Chapter 109: The Applicant Rankings
Liam, Lydia, Emily, and Chuck remained together as the enormous hangar gradually returned to a sense of calm after the first trial.
The last few applicants were still leaving the combat areas, but Instructor James’s voice could be heard through the speakers again.
"Before we continue with the next stage, there’s something I’m sure you’re all waiting for."
Murmurs immediately spread through the crowd.
James smiled from the elevated platform.
"Each participant accumulated a certain number of points during the first trial. And now..."
James raised one hand.
"...we’re going to show you the leaderboard for all two hundred and seventy applicants."
A massive hologram appeared in the middle of the hangar.
Numbers began forming in the air, followed by names.
The applicants instinctively moved closer, trying to find their names.
Liam raised his head.
’So we’ll finally know what the sub-captains saw.’
A small sense of nervousness ran through his body.
After all, Liam still didn’t know how to interpret what had happened during his trial.
He had fought that pixie.
Or at least, that’s what he believed.
He had managed to figure out her illusion and eventually defeat her.
But if Emily was right and they had barely moved from the outside...
’Does that count as a victory?’
Liam sighed.
Chuck, on the other hand, seemed completely confident.
"Get ready."
Liam looked at him.
"For what?"
"To see me easily make the top ten."
Emily burst out laughing.
"Are you that confident?"
"Of course, partner."
Chuck crossed his arms.
"I just destroyed a golem twice my size. That has to impress someone."
The first names began appearing.
270— ...
269— ...
268— ...
The leaderboard descended rapidly, and there were no familiar names.
The numbers continued to advance.
200— ...
199— ...
198— ...
Liam looked at Lydia.
’’At least we know we’re not among the bottom ninety.’’
Lydia smiled.
’’That’s good.’’
The names continued appearing, and for the moment, none of them showed up.
Liam began to relax.
’I thought we’d be much lower.’
The leaderboard continued.
152— ...
151— ...
150— ...
Still nothing.
The applicants around them began reacting in different ways.
Some celebrated when they saw their names, while others complained.
One man even began arguing with one of the assistants, asking why he was ranked so low.
Liam looked at the screen again.
’We’re getting close.’
The number fifty appeared.
Then forty-nine.
48— ...
47— ...
46— ...
The names kept changing.
Then rank thirty-nine appeared.
39 — ROY WHEELER
Liam immediately turned toward Roy.
The man was standing a few meters away, accompanied by his two companions.
His usual smile was gone.
He looked frustrated.
’’I expected to rank higher.’’
Roy crossed his arms and stared intently at the hologram.
The leaderboard continued.
38— ...
37— ...
And then...
36 — ARCHIE YOUNG
Liam recognized the name.
Archie was elsewhere in the hangar.
When he heard his name, he simply looked up at the leaderboard.
He didn’t seem particularly impressed.
Liam remembered the boy facing that enormous bear that only wanted to hug him.
’Temperamental.’
Wayne’s word appeared in his mind again.
The leaderboard continued descending.
33— ...
32— ...
31— ...
The names passed quickly.
Then they reached rank 28.
28 — EMILY GREEN
Emily’s eyes widened.
"Twenty-eight?!"
Chuck smiled.
"Congratulations, partner."
Emily raised both fists.
"That’s pretty good!"
Liam laughed.
"Definitely."
Emily looked at the leaderboard with a smile.
"With two more trials, I can climb quite a bit."
"I hope so,"
Chuck replied.
The leaderboard continued.
27— ...
26— ...
And finally...
25 — LIAM DAVIS
Liam froze.
"Me?"
Lydia took his hand.
’’We’re ranked twenty-fifth!’’
Liam smiled, unable to keep himself from feeling relieved.
’’Then they saw something.’’
Emily looked at him in surprise.
"Liam!"
She slapped him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations!"
"Thanks."
Liam continued staring at the hologram.
’’Maybe the sub-captains really were able to see something.’’
But then he remembered Emily’s words.
She hadn’t seen anything.
Not the wolf.
Not the battle.
Not even the pixie.
Liam frowned slightly.
