Revenge pact

In a bright room with a grand crescent table in its center sat seven adults dressed in large red cloaks.

"So who do you think should take the top spot for the Rising Star spot?" An old man seated in the center of the round table spoke up as he stroked his beard.

"I personally think Lutz van Alexia is the obvious option, he demonstrated a mastery of aura none of the others managed to replicate and his physical strength is off the charts." A middle-aged lady with pink eyes was the first to speak, every word she spoke carried an allure to it.

"Hahaha, you're all joking right... The 'light prodigy' is the obvious option, she is one of the only two in this year who was blessed... And she was blessed by a lesser god nonetheless." A chubby old man with brown eyes and brown hair spoke up.

"I agree... her compatibility with magic is simply unheard of."

"I disagree, Luna Triksta may be inferior to Lutz in aura use and the Light Prodigy in magic, but her use of both is unmatched among all the first years."

"Don't you think we're forgetting someone very important?" A middle-aged woman with olive skin, brown eyes, and long brown hair decided to voice her opinion after listening for a while.

"I hope you don't mean that commoner do you?" A pale old man with a short grey beard snarled as he glared at the lady.

"His social status has nothing to do with his achievements... He demonstrated 10th-tier high-rank physical strength and he didn't even use aura at all throughout the whole test. Tarzy Goliath deserves to be number one."

The chubby old man's jaw dropped upon hearing the lady say this. "I can't believe you're endorsing a man, I never thought I'd see the day."

***

The Academy Elders argued and discussed for what felt like forever trying to figure out the Rising Star rankings until they came up with a dissection.

"Taking into account everyone's votes, we have decided this is the Rising Star Ranking:" The old man who had announced the meeting spoke as he continued to stroke his beard. His expression was completely neutral and seemed to lack any emotion.

"But sir, you haven't named your nominee. Your vote counts the most after all"

"There's no need..." He said dismissively

Abruptly, the door to the council room swung open, revealing the entrance of a tall, weary-looking young man. His burgundy hair framed his face, beneath which rested dark bags under his crimson eyes. With an air of nonchalance, he strolled into the room.

-Yawn- "The discussion already over? Bummer..." The man sighed.

A middle-aged lady with straight black hair and rose-red lips scrunched her eyebrows as she watched the youth casually stroll into the formal meeting.

"Vice Commander Mars! You're three hours late!"

"Shut up Granny! Lemme see the list." The young councilman walked towards the piece of paper with the names and sighed.

"Who're you calling ol-" The middle-aged woman was about to retaliate when she was stopped by the head councilman who for some reason is always stroking his beard.

"So what do you think Young One?" The old man chuckled slightly before asking the youngest councilman for his opinion.

Vice Commander Mars frowned upon reading the list.

"Why isn't he higher?" Mars looked at the head councilman.

"See, I told you John should've been way higher " A councilman wasn't shy to voice her unhappiness.

Ignoring the words of the unhappy councilwoman, the head looked at Vice Commander Mars.

"Who?"

"This Vindicta kid... He's clearly the strongest here." Mars threw the list back onto the table as if it disgusted him.

The head's plain expression changed for the first time since the meeting started, turning into a slight grin.

"That's preposterous... Sure his physical strength was pretty impressive, but it still perils in comparison to Tarzy's, he didn't demonstrate any aura nor magic and most importantly he didn't even defeat the boss." The chubby old man's face turned red as he spat out his argument.

"No, let him speak... What makes you say this Adonis kid is in the top five?" The lady with long brown hair looked at the Duke with eyes full of curiosity.

"Simple really... He held back, but since voting's over there's nothing we can do about it." Mars shrugged as if he no longer cared about the matter, realizing it was out of his hands.

The Head councilman chuckled causing everyone except for Mars to snap their heads in his direction.

"Hahaha...I get what you mean grandson... but please elaborate for your peers."

-Sigh- "Well he was the only contestant that killed zero goblins but he also managed to defeat every single one of them... In battle, you must be considerably stronger than your opponent to be able to spare their life. That becomes even more impressive when we consider at one point he was fighting over forty goblins at the same time. We should also consider the fact that this kid didn't use any weapons in this whole ordeal while still blitzing them. And to top it all off he is the only contestant who didn't receive a single blow."

