Chapter 52: D-Rank
Mercer handed Shani and Jeryon sheets of paper containing questions about the lessons covered in the e-book.
It wasn’t a surprise quiz. The theories in the questions wouldn’t actually be taught until next month, when everyone had hatched their eggs.
It was simply meant to make sure the students who had managed to hatch their eggs early had something to do.
Even then, the questions could be completed within an hour. After that, they were free to leave the classroom.
After finishing the questions, Shani headed to the quiet library to continue studying. Jeryon followed her.
With no classes, Shani’s day was incredibly peaceful.
That was until late afternoon. After taking a shower and getting ready to head to the cafeteria, she received a notification from the system.
[Host, the restructuring of your energy pool is complete!]
Shani stopped in her tracks. "Woohoo!" Shani cheered, keeping her voice low.
She then picked up Nyx, who had woken up because of her sudden cheer. "Nyx, my baby, your mother can increase her rank again."
Nyx’s eyes were watery from just waking up. He looked at Shani, still not fully awake, but he liked being held by his mother, so he snuggled his head into the crook of Shani’s neck.
While gently stroking her baby panther’s soft body, Shani sat on the edge of her bed, trying to contain her excitement.
"System, can I buy Energy Potions now? What’s the limit?"
[Host, you can buy up to one Rare-Grade Energy Potion and five Common-Grade Energy Potions, for a total of 550 Energy at a cost of 5,000 Credits.]
Shani calculated in her head. She currently had 120 Beast Energy. If she added another 550, her total Energy would become 670.
"Whoa, that places me in the upper D-Rank. With that, I only need 30 more Energy to reach 700, which means C-Rank!"
The more she thought about it, the brighter Shani’s face became.
Without wasting any time, Shani bought all six Energy Potions and drank them immediately.
The effects were incredibly fast. Shani suddenly felt hungry.
She looked down at Nyx, who was sleeping curled up on her lap. He immediately reminded her of a rolled brownie.
A mischievous thought popped into her head. She gently lifted Nyx with both hands before playfully biting the little furball’s body.
Nyx merely adjusted his position without opening his eyes, completely unaware of his mother’s childish behavior.
Shani laughed to herself before putting Nyx back in his baby bed.
...
Nothing changed in Shani’s daily routine until two days later.
On Wednesday morning, the entire cafeteria was talking about the same topic.
"Garth and Noella successfully hatched their egg last night. They managed to hatch it in nine days," Sonny announced, acting as the group’s information source.
He glanced awkwardly to the side. There was quite a large gap between him and Jeryon. Normally, Noella would be sitting there.
"If it weren’t for you, Shani and Jeryon, Noella could have set a new record," Sonny continued, lowering his voice when he mentioned Jeryon’s name.
"Shani really is that amazing," Kiran chimed in, Shani’s supporter anytime and anywhere.
"But Noella is amazing too," she added, giving a thumbs-up.
"They’re getting their baby beast checked this morning, right?" Shani asked.
Sonny nodded. That was why Noella had left him to sit beside Jeryon during breakfast.
"The upperclassmen who placed the second bet are eagerly waiting for the results," Sonny added.
Ever since the first-year students learned that Leah had been playing the victim, they no longer doubted any miracles that might happen with the Cursed Prince and the F-Rank student pair.
Because of that, they couldn’t rule out the possibility that Noella and Garth had simply gotten unlucky and their baby beast wasn’t A-Rank.
The students’ questions were answered quickly during the morning class.
The Resonance instructor for Class 1 posted the results in their group chat.
"B-Rank!" Sonny exclaimed, already several times surprised by the screenshots from Class 1’s group chat that had been shared in his class group.
"Shhh!" Kiran desperately wanted to cover Sonny’s mouth.
Shani, Kiran, and even Jeryon turned toward Noella, who had joined them for lunch, wanting to see her reaction.
Noella was well aware that she had become the main topic of everyone’s conversation.
"I never ruled out the possibility that my baby beast could be B-Rank. B-Rank isn’t bad," she explained calmly.
Jeryon no longer glanced at Noella.
The other three continued looking at Noella for a moment before looking away, realizing that she really wasn’t bothered by the result.
"So does that mean Shani wins the second bet too?" Kiran asked.
Sonny nodded.
"Baby beasts have a fixed amount of Energy for each rank, so when two baby beasts have the same rank, the way to determine the winner is by seeing which one hatched faster."
Kiran looked at Shani sitting beside her with eyes practically sparkling like she was looking at a star.
"It’s still possible that another pair could get an A-Rank," Shani pointed out.
The others shook their heads in unison.
"Shani, you and Jeryon already got your beast tested, and Noella’s pair with Garth is done too. There shouldn’t be anyone else left to pull an A-Rank," Sony explained.
Shani knew the theory too, but who knew if a miracle might happen?
Whatever happened in the future, this achievement had already made Shani incredibly happy.
She looked at Jeryon, who was calmly eating across from her, and smiled.
Jeryon seemed to notice her gaze. He raised his head and said gently, "This is all because of Shani."
The others exchanged glances, realizing that this quiet prince seemed to speak only when Shani’s name was involved.
Jeryon didn’t really care what other people thought, as long as Shani kept smiling. And sure enough, Shani gave him a wide smile.
After lunch, they still had half an hour before their next class.
Jeryon returned to his room after noticing a message from one of his subordinates.
Once inside his room, he connected the call. Jeryon calmly listened as his subordinate reported some new information about Shani’s family.
"The Ashbournes’ businesses have been declining one by one over the past few years. The third branch, which was sent to another city, has returned to the capital city for protection."
...