OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 516: Updated Rankings

Many seconds after Vadryn had left, Emir stood up as well, about to head to class.

But, just as he crossed the door, he saw a blonde-haired man waiting for him to the side.

It was Aquila, always casual, and with that easy grin of his, it appeared that he had come in to ask for something.

"Hey, Emir."

Emir raised his chin at him and gestured for them to move.

"What's got you grinning like that?"

Aquila let loose his crossing arms and walked behind Emir.

"Well, I heard you guys are showing us off soon."

Emir nodded, not at all surprised by the fact that he knew.

"Yeah, that's right. Might even do it today."

Aquila's grin widened.

"Yeah, about that... I've been thinking."

Emir watched him carefully.

"That's new. And?"

Ignoring that jab, Aquila shifted his weight, eyes flicking up to the ceiling as if debating how to word his request.

"Well, you remember our deal, right?"

"The favor, you mean?"

Emir asked, the amusement in his voice evident.

"...Yes."

"Heh, you're not here to steal all the best students for yourself, are you?"

Aquila laughed.

"Nah... well, actually yeah, it's exactly like that. I want you to recommend every student from your class to join my hunter group."

Emir blinked, genuinely surprised.

"Your hunter group, huh?"

"Yeah."

Aquila confirmed.

"You know, I've got a lot of plans going forward, and having them come by, check the place out, will help a lot, boosting our new recruits."

Nodding, Emir stepped into the lobby, the elevator already being called up.

"I get it. Elite students bring interest wherever they go, so even if they don't like what they see, you'll benefit from the sheep that follow."

"Exactly. And if they've got even a tiny bit of the sharpness you have, I'd take them in any day."

"There's no need to butter me up... compliments don't work on me."

Emir chuckled, his expression softening as he regarded the request.

"This isn't exactly a small favor."

Ting!

As the elevator arrived and they entered, Aquila's expression turned a bit more serious, though his smile never fully faded.

"I know. But look, after what happened with the disaster, I—"

Emir tapped his shoulder, interrupting him, and said:

"There's no need for that. Without me even directly asking or saying anything-you lowered

the value of that favor I owed, and that's rare in this world.

Aquila looked at him with raised brows.

"...Is that to say, you accept."

"Sensible people deserve good things."

His earlier smile returned to adorn Aquila's face.

"Good, good, good. So, I'm counting on you then."

"I'll make sure they get the message."

As Emir said those words, they reached the fourth floor, and he stepped out, leaving Aquila alone in the elevator.

"Appreciate it. I'll catch you later, man."

Emir waved him goodbye, then began walking down the hall while glancing at his internal clock.

Class was starting in no more than thirty seconds.

He slowed his steps, anticipating the speed he needed to move at to reach the class exactly on

time.

It was a thing he liked to do, a way to appease his OCD and calm his mind.

When he reached, right on time as expected, and entered the classroom, the students' eyes flicked toward him like hawks eyeing prey.

Though these hawks looked more fearful than anything, afraid of this 'prey' before them, or rather perhaps more afraid of what he was about to reveal.

The results.

All the students knew today was the day-the day they'd either go home crying or 'grinning from ear to ear.'

For some, whether they had passed or failed didn't even matter anymore, they just wanted to get it over with.

And Emir, understanding their woes, actually attempted to relieve them for once, not prolonging their suffering like he usually did.

Why he did that was unknown, but perhaps it was just a way to show his appreciation to the

class.

After all, the results were surprising, in a good way.

"Alright, good morning everyone, listen up."

Without wasting any time, Emir started, his voice cutting through the quiet room.

"Before I go over the test and rankings, know that I'm proud of most of you. You've worked

hard and proved to me that teaching you was worth it."

Everyone in the class was extremely shocked at his words.

The last time he complimented them was two months ago, before the Major Disaster, so they had almost forgotten that he could do such a thing.

Especially not praise that was as direct as this.

"Look here."

Emir, not minding their reactions, tapped the screen behind him, and a list of blurred names

popped up.

Shaking off their spiraling thoughts, the students immediately focused, and leaned forward, eyes glued to the floating leaderboard.

"First up..."

Emir gestured at the hologram, dramatically pausing as the first name was revealed.

"We have Arthur."

The room was still for a moment, the name hanging in the air as everyone processed it.

Arthur, of all people, had taken the top spot.

How?

That question rang in everyone's mind.