’Then what did they evaluate?’
He didn’t have time to think about it too much.
The leaderboard continued.
24— ...
23— ...
22— ...
The names kept appearing.
Chuck remained completely silent.
Liam looked at him.
The gum in his mouth was moving faster and faster.
"Are you nervous?"
Chuck looked at him.
"Not at all."
The gum started moving rapidly again.
Emily raised an eyebrow.
"You’re chewing like you want to destroy it."
"I’m concentrating."
"Sure."
Liam let out a small laugh.
The numbers continued dropping.
15— ...
14— ...
13— ...
Then rank 12 appeared.
12 — CHUCK MILLER
Chuck froze completely.
His gum stopped moving.
"Twelve?"
Emily smiled.
"That’s pretty good."
Chuck pointed at the leaderboard.
"I said I was going to be in the top ten!"
Liam laughed.
"You were close."
"That doesn’t count!"
Chuck crossed his arms.
"The top ten starts at ten."
"Correct."
"So they missed by two ranks."
Emily shook her head.
"You always have an excuse."
The leaderboard continued.
And finally...
10 — RUBY RED
Chuck immediately raised a finger.
"That’s her."
Liam looked at him.
"The girl who devoured the creature?"
"Yeah."
Chuck smiled.
"Ruby Red."
Lydia looked at the name.
’’She must be pretty strong.’’
"Definitely,"
Liam replied.
Ranks nine through five began appearing.
None of the names were familiar to them.
9 — ...
8 — ...
7 — ...
6 — ...
5 — ...
Then fourth place appeared.
4 — ROBERT HANKS
Emily smiled.
"Just as expected."
Liam nodded.
The gray-bearded man had finished the trial in a matter of seconds.
"He’s definitely someone we’ll have to keep an eye on."
The top three names began forming.
The hangar fell almost completely silent.
3 — DUNCAN STEEL
Some applicants began applauding.
2 — LILLY RUSSELL
A young woman raised both arms while some of her companions celebrated.
And finally...
The first-place name appeared.
1 — MAXWELL MASTERS
The hangar erupted in murmurs.
Liam stared at the name.
"Who is he?"
Emily immediately answered.
"You don’t know him?"
Liam shook his head.
"He’s a prodigy."
Emily discreetly pointed toward a young man surrounded by other applicants.
"Maxwell Masters. He’s one of the most famous young Hunters in the world."
Chuck whistled.
"And he still doesn’t belong to any guild."
"Exactly."
Emily continued.
"He hasn’t even turned eighteen yet."
Liam’s eyes widened.
"He’s already that famous?"
"Yeah."
Emily crossed her arms.
"He’s also Tim’s cousin."
Liam looked at the first-place ranking again.
’’So that’s the sub-captain’s cousin.’’
He couldn’t help wondering if that had influenced the evaluation.
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
He had no evidence to think that way.
The leaderboard slowly began to disappear.
The names and numbers compressed into a single holographic image before moving toward one of the hangar’s side walls.
The applicants continued discussing their rankings.
Lydia looked at Liam.
’’Are you satisfied with twenty-fifth place?’’
Liam smiled.
"Yeah."
He took her hand.
"Besides, we shouldn’t forget something."
Lydia tilted her head.
"The ranking shouldn’t be that important."
Liam looked at Emily and Chuck.
"What they really want to know is whether we can work as a team."
Emily nodded.
"Exactly."
Chuck went back to chewing his gum.
"Then the next two trials are the important ones."
Liam looked toward the screen on the side wall again.
’’The Trial of Unity.’’
The name seemed pretty straightforward.
But he had no idea what kind of challenge could be hiding behind it.
James’s voice echoed through the speakers again.
"I hope you’re ready for what’s coming."
The lights in the hangar began to dim.
James smiled from the platform.
"Because now the second trial begins."
The giant screen lit up once again.
The letters slowly appeared.
SECOND TRIAL
THE TRIAL OF UNITY
The applicants began cheering and applauding.
Liam felt Lydia squeeze his hand.
He squeezed back.
"We’re going to do this."
Lydia smiled.
’’Together.’’