Chapter 103
Chapter 103: End-of-Month Evaluation (2)
Yuri let out a hollow laugh.
His gaze rarely left Johan’s score.
“That crazy old man…”
It was now certain that Johan’s eccentricity hadn’t come with age.
“That old man was like that from the very beginning.”
Looking at Johan’s achievements, Yuri could only think this way.
1st place / 2nd Generation / Johan Redner / 60 cumulative first places / 999,999,999
An amount just one point short of a billion.
Seeing this, Yuri was sure.
“That perverted old man… he must have had more points than that.”
But he purposely made it that way to match the nine digits of “9.”
Yuri would bet his entire fortune on that fact.
“Nine hundred million… no, a billion.”
It was indeed an absurd number.
The second place right below Johan had around 300 million points.
Of course, 300 million was a lot, but the gap with Johan was enormous.
“This is just overwhelming.”
Yuri tried to imagine what a billion points would be like.
But it was hard to picture how one could accumulate that many points.
Sure, if one monopolized everything, like in this Forest of Animals event, they might eventually gather a billion points, but…
“Isn’t that with ten billion points left after spending?”
Could one still amass a billion points while spending at places like special sales shops?
A billion was such a distant score that it felt almost ridiculous to even think about.
“I’m sure the Cradle Johan attended is different in many ways from the current one.”
A full 48 years had passed.
There were things that existed during Johan’s time that were no longer around, and new things might have emerged in their place.
This meant that the difficulty of collecting points had likely changed somewhat compared to 48 years ago.
Yet, the fact that Johan had held the top spot for decades since his graduation was proof that this record was no ordinary feat.
Realizing this, Yuri felt a strange annoyance rise within him.
“This… it’s starting to feel like a challenge.”
It seemed almost unreasonable for that old man to confidently hold the number one spot in the Hall of Fame.
“If I graduate from the Cradle as it is now…”
He would become the old man’s junior.
But what if he didn’t end up in first place?
He could already picture what Johan would do when they met outside later.
“[Hmph? What rank are you? Tsk, if you want to converse with this first-place master, get on your knees and crawl over here, you worthless thing.]”
It was obvious.
That old man would mock him like that until the day he died.
It would be a calamity of great proportions.
Yuri’s eyes flared with determination.
“No way… I’d rather die with a sword in my mouth than let that happen!”
So, there was only one way.
“I have to drag that old man down.”
He planned to dethrone the old man and take the top spot himself.
And then, after graduation, he would mock the old man in return.
“Definitely!”
In that moment, a new, albeit small, but significant goal was added to Yuri’s list.
Eyeing the number one spot in the Hall of Fame, Yuri clenched his fist tightly.
“First, I need to achieve sixty cumulative first-place ranks.”
In the Hall of Fame, there was no one within the top ten who hadn’t reached sixty cumulative first-place ranks.
This meant that they had never missed a first place from the moment they entered the Cradle until they left.
So, for Yuri to pull Johan down, he had to start by taking first place in this month’s evaluation.
And thus, Yuri’s pondering began again.
“Hmm… so how many points should I bet?”
How many points would Arin and Poppy register?
How many points did he need to register to ensure that he would at least take first place?
Yuri stood there, contemplating for nearly an hour.
“Alright.”
Finally, he made his decision and headed to the place where points were registered.
His eyes were filled with certainty.
That night.
Yuri, having finished registering his points for the monthly evaluation, returned to his quarters after his usual routine of training and eating.
While resting, he happened to glance at his reflection in a bowl of water.
His hair had grown to the point it could almost be called shoulder-length.
His bangs were long enough to almost cover his eyes, revealing only the tip of his nose and his jawline.
It was a sight he would have usually ignored without much thought.
But suddenly, Yuri had a realization.
“I’ve been wandering around looking like this?”
He had been so busy that he hadn’t even had time to groom himself.
No, up until now, he hadn’t felt any particular need to do so.
But today, something felt different.
“By tomorrow, my name will be known among the 50th generation.”
Yuri was sure he would claim the first place.
If that happened, by tomorrow, the entire 50th generation would know who he was.
“Of course, I don’t need to look good for them.”
What Yuri cared about was the “first impression” that they would remember.
As time passed, those who knew his name would spread across the world.
Because of them, the name “Yuri Holland” would also become widely known.
Thus, tomorrow might be the first moment the name “Yuri Holland” became known to the world.
“I can’t appear at such an occasion looking like this.”
Having made up his mind, Yuri picked up his sword.
Slowly, the blade approached his face.
Snip, snip-
With each movement of the white sword, black hair fell to the floor in clumps.
January 31st, morning.
The end-of-month evaluation was a mandatory monthly event for all cadets in the Cradle, not just the 50th generation.
