**Chapter 121 – After the First Friday**
The sun was already lower when the last matches of the day ended.
The ranking field gradually emptied. Some students left excited, others frustrated. The floating lists still glowed, but now with far less movement. The 1st Year ranking had updated for the last time that day — and, as the teacher had warned, it would stay frozen until the next Friday.
The group gathered away from the platforms, in a quieter area near the trees.
— So that's it — Astrid commented, cracking her neck. — First Friday done.
— And we barely appeared on the real ranking — Rina completed, looking at one of the lists from a distance. — I checked a little while ago. None of us entered the top 100.
— I saw it too — Marina said. — Harley climbed the most, but she still stayed far from it.
Harley was sitting on the ground, propped up on her hands, with a satisfied little smile.
— Obviously. It was just an appetizer. If we had climbed hard now, tomorrow there would already be too many people paying attention.
— Better this way — Joker agreed. — Drawing attention too early only gets in the way.
Astrid crossed her arms.
— So we're really going to stay quiet on the next Fridays?
— Quiet enough — Joker answered. — We can even enter every now and then, but without forcing it. Without appearing on the main ranking.
— In other words, we hold back — Sylvara translated.
— Exactly — Harley said. — Let them fight among themselves for the top. Let Darian think he's the king of the 1st Year. When the month is ending… we climb everything at once.
Rina laughed through her nose.
— It's going to be a good humiliation.
— It's going to be beautiful — Harley confirmed.
Marina looked in the direction where Darian was still talking with a few classmates, expression clearly irritated.
— He didn't like seeing us win so easily today at all.
— I saw his face — Astrid commented. — It looked like he had swallowed a lemon.
— Leave it — Joker said calmly. — The more he feels safe, the better.
Lirien, who until then had only been observing, spoke in a low voice:
— The ranking freezes now, right?
— It freezes — Kuroe confirmed. — It only moves again next Friday.
Elowen, a little closer to the group than in the first days, looked at Kuroe and then at the others.
— And until then… we just do the normal classes?
— Basically — Kuroe answered.
— Without trying to climb for real — Joker completed. — Only on the last Friday.
Elowen stayed silent for a second, processing.
— …Understood.
Harley turned her face toward her and smiled sideways.
— Are you coming along when we climb for real?
Elowen took a little while to answer. Then she simply nodded once, short.
— …If you let me.
— Of course we let you — Marina said lightly. — You already sat at our table. Half the way there.
Astrid gave a little laugh.
— She's right.
The group stayed silent for a moment, just observing the empty field and the lists frozen in the air. The wind swayed the trees. The noise of the academy in the distance had already returned to normal.
— I'm hungry — Rina murmured.
— Tasteless food again — Marina complained, making a face. — I'm already tired of that.
— For now — Harley answered. — At the end of the month we solve that too. Real food, good equipment… whatever we feel like.
— If we're at the top — Sylvara reminded.
— We will be — Joker said simply.
No one contested it.
They started walking back toward the dormitories. There was no hurry. The conversation grew lighter along the way, mixing complaints about the food, comments about the day's fights, and a few silly provocations between them.
The first Friday of the month had ended.
The ranking was frozen.
And the plan was clear for everyone:
Don't climb for real yet.
Don't draw too much attention.
Leave the main ranking quiet.
And wait for the last Friday.
Until then, the academy still thought it knew their level.
It was wrong.
**End of Chapter 121**