Vol. 9 - Ch. 439 - Let’s spin the wheel for ‹Eden› new members!

The lively buzz in the guild room was replaced by the tense buzz as I stood in front of the shrine, facing everyone.'The time has finally come,' was literally written on their faces. And indeed! it is the time. The moment everyone was waiting for with baited breath!

Celestine passed me the final evaluation result. The selection was based on the combined evaluation of all the ‹Eden› members, plus their training style, contribution in dungeon, equipment, thoughts, determination, and finally the guild battle. It was, in literal sense, the test of their body and soul!

It's not that long since both sides had started to work together, but my motive to shuffle both guild members was precisely to assess them out. I had made sure to include the members of ‹Arc-Arcadia› in as many activities as possible, like the study session during the exam.

The members who had achieved a certain score as the sum of all these aspects would be promoted to ‹Eden›. This might be a bitter pill to swallow for those who may not qualify, but fret not, for this is not the dead end—I informed sub-members of the same.

The rustle-bustle increased yet again at my words. Great. The air was dominated by a suspenseful vibe, and they all looked as focused as waiting for the climax of a thriller movie. In fact, my heart was also thumping faster than usual at this moment. The pressure was incredible.

Once the murmur had died down, I followed—

"Let me start with this preface first—this isn't yet the end of the road even if you failed in this assessment. There's no such thing as 'who cares about sub-guild' in the ‹Eden›. We will still dive into the dungeon together like earlier and have a blast like there's no tomorrow!"

Right, this wasn't the game where sub-guild was just the list of bots. Recalling the event we have gone through, it's like I was playing multiplayer games. Both guilds were like one body, as if ‹Eden› had suddenly gained more spots. There's no throwing away what was a part of our body, right? I just want them to learn of this bond.

"Well then, it's the time to reveal the outcome. I will start from the top."

Gulp the sound of someone audibly swallowing the air echoed.

"The first in the line is the member who fought against the monster with unwavering determination, a valour losing to no one, leaving behind multiple exploits and a soul akin to molten steel. They provided invaluable support to the newly established ‹Arc-Arcadia›, and emerged as the leader figure to guide the sub-members from the frontline and showed an excellent quick-wit in the guild battle earlier. No matter which aspect, their effort is commendable and earned a vastly positive evaluation. Welcome onboard, Aegis-senpai. Congratulations!"

A round of applause started off once my words ended.

Aegis-senpai stood up from her seat while holding the headband-style headpiece to her chest and bowed her head.

"It's my pleasure to have the opportunity to join ‹Eden›. I will leave no stone unturned and aim for even greater height!"

The top ranker in this intr-aguild promotion event was Aegis-senpai.

To be honest, I foresaw this. She wasn't our senior in this labyrinth academy by just name. She held the outlook and attitude that sets her clearly apart from the first year.

Having gone through the same route once, she had adapted to another cycle of levelling up quite well, and her spirit was like the steel that has gone through a thousand tempering.

The nerves needed to abandon the max level status and even go through ‹Job Transfer› wasn't found in many. One could keep rambling on how ‹Knight› doesn't have much prospect, but you still have to have the heart to walk down a path of re-emergence, discarding all that they had worked hard up to now.

And so, the first ranked up person was the sole senpai in both guilds.

Once the hecticness calmed down to some extent, I continued with the revelation of the second person.

"Now, to our second ranker! This person wasn't the scout, yet had their eyes constantly around the battlefield. If ‹Arc-Arcadia› was the boat, then they're the wind that sail their ship. Supporting their comrades with their singing, taking on the role of healer shalt others stumble, be the charm that protects others at the face of danger and adding them with the perfectly measured buff—It's Noel. Congratulations for reaching here, Noel."

"Thank you very much~!"

Noel waved her hand back in response to the thundering applause in a calm manner. Sure enough, a socialist truly does things differently huh. Apparently, this unperturbed persona had what kept the breathing the fresh air of liveliness in the battle. Though this was something I had heard later.

Lacritta was like the sort of switch that would push Noel to remain calm and collected anytime in her presence. This experience similarly had helped her in dealing with things rationally and coolly. How should I say, it's a very... idol-like reason, isn't it?

As a matter of fact, a great many reasons why they were able to shave off the 30% HP of ‹Eastern Big Castle› was majorly due to her. She supported Reglam and Lacritta who were up against Rika with her support/healing buff while taking a shot at the Big Castle at any possible window of opportunity.

If anything, she was already touted a prodigy the way she skillfully rotated her skill or buffs even in normal dungeons, so she was well worth the 2nd place.

