193 UNI RANKING DUEL
Dan stopped and looked at him….then smiled.
"Pest, like you…" he said coldly. "You have no right to test ."
Gasps rippled across the courtyard.
"Did he just call Professor Liric a pest?"
"Arrogant bastard…he hasn't even been here a year! no he was never even here."
"Does he think he owns this prestigious institution?"
Liric's face turned red. "This is preposterous!" he shouted.
Before anyone could react, Dan moved.
In an instant he was in front of the professor, his hand clamped around Liric's neck. Then he rose, lifting the man with him—floating higher and higher until both were above the crowd.
The students craned their necks in awe.
"He's flying!" soone gasped.
"How is that possible? That's not possible for a freshman!"
"Even Professor Liric couldn't fly like that."
Dan looked down at the terrified professor dangling in his grip. His voice was calm, almost mocking.
"Like I said," he murmured, "you have no right to test ."
For several long minutes, the entire academy watched as the rebellious student held their most feared professor suspended in the air….an open challenge to the entire alma mater.
"There he goes again," Zairgid muttered, shaking his head.
"What do you an again?" a nearby student whispered.
Zairgid sighed. "Back in high school, he challenged every student… and beat them all. Most ended up in the hospital afterward."
The students' eyes widened. "Then what's going to happen to Professor Liric?"
"Well…" Zairgid smirked faintly. "Unless your classes are held in the hospital wing, I doubt he'll be teaching you in Year Two."
Gasps rippled through the crowd as a figure shot into the air…Dean Aelion himself, his coat flaring in the wind. A Rank BB ta who had only recently mastered flight, hovered with calm authority.
"Student Dan Dark," he said firmly, though with a note of respect. "Release the professor please."
"He stopped
from orientation for no reason," Dan replied.
"Liric," Aelion said, turning to the gasping professor, "I already sent you Dan's records and his exemption from Year 1's final exam. He's cleared to start from Year Two."
"That is improper!" Liric protested, his voice hoarse. "If anyone can skip an entire year, the quality of our education will collapse!"
"This was approved by the Board," Aelion said patiently. "Let him through."
Liric shook his head stubbornly. "No. The rich and powerful cannot keep bypassing the rules. That's not how education should work!"
For the first ti, Dan's expression softened.
He almost smiled.
Despite the scene, he found himself respecting the man's conviction. Professor Liric was defending the integrity of education, believing that backdoor exemptions usually from the rich and powerful would destroy that integrity.
"You're weak," Dan said, lowering Liric slightly, "but you have a point. What do you want to test
on?"
Liric steadied himself, coughing. "At minimum, a first-year student must reach Rank D in ta strength and display a ta skill of at least Rank E in intensity."
Dan blinked. "That's your test?"
Before anyone could react, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the air, obliterating the entire orientation stage in an explosion of thunder and light. The crowd fell silent with dozens of students shielding their eyes from the smoking ruins.
"Is that power enough?" Dan asked, his tone calm, almost bored.
Dean Aelion's mouth twitched. "That… that ta skill easily registers at Rank C intensity….or higher," he admitted, still stunned.
"Then do you still need
to feed the bloody machine?" Dan asked, his eyes narrowing.
Aelion shook his head quickly. "No…that won't be necessary. You can't cast a Rank C skill without a Rank C ta core, and you can…erm… fly."
Satisfied, Dan descended, setting Professor Liric back on the ground. The man collapsed to his knees, coughing hard.
Zairgid hurried over. "You didn't put him in the hospital this ti, buddy. You've learned restraint….good on you."
A few nearby students overheard and froze.
"Wait…what does he an this ti?" one whispered, eyes wide.
"How many people did he injure already?"
Another swallowed hard. "Who the hell is this Dan Dark?"
-----
"Liric, I heard you were humiliated by a new student?" Professor Keris chuckled, swirling the tea in his cup. A few other instructors gathered around, eager to gossip.
Not everyone had attended the Year Two orientation earlier.
Liric said nothing. He simply stared at the ground.
When the others pressed him, he replied quietly, "He was tested… and he passed."
Keris leaned back with a grin. "I heard he unleashed a Rank C ta skill in front of the entire school. That's already close to our graduation benchmark. Honestly, he's probably stronger than you."
So of the professors laughed under their breath.
Liric's jaw tightened. "We are teachers, not competitors," he said firmly. "It's our duty to help the students grow. Whether they surpass us or not doesn't matter."
He spoke with conviction, but his words felt hollow even to him.
Liric was only a Rank C ta himself…. strong enough for theory classes, but nowhere near the battlefield-level strength that students like Dan already wielded.
The humiliation still burned in his chest.
Keris leaned closer, his voice low and conspiratorial. "There are plenty of geniuses in this academy, Liric. Hidden talents everywhere. But that doesn't give any of them the right to be arrogant."
Liric's gaze flickered toward him. "And what exactly are you suggesting?"
Keris smirked. "You know about the university's Student Rankings, right? The list that determines sponsorships, privileges, access to research labs…all the perks worth fighting for."
"Of course," Liric said cautiously. "What does that have to do with… teaching him a lesson?"
"Well," Keris said, his tone oily, "this Dan Dark just displayed a Rank C ta skill. That's enough to justify placing his na near the top of the rankings. Officially, it would be fair recognition."
Liric frowned. "But doing so will make him a target. Every ambitious student will challenge him for the position."
"Exactly." Keris's smile widened. "He'll be sward with duels. The arrogant ones always need a little… humbling. Think of it as education."
Liric hesitated.
The idea felt wrong…but at the sa ti, a part of him couldn't forget the laughter of the students, the sting of being lifted into the air helplessly in front of the entire academy.
Keris leaned in again. "You don't want that boy turning into a tyrant in the future, do you? Better to teach him humility now than let him dominate the weak later."
Liric finally nodded, his eyes dim with resignation. "I understand."
"Good," Keris said, smiling as he patted Liric's shoulder. "Then let the ranking war begin."
------
Dan returned to his old apartnt for the first ti in a year. He expected dust, maybe silence… but what he found instead made his blood boil.
The place was crowded.
Students lounged everywhere… his couch, at his desk, even in his bed. Loud music blared from the speakers, and the air reeked of synthetic smoke and spilled gene stimulants.
"Who the hell are you people?" Dan barked.
A bleary-eyed boy looked up, unimpressed. "Who the hell are you? This is our common room. Get lost."
Dan didn't bother replying.
He grabbed the boy by the collar, dragged him through the corridor, and hurled him out into the fields below. The others jumped up in panic, but one by one they t the sa fate….flung out like trash.
Monts later, Zairgid appeared at the doorway, half out of breath. "What the hell is going on here?"
"My apartnt got invaded," Dan said flatly. "I'll need to borrow your nurses to clean this ss up."
Zairgid frowned. "No way. They're preparing the incense bath for !"
Dan raised his fist, pretending to strike him.
Zairgid backed away, then they both broke into laughter.
Their mont didn't last long.
From down the hall ca a loud commotion…shouting and stomping footsteps. A group of students marched toward them, the one in front waving a challenge slip.
"Dan Dark!" the leader yelled. "I challenge you to a University Ranking Duel!"
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