Outside the main office building, near the front entrance, a large board stood surrounded by a massive group of students. They were all mumbling to each other while pointing at the board.

  Ian and the others approached the group, wondering what the commotion was about.

  “Geez, wasn’t expecting such a large group. People can’t be that excited over some stupid exercise class,” Kevin said jokingly.

  “I don’t know. They all seem concerned more than anything,” Amanda said while observing the gathered students. “Let’s take a closer look.”

  No one argued with Amanda, so they all proceeded forward. As the group walked through the crowd, they all could hear what everyone was saying.

  “How is this possible? No one can get such a high score.”

  “They must’ve cheated. That’s the only explanation.”

  “I saw it with my own eyes; he did do it.”

  “I was there when Sett was collecting the bands. There were multiple reds.”

  “You’re lying. No one is capable of that.”

  “I did hear that one group in the past managed to take one down, but this is ridiculous.”

  “Not even the second-highest score comes close to the highest.”

  Ian listened to the whispers as he pushed forward, but as he did, he only got more worried. It didn’t help that many students were looking at him with disbelief and confusion in their eyes.

  Once Ian and the others made it to the front, they all gathered to look at the scores. Looking at the board, more than half of the students failed the class. The lowest passing grade was a 65.

  They all searched the board, trying to find Ian, but they couldn't find his name. They expected him to be in the low passing section on the board since it was a silver level class.

  “Where the hell is your name, Ian? Don’t tell me you failed the class?” Kevin asked as he continued searching for his name.

  After a few more seconds of searching, Ellie spoke up. “Hold on, this can’t be correct?”

  “What isn’t?” Kevin asked, turning to look at her.”

  “Ian’s name is up there,” Ellie said, her hand lifting to point at the top of the leaderboard.

  Everyone turned to where she was pointing and was soon left speechless.

  At the top of the board, Ian’s name sat firmly in the #1 spot. Next to his name, the group could see his final grade and final test grade. Ian’s final grade was a shocking 110, higher than a perfect score. But what shocked them all more was his final test grade.

  The top 5 test scores were worrying to see because of how drastically different they all were from each other. In fifth place, a group of four students ended up with a score of 76. In fourth place, a group of two got a score of 87. Third place was a group of five students who got a score of 98. And in second place, there was a group of six that ended with a score of 136.

  The second-highest score was already impressive to see, but it was nothing compared to the highest score.

  Sitting in first place, Ian, a group of one, ended the final exam with an unbelievable score of 243. Everyone was left speechless upon seeing.

  Kevin was the first to speak up. He turned his head to face Ian before saying, “What the hell, Ian? How in the world did you manage that?”

  Ian didn’t even get a chance to explain himself before he was suddenly bombarded by multiple students with questions and complaints. It was chaos. Even his group was swarming him with questions.

  “How did you get a high score?”

  “What skill did you use?”

  “Have you been lying about your rank?”

  “You fucking asshole! You make us look bad!”

  “How did a stupid Copper rank outshine us?”

  “You cheating bastard! What did you do, sleep with Sett?”

  “He definitely got special treatment.”

  “I’ll kick your ass if you don’t explain yourself.’

  That last comment came from Ellie.

  Ian was getting so overwhelmed by everyone that he started to panic a bit. However, he was blocked in by the swarm, not giving him any room to escape.

  He was trying his best to calm everyone down, but was failing miserably. It wasn’t until a booming voice spoke out, “Alright, that’s enough! Everyone, back away from Ian!”

  The group of students all stopped their barrage at Ian and turned to see who spoke. A moment later, they all froze when they saw Sett looking at them with disappointment.

  “Okay, I’mma need you all to back away from your fellow student. I know some of you are upset and think he cheated, but I can assure you he did earn his score. I reviewed the data collected from the testing bracelets, so I know there were no tricks involved,” Sett said.

  All of the students listened to what Sett had to say, but some were still upset. The idea that a copper-ranked managed what not even a silver-ranked team could was hard to digest.

