A large crowd formed before the White Building. Practically every student had converged upon the place, intently staring at the wall, wishing to gaze upon the scores of the oldest Batch in their military academy now.

10th November, the year 334 of Dawn Era. It was the day when the scores of the October Batch would be displayed. They still had two more days to accumulate credits, after which their total score wouldn't change. But, as they were part of the October Batch, their scores would be displayed on the 10th of every month.

As this was the October Batch's last month in the military academy, students from the other Batches wished to see their scores to create a goal for them to strive forward.

"What's the time?" Ashten Coorg brushed through the crowd, arriving at a distance that allowed him to gaze at the score with ease.

"Still two minutes left for noon." Esina nudged him, "Why? Do you feel like you'll score first now?"

"I'm not that confident," Ashten let out a wry smile, scratching his cheek as he gazed at the anticipation of the other students, some of which were from the September Batch that had just arrived at the military academy 10 days ago. "How time flies."

"Indeed," Haesha nodded, "I remember witnessing the January Batch's score with Jyorta on the day we arrived at the military academy."

Her eyes twinkled as she looked around, inquiring the other two, "Speaking of Jyorta, have you seen him? I haven't seen him for the past two days."

"He's still in the Labyrinth." Ashten sighed, "Recently, that guy has been exploring continuously without rest. He's abusing the abilities of Regen to develop himself further."

"I'm curious as to how strong he has become now," Esina laughed, slapping the back of Ashten, "He can probably defeat you with ease now."

"Espers cannot defeat Warriors at Tier 1 and Tier 2." Ashten retorted, darting his eyes to the side as he said that. Even he didn't have the confidence of winning against Jyorta. After all, Jyorta didn't rely on his psychic arms to fight.

Noon, without any fanfare, the rankings were displayed. After seeing the score, most, if not all the students were disappointed. The scores weren't to their expectations, nor did any celebration follow suit the scores.

"Well, that was to be expected." Ashten chuckled helplessly, "Laila never returned while Jyorta hasn't been focusing on getting Credits recently. Even if they actively farmed for Credits, exceeding Rakh Veera's score would have been close to impossible. After all, despite their strengths, they are still Espers."

"What you said is the truth," Esina heaved a sigh of disappointment, turning around as she began to leave, "I have something to exchange using my Credits. I'll take my leave now."

"I'll be asking for some pointers from the staff," Haesha bode her farewell, weaving through the disappointed crowd. The October Batch created a fanfare right from their first month in the military academy, breaking the records every month. So, many were expectant of the Batch's results.

"Unfortunately, this is it." Ashten Coorg remained standing, observing the disappointed expressions of the students while hearing their conversations.

"It is unfortunate that Laila left the academy."

"Even then, what the hell is Jyorta Bone doing? They were neck and neck with each other every month. But the moment Laila left the academy, he stopped caring about the Credits?"

"I heard they were childhood friends. Maybe he knows something we don't know and has been negatively affected as a result?"

"I saw him last week during my morning jogging. He looked like a madman while murmuring about stuff I couldn't make out."

'Those two are different from the rest.' Ashten shook his head, hearing the remarks from the students. He recalled their fighting methods when the Frenzy Beasts broke out of the Labyrinth of Frenzy. Both Jyorta and Laila stood out from the rest, they were a cut above the others.

He also recalled their fights outside the military academy and at the expert prowess Jyorta displayed in his aura personifications. And finally, the aura beam he unleashed that severely damaged a group of Frenzy Beasts.

'If I don't wish to be left in the dust by them, I would have to work harder.' Ashten sighed, 'Also, once he graduates, he would receive support from the Bone Family. His growth would accelerate further, same for Laila whose father is a Transformer.'

"I thought Jyorta would score higher," A feminine voice disrupted his thoughts. Ashten Coorg turned around, gazing at a girl who shared a resemblance with him, "Ashray, aren't you supposed to be exploring the labyrinth now?"

"I returned to see the score," Ashray gazed at the ranking displayed on the White Building's wall, "Well, you did well, brother. Though, I'll exceed your score by tomorrow."

"Haha, I'll be rooting for you. Make sure you stay at the top of the November Batch." Ashten patted her shoulder and took one last glance at the rankings, 'This is anticlimactic indeed.'

[October Batch: Dedicated Credit Ranking System]

[Rank 1: Dalna Doppler- 1,68,439 Credits]

[Rank 2: George Eagle- 1,49,567 Credits]

[Rank 3: Haesha- 1,42,321 Credits]

[Rank 4: Esina Hawker- 1,42,308 Credits]

[Rank 5: Ashten Coorg- 1,41, 964 Credits]

[Rank 6: Jyorta Bone- 1,41, 100 Credits]

[Rank 7: Laekha Walta- 1,24,560 Credits]

[Rank 8: Laila-1,14,112 Credits]

"Want me to tell you about the Tier 2 Frenzy Beast I recently killed?" Ashray spoke after seeing his sullen mood, "It was a pretty huge River Whale."

"Another time…" Ashten was just about to refuse when he sighed, relenting after his sister's teary-eyed expression, "Was it strong?"

"It was powerful!" Ashray motioned with her hands, making a series of punching actions, "It could manipulate the water and create many layers around it. No matter how I attacked it, I failed to damage it. And…it was fast. It used its tail to create waves and send me flying every time I tried to jump on it."

"Oh, tell me more," Ashten felt interested after hearing her encounter, "How did you kill it in the end?"

"That, uh…" Ashray chuckled, whispering in his ear, "That's…a secret."

"…"

…

Standing at the entrance of the Red Building, Vaika looked at the score, sighing once, "You should focus on obtaining more Credits, Jyorta Bone. There are a lot of useful things available here."

'Though, I suppose he obtained everything he desired thanks to the unofficial rewards.' She thought, shaking her head as she returned to the nursing ward, noticing two nurses rush about in a hurry.

"How were the scores?" One of the nurses noticed her approach, speaking in a hurry. Despite being busy, she still spared a second to inquire. Otherwise, her curiosity wouldn't be satiated.

"Well, as you can hear, there is no fanfare," Vaika replied, noticing three students be brought on a stretcher by a psychic arm. Without further due, they began operating the injured.

…

Hovering in the air were the three Sky Controllers of the military academy: Madam Mila, Madam Rizenne, and Madam Mary. One of Madam Mary's psychic arms carried Sir Cosmi, the Vice-Principal of the academy, and its sole Transformer.

Cosmi Tumbler shook his head, "I thought Jyorta Bone would do better, considering he was in the lead every month. Many organisations are watching his actions. This doesn't put us in a favourable spot. His score makes it seem like we hindered his growth."

"Whether we hindered his growth or not would be apparent in the Graduation Ceremony." Madam Mary retorted, "If you are that worried about the academy's reputation, look at his exploits in the Labyrinth of Frenzy."

"I can't do that without interrupting him," Cosmi frowned, "I'll take your word for it now. As for Laila, any idea of what happened to her? It is as if she has vanished from Marble City. No matter what channel I used, I couldn't dig up any information on her."

"Unless you are Ancestor Marble himself, you won't be able to know what happened to her." Madam Mary retorted.

'Damn this crazy woman.' Cosmi Tumbler cursed in his mind but dared not show it on his face. All he could do was try to probe through words, "I was hoping they would surprise me like Rakh Veera."

"They are talented indeed," Madam Rizenne spoke, "But Rakh Veera is an exception. He's a genius among geniuses."

"The students look dispirited. This doesn't look good; we have to do something about it." Cosmi Tumbler expressed his worry, gazing at the expressions of the students. It was like what they had been expecting all along had been shattered.

Most of the newer Batches, after joining, had definitely heard about Jyorta and Laila, the dual rankers that broke records every month starting from their first month. And, during their stay, they obtained even more information of their exploits, getting hyped.

Finally, on the day when everything they had listened to was about to be displayed, reality proved otherwise. None of the two even managed to get into the top 5 of the October Batch. It was such a disappointment.

"That's simple." Madam Mary smiled, arriving above the White Building. Psychic energy coursed through the academy as her voice echoed, "The scores on the Dedicated Credit Ranking System aren't absolute. Every student is as strong as their scores dictate. But, that isn't final. Growth is a continuous process, so, as something that had been displayed at noon, every student in the October Batch is now stronger than what their Credits dictate."

"Keep that in mind," Saying her piece, Madam Mary disappeared. Hearing her words, the students weren't as disappointed as before. They were still disappointed, but it wasn't to the extent hindering their daily activities.

"Growth is a continuous process," Many students muttered this sentence like a slogan as they proceeded with their activities of the day.