The Party Ranking Exam Is Just a Simple Combat Match? Part 1

The overwhelming cheers from the crowd were enough to make the whole arena tremble. The fateful day had finally arrived, and the Lucerna Guild Academy's combat arena was packed with spectators.

"WOOO!—"

"Get' em!—"

People had come from all over the kingdom. Apparently, the yearly Party Ranking Exam in Lucerna Guild Academy was a big spectacle.

Wow. The crowd sure is into it...

Kamiro, along with Earla and Ayu, spectated the final match before theirs, and the fluttering of butterflies was growing within Kamiro's stomach.

"That concludes the current match." The instructor overseeing the matches spoke up. She was a tall woman with a powerful physique. "Now, party #13 and party #7, please ready yourselves and make your way to the center of the arena."

"T-That's us..." Earla said while Ayu let out an audible gulp.

Once ready, the three walked into the arena. It was a large open area with climbing stone seating surrounding it. The three headmasters sat front and center, overlooking everything from the highest point of the stands.

Kamiro glanced around the crowd and spotted Di Reids, who gave a thumbs-up upon meeting his gaze. This feels like it's gonna be more of a gladiator fight to the death than just another ranking exam. He couldn't tell if the roaring of the crowd was so powerful that it was making his hands shake or if it was something else, but once he saw who his opponents were, he could no longer blame it on the crowd.

"No way..." Earla said. Her and Ayu's face showed the same surprised expression that Kamiro had.

The dueling parties were chosen at random, but as luck would have it, they had to face one of the most popular Adventurer parties that were quickly making a name for themselves. Though still young, each member was already relatively high ranked, and one of the top-ranking students, Emil Vanstaiff, was its leader.

"Really?" Kamiro looked up as if reprimanding God itself. We're up against Emil and his party, The Golden Sun?... Yeah, we have no chance.

When he first arrived at Lucerna Guild Academy, Kamiro had paid no mind to what a grand accomplishment Emil had done by achieving gold rank as a student, but it didn't take long for him to learn what that meant. Usually, the rankings in the academy comprised the lowest three; Copper, Bronze, and Silver, and most of the corresponding year students were of that rank. Being only a second-year student, Emil achieved a gold rank, which almost no one reached until after graduating, and even then, it wasn't a guarantee.

But we have no choice either. It's time to put our training to the test.

Ayu and Earla appeared to have gotten past their initial bewilderment and also looked focused.

"This match will consist of party vs. party combat with the objective being to defeat the opponent. If the party cannot continue the match, or if an instructor must intervene, the other wins. This arena has been enclosed by a special spell to prevent any critical injuries, but nonetheless, be cognizant of the force being applied and aware that injuries are common."

That's reassuring.

"The Golden Sun, are you ready?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"And..." The instructor looked over her notes. "The Rank-less Party, are you ready?"

"Y-yes!"

Some mumbles from the crowd could be heard, questioning Kamiro and his party.

"I think we are making a name for ourselves as well," Ayu said with a naïve looking smile.

"Perhaps... B-But it doesn't seem to be for the right reasons..." Earla said.

The strong-figured woman glared at Kamiro, Earla, and Ayu. "Party #13, there is a recommended minimum of 4 party members. Where is your 4th?"

"Wait. What?" Kamiro quickly turned to Ayu, who instantly averted her eyes. "Earla?" His pleading eyes shifted to her.

"I-I assumed you guys were aware, so I never brought it up..." she said.

Kamiro facepalmed.

"You are allowed to continue, but this will have a direct impact on your results, with points being deducted." The instructor spoke with purpose, showing little emotion. "This would be a 3-man party vs. a 5-man party. Do you wish to proceed?"

Earla and Ayu looked at Kamiro with silent anticipation.

He let out a deep sigh. "Yes, we will proceed..."

Earla smiled, and Ayu followed but quickly hid her expression when Kamiro turned to glare at her.

"Don't think you're off the hook yet, Ayu. We'll talk about this after," he said.

Emil stood watching with his party, an unsure smile on his face.