For some, it was even considered execution day.
Of course, this only applied to those lingering in the lower ranks.
People like Theresia, who were in the upper ranks, had nothing to worry about.
“So, today’s the end-of-month evaluation.”
Thinking this, Theresia’s face looked perfectly calm as she woke up.
Some might think it was the composure of the 49th-generation chief.
But in reality, Theresia had no particular interest in her status as chief.
Her only focus was on improving her own abilities.
She had worked hard for that, and by chance, she had ended up in the chief’s position.
For Theresia, the end-of-month evaluation in a few hours was less important than her morning training.
So, she picked up her spear as soon as she got up and headed straight to the training ground.
To enjoy the luxury of swinging her spear in an empty training ground.
But…
Whoosh- whoosh-
Today, someone had arrived before her.
A black-haired boy was standing with his back to the entrance, swinging his sword.
“You’re out early today.”
There was only one person who would use the training grounds before her at this hour.
So Theresia greeted him casually.
“You’re out ea—”
Or at least, she tried to.
Had she not seen the face of the person who turned toward her.
“…?!”
Startled, Theresia instantly raised her spear and aimed it at the person.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?!”
The boy responded to Theresia’s threatening words as if he found it ridiculous.
“Did you eat something wrong? What kind of nonsense is this, so early in the morning, Senior Teshia?”
His tone was sharp and insolent.
It was a voice Theresia knew all too well.
She tilted her head slightly.
“You…?”
“Still half-asleep? Go wash your face or, if you want to wake up, how about a quick sparring session?”
“Huh…?”
“Oh, great! I’m feeling generous today! I’ll give you a special discount and charge you half price!”
The boy hadn’t answered her question of who he was.
But his words were enough to make Theresia realize who he was.
A small sound escaped her lips as she stared blankly at his face.
“Yuri… Holland?”
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
A completely stunned tone.
Thud—
The spear in Theresia’s hand slipped out and rolled helplessly to the floor.
11:50 PM.
Chatter, chatter—
Ahead of the end-of-month evaluation, the 50th-generation cadets gathered at the central notice board by the north gate.
They grouped together in small clusters, chattering about this month’s evaluation.
“How many points did you register?”
“Aren’t we not supposed to talk about that?”
“That was only until yesterday. We can talk about it today. Besides, it’ll be announced soon anyway.”
“That’s true. So, how many did you register?”
“Not much. I barely had enough points to get food….”
“Same here, actually.”
“So, how much?”
“Well….”
They talked about how many points they registered and asked each other for their numbers.
And then.
“What’s considered lower ranks, anyway?”
“I guess it’s around the bottom 10%? But has anyone heard what the penalty is?”
“Probably a fine?”
“Or maybe, solitary confinement? Whenever I caused trouble, my father used to put me in solitary.”
“Really? Did your parents make you stand and face the wall in solitary too?”
“Your parents too? I guess all parents are pretty much the same.”
“By the way, who do you think will be in first place?”
“Of course, it’ll be that Bovi… whatever his name is.”
“Right, with those points, it’s impossible not to take first.”
They talked freely about who might be first and what the penalty might be.
Most of the 50th-generation cadets didn’t seem particularly nervous, despite it being their first end-of-month evaluation.
This was the difference between the existing cadets and the new ones.
The new cadets treated the end-of-month evaluation like just another test score announcement.
It was their long-standing habit.
That’s how it had been in their families.
They thought that if their grades dropped, they could just do better next time.
They had no idea of the storm that was about to come.
And so, time passed.
11:55 AM.
Just a few minutes before the announcement of the results.
Arin, perched on Poppy’s shoulders, looked around.
Poppy, carrying Arin piggyback, asked.
“Are you hungry?”
“Can you see? No, I can’t see. Do you think he ran away?”
They had been looking for someone for a while.
But the person they were searching for hadn’t shown up yet.
There were less than five minutes left before the results would be posted.
Naturally, they started to wonder, “Could Yuri have run away?”
At that very moment.
“Who are you looking for?”
A small voice came from nearby.
Poppy glanced down.
He took a quick look at the face of the person who had appeared beside him and then turned his head back up.
It was a reaction one has when a stranger speaks to them.
Meanwhile, Arin, who was 2.3 meters up, responded absentmindedly, still focused on finding Yuri.
“Yeah, someone who might have scammed and run away.”
“I’m hungry.”
Arin kept scanning her surroundings, while Poppy nodded.
Then, the voice came again.
“Are you talking about me when you say scammer?”
Only then did Arin realize that the voice she heard so close by was very familiar.
“Huh?”
Her gaze shifted downward.
“What?!”
At the same time, Arin’s eyes widened like saucers.
