"Erickson," Max muttered. He had known that family name. Isaac Erickson had ruled the whole South East region of the Kingdom; they had shared a border with the west as well. Was he an heir of Isaac Erickson? Max wondered. There were chances. However, he would eventually come to know who he was as the news spread regarding the Rank.
A few more names had also been discussed widely among the students in the crowd. One was Clifford Brunner, Nathalie Abascal,Rudolph Menmuir, and Terence Campton. These were the subsequent Ranking students; most of the family names had rung a bell to Max. As time passed, people had started to discuss more names. At that moment, one name had caught Max's attention; it was 'Anne Wintour'. Had he heard clearly? Was she the same girl who had been in his Party, or was someone else studying under that same name?
Afterward, with most of the crowd having disappeared and started discussing, Max had slowly crept to the board. He looked at the top poster where only the top 10 names had been printed. Reading the names, he had seen all the names he had heard just earlier, and he had seen Anne Wintour's name at the tenth place. What the hell? How had her name appeared at Rank 10?
Currently, he checked the total Cores the others had collected.
In the first place, Frederik had hunted a total of 275 Ordinary Monster Cores and 3 Boss Cores; there had been no Mutated Monster Cores. In the second place, there were 269 Ordinary Cores and 3 Boss Cores; there was no Mutated Monster. In the third place, there were 265 Ordinary Cores and 2 Boss Cores. Max had quickly read all the names and the Cores they had collected up to the 9th Rank: 185 Ordinary Cores, zero Boss Cores, and zero Mutated Boss Cores.
Rank 10: Anne Wintour. Ordinary Cores: 80, Boss Cores: 7, Mutated Boss Cores: 1.
The gap between the ninth place Ordinary Cores to the tenth place was 105. Did that mean 7 Boss Cores and 1 Mutated Boss Core were worth an equal amount of 105 Ordinary Cores? That must have been true, since there was no explanation regarding that Rank placement other than this explanation.
Rank 11: Andrea Velilla. Ordinary Cores: 183.
Afterward, there was no one who had possessed a Boss Core or Mutated Boss Core until the 17th Rank, which had shown his name.
Rank 17: Maximus Bransford. Ordinary Cores: 79, Boss Cores: 7, Mutated Boss Cores: 1.
Max was in great confusion regarding how his Rank was 7 Ranks down the line, whereas Anne's was higher, even though they had possessed an equal amount of Cores except for one less Ordinary Core. It did not make sense. On the 16th Rank, the person had collected a total of 169 Ordinary Cores. How could Anne's 7 Boss Cores and 1 Mutated Boss Core equal 105 Ordinary Cores, but his 7 Boss Cores and 1 Mutated Boss Core only equal 86 Ordinary Cores? Max had stood there in long and deep thought. Suddenly, he received a revelation.
"The type of Monster Core matters."
If he remembered correctly, Anne had taken the Mutated Titan Slime Core, and he had taken the Mutated Toxic Slime Core; between both Monsters, the difference was heaven and hell. The Mutated Titan Slime would have almost broken Anne's body into two if it were to land a hit on her. Therefore, the Academy must have seen the potential of the Core and calculated the Ranking based on that.
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His Mutated Toxic Slime Core was valued less than the Mutated Titan Slime Core. With that understanding, he had looked at the other Ranks from his Party. They were placed within the top 30; Shaun had placed at 27, Jeannie at 28, Peter at 29, and Michael at 30.
It was a good Ranking; furthermore, it was a surprise Ranking for their Party. Originally, Max had thought he would rank in the top 100, but the one Mutated Monster Core had boosted his Ranking. Moon, who stood there, looked at Max with wide eyes.
"Did you not say you would place under 150?" she asked.
"I did not even expect this result," Max shrugged.
"Congratulations on placing at Rank 21," Max congratulated her.
"Thanks, and the same to you for Rank 17," Moon said.
Currently, people were greatly shocked by the Ranking, especially regarding Rank 10, which had seemed like cheating. A single Mutated Monster Core had turned the Ranking upside down. The disproportion of Ordinary Cores from Rank 10 to Rank 50 was staggering. The Rank 50 person had collected a total of 145 Ordinary Cores, but the Rank 10 person had collected only 80.
Furthermore, as Max had guessed, their Party had placed first with a staggering amount of Boss Cores and Mutated Cores. The Party of the first-Ranked individual was only placed around 7th, since he must have landed all the kills and claimed everything for himself instead of letting his team members take a fair share. With this anomaly, ranking first on the Party Ranking had created a huge uproar throughout the Academy.
Max's name was mostly underplayed since he had placed at the odd number of 17. On the Party Ranking, his name was listed last since he had joined very late. Furthermore, with Anne taking the Leader position, her name had gotten widespread fame.
However, that was what Max had wanted at the very least. Most of the attention would go to Anne Wintour and the team members; most people would surely ignore his presence, except for a few like Moon.
"Okay, then I will see you at the Practical Class," Max said goodbye and left the Hall, walking towards the Classroom since it was almost time for class.
Max walked along the hallway to his Classroom, which was located at the end. It was the first class of the First-Year Building, having a total of 7 Classrooms with 50 students in each Classroom. He had noticed that the staring from the other class students had increased compared to normal days; perhaps the Dungeon Expedition Ranking was the cause for it, especially the Party Rank, which stuck out like a sore thumb.
Before he could reach the Classroom, he noticed a gathering at the doorway. Max simply walked into the Classroom, as those people automatically parted ways once they saw him. As soon as he entered, he noticed Anne sitting at his bench, which was two rows from the back. He walked without any reaction, thinking she must also be shocked by the unexpected results. As soon as she saw him walking, she stood up, her face filled with a smile and uncertainty.
Max was a little confused as to why she was feeling some kind of pressure while fidgeting with her hands.
"Hey, congrats on placing in the Top 10," Max said.
"Do you want to exchange the Mutated Core? In that case, you will be placed in the Top 10," she said.
Naturally, Max could understand her intentions. Since he was the one who had killed the Mutated Titan Slime Monster, it should belong to the person who landed the killing blow; however, she had claimed it for herself. Now, seeing that she had achieved a top Rank while the person who deserved that position was placed below her, she must have felt guilty. Therefore, she had proposed the idea.
"Do not be ridiculous. You deserve that Core and the Rank," Max said. If Max had wanted, he could definitely have placed in the top 10 or even top 3, simply by exploiting the other Party members instead of sharing the haul equally. However, that would be overkill and place a lot of attention on him. Therefore, he was happy with the current results.
"But..." Anne tried to argue, but Max raised his hand to stop her and drop the matter. Seeing this, Anne simply sat, facing the front.
Afterward, this interaction between Max and Anne attracted a lot of attention in the Class. They all knew the odd results and the people involved in those results. Currently, most of their classmates were in great curiosity regarding how these outcasts could rank higher than them. Did he cheat in the same manner he had joined the Academy?