"Very well then, we will now commence the match. Both parties head towards the end of your corresponding sides." The instructor waved her hand and shouted, "The match has now officially begun."

The stands erupted. Kamiro, Ayu, and Earla looked at one another and nodded in unison. "Let's do this!"

Both parties stood still, no one yet making a move. The drum roll in Kamiro's chest grew stronger with every passing second, but the silly smile his face showed hinted that all the anxiety and nervousness he had inside had morphed into excitement.

A heavy atmosphere filled the arena, so much so that even the crowd's deafening cheers died down.

When Kamiro and the girls first entered the arena, Earla seemed overwhelmed with so many eyes on her, but her attitude changed once the match started.

She was the first to break the silence, only audible to her team. "I am sure you two are aware, we will have to strike first, with everything we have. That's the only chance we have of possibly winning."

Kamiro nodded, along with Ayu.

Earla had the most experience within their newly formed party, and with her comfort around Kamiro and Ayu having grown, her true leadership abilities were in full display.

"I will go over what I know about each of their members as quickly as possible."

Emil and his party observed from the other side, and Earla whispered as to not draw attention.

"You already know of Emil Vanstaiff. He is a balanced combatant and relies heavily on his sword to battle. He also has a high Tennebris affinity, but I have little detail about specific abilities. Needless to say, we must be especially wary of him."

Looks like all those people didn't know just how great Earla really is once she's past her communication issues. Oh, well, their loss is our gain.

"But we must not disregard his party members either; they all are powerful in their own right." Earla inconspicuously pointed out each member as she spoke of them. "Rickon, the biggest in their party, uses a spear and shield, as well as some Terra magic. The blonde girl with her hair in a ponytail is Lily, do not let her cute and petite appearance fool you, she is an expert brawler, and you do not want to be hit by her magic-enhanced combat gloves. Also, what the two lack in pure magic ability, they more than makeup for with their combat proficiency. We must be highly attentive to our spacing when going against them."

Good thing Earla has some knowledge of our opponents; if not, we'd be going in blind...

"As for the last two, they're the opposite. While not highly proficient in physical combat, they are in magic ability. The short-haired brunette is Reina, a mage that mostly uses mid to long-range spells, though I'm unfortunately not familiar with her affinity."

Oh. She's cute too, though I prefer Lily with her ponytail. They've always been a bit of a weakness for me. Kamiro glanced at Reina and Lily from a distance but quickly tried to play it off when he felt Ayu's glare burning into the side of his face.

"—and the frail-looking boy, Castin, is proficient in healing magic abilities..." Earla paused. "I-I apologize, I wish I had more information about them..."

"Thanks, Earla. You gave us plenty," Ayu said.

Kamiro nodded and spun his blades. "So, you said strike fast and hard, right? We're going straight with what we practiced?"

"Correct, and I believe our best strategy is to—" Before he could finish listening to Earla, out of the corner of his eye, Kamiro caught a glimpse of a shadow dashing towards them.

Emil and his group made their move. The shadowy figure of Lily had already gone past the halfway point between both parties, and Rickon, along with Reina, were not far behind.

"He-he, we got bored of waiting," Lily said while she shattered any distance in between.

"Oh, no!" Earla had little time to react with Lily now upon her.

"Too late!"

The sound of metal clanking echoed throughout the arena. Kamiro blinked, and his brain processed the inverted image on his retinas of Earla shielding from the attack. Far too quick to be conscious, no doubt it was an action that wouldn't have been possible for her without countless hours of repeated training; pure muscle memory.

Incredible... Although Kamiro had been training alongside her for some time now, it was thrilling seeing her combat abilities manifest against an opponent.

"Invocabo Glacies: Ice Javelin!" Ayu chanted.

Earla bashed Lily back with her shield, and Ayu's icicle onslaught forced her to retreat and regroup with the other two behind.

"Ice affinity? Interesting..." Reina stood with pride. She wore a large, crimson-colored mage's hat that complimented her well. She looked at Ayu with curiosity in her eyes, then stuck out an arm, and Rickon seized his advance. "I'll handle this. Invocabo Ignis: Fire Ball." A massive ball of fire shot from her staff and consumed Ayu's spell.

