Clarence sauntered into the office, a smirk playing on his lips. "I hear all your friends have successfully hatched their pets. What about you? Just the unlucky one?"
Jett forced a grin, trying to mask his irritation. "Mine's on its way."
Clarence's eyes narrowed with curiosity. "I've been meaning to ask: what's your connection with Verena's Divine Lords? Besides the fact that you all come from the same kingdom, that is."
Jett blinked, caught off guard by the question. "What do you mean?"
Clarence leaned in, his tone growing more serious. "There's something about you. You seem more than qualified to earn the title of Divine Lord, yet you're clearly holding back."
Jett frowned. "Holding back? What do you mean?"
Clarence chuckled, "Well, considering you almost came in dead last in the school's ranking, it's kind of obvious. Don't you think?"
Jett's confusion deepened. "I still don't get it."
Clarence's eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief. "I noticed something odd during the entrance ceremony. With your refined mana and swordsmanship, how could you lose? We saw through it but chose not to interfere."
Jett's eyes widened. "You knew all this time?"
Clarence's smirk widened. "That's my secret to keep."
"Killjoy," Jett mused with a faint smirk. "I don't really know, but yeah, I guess you could consider me one of them, given our similar circumstances."
"Circumstances? What circumstances? I want to know," Clarence pressed.
Jett sighed, a faint smile touching his lips. 'He feels surprisingly comfortable to be around for a Ranker. Just like in the book, he really is someone I can trust. But I still feel a pang of guilt.' He shrugged and said, "That's my secret to keep."
Clarence chuckled. "Using my move against me, huh? That's a dirty play."
"Anything goes on the battlefield," Jett retorted with a smirk.
Clarence's eyes suddenly widened as he remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot. I have something I need to take care of. I'll leave you to it, Jett." He quickly exited the office, leaving Jett alone.
Jett immediately set to work, his focus shifting to finding any clues about how to free Mystra. He began sifting through the library's shelves, scanning through books and scrolls, hoping for any hint that might help. Despite his efforts, nothing stood out.
'I need to get Mystra out of there before those bastards show up,' Jett thought anxiously, continuing his search.
As he rummaged through the library, a thought struck him. 'I never checked what kind of chains they used to bind her. I got caught up in the moment, but if those chains were cursed or imbued with dark magic, would I still need to go through all this trouble?'
At first, he dismissed the idea, but something deep within urged him to consider it. It might be a simpler solution than he had anticipated.
Instead of finding a way to help Mystra, Jett decided to delve deeper into Lumix.
He meticulously made copies of most of the relevant books and translated them into a more accessible language. His goal was to teach the others about Lumix as quickly as possible.
'I need to get this information to the others, and quickly. It'll be more challenging for them than it was for me since I was practically a baby when I learned,' Jett thought as he finished his work.
Realizing it was already time to leave, Jett hurried to Mystra's location, eager to confirm his suspicions. This time, he expertly navigated past the traps without triggering any.
Elora listened to Rey's complaints with little sympathy. "What level are you right now?" she asked bluntly.
"Umm, 40. Why?" Rey replied, puzzled.
"And what level do you think someone from the third year would be?" Elora pressed.
"45, maybe 50, give or take," Rey answered.
Elora raised an eyebrow. "And you thought you could overpower them just because you took on a boss of over 50?"
Rey's confusion deepened. "Well, yeah, that's why I challenged them."
The group collectively shook their heads in disappointment.
"What?" Rey asked, feeling targeted by their reactions.
"You do realize that people who graduate from this school are among the best of the best, right?" Elora continued, her tone incredulous.
"And you didn't consider that maybe they had ways to beat you based on their extensive combat experience?" Rosa added.
"I did think about that but..." Rey trailed off, running his fingers through his hair.
Seraphina burst into laughter. "You were hoping some kind of plot armor would save you!"
The others joined in, their giggles growing louder and more annoying to Rey.
"Not funny, you guys," Rey said, trying to quell their amusement, but their laughter continued.
"It is if you're the one in this predicament," Finn laughed heartily.
"Wherever Aurelia is, I hope he's listening to the idiot he sent to this world as the Hero," Morrigan said with a sigh as she finally stopped laughing.
As the group continued to amuse themselves, Asher suddenly decided to check the rankings. He stared at the screen in disbelief, and before he could contain his shock, he spat out the water he had been drinking.
The others immediately noticed his reaction and crowded around him, demanding to know what had happened.
"Rey, there's a problem," Asher said, still staring at the rankings in disbelief.
"Yeah? What is it?" Rey pressed, his impatience evident.
"You're ranked 6th, and the rest of us also got deranked," Asher announced, prompting everyone to check their own rankings.
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