Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 135: Senior Ranking Matches

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Days passed and Cedric continued with his routine. He's steadily gaining strength, focusing on training, and taking advantage of his talents.

However today, there is a special occasion...

"Cedric! Over here!"

Glancing in the direction of the voice, Cedric smiled when he saw Erica and Chrissy waving at him before making his way towards them.

"Hey, girls. How are you?" He asked before sitting between them.

"Just dandy, Handsome. How about you?" Chrissy replied and Erica seemed to feel the same.

"Not so bad. A little bit bored these past few days but not that terrible." He said as he made himself comfortable.

"Well, it's a good thing you showed up then. Things are bound to get really exciting once it starts." Erica chuckled as she leaned slightly towards him.

"Oh? I look forward to it then."

Despite having a facemask, Erica and Chrissy could tell that he was smiling fondly at them, which made them feel a little flustered. After all, they've seen his face before and almost already memorized it. That doesn't mean they're used to it though since Cedric's really charming.

"Good to know that neither of you is feeling nervous about this event. Here I thought you'd need a shoulder to lean on." Cedric playfully teased, causing them to laugh.

"Oh my, I'm suddenly feeling nervous then. What shall I do?"

As usual, Chrissy wasn't one to back down when it came to flirting. It's in her nature as Cedric learned. Shaking his head fondly, he obviously didn't mind this side of her.

"Anyway, do you two plan on climbing the ranks this time?" He asked.

"...that has always been the plan. Sadly, the gap between us and those guys only widened ever since. At this point, I'm just happy that we could still keep our positions." Erica grumbled.

"They've been granted a lot of resources. They're also really ambitious and trained hard. It'd be nice if we could defeat them and rise through the rankings but I'm also okay if I could keep my current position." Chrissy stated, agreeing with Erica's words.

Cedric nodded at this. Even with his limited experience in this academy, he could imagine the truth behind their words.

For context's sake; today, the girls invited him to watch their Ranking Matches - the same one that his batch went through a couple of days ago. The difference is that, this one is for Senior Students like the girls, so the risks and rewards are much higher.

"Oy! Erica, Chrissy! It's been a whi--"

His musings were interrupted by a sudden voice calling out to the girls beside him. It came from a guy who had short black hair and a pale skin tone. What made a lasting impression on Cedric was the obscene amount of piercings he had.

"Oh! Well hello there, Mr. Neighbor!" The man greeted him in a teasing manner while looking at the girls. "I didn't know that you already tamed our tom-- urk!"

With a speed that could almost give him a run for his money, Erica somehow closed the distance between her and the new arrival, planting her fist solidly at his guts, causing him to collapse on the ground.

"Y-you know...doing that doesn't...help with your...nickname!" The man gasped in between his words, smiling despite the pain.

"Shut up, Francis! I could do much worse if you don't behave!" Erica sneered as she plopped back beside Cedric.

'Ah, I remember him now! He's one of the people I saw back in her house. I'm guessing that he's their teammate.' Cedric recalled after looking at the guy's face.

"You really don't learn, do you?" Chrissy regarded Francis with an exasperated look. "With how many times that happened to you, one would think that you'd stop and learn your lesson, but no...at this point I'm thinking that you like getting hurt cause why else would you keep doing this."

"H-haha...hey now! Stop kink-shaming me..."

"Ew..." Erica grimaced at her seat.

Ignoring her remarks, Francis stood up and said: "Hey man, I hope you don't mind. I'm our team's resident clown, please don't take anything I say seriously unless I say so. Right, my name's Francis. Nice to meet you!"

"Cedric. Likewise." He grinned and accepted the handshake.

"Ooh! What strong arms you got, you have large fingers too. No wonder you can make these two very happy and satisfied." Francis winked at the girls.

"Oh my god, shut the fuck up!" Erica snarled.

"Hahahahaha!" Both Francis and Cedric laughed at this. Erica glared at the former while pouting at the latter.