  As Sett continued to explain how he graded the final exam and what data he had, more and more students began to understand.

  “Listen, I understand how most of you feel. Even I’m surprised. In the many years I've taught this class, I have never seen such a score. However, this tells me something.” Sett paused to observe the confused looks on his students.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “The past four years, I’ve seen a small but steady incline in skill and determination. This year was different. There was a shift, not only in my class but throughout the academy. New students are showing more specialized skills and advancement. A new era is approaching, I can feel it. And y'all will be the ones to bring in this new era.”

  Sett took a step forward, “Though most of you failed my class, I can tell that none of you have come close to reaching your true potential. My class was only a small stepping stone in the future you will witness. So I've come with an offer.”

  Sett looked at his students with a toothy smile, raising his arms out, “One month from now, during the Founding festival, show them, SHOW THEM ALL! Put your skills on display for the world to see. Whether it’s in cooking, mathematics, diplomacy, combat, or anything. Demonstrate what we can expect to see in the coming years.”

  The gathered students looked at each other, whispering. After a moment, one student spoke out, “Yeah! Let’s not blame others for what we can’t do. Instead, let’s improve our existing skills.”

  Soon, another student spoke out in agreement. Then another, and another. After a few minutes, a majority of the gathered students were enthusiastically chattering.

  Seeing his students get hyped, Sett spoke out once more, “I love the enthusiasm you’re all showing. If you’re all raring to show off your skills, then go sign up to participate in the festival. You can do so inside.”

  The students cheered in agreement and soon started swarming inside the main office building.

  Some still remained, unsure of themselves. Ian and his group were among them.

  Ian didn’t seem all that convinced. If anything, he was relieved to have been saved from the horde.

  Kevin, on the other hand, was talking with the others. “So…what’s this Founding festival?”

  “Oh, right. You guys never left your small village till now, so it makes sense you don’t know about it.” Amanda straightened before continuing, “The Founding festival is a two-week-long festival where we celebrate the creation of our kingdom.”

  “We have something similar. However, instead of a two-week-long celebration, we just celebrate Founding Day. We would have a massive feast in the town square at sundown. The following day would be a simple rest day for everyone,” Kevin said.

  Amanda half-heartingly smiled, “Seems a bit lacking. Then again, it suits a small village. Well, during the festival here, the streets are filled with vendor stands, game stands, decorations, music, and other forms of entertainment. There are even a few competitions and a massive tournament.”

  Everyone listened as Amanda described the festival, but Ellie and Kevin’s ears perked up at the mention of a tournament.

  “A tournament, you say?” Ellie stops Amanda.

  “Yeah. A tournament is held during the festival as a form of entertainment and as a way for participants to show off their skills,” Amanda explains.

  “We’re listening.” Kevin steps in, getting close.

  Amanda gently pushed Kevin back before continuing, “There are technically two tournaments, but we just group them together. The first one is the junior tournament, which takes place in the first week of the festival. That’s the one that students from across the kingdom participate in. It’s also split into three divisions: copper, silver, and gold.”

  “No crystal division?” Ellie asked.

  “There aren’t any crystal-ranked students anywhere,” Amanda replied.

  “Fair enough,” Kevin said. “What about the other tournament?”

  “The main tournament takes place in the second week. That one is meant for the experienced fighters and is the main event of the festival. Similar to the junior tournament, the main one is also separated into divisions. However, instead of it being split from copper to gold, it’s split from silver to crystal.”

  Emmett speaks up this time and says, “I understand why there’s no crystal division in the junior tournament, but why isn’t there a platinum division in the main tournament?”

  “Do you know how rare a platinum rank is? In the entire kingdom, we know of only 20 platinum-ranked individuals, and 7 of them live here in the capital.”

  “Ah, I see,” Emmett replied

  “Well, you got me interested.” Kevin placed his hands on the back of his head. “What about you, Ian?”

  “I’m not really interested. After this past year, I don’t really want to do anything like that,” Ian replied.

  “You say that now, but in a month you’ll be changing your mind,” Kevin pushed.

