

(You're supposed to be the one who understands the system, why didn't you anticipate this sooner??)

(Careful, your Gamma is showing. Maybe if you didn't ask me to cover for you in class, I would have had more time. But that's just a guess, we need more tests.)

(Now I understand why no one wants to… Oh yeah, of course.)

(No, go ahead, tell me what you think, it motivates me to pollute your life.)

(I'll take care of you later; your wish is granted.)

(Hmm? What do you mean? What's going on?)

Several students stood around him, including a few who were in the same class as him.

"Walking tombstones."

****

Back in the meeting room, Sunnah was finishing her list, and unfortunately for the girl who was already mentally fragile in nature, some of her classmates stopped hiding their boredom.

"And… Um, lately I've been thinking Miles would be perfect, he's always trying to make everyone smile, he's not the strongest or the best student, but he tries so hard he deserves to be there, I think."

A young man who was pretending to sleep next to Lisa suddenly sat up, looking intrigued.

"Really? That's 5 E-ranks and none of them are really interesting."

Thomas called out to the young man who bowed his back slightly in response, to the laughter of his comrades.

"Well… I mean… We could only offer 15 D-ranks, I just think if we're really that fair, the E-rank students should at least earn their place, I know people who were impatient."

Iris sighed and turned to him.

"I understand your concern, but you need to remember where we are and what we are. This is not a playground where we can polish the road for our friends, this is a world where only the strong remain. 10 C-ranks, 15 D-ranks, and at least 4 E-ranks, that's the quota required, everyone fights for their place, so are you saying your friends are so weak that they have to steal the place of an E-rank?"

The Young Man lowered his head, the President and the most powerful of the school had given his opinion, who was he to contradict her? The other students who earlier supported him in their antics were now sitting straight and serious.

This was the power of the mighty, and in this scene, only one person challenged Iris with their gaze, Lisa angry for her subordinate, gave the blue-haired girl a smoldering glare.

Iris smiled at a trembling Sunnah and read her assessments for a moment.

"That's a really good idea, since E-ranks can't really shine with power, their personality is the best way to show off, good job Sunnah."

"... Th-Thank you..."

"But, I see that for their study results, you chose the 3rd and 4th ranked in the written assessments, where is the 1st place?"

Sunnah shuddered in answer and started looking away.

"... Hum... Ex... Excuse me but... Is that really necessary?"

"... Huh?"

Meanwhile, at the back of the dormitory, around fifteen students surrounded Dora, and one of them, taller than the others, moved in front of him.

"So, you're the little rat who got my brother kicked out for a week?"

"... Who?"

A very short student, resembling a preschool child, came forward and exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

"Don't be stupid! You rat, because of you Mister Tristan will miss the school exchange, don't play amnesiac now!"

"Tristan? This sounds like something forgettable. How could I get him kicked out when I'm not the dwar... The Dean?"

They gasped and turned to the self-proclaimed brother who started laughing. In the meeting room, Iris, intrigued, questioned her friend's behavior which had become strange.

"What's the problem? Are you..."

"Hm... What I mean is... There is a 1st ranked student but... Maybe someone should ask if he's really interested. Someone like you..."

Another boy, taller than the others, with a headband on his forehead and glasses, questioned her in turn.

"Miss Sunnah, I might be wrong, but is this related to that strange rumor about an E-rank student?"

"Uh... Huh... Maybe not?"

Back with Dora, the brother of the student made a crystal ball appear.

"It's okay guys, after all my brother was wrong, this guy is the weakest right? How could he hit him? Here, let's prove it."

"... I don't know what you're trying to prove but this little thing could be a problem."

"Oh? A problem? Is this a threat? Don't worry, kid, you're weak, aren't you? So this will only help you."

"I don't know, boys are not suitable for using 3 balls, you will fail."

"Haha, you guys didn't tell me he was a good comedian. But since you asked, let's see if I can."

He infused energy into the ball and pretended to hit Dora with it, instinctively, the young boy stopped him with one hand. However, the energy continued to increase, like a bomb between two fires. The guy smiled.

"This little toy is a converter, it accumulates energy and releases it in the form of a burning wave in the desired direction, now here's the trick: if you are really as weak as they say, then you won't be able to can't impose enough power, against mine, right? Simply put, if you're innocent, you'll let me blow you up, won't you?"

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