At Velcrest Academy, the first round of the ranking matches wasn't exactly a headline event.
I mean, sure—it mattered. No one wanted to lose. But compared to the all-out war zone that was the end-of-semester rankings or the second semester's big events, it definitely felt like a warm-up.
Still, since it was our very first official event as freshmen, the buzz was unavoidable.
The tension in the air wasn't just from inside the academy either. People from the outside were paying attention too.
And the reason was obvious.
Ryen and Leo.
The top two rankers of Velcrest Academy's current batch.
People were hungry to get a glimpse of their power. Recruiters, sponsors, talent scouts—no one wanted to wait until the semester-end matches or the academy's sports festival, which were open to the public. That would be too late. If they wanted a shot at grabbing the next big star, they had to act now.
But before all that, I had two problems.
Well—technically, I had one problem in a dress.
