"Pftt, hahaha, you guys see that, I am ranked 9 even higher than Ares and Claude," Kevin burst out laughing.
We were all just staring at him as he laughed joyfully, seemingly having accomplished something significant.
"Shut the fuck up! Before I break your mouth," Livia yelled as she glared at Kevin.
"...."
Hearing Livia's warning, Kevin abruptly stopped laughing and tightened his lips, and the room soon fell silent.
Seeing Livia's reaction, I knew she was enraged as well because she had previously declared after our mock gate trial that she would never want to see me rank lower than her.
"With Kevin ranking above Ares, the ranking list no longer appears to be real," Diana asserted, While Ziona agreed with a nod.
"The same goes for you as well, what makes you rank 5th?" Claude inquired of Diana.
"...Look at this jerk, Are you underestimating me solely because you outperformed me in close range during the entrance exam?" Diana said while giving Claude a cold stare and continued.
"When it comes to long range, I can strike out a dozen of you at once," Diana stated.
Hearing Diana, Claude sat expressionless, unable to respond to her.
'Diana wouldn't take anyone downgrading her archery abilities because she took pride in it,' I thought to myself after hearing Diana's sharp response.
And I agree that she is capable of doing what she has just stated.
***
"...So, it's about time, shall we get going?" Ayla suddenly said getting everyone's attention.
"Yes, let's get this party started," I said as I stood up from the sofa.
When they all heard me, they all nodded and got up from their seats as well.
We soon moved away from the archery grounds and toward the meeting location.
The meeting is being held in one of the private buildings owned by my brother outside of the Academy's premises, and it appears that he is also using that building as a stronghold for his faction.
"I know I don't have to say it, but please don't beat them up too severely," Ayla said innocently, as we were on our way.
"...."
I just stared at her, watching her act, before shifting my gaze to Ziona.
"W-What? Why do you have such a strange gaze on me? Of course, I'll keep my strength under control. But aren't they in their second year? I'm hoping to face some formidable opponents," Ziona remarked, After sensing my gaze.
"...well, I don't mind if you beat them too hard and give them nightmares.
In fact, I believe you should beat them so severely that they flee in terror the next time they see you," I suggested.
"Really!" Ziona exclaimed, her face lit up with delight.
Everyone just shook their heads when they heard me and saw Ziona's reaction.
"No, you can't beat them too badly. They are still students at our academy and were dragged into this just as we are," Lucas, The protagonist stated.
However, no one responded and simply ignored him.
While I was ignoring Lucas's blabbering, Ayla cast me a glance, and as I glanced back at her, she quickly averted her gaze.
"...."
'What's she up to?' I wondered before turning my attention toward Livia, who had been silent the entire time.
To be honest, I'm afraid she'll go overboard today.
Livia's command of her magic is among the best in this generation, and she could easily knock any student out without injuring them severely by controlling her strength.
But, based on her mood, I'm afraid she'll vent her rage on them.
'I already feel sorry for the second-year students who will now have to deal with her,' I shook my head and thought to myself.
And as I was pondering, we soon arrived near the building where the meeting was being held.
As we got closer to the building...no, saying it was a villa will be more appropriate,
We saw two students guarding the villa gate, one of whom was an oversized guy and the other was a girl.
And as soon as they noticed us, the oversized guy student began speaking on a Bluetooth device he was wearing in one of his ears.
"They have arrived!" He spoke.
"How many are there in total?" The person on the Bluetooth enquired.
He gave us a quick glance, and while he was looking at us, we all simply smiled at him.
"...."
"...There are five of them," the oversized guy responded after a brief pause.
"What! Are you certain there are only five of them?" The person on the Bluetooth quickly exclaimed.
Certainly, he is correct. Only me, Livia, Ziona, Lucas, and Ayla will be entering the villa while the others wait outside for our orders with their faction members.
"...Yeah, I'm pretty sure there isn't anyone else besides these five," he replied.
"I can confirm his statement as well," the girl student beside him affirmed as well.
"...Alright, you can let them in, but first take their weapons," the person on the Bluetooth said.
"Roger!" He said as he turned to face us.
But when we overheard him, I, Ziona, and Lucas pulled the swords from our belts and handed them to him.
"Here," we handed them our swords readily while still smiling.
Both students were bewildered to see us complying so easily and without resistance as they took our swords.
"Can we go in now?" Ziona asked, but as she was about to proceed, she was stopped.
"Wait! Hey, bring the detector with you. They could be concealing storage rings somewhere," One of the students guarding the gate stated.
"...."
"Wow, can you believe it? The entire second-year class is terrified of five unarmed first-year students," Ayla said with a chuckle.
"Tch, they're more weak and pathetic than I thought," Ziona commented, clicking her tongue.
However, both students ignored their comments and continued inspecting, but they were still unable to find anything.
The guy student turned toward the girl student after inspecting me and Lucas and finding nothing.
"...No, they are not carrying anything," the female student shook her head and said, unable to find anything from Ayla, Ziona, and Livia as well.
"...."
"All right, you can enter now," the guy student said as he opened the gate.
We entered quickly after he opened the gate for us and arrived in front of the Villa's main entrance door.
I casually pushed open the door and proceeded in followed by others, and as soon as we entered, we noticed several students lounging around the tables, some of whom were playing cards and others who were playing video games, and were busy laughing and chatting among themselves.
"...Well, this is an unexpected spectacle, as I expected them to be on guard against us, but they seem to be the regular foolish teenagers playing around," Ayla exclaimed unexpectedly.
We all looked at her after hearing her remark.
"Oh, did I say that out loud?" Ayla asked, awkwardly smiling as she felt our gazes.
"Yeah, but I agree with you, four of the generation's top ten are standing in front of them, the least they could do is try to be on guard, Although nothing would change even if they were on guard," Ziona expressed her disappointment seeing them underestimate us.
"...."
But when the second-year students noticed us, everyone turned their attention toward us, stopped what they were doing, and kept staring at us.
And not long after, one of the students came up to us.
"The Second Year Representative is waiting for you upstairs; Please follow me," he said as he led us up the stairs.
While ignoring everyone's stares we followed the student upstairs.
***