"This is just my vague estimation, but I think we didn't even see half of what that kid is capable of."

***

Adonis was still in hall Jupiter with the rest of those nominated to be Rising Stars.

{Oizys.}

'Lord Eos?'

{What's a Rising Star?}

'It's nice for you to be the one asking questions for a change.' The boy smiled.

'The Rising Stars list is a list of the top ten students each year. Each semester it is reevaluated, in the Magic Knights academy it is one of the biggest signs of prestige.'

{Seems like the only sensible system you mortals have.}

***

2 hours later.

They were all patiently waiting for the rankings to be announced. Well everyone but one person was waiting patiently.

[Newly admitted students, thank you for waiting. We are now proud to announce this year's first-year R.S Rankings]

"ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME!" A young man the same age as Adonis screamed loudly in celebration.

{See, he gets it. what the hell were they discussing in there? Pineapple belonging on pizza?}

'What's pizza?'

{You people of this world wouldn't know... for that, I give you my pity.}

Adonis was still in hall Jupiter with the rest of the Rising Stars, they were all patiently waiting for the rankings to be announced.

#1. Tarzy Goliath

#2. Luna Triksta

#3. Amber Shine (The Light Prodigy) *

#4. Lutz van Alexia

#5. Jerald Cecil

#6. Marie Jupiter *

#7. Adonis P. Vindicta

#8. Maxwell Aster

#9. John van Ani

#10. Wendy Carter

* =Blessed by a deity

"Seventh huh? So these nobles are that strong?" Adonis shrugged as he saw the list that was projected onto the white wall using magic.

{There are six other mortals your age stronger than you? Do better.} The Devil God said disappointedly.

"..." Amber, renowned as a famous PTC, stood among the gathering.

She was a petite, visually appealing young woman, her platinum hair cascading gracefully. Golden eyes adorned her face, set against her bronze skin. Draped in a flowing white cloak and donning a matching veil, she observed the names before her without any discernible emotion.

"I'm only fourth?" Lutz, a tall and handsome youth with a cascade of golden hair and vibrant cyan eyes, spoke up. His tone carried a touch of arrogance as he posed his question.

"The princess is fifth? Those from fifth and above should be absolute beasts!" Maxwell Aster shouted in an excited voice.

***

Those in the Rising Star rankings were assigned to class A, a class of thirty-three of the top students in the year.

Adonis and the other rising stars went outside into the courtyard to do the mandatory mana pool quantity test.

The courtyard matched the academy's opulence, boasting a grandeur befitting its surroundings.

A sizable fountain occupied its centre, flanked by numerous statues depicting legendary magic knight heroes. Adjacent to the fountain stood a prominent brass stand supporting a large, transparent magic ball.

This magic tool served as a means of evaluating mana depth.

All the new recruits lined up in class to have their mana depths evaluated. Although most people knew their mana depth, it didn't hurt to test the students and it also gave the teachers reliable intel on them.

#1. Tarzy Goliath 60

#2. Luna Triksta 63

#3. Amber Shine * PTC 91

#4. Lutz Van Alexia 67

#5. Jerald Cecil 65

#6. Marie Jupiter * 76

#7. Adonis Vindicta 67

#8. Maxwell Aster 50

#9. John van Ani 53

#10. Wendy Carter 62

Extra Information:

(Mana depth is defined as the quantity of one's mana pool, so how much mana they are able to access.

20 is the average mana depth for a mundane human, 35 is the average for a magic knight or mage and 50 is considered prodigious. The mana depth system isn't linear and the difference between 25 and 26 isn't the same as 34 and 35.

The gap between mana depths begins to become even greater after 50.

The pinnacle of recorded mana depth in history belongs to the renowned PTC, Amber Shine. Achieved at the tender age of three, her remarkable score of 82 remains unmatched. Notably, she stands as the sole mortal to have attained a score exceeding 75 without the aid of a blessing.

After she got blessed by a deity at age seven she then again broke a record by becoming the only individual to cross a mana depth of above 90.

Mana depth doesn't change unless someone becomes blessed or cursed by a deity.)