Magical Girl Boot Camp ~Rank Commission Service~ Pro Broadcast
"Aigoo."
"Calm down. The call will come soon."
"Whose side are you on?!"
"...At least not Blaze's?"
The room erupted into chaos as I comforted Seong-yoon, who'd reclaimed her spot as the leaker-in-chief.
"Com...fort?"
"At least the sadness is fading, right?"
"Proof that you all get along so well."
"What?!"
...?
I eyed the two of them chorusing in disbelief, like they were in some rom-com scene.
Hmm. Just to be sure.
"Magical girls might WWE it out a bit, but you're still close, right? Like real besties. Yeah?"
I tossed in a hint of suspicion—hopefully not UFC.
"......!"
"Y-Yeah... We get along great~."
Seong-yoon jolted like her secret was out, while Aris turned into a meek puppy.
Hmm. Yeah, that tracks.
"Is that really how it is?"
"If Unnie says so, then it is."
Some light slander in the chat, as usual. Haters gonna hate—it's daily life.
"Whoa, really?!"
Just as the mood settled into a lull, a superchat rode in on a white horse(?).
Makes sense—no real need to keep it secret forever. Probably just procedural.
I smiled warmly watching Seong-yoon bloom like a flower.
"Eek! Eekiyaaaaah!"
...It was bait?
I facepalmed at Seong-yoon's juicy, explosive scream and reaction.
Her pride shattered, but the chat was thrilled.
What to do with these trolls...
"Unnie. Try lowering that hand from your mouth."
"Ahh. So this is Yoo-yeol..."
"Hey, don't go off in a weird direction."
Su-yeon and I were doing a skit, Tenri trying to rein us in, Aris laughing beside us—while Rose, floating awkwardly alone, spoke up.
"Fine. Real fans know. No issue."
"?"
"What do you mean? Blaster and I are officially government-affiliated."
Ah, right. They wouldn't leave Seong-yoon to fend alone—grateful she stepped up.
Magical girls gotta stick together.
"That's why I came early."
"Huh? The ranking system?"
"Yep."
Apparently, Rose and James arrived 2-3 days early because the government fast-tracked everything once ranks were official.
Seems the US was worried Rose would lag behind other magical girls.
"Gov prioritizes ranks over petty stuff."
"Awakener ranks are that big a deal?"
"Sadly, while this James was debating if he could spill secrets, Blaster already scraped it clean and spread it."
James lamented to Rose, who'd blurted out the government's intent right in front of my tilted head.
"So it's fine."
"Ugh. Really?"
"Believe it."
"Ooooh."
Seong-yoon grabbed Rose's hand like she'd met a savior and stood.
"I kinda knew already."
"Figured."
I nodded at Aris's guilty admission. Her ties to the government were the tightest, after all.
"Not just the US—everyone's the same. We're similar too. How else could I meet Senpai like this without spilling that agenda?"
"Ranks are really that serious?"
"Awakener levels are basically the security index."
I got it from Aris. She called it 'security,' but 'national power' fits better.
The Sobaeksan Tower's perks weren't the only reason for this gathering.
"Huh. That's what it was? Then... me too?"
"...Probably? Embargo means they wouldn't admit it outright."
"Hey! I'm not dumb!"
As she bickered with chat...
Bzzzzt—
Seong-yoon's phone rang. She stiffened, checking it—'Team Leader.'
"Gasp!"
Seong-yoon froze like she'd seen a ghost; chat... well, they're just having fun, but spamming alarms anyway.
"Wah... Gonna get chewed out..."
The other juniors said it'd be fine, but she looked pitiful.
"Wanna hand that over?"
I stepped up this time.
"Eh?"
"Just this once."
Normally, I wouldn't meddle in an independent junior's work slip-up.
But extenuating circumstances apply here.
I took the phone, channeling old memories.
"This chill, heavy vibe. Time to channel the hero party's trouble handler."
