Class Ranking Battle
"Today, we're holding the 'Class Ranking Battle' for all the first-year classes."
Ji Suhyun dropped that bombshell right at morning roll call. The students' faces filled with confusion.
"Wait, we haven't even been here two weeks, and we're doing the class ranking battle already?"
Looking at past classes, the class ranking battles usually happened before midterms. But just two weeks in? No wonder the kids were freaking out.
"What can we do? The big shots decided it. Seems like they think this year's freshmen are full of interesting talent, so they want to sort the rankings quick."
To be precise, it was because of the game's setup. This generation, where the player enrolls, was packed with stories and events, so naturally, there were a bunch of special kids. And that meant cramming a ton of events into a short time. Adult circumstances, I guess.
"Anyway, it's just a class ranking battle—head into a dungeon and hunt some monsters. No need to freak out~"
With that, Ji Suhyun turned to leave the classroom, having delivered her message. But she paused.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. The classes that take 1st and 2nd in this 'Class Ranking Battle' get some special perks from the dean, so you should try hard. That's the official announcement. And my personal add-on... if we don't get 1st place, you're all dead?"
She flashed a sweet smile, said it, and bounced out. A chill swept through the class.
"Dead if we don't get 1st?"
"She tells us this today?"
Left alone, the classroom erupted in murmurs. The class ranking battle set the tone for the whole semester, so it was natural everyone cared.
And amid the chaos, three kids stayed eerily calm.
"...As long as there are no bugs."
"...No bugs for me either."
"...Hope there are no bugs."
Jinwoo, Sea-a, and Youngje. They'd cleared the underground dungeon in the club room basement with me, so to them, dungeons were just training spots.
"It's no big deal, but everyone's making a fuss. Worrywarts."
All pointless fretting. They had no idea...
I already knew where this quarter's dungeon led. To stockpile some stamina before heading in, I face-planted on my desk for a nap.
It was supposed to be time for first period. The entire first-year class was out on the academy field. And leading them was...
Ji Suhyun, refusing to accept teleporting the whole year group, yelled at the huddled students at the top of her lungs.
"...Calm down, Instructor Ji Suhyun. What if you get mad and mess up?"
Standing beside her, trying to soothe her, was the male instructor. Park Yunho, the first-year student affairs head who'd taught us Villain Studies recently.
"Here, let me borrow the mic for a sec."
He half-forced the mic from Ji Suhyun's hand and brought it to his mouth.
A few kids sighed in relief at Park Yunho's words. Some were doing their first dungeon, so tensions were high.
Some swallowed hard, some clenched fists, some eyed their dungeon-mates. 'Real combat' was tense for them.
Then a purple glow enveloped the field, bringing that familiar teleport sensation from before. Space warped in an instant. Vision cleared to reveal a cave-like space.
"...Feels kinda familiar."
Jinwoo hugged himself, shivering at the scenery like the club basement dungeon. The other kids tensed in the dim dungeon.
Class rep Youngje lit it up with magic first.
"Everyone who can use Light magic, light it up!"
Kids snapped to, casting lights or drawing weapons, scanning around.
Then.
Tap. Tap.
"Quiet, everyone!"
Youngje hushed them and crouched. Silence fell as they listened.
Tap tap tap.
The sound approached steadily—from our direction.
Tap. Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap.
Like footsteps. Kids peered into the dark tensely.
Gulp!
Even swallows echoed. The sound neared, and finally...
"Kirik?"
It was...
"G-Goblin?"
"A goblin?"
"Real goblin?"
The class froze at the unexpected monster. But then.
"Pfft!"
"Puhahaha!"
"Goblin! It's a goblin dungeon!"
Confirming it, kids started shaking with laughter.
"Argh! What the hell! We got scared for nothing?"
"They send us to a goblin dungeon?"
I shook my head lightly.
"That's why I said it's no big deal."
Goblins for a class ranking battle? Perfectly standard. Even academy picks were green rookies. No way they'd throw us into hell first. Community analysis said it was to let us experience killing monsters firsthand. I agreed.
But the kids' reaction wasn't normal. Even low-tier, goblins could kill grown men. They deserved tension. Academy balance.
Still, they laughed because of day one—Ji Suhyun's uninhabited island. Desperate for mana stones to get home, they'd already killed monsters, learned stones cashed in, and wiped every goblin on that island.
And now, another goblin appeared before them.
"Kirik?"
"...Kill it! Kill that goblin bastard!!"
"1st place in the academy is ours!"
"Kill goblins, extract stones!!"
The class charged excitedly. Club stories said they'd goblin-slayed the island, basically turning everyone into slayers. Dungeon clear: no problem.
Familia club kids lit up at goblins too, charging ahead thrilled. No threats here, they figured. Even ignoring me completely.
So I was left alone at the entrance.
Fine by me. Better this way. Confirmed empty, I scanned, spotted a protruding rock, and squish—pressed it.
Class A, who'd already goblin-dungeoneered on the island, swam like fish in water.
"Hey! That goblin's throwing rocks!"
"Mages! Block rocks and arrows!"
They'd killed over a hundred for quick escape mana—experience shining.
And shining brightest were...
"Ten mana stones, and tonight's meat dinner with the siblings!"
Sea-a, pinpoint-intercepting goblins.
"1st place means dessert bar in class. No losing!"
Jinwoo, wall-running, snapping necks.
"Team A scouts right, Team B left. Call if trouble—I'll come running."
Youngje, class rep directing.
And...
"Looks like we'll head back smiling today."
Choi Kang-hyeon, who'd placed 2nd after me back then. No spotlight yet—this was his shot. 1st meant academy support and higher guild quests. He dumped his seawater bottle, drowning goblin lungs.
"Youngje, with this, we're 1st, right?"
Jinwoo asked, dismantling a goblin chest, glancing up.
"Not guaranteed. Other classes have the top ranker and 3rd place."
"Oh, that knockoff... police chief's kid? Pfft, we got the boss, no way we—huh?"
Jinwoo shot up, looking around.
"Boss, where'd he go?"
"Huh?"
Youngje scanned for me—gone.
"...Where is he? Sea-a! Can you locate the boss?"
Youngje called to Sea-a, guarded mid-group, sensing goblins.
"Boss Eugene? One sec!"
She'd synced mana with me before—easy in this dungeon. But her eyes widened.
"Uh... he's below?"
"Below?"
"Yeah, way down. Seems alone somewhere."
"Got it. No issue then."
Youngje shrugged it off. Jinwoo nodded, resuming stone extraction.
"Boss has a plan. Guy who fist-smashed goblin skulls day one? He'll be fine."
Nearby kids nodded. That memory stuck hard.
"Alright, back to it. Can't lag."
They pushed forward. With me off solo, no one worried what might happen.