"Alright, on to our third member! The next candidate to be promoted is that person who acted as the brain of Noel, Lacritta and Kairi group. The one who assumed the role of commander to show them the path and displayed a cool-headedness throughout the end. Their conspicuous effort being the raid at what was effectively the achilles heel of earlier guild battle—‹Eastern Big Castle›. Honestly, the final moment of the guild battle was like walking on thin ice. Had you managed to take down the ‹Eastern Big Castle›, the result today would have been a reverse. So earning the stamp of approval over the deep understanding of guild battle's tactic—Reglam, you've scored third position, and are qualified for ‹Eden›. Congratulations."

"—I will continue to strive for better. Also, I am extremely glad to receive this chance. Thank you."

Reglam's expressions were a bit clouded as everyone applauded for him. Maybe he expected to score a better rank?

Well, the reason why he wasn’t at top deducted was that while choosing to target the ‹Eastern Big Castle› was a correct option, he was a bit too fixated on dealing with Rika, forgetting the original goal.

The correct option would have been to have Lacritta hinder Rika while he himself moved to attack the Big Castle. And Misato's appearance as 'Reinforcement' further foiled his strategy. So this must be contributing to his frustration. Well, he would learn things in due time.

Anyway, this was where he fell behind Noel. Strive for better huh, indeed.

"Time to reveal the 4th person then! They're the trust-worthy tank of the group. What small-fry, what boss, dealing with anything with their exquisite control over skill as well as magic is a matter of back hand to them. They have been commended for their deep outlook about their job, and the sense of security their presence brings—Lacritta, you have made it to the 4th rank. You barely made it to ‹Eden›, but welcome onboard. Congratulations!"

"Hck! I-I-I am in!? T-Thank you very much! Thank you very much!"

Lacritta stood up upright from her seat and repeatedly bowed her head in a very novel way—and surprisingly, that startled expression looked more of a charming point than an expression of distress. The 'startling' tone is quite a polar opposite of Aegis-senpai's 'It's my pleasure' tone, wasn't it?

There had been quite a good reason backing up why she was ranked 4th.

Honestly, just the fact that she was a tank, and a shield user to boot, had already put her in the limelight. The thing that we lacked most was a shield user. ‹Eden› has many tanks but neither of them were shield users, except Sierra. Plus the shield job of her was also amazing.

But then again, Lacritta herself had shown a great potential to begin with, which was the primary factor behind that limelight.

Well, she was also one of the first-term students (referred to those 50 people who had been attending his class from day 1) from my ‹Training Manual› class, so she had quite a deep understanding of her job.

She also showed an exemplary shieldmanship by pinning down opponents that had earned her a good amount of points. But then again, I had been teaching her the ropes so she could become the shield that everyone could believe on even with closed eyes.

She might be easily flustered but she is someone who faithfully carries out her instruction in battle, and she also worked extra to fill up for her lack of communication. It was another reason behind the high evaluation.

Being a tank, there was hardly a time for her to shine in this time guild battle. But then again, we had the time of world. Our school life has just started as first year and I am also filling her up about strategies as well.

So basically her lack of turn in guild battle was compensated by her performance in dungeons. Well, there's quite a gap between her and him, that's why she barely made it out.

Everyone gave a round of applause to our flustered tank who repeatedly bowed in response. That was quite a fuzzy scenery if I have to say honestly.

"Hey, Zephyr-kun. If Lacritta-chan barely makes it out, then what about us?"

‹Magic Swordsman› Sachi asked in a flustered tone. The 'we' should be the harmonic trio I guess. She has quite a sharp ear to pick my wording for Lacritta when others have yet to call on it out. She must be on her toes as well.

"Well, it really, really pain me to say but......"

" " " "Gulp" " " "

"The aforementioned four are the only ones who are getting the promotion. Rest of the members unfortunately still need to work hard."

" " " "Shock!" " " "

Yup. Harmonic trio, plus Kairi, didn't make it out. The four staggered back in shock after hearing my words. I swear I even saw the illusion of thunder falling behind them. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

I had noticed in the guild battle as well. They really need to first start with learning more about their own jobs. Taking separate action in the guild battle was honestly the basic mistake they made given their jobs.

Kairi was a bit of a special case. A ‹Seeker› true worth lies in their ‹Tri-Tree›, so until then, it's a barnacle filled road. I would like her to learn more in the ‹Arc-Arcadia›.

While some rejoiced, some startled and some received lightning (metaphorically) at my words—this brought the curtain over ‹Arc-Arcadia› first ever intra-guild promotion event. And at the same time, ‹Eden› welcomed four new members.