Chapter 65 The 6th?

All the rankers seemed excited about fighting monsters the following day, even Snythe looked interested now.

They went over some of the smaller details regarding the next day.

The groups were going to be split up as follows. Each group would consist of 5 people. The ranker and their assistants, along with a class 4 student that could provide support in some way.

Each group would be accompanied by a member of the military. They were simply meant to act as a guide.

Finally it seemed that the conversation was coming to an end and Nila started to walk away. Before she could however, Leonard stopped her.

"Nila, hold on. We all need to discuss what to do about Cain and Heath. They took each other out in the fight, so neither of them won." Leonard said.

"Surely we can just have them fight again? Then when one of them wins that fight it will be decided." Nila said like it was the obvious choice. To be fair, it was the solution that everyone thought of first.

"No." Leo said "We don't need to do that. There's another way to solve this and they will both be satisfied, as well as everyone else."

"And what would that be?" Snythe asked with a sneer in his voice.

Leo frowned at Snythes attitude but continued to explain. "Cain managed to fight a ranker to a standstill, that shows that he's more than capable of being one. Heath didn't lose the fight, so there's also no reason to take away his title as a ranker. I say we make Cain the 6th ranker." Leo suggested.

Snythe scoffed at Leo's idea. "Why don't we all just face facts here. You just want to improve the position of someone who's close to you. Cain is your assistant currently and I know he's also a friend of yours. If he becomes a ranker, then you gain more power within the academy. Not to mention that Heath will be grateful since your idea keeps him as a ranker as well, making him feel indebted to you." Snythe explained angrily.

"It doesn't change that it's a good suggestion. I think it's something we should at least consider." Leonard said.

"Then how about this. We don't make Cain a ranker yet, we leave Heath as a ranker for nowand when we go out to hunt tomorrow, we can evaluate Cains performance and see how he does. If he does well then he can become a ranker." Nila explained.

"How exactly do you plan on evaluating Cain? All of us will be splitting up with our own assistants. Once again, that means it would be up to Leo to decide and that defeats the purpose." Snythe stated with a frustrated expression and tone of voice

"I'll go with Leo's group then." Nila said.

"And what of your group? They would be losing their strongest member." Leonard said.

"We could have Darian join your group, while you come to mine." Leo suggested while looking at Nila. "After Cain and Clay, he's the highest among those in class 2, he's the strongest replacement you could get given the circumstances."

"Then it's settled, we'll all meet outside at sunrise tomorrow." Leonard stated.

Everyone agreed and went their seperate ways. Leo returned to his room for now. He planned to speak with everyone from his group, but he wanted to look at the rewards from his system.

Short term Quest

- Win your monthly duel (Completed)

When Leo opened the menu for his quests, he only then received the rewards.

[Level up]

[1 Skill Point awarded]

[1 Stat Point awarded]

[Dash Level up]

'I'm finally level 10. It looks like I really do get a skill point every 5 levels.' Leo thought. He went into the skills menu and randomly selected one of the locked skills that he was a high enough level to unlock.

[Skill Unlocked]

[Redirect]

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Leo opened up the skills menu and went into the discription for the redirect skill.

[Redirect]

A total of 5% of the force behind an attack can be absorbed and immediately redirected away.

'So I can redirect some of the force of an attack made against me?' Leo question internally.

'Yes. If someone with super strength punched you, then you could take some of the kinetic energy generated by that punch and allow it to pass through you without harming you.' Dreifus explained.

'So it would make the attack weaker?.'

'Basically, yes.'

Leo didn't say anything, but it was obvious he was happy with this skills capabilities. Next Leo went to check how much Dash had improved since leveling up.

[Dash]

Increase speed by 10% for 30 seconds.

'The percentage of my speed increase went up from 5% to 10%. The value of this skill doubled with a single level.' Leo was astonished at the improvement.

My energy control is at level 3, so it stands to reason that there are at least 3 levels to each skill.'

'If it increases by 5% again on the next level up...' Leo was so excited that he didn't even finish his sentence.

'Calm down, I know you're excited but you're making me not want to give you the good news.' Dreifus said.

'What good news?' Leo was filled with curiosity.

'Each of the skills that have levels on them. The maximum level... is 5.' Dreifus revealed dramatically.

'Oh...' Leo's face showed his shock and excitement. In order to try and relax before he spoke with his friends, Leo took a bath for about an hour while thinking about his system and the skills he has.

Once evening came, Leo told his group of the plans for the following day. He didnt explain the exact details about Nila. Only that Nila needed to join their group for this one and that someone else would fill her space in the other group.

Leo hadn't told Cain about him possibly becoming a ranker. Cain currently assumed that he wouldn't become one because he didn't win the fight. The only way to stop being a ranker is to lose a fight in a challenge, but since Heath didn't lose...

It was as simple as that to Cain. He didn't ask any of the rankers if this was the decision they had come to, he just made up his mind on his own and Leo left it that way for now. He didn't want Cain to get his hopes up and then have things not work out.

Leo also chose Rene to be their class 4 member, since he needed to have someone from class 4 in his group and John didn't count since he was an assistant.

With all that out of the way, the group went to their rooms and got a night's rest. While sleeping in his bed, Leo began to have the same dream that's been repeating for weeks now.

A woman with long blond hair disappearing behind her back stood before Leo, her features more visable than usual. Her body seemed to glow a soft white and golden light. The same usual scene was playing out, until the woman began to speak.

"They are almost here." she said in a panicked voice. "You must go while you still have the chance!" she was fiddling with Leo's clothes and handing him a bag, but Leo didn't know what was inside.

The man that is usually standing behind the woman comes into view for the first time. His body seemed dark, like it had a shadow cast over it. There was a black line going vertically over each of his eyes. He had short black hair.

The man shouted from behind her, he had a worried look on his face. "He must go, now! If he does not escape, then all will be lost. He's the only chance for peace!"

A loud bang was heard from what looked to be a door at the far side of the room. Several other people similar to the woman entered the room. Each of them glowing like her.

"Stay safe and grow strong. One day, this world will need your power, my son" She said with a loving and heartbroken tone before pushing Leo away.

Leo felt as though he had begun falling as the view of the woman was pulled away from him. Leo woke up with a cold sweat, his body was shaking and his heart was beating fast.

'What is that dream and why do I keep having it!' Leo thought with a bit of panic. Something about the dream this time made him feel frightened.

'The woman, the one who was glowing. When I was falling and her face was vanishing into the distance. Why did it feel like... like my heart was breaking...'