"N-No way..." Ayu said. The fireball didn't even flinch from her ice attack.

A growing heat radiated from the fireball hurling directly at them.

"Well, this doesn't look good." Kamiro closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

Suddenly, the ground in front of him shook, as if something heavy had dropped.

"Invocabo Lux: Barrier!" Earla chanted.

Kamiro opened his eyes and saw Earla's strong figure standing in front of him and Ayu, with her shield placed on the ground. All the while, a polygonal-like enclosure of light surrounded the three of them.

"This will hold off any attacks... but not for long."

"Earla, you're the best!" Ayu hugged her from behind, making Earla squirm with reddened cheeks.

"W-Well—" She cleared her throat, and her high-pitched voice returned to normal. "—we still need to come up with a strategy while we can. We didn't count on them making the first move, considering our difference in individual rankings."

"They caught us completely off-guard..." Kamiro said.

"We can't use what we practiced either while we're cornered like this..." Ayu said.

Emil's party didn't stand by and wait. The three in front began attacking the barrier. Emil stood back with an appearance of a true noble, his golden locks undisturbed. He watched on with their healer, Castin, by his side, hidden underneath a black witches' hat, similar to Reinas' but smaller.

The barrier won't hold out much longer...

Rickon's large, rugged body contrasted his righteous looking face. Wearing full adventurer attire, he unleashed devastating blows with his spear, while Lily and Reina followed with their own attacks. It wasn't long before cracks began to form throughout the barrier.

Guess I have no choice...

Kamiro thought back on when they had their last training session with Di Reids. While the three were leaving his office, Di Reids had him stay behind.

"Don't worry, ladies, I won't have him for long. It's just one of those 'man-to-man' talks, if you know what I mean." Di Reids laughed.

I don't think I wanna know what he means.

Ayu and Earla seemed suspicious as they left.

"Well, it's just you and me now, so what's this about?" Kamiro looked at Di Reids, who just stood still, facing the door. His back hid any clues on what he might've been thinking.

"Um, Di Reids?"

He slowly turned around and faced Kamiro, revealing a creepy grin.

"Welp looks like that's my cue. Wait up for me guys, I'm coming!" Kamiro tried to make his escape, but just as he reached the door—

"Kamiro!" Di Reids' stern voice stopped him in his tracks. "I know your secret..." He whispered with the creepy smile still prominent on his face.

My secret? No way...

"He-Ha-Ha, yes... I don't know why you were so intent on hiding it." His usual hearty laughter had turned into a twisted chuckle, making Kamiro cringe. "Your status buffs... you can apply it to others, right? Through... physical contact." Di Reids' face slightly reddened.

"Wait... what?" All the tension in the air suddenly vanished, leaving Kamiro with a glazed expression. Seriously, is that what this is about? "Are you a child?" Kamiro said with deadpanned eyes.

Di Reids seemed to try to shrug off his bashful demeanor by clearing his throat. "S-Sorry about that. But as far as that ability, I know how you might feel about such... things, but for the benefit of the party, I would recommend using it whenever possible."

During his training, Kamiro discovered his Liber magic allowed him to apply status buffs not only on himself but also to others. He developed the spell, "Invocabo Liber: Status Up," which granted an increase to one's overall base stats such as Attack, Defense, Speed, and Vitality. The only downsides being the short time of the effect and the need for direct physical contact to apply it to others.

"I don't mind using it if I have to, but... I can only imagine what the girl's reactions would be if I told them it needs physical contact." Honestly, just a hug should be enough. Earla might get a little shy, but I'm sure she'd be okay with it if we really need to use it. Ayu, on the other hand... yeah, there's no way she'd agree to it.

"I see. Still, it's best to bring up the topic soon, just in case you ever need to use it."

"Yeah, I'll tell them about it... eventually."

...Kamiro stood behind Ayu and Earla. The crackling barrier shook with every blow it received.

Crap. I never did tell them about it... but it's too late now.