A Rank S Problem - Part 1

After Yu’s battle against Takeshi’s tutor, the professors had to restore order among the students, who would not stop shouting and applauding at such a display of skill from someone who, until then, they had only seen as a second-rate or even third-rate hunter.

Yu walked across the field with a smug smile, leaving his opponent behind, still on his knees and processing what had just occurred. However, instead of coming to us, he approached Takeshi himself, who still looked noticeably shaken by the outcome of the fight.

I didn’t know what to expect, but Yu only bowed slightly and, after a few seconds, Takeshi nodded sharply with a terrified look. It seemed Yu had whispered something to him.

" Touka!" he exclaimed, now approaching us. "What did you think of the show? Wait, don’t tell me! I know it was impressive and unlike anything else! You don’t have to—"

"You’re an idiot," I interrupted, leaving Yu stunned. "You’re reckless. Who in their right mind would fight a professional hunter just to show off? Seriously, you’re hopeless."

"Wait, wait! I—!"

But before he could even explain himself, I ran forward and hugged him. Even though he was someone who enjoyed going at his own pace, he still chose to help me, even if it meant fighting other hunters. I no longer felt alone; now I had someone reliable by my side.

"Thank you," I said, my eyes watering and my voice on the verge of breaking.

Yu was left speechless. I guess he didn’t expect that, after a scolding, he would end up being thanked so sincerely.

After a few moments, he recovered from the surprise and returned my hug, patting my head once again and offering me words of encouragement.

"If you ever get into trouble, you know you can count on me."

"Yes."

Since enrolling at the academy, all I had were torturous and painful memories, but today, after so many years, I had finally managed to create a memory worth preserving.

"Yu, that was an amazing presentation! God, you almost made that guy cry! I’ve never seen you so pissed at someone before."

"Was it that obvious?"

"It was a splendid presentation, without a doubt," added Miss Usagi. "Now I’m even more motivated to recruit you for our guild."

"You’d better give up, Yu. Once she sets her mind on something, it’s almost impossible to convince her otherwise. Quite the charming girl, indeed."

The conversation between the three of them was going well, but then I remembered the whisper and felt compelled to interrupt. My curiosity about what had left one of the academy’s best students so terrified was consuming me.

"By the way, what did you say to Takeshi?"

"Oh! That’s right! We also saw that you seemed to whisper something to him. What was it?"

"Ah! Nothing important!" he replied casually. "Just that he should get along with Touka, because if he kept bothering her… I’d come after him."

He said that last part in an oddly serious, but above all, chilling tone. Noticing it, even Daisuke and Miss Usagi seemed to shudder. Miyu was lucky not to be there to witness that scene.

Everything seemed to be going well. What had worried me until then had not only passed, but appeared to have finally ended. It felt like things could only improve, but I was terribly wrong when a powerful roar alerted us all.

For several seconds, we had to cover our ears because of how overwhelming the roar was, and when we finally recovered, our attention immediately shifted to the academy’s main building.

Atop the structure perched an enormous quadrupedal creature with large wings, two heads, and a tail ending in a sharp blade, glaring down at us with ferocity. It was a Priran, an S-rank magical beast.

"What is an S-rank beast doing at the academy?!"

"H-hey, look over there!"

And that wasn’t the end of it. In the distance, we saw a horde of monsters of all kinds approaching from every direction.

Normally, within fog domes, there is only one type of monster or a few related species, but now there were monsters of every variety. And that wasn’t even the strangest part.

There was no fog dome.

This was no random occurrence. There had to be a reason behind it, but we had no time to think. The monsters were closing in.

"Everyone, to the center of the field!" a professor shouted. "Prepare to fight!"

Following his orders, the students, their tutors, and the professors formed a circular formation at the center of the field. It was the most efficient way to deal with this situation, as it left no blind spots.

All those capable of support magic remained in the center, surrounded by mages and those who fought at long range, while at the front, those who specialized in close combat protected everyone else. I was relegated to the long-range group, while Yu, Daisuke, and Miss Usagi ended up on the front lines.

"Touka, be careful. Remember not to lose focus while reloading your weapon."

"Y-yes!"

Once everyone was ready, the improvised incursion began.

Many of the frontline hunters charged forward to confront the magical beasts, attacking fiercely with fists or weapons, depending on their combat style.

The monster army was made up primarily of B-rank beasts, which made things quite difficult for some hunters, who had to band together in groups to stand against the threat.

"Die!"

On the other hand, there were a few hunters who stood out for fighting alone against the beasts, but the ones who truly shone were, without a doubt, Miss Usagi with her daggers and lightning magic, Daisuke with his blue fire magic, and Yu with his peculiar weapon and remarkable agility.

The combination of Daisuke’s flames and Miss Usagi’s lightning was particularly beautiful. It didn’t seem improvised; their coordination was evident, covering for one another and complementing each other perfectly.

"Watch out for that one!" Daisuke exclaimed as he killed a beast that was approaching Usagi. "How do you say it?"

"I had everything under control!"

At that moment, a monster interrupted, attacking Daisuke by climbing onto him and trying to claw at him. Caught off guard, he could barely react, but Miss Usagi used her lightning to eliminate the beast.

"How do you say it?" she exclaimed with a mischievous smile, returning the favor.

"We’re even now, that doesn’t count!"

Those two really got along well.

Yu also drew many gazes with his agile movements and powerful strikes. Furthermore, he took advantage of his weapon’s shape-shifting ability to attack with a sword, a spear, and I even saw him use a katana. Watching him fight like that made the B-rank magical beasts seem like nothing.

The performance of the three of them motivated the rest of the hunters and trainees, who launched themselves with even greater force against the monsters, gaining considerable ground and significantly reducing their numbers.

The mages also began to attack, and I fired my weapon, aiming for the creatures’ heads, always careful not to be caught off guard by a monster, just as Yu had advised me.

Everything seemed to be going well, but to our misfortune, the Priran, which until now had only been observing us, roared once more and took flight.

It rose to a great height, and suddenly began to descend rapidly, aiming at a group of hunters fighting several magical beasts.

"Watch out above!" one of the professors shouted.

The hunters noticed the Priran, and after defending themselves from the monsters in front of them, they managed to create some distance. The Priran landed shortly after, completely crushing the magical beasts it came down upon.

There were no more B-rank monsters left in the area, but now we had to deal with an S-rank beast.

The monster roared, and after the mages attacked, the battle resumed.