"Why are you even here? Last time I checked, you said you don't like participating in these types of events because it's troublesome?" Chrissy asked with a raised brow.

"Oh, that's simple! I'm here to bless you with my presence, what else?" Francis lifted his chin and looked really proud of his declaration."

"..."

He was met with bland looks and silence though.

"Tch. Killjoy." He snorted before sitting on the row of chairs beneath them. "I'm bored, that's all. Captain suggested I come to watch so I'm here."

"Just say you were rejected by your flings and move on." Erica jabbed at him.

"I did not!" Francis exclaimed in a scandalized manner.

"Did to!"

'Did not!"

"You totally did! Admit it!"

"Alright, that's enough you two." Chrissy interjected before the two started killing each other.

"Me? Rejected? How naive!" Francis snorted right before deflating in his seat. "They just have other things to do."

"So you did get rejected." Erica sneered, gloating at his fate.

"I said I didn't!"

"Kids, kids..."

Another voice interrupted them, this time it wasn't Chrissy or Cedric. It came from a rather burly man with a bald head walking towards them, flanked by the rest of their team as Cedric guessed.

"Cap! Still bald, I see." Erica greeted before giving the man a brief hug.

"Hmph, mean brat!" The bald man snorted lightheartedly as he returned the hug. His eyes then landed on Cedric and said: "Nice to meet you, man. Name's Elric, Captain of this team. Behind me is Darwin and Floyd."

"Cedric. Nice to meet you all." He replied as he accepted the handshake.

Their handshake was firm and tight. Cedric felt the Captain exerting more force into it despite its briefness but it didn't hurt him. Of course, Cedric responded in kind to this, tightening his grip as well.

"Good grip, Young'un! As expected of the Freshman Anomaly." The Captain grinned before letting go.

"That what now?" Cedric softly asked.

"You heard him." Darwin replied after their handshake. "That's what they're calling you nowadays. You did break the tradition after all."

"Tradition...you mean what happened at the welcoming party?"

"That's the one, though not just that." Floyd winked at him after exchanging a handshake.

"Being 1st in the Freshman ranking brought a lot of attention to you. Don't expect your skills to remain a secret here." Elric grinned as he sat beside Francis. The rest of the team also sat in the same row of seats.

"...I see." Cedric nodded.

Well, it's not like he wasn't expecting this to happen. He knew that he had gained a lot of attention because of his skills and talent, he just didn't bother paying attention to the looks he was receiving.

'Still...this team's quite balanced, huh?' Cedric judged based on what he saw so far.

Elric should be at Tier 9 at the very least. Even though he's keeping his strength contained, it could not fool Cedric's senses.

'Come to think of it, this is the first time I met a genuine Tier 9 up close. The previous ones I only saw through TV or online broadcasts.' Cedric mused to him.

Because of Elric's physique and strength, he should be the frontline of this group. He's even more convinced after seeing the numerous scars he's hiding underneath his clothes.

Floyd should be one of the ranged damage dealers, it's kind of obvious since he had a bow slung behind him. Darwin should be their mage due to the abundant mana he sensed in him.

Francis should be a scout. Despite calling himself the team's clown, Cedric could tell that the guy was subtly paying attention to his surroundings. His legs are also more toned than the rest of his physique.

As for Chrissy, she should also be a mage but one that deals exotic damage. He heard that they call her the 'Venomous Mistress' for some reason. That might have something to do with it but Cedric's not sure since he never asked for fear of overstepping his boundaries. He's waiting for her to tell him instead.

The same goes for Erica. However, they call her the 'Violent Saint'. The 'Violent' part, he could somehow understand because of her rather brash personality. As for the 'Saint' part, well she should be the support of the group...the White Mage per se.

This team is one of the Outer World Exploration Teams (OWET), as learned in the past, and he could tell that they've been together for a long time because of their tight-knit relationship. Each person in this team was talented in their own right.

'And this is just this team alone...this doesn't include the rest of the Senior Student body. Truly, this academy is the hub of geniuses.'