Chapter 255: Current Squad Rankings — Day 2
[Ruvian’s POV]
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[Top 10 Current Squad Rankings — Day 2]
{1} Squad 5 (Silvena D’Elvoire) - 2550 Pts
{2} Squad 2 (Calyra Arcanis) - 2130 Pts
{3} Squad 4 (Rosalin Varion) - 2030 Pts
{4} Squad 69 (Yerin Solder) - 1980 Pts
{5} Squad 1 (Julian Rozenberg) - 1790 Pts
{6} Squad 71 (Natalia Crystavos) - 1450 Pts
{7} Squad 3 (Loden Armand) - 1320 Pts
{8} Squad 6 (Irene) - 1160 Pts
{9} Squad 34 (Ardyn Renhart) - 1120 Pts
{10} Squad 23 (Ben Donër) - 1120 Pts
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[You have received +1,500 Plot Points!]
Ruvian stared at the rankings for another second, then he let out a small laugh before a helpless grin spread across his face.
Silvena was leading the pace with such a ridiculous gap that even he hadn’t expected her to leave the rest of the squads this far behind.
’I guess whoever managed to discover a flag and keep it concealed for the longest time would undoubtedly hold a significant advantage over everyone else.’
’And speaking of that, she has two flags under her possession for the entire day.’
Then, a loud voice suddenly shattered his thoughts.
"WOHOOO~!"
Arlok jumped to his feet, his massive frame nearly scraping the cave ceiling as he pumped both fists into the air. "Let’s fucking go! We’re at fourth place now, from out of nowhere! That’s how we’re talking!"
His booming laughter echoed through the small shelter, bouncing off the stone walls until the entire shelter seemed to vibrate with his excitement.
Shima immediately raised her palm toward his face, her expression sharp with annoyance. "Pipe down, musclehead," she hissed. "Do you want to attract another Voidspawn and end up fighting them again at night? In the dark!"
Arlok grinned, completely unbothered by her warning. "Ah, come on..." he said, crossing his arms with a smug look. "I know you’re happy too."
The corner of Shima’s lips twitched, and for a brief moment, she couldn’t find a proper retort.
The rest of the squad burst into quiet laughter at the sight, the tension from earlier finally melting away as the warmth of their small victory settled over everyone.
After the laughter died down, Yerin stretched her arms above her head before letting out a tired sigh.
"Alright, that’s enough celebrating for tonight," she said. "Everyone should get some rest, we still have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Arlok immediately raised his hand.
"I’ll take the first watch," he said, then his gaze shifted toward Ruvian with a wide grin. "You’re joining me, right, Golden Goose?"
Ruvian’s expression didn’t change, but somewhere deep inside his mind, a quiet complaint formed.
’Why am I the one who needs to be on the first watch... always?’
He wanted to say it out loud, he really did, but in the end, he simply let out a breath and gave a small nod.
"...Sure."
Because now that he thought about it, there was something he wanted to take care of before going to sleep.
*****
Later that night, as everyone had gone to sleep, Arlok and Ruvian sat near the corner of the [Earth Shelter].
Arlok lasted about twenty minutes before boredom won. Without a word, he lowered himself onto the ground and started doing quiet pushups.
Ruvian glanced at him for a moment, then simply shook his head before turning his attention elsewhere.
’Well, at least he’s keeping himself busy.’
With the others asleep and Arlok occupied, Ruvian decided this was the perfect time to check on something he had been meaning to review.
He activated his Editorial Skill: [Bookmarks].
The familiar translucent grimoire materialized before him, its sapphire light glowing softly in the darkness, and Ruvian began scrolling through the profiles he had saved.
’Let’s see how much they’ve grown since the academy.’
The first profile appeared.
[’Calyra Arcanis’]
A/N: Check the paragraph comment on "Calyra Arcanis" to view her full stats. To reduce word counts = cheaper Chapter
From the look of it, Calyra had grown stronger than she was supposed to at this point in the story. On the surface, it didn’t seem like much had changed, but the fact that her Mana Control had risen from B+ to A- spoke volumes.
That alone was a remarkable improvement.
Then again, considering the stage she had already reached, it was only natural for her growth to begin slowing down. Her talent in magic was already absurd for someone her age.
Still, Ruvian was more than satisfied.
Using [Farscribe], he sent Calyra a short message before shifting his attention to the next profile.
[’Rosalin Varion’]
It was only when Ruvian reached Rosalin’s Runeheart profile that his expression froze. His eyes widened as they swept across the familiar [Character Sheet].
’She... she already broke through to the next stage?’
Her Spellcore had previously been Tier 3.
Now, it had advanced to Tier 4.
The breakthrough had elevated every aspect of her Runeheart, enhancing all of her attributes and pushing her overall strength to an entirely new level.
To be fair, it wasn’t surprising that Rosalin would eventually break through to Tier 4. Even in the original novel, she had reached that milestone during the Vazrun Island examination.
But what caught Ruvian off guard wasn’t the breakthrough itself, but when it happened. In the original story, Rosalin had advanced on the eighth day of the test. This time, she had accomplished the very same feat on only the second!
Ruvian slowly nodded to himself.
’Hmm... at this rate, everything is progressing even better than expected.’
Then, he looked at the next profile.
[’Silvena D’Elvoire’]
Ruvian proudly smiled.
As for Silvena, her growth came as no surprise.
After all, she had trained alongside him and even accompanied him to the Ashway Bazaar. The only noticeable difference afterward was that she had become far more diligent — throwing herself into every training session with even greater determination.
’She is almost at the stage of the first-class magus too.’
Perhaps everything that had happened that day had ignited something within her. Ruvian could only speculate though, but whatever the reason, the outcome was exactly what he had hoped for.
If all the key figures of Velthia Academy had already advanced to Tier 4 at this point in the story, then he could confidently say that his efforts were paying off.
Then, he looked at the final profile he wanted to inspect tonight.
[’Julian Rozenberg’]
Then, a dark smile slowly crept across Ruvian’s face.
’Ah... this bastard broke through to Tier 4 as well.’
He couldn’t say he was surprised.
Deep down, he’d known it was inevitable.
Though, the downside was that the breakthrough had widened the gap between them even further. In terms of raw stats alone, Julian had likely already caught up to, or perhaps even surpassed, Calyra.
And if Ruvian were to fight him now, there was no question about the outcome.
He would lose, and he would lose badly.
Still, he wasn’t worried about it.
Not in the slightest.
’Well, let’s see how my stats are looking now...’
With that, he summoned his [Runeheart].
==========
{}---『RUNEHEART』---{}
◇ Name: Ruvian Castelor
◇ Age: 17
◇ Spellcore: Tier 2
◇ Rank: Third-Class Magus
◇ Magic Affinity: None
◇ Relevance Tier: Stage III – Pivotal Extra
◇ Plot Points: 17,600 (PPs)
◇ Current Arc: Arc 3 – The Vazrun Island
[Mana Resonance: (250/500)]
==[General Attributes]==
Strength: C-
Agility: C-
Endurance: D → D+
Vitality: D → D+
Perception: D → D+
==[Mage Attributes]==
Mana Control: D → C-
Casting Speed: D → D+
Magic Power: D → D+
Mental Strength: S
Mana Sensitivity: D → D+
Mana Essence: [5,800/5,800]
==========
==[Innate Blessings]==
- [Blessing of Indomitable Will]
==[Affinity Mastery]==
- [Pure Mana, Wind (Advanced)]
- [Darkness (Intermediate)]
- [Water (Basic)]
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[Chapter 255: Current Squad Rankings — Day 2]
Plot Points= 17,600