  “Nah, I think I'll pass.” Ian waved his hand in disagreement.

  Ellie walked up to Ian and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, “Like hell you’ll pass. You’re joining the tournament whether you like it or not. I haven’t forgiven you for the last time we fought, and I’m not letting you get away so easily.”

  “OH, come on, I said I was sorry. Are you still upset about that? It's been over a year since then. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair for me to join the copper division,” Ian protested.

  “Sorry, but I must agree with Ian.” A voice spoke as it approached.

  Everyone turned to see who spoke, only to see Sett approaching the group.

  “I'm afraid to say, but Ian can’t join the copper division.” Sett stopped before the group.

  “Why not?” Ellie asked, finally letting go of Ian.

  “That’s because I already signed him up for the silver division,” Sett said, matter-of-factly.

  “What!?” the group collectively shouted. All of their faces showed various forms of surprise.

  “Yeah, we, physical education instructors, can volunteer a chosen student to participate in the tournaments. Normally, we would sit down with the student and discuss their participation. My pick was Ian.”

  “Wait a second, I never agreed to anything,” Ian angrily said.

  “I might have gotten ahead of myself and just signed you up anyways.”

  “Don’t I have to sign something before entering the tournament? How did I get accepted without my consent?” Ian was more confused than anything now.

  “Normally you would, but if a student is being backed or vouched for by an instructor, then the student doesn’t have to sign anything,” Sett explained.

  “This is fair,” Ian defeatedly said.

  “I agree. It's not fair that Ian gets signed in for the silver division. I wanted to fight him in the tournament, and now you’ve ruined that for me,” Ellie exclaimed.

  “I’m sorry, but what’s done is done. I can’t change it now. Besides, it wouldn’t make sense for Ian to participate in the copper division. He’s too strong,” Sett tried to calm Ellie down.

  “Well, it’s not fair for me to be placed in the silver division. I can’t compete with everyone else,” Ian angrily said.

  “Really? You can’t compete? You say you’re weak, but after what you did during my final, I would argue otherwise. You pretty much took care of four mid-tier silver ranks single-handedly. Though I didn’t see it myself, the bands you return with are all of the proof I need,” Sett argued back.

  “That was different,” Ian said, looking away.

  “Is that so? Well, then I must be the king of the world.” Sett raised his hands to exaggerate his statement. “Look, the facts don’t lie. You have great potential and should be proud of it. Yet you seem not to like that. Why is that?”

  Kevin stepped in, wrapping an arm around Ian’s shoulder. “I can explain that. You see, our little Ian here is very shy and has trouble speaking to girls-”

  Ian cut Kevin off by sticking two fingers up his nose and pulling up. “Ow, ow, ow, I give, I'll shut up now.”

  “Thanks. Now, as for why I’m like this, I can't explain. I just don’t like attention. I like keeping to myself.”

  “I see. Well, sorry for assuming you liked showing off. You just tend to show off a lot.” Sett sounded apologetic.

  “I don’t mean to show off, it just happens. *sigh* In any case, what’s done is done. I guess I’ll just participate in the tournament.” Ian accepted his fate.

  “That’s the spirit, Ian. Since you’re participating in the silver division, I have to join now,” Kevin eagerly said. “What about you, Emmett? Are you going to join?”

  “You think I’m going to pass on an opportunity to fight both of you? In your dreams. I’m also signing up.”

  “Great. Then it’s settled. We’ll compete in the tournament to see who's better. Make sure not to get knocked out too early on,” Kevin said.

  “Yeah, Ian, no throwing the match. We want a chance to finally face you.” Emmett turned to face Ian.

  “As if I’m going to throw a match. If you guys are participating, then it gives me a chance to see how well I do against you two.” Ian smiled at Kevin and Emmett.”

  “Now that’s what I like to hear. Until we meet in the tournament, let’s keep training.” Emmett raised his fist towards the others.

  Ian and Kevin nodded their heads and raised their fists to meet Emmett's. A smile plastered on all their faces.