**Chapter 60: Rankings**
While the high-ranking wizards deliberated in the secret chamber, the teleportation plaza sprang into action.
Flashes of teleportation light flickered across the vast plaza of Noren Academy.
A tide of wizard apprentices, as if awakening from a nightmare, stumbled onto familiar, safe ground, their faces marked with exhaustion and the ragged relief of survival.
The air no longer carried the scorched, bloody scent of the Limestone Realm, replaced instead by the academy’s distinctive cool tang, faintly imbued with mana.
Above the plaza, a massive light screen unfurled, shimmering with radiant brilliance. It displayed the final evaluation of the trial—the leaderboard of accumulated points.
Every apprentice, no matter how battered or weary, found their gaze irresistibly drawn to the screen.
This was the culmination of their desperate struggle, the embodiment of the glory and rewards they had risked their lives for.
The rankings refreshed rapidly, and the names at the top elicited gasps of awe.
**First Place: Berta Vera Augusta — Points: 23,541**The name sparked little surprise.
The thunderous Augusta, with her overwhelming prowess, had dominated the Limestone Realm, smashing through native ambushes and crushing formidable foes time and again.
Her relentless aggression and destructive power belied her delicate appearance. She dismantled the most traps, slew the most magical beasts, and unsurprisingly amassed the highest number of point tokens.
But the second-place name stirred murmurs of confusion among the apprentices.
**Second Place: Bill Ling Black — Points: 21,965**
The name was unfamiliar to most—not a scion of a prominent family, nor a renowned genius within the academy.
Jie Ming’s brow furrowed as he stared at the name, racking his memory. Then it clicked—the frail-looking apprentice who vanished into obscurity after the talent assessment ceremony.
Others strained to recall, vaguely remembering a figure from the entrance test who had displayed a ninth-level soul purity talent.
But after being taken as a disciple by a wizard, he had faded from view, forgotten by many over the years.
The question lingered: for someone with such talent, how could he have slipped from notice so quickly?
Only now did the apprentices realize they had overlooked a genius in their midst.
Ninth-level soul purity… A glint of understanding flashed in Jie Ming’s eyes.
With such a gift, paired with the right spells, one could achieve unimaginable feats in detection, stealth, and mental manipulation.
His ability to vanish from collective memory spoke volumes about his mastery of soul-based techniques.
Jie Ming had a hunch about how he secured second place—avoiding bloody battles, leveraging his talent to slip past notice, and infiltrating the core of the native coalition.
At the critical moment, he likely swept up the point tokens collected from “fallen” apprentices in the natives’ storehouse.
It was a stark contrast to Augusta’s brute-force approach.
“Facing him on the battlefield would be a real headache…” Jie Ming mused.
…
…
Deep within Noren Academy’s secret chamber.
Oswald, the high-ranking wizard who had played the role of “Priest Oswald” in the Limestone Realm, lounged lazily on a plush sofa.
Half-listening to the other wizards discuss the academy’s future policies, his attention drifted to a light screen before him, mirroring the leaderboard in real time.
When “Bill Ling Black” surged to second place, a smug grin spread across Oswald’s face.
“See that? That’s my student!” he boasted to the other high-ranking wizards in the room. “I told you, soul-based talents have the greatest potential! Silent but stunning!”
The others merely glanced at him, unfazed.
They were used to Oswald’s antics. Besides, while the method was somewhat opportunistic, achieving such results with soul talents was undeniably impressive.
Their focus lay elsewhere—on data like the apprentices’ average survival rate and exposed weaknesses during the trial.
…
…
Back at the teleportation plaza.
The leaderboard continued to scroll, with the lower rankings holding few surprises.
The apprentices who survived the valley battle earned some points through their final pursuits and battlefield cleanup, but their ranks paled in comparison to the leaders.
Jie Ming’s name appeared at thirty-sixth place.
For him, the ranking was expected.
He hadn’t focused on collecting point tokens, instead prioritizing material gathering and “clearing” obstacles in his path.
Landing in the top thirty was sufficient, securing him a spot in the top 10% and a chance to participate in Noren Workshop’s academy-wide assessment.
What surprised him was that Amy and Victor also performed well. Amy ranked thirty-fifth, just above him, and Victor placed forty-eighth, both within the top five hundred.
Jie Ming understood why.
Unlike most, Amy and Victor had avoided the final “native war.”
Unswayed by the natives’ feigned weakness, they relied on their skills to steer clear of the conflict.
During the chaos, their keen instincts and cautious strategies allowed them to scavenge stray point tokens and valuable resources.
Jie Ming approached Amy, standing nearby.
“Congratulations, Amy,” he said warmly.
“Jie Ming!” Amy’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Thanks! Congrats to you too—thirty-sixth is impressive!”
“Still a bit behind you,” Jie Ming replied calmly.
Footsteps approached, and Victor joined them silently.
He stood beside Amy, glancing at Jie Ming with a flickering gaze.
Noticing their attention, Victor hesitated, then offered a seemingly genuine smile. “Congratulations, both of you.”
Jie Ming and Amy exchanged a glance, then smiled back.
Victor rarely warmed to others, so his gesture was notable.
The trial’s brutality, coupled with Jie Ming and Amy’s strong performances, had clearly prompted him to reassess his peers.
Jie Ming raised an eyebrow, sensing Victor’s acknowledgment of their strength—and their potential as allies.
Neither held Victor’s reserved nature against him, as it hadn’t harmed them, so they accepted his congratulations graciously.
“Thanks.”
“Congrats to you too, Victor.”
As the three exchanged pleasantries—or perhaps probed each other—the atmosphere around them shifted subtly.
All three sensed it, looking up to find nearly every returned apprentice in the plaza staring in their direction.