Especially Sofia, who repeatedly blinked in disbelief, appearing like a malfunctioning cyborg.

She had expected to hear her name first, maybe Elijah's.

But Arthur? That was a shock, to say the least.

"No way... Did Sofia really get beat?"

"She didn't. I know the prof is messing with us."

"He has to be... right?"

"Maybe he che-"

"Don't."

There was a brief echo of whispers among the students, and Sofia couldn't help but stare at

Arthur.

She knew the guy had changed, but this was... unreal.

He seemed to catch her eye for a second, but quickly looked away.

Dumbfounded, Sofia looked down.

Was this some kind of joke?

She felt a knot form in her stomach.

Unlike the rest, she didn't want to entertain the thought of him cheating, but there just

seemed to be no other way for this to have happened.

Nobody, except that one dumb student, dared to say it aloud, though.

They knew Emir wouldn't tolerate such talk.

"Arthur did what he had to do to get there."

Emir's tone left no room for argument.

"Now, next up is Sofia Alexander."

Sofia's heart skipped a beat.

She expected her name to be called, but hearing it still made her stomach flip.

Her rank wasn't a surprise, everyone expected it, unlike Arthur's.

She saw the others looking at her now, waiting for some kind of reaction, but she gave them

nothing but a nod.

Yet, that was enough for them, they all knew how close she'd been, how hard she'd worked.

Most felt that it was unfair to see Arthur's name above hers.

They barely saw the guy in the training hall.

Whatever technique he stumbled upon must've been groundbreaking because, if he didn't

cheat, then he had to have gotten some sort of insane boost.

But then, as their thoughts went wild with theories, an 'unnamed' student raised her hand,

giving them pause.

"S-Sir."

Emir silently looked at her, she flinched, but continued, understanding that it was his way of

giving permission:

"Both Sofia and Arthur have 'first' beside their name, i-is that a mistake?"

He smiled and calmly shook his head.

"No. Arthur might've submitted it earlier, but Sofia did it better, displaying a secret I hid.

When all is taken into consideration, both deserve to be first."

The stuttering girl nodded, thanking him for answering, while the rest of the class let out

sighs of relief, knowing that the status quo wasn't disrupted.

Sofia had remained as the ice queen.

Meanwhile, the so-called ice queen herself, gave no reaction.

She simply stared at Emir, waiting for him to announce the rest, seemingly wanting to get

this over with.

Complying with her silent want, he gestured at the third name and said:

"Second, we have Elijah Oliver."

No surprise there, as everyone had expected Elijah to be in the top spots.

He had consistently proven his skill, and even Sofia couldn't deny that.

But then came another surprise.

"And, in third place, Xavier Junior."

There was a collective gasp, a stunned silence filling the room.

Junior? Ranking this high? It was unheard of.

And not only that, to have 'two' impure students in the top three was absolutely unprecedented in an Elite class.

The entire room was buzzing now, their disbelief palpable.

Some students couldn't hide their shock.

"Two impure in the top four..."

"That's gotta be a first."

"Unbelievable."

Again, Emir didn't care for their reactions and continued:

"We have Aria GoldLeaf in fourth, Ava Nguyen in fifth, Max Blackwood in sixth, and Quinn in

seventh."

The reactions were much calmer now, the students nodding, taking in the names with less

shock and more acceptance.

As Emir clicked through the ranks, the murmurs continued.

But then he froze, turning his eyes to the students.

"Now for the big change."

With those words, the room quieted immediately.

"Rank one: Sofia Alexander."

Sofia's breath caught in her throat as her name appeared at the top of the list.

Absolute pride surged through her.

"Rank two: Elijah Oliver."

She was still on cloud nine from her ranking, but she noticed Elijah's expression-he looked

satisfied, but not surprised.

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He had earned it.

"Rank three: Aria GoldLeaf."

The room was still for a moment before the quiet buzz returned.

Max was dethroned.

Though that wasn't too unexpected, the boy lacked theoretical knowledge. Especially when compared to Aria, who undoubtedly put in an unhealthy amount of work the

past two months.

"Rank four: Max Blackwood."

"Rank five: Xavier Junior."

"Rank six: Ava Nguyen."

"Rank seven: "Rank eight:

"Rank nine:..."

As the rankings continued, the students listened intently, some muttering to each other, but

all focused on what this would mean for their futures.

But one girl did more so than the others.

"Rank seventeen: Quinn Mercer."

The results of her extreme effort were out, and her world had changed forever.