"Someone had to do it."
The thief and saint matched my vibe as a trio but couldn't go public.
Left to me. For party health.
No time to reminisce about facing the northern duke after raiding the palace treasury—I answered.
"Hello?"
"Blaze! What the hell is this... Oh."
A bit angry, but exaggerated tone—probably WWE-style on their end too.
Not a big deal, performative scolding.
Shouldn't have picked up? Nah, perfect actually.
I launched into troublemaker mode.
"No way! Why crush our kid's spirit like that?!"
"Uh, no. Calamity-nim. It's not like that."
"Kids can be a bit reckless!"
Not isekai-style, more modern forum vibe.
But killer effect anyway.
"Y-Yes. We're not blaming too much. Just hear me out..."
Instant sympathy for the cowering team lead, momentum lost.
A bit fast, but vibe set.
Gauging both sides, I shifted gears.
"And really, someone else is truly at fault here."
"Yes?"
"Strictly speaking, Blaze wasn't the first leaker."
Seong-yoon leaked first directly, but calmly? She just followed the flow.
"Mung?!"
"Th-That's true."
"Sure, magical girl and mascot are one unit. But pinning management blame on the kid? Kinda harsh."
"Y-Yes. Fair point."
They planned rigged go-stop anyway.
Team lead, floored by my play, jumped aboard quick.
"So let's drop it for our junior. The mascot, though..."
"Yes yes. We're inadequate handling otherworld critters. Could expert Calamity-nim take over?"
"Sure. Wrap it like that."
"Yes. Thank you."
Heartwarming end with team lead's chuckle—perfect happy ending.
No one hurt. World complete.
"Mung hurt tho mung?"
"You did wrong."
Leak inevitable once rank review mentioned.
"True."
"Blame Myeongmyeong."
"Agree kong."
"Triple agree confirms Myeongmyeong's guilt meong."
"Mraow!"
Not just me—even strict jury agreed.
We hung Myeongmyeong upside down and returned to topic.
"Anyway, goal is high ranks. How do they assign?"
Rank system's stall: two reasons.
One: benchmarks for ranks.
Two: costs (tangible/intangible) to verify.
Two's biggie—gates' randomness—mitigated by Tower.
Back to one...
"Easy metric now."
Tower again, huh. Even I check status windows for juniors.
"Gate rank info helps differentiate."
"Pops up every time."
Average stats below gate rank? Retreat.
Trust that? Simple.
"Average status rank = your rank."
"No exam needed then?"
"Averages miss stuff. Gear presence, or Blaster's specialized build."
Styles sacrifice stats. Can't rank Rose's firepower low due to others.
No need far—Su-yeon first.
"Me?"
"Lily, your average's sub-A."
Soul rank aside, body/skill tank it hard.
Average: like grown Seong-yoon post-Tower.
Equal combat power? Nah.
Gaps widen up ranks, as always.
Trained fighter? Su-yeon's peer is Uncle Woo-jin; Seong-yoon needs growth.
"Yes. Hence exams."
Each country sets 'examiners'—experts assign.
Min stats required; tons of fairness debates.
"Our country's examiner: official S-rank Woo-jin-ssi."
"That uncle's S benchmark."
Nodded at Seong-yoon's interjection. He was powerhouse then; Tower-stronger now fits S perfectly.
Me as S? Everyone fails?
Anyway, solid benchmark. Decision made.
"Alright. Decided."
"Huh? What?"
"This camp's goal."
"Everyone, S-rank. Extend stays till end of January."
All S by January. Now... minus Su-yeon, top B or low A.
Nearly raw stat rank-up.
Normally impossible in a month—gaps too big.
But camp efficiency + Tower? Doable.
"January content: Sobaeksan Boot Camp Power-Up Arc. Expect fiery cheers?"
Won't skip others entirely.
Main declared—chat lit up.
These guys cheering too hard... kinda embarrassing.