The Lightning Mage

14 | The QA's Official Ranks

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Everyone huddled together on the couch as they watched Lyn pace around the living room. On the coffee table laid the latest copy of the Quester's Tribune. The front page was empty, except for a sentence plastered all over the page in large, blackletter font: "Quester's Association Official Ranks—Out Today!"

Every year, the QA looks through every commission done by registered guilds, independent teams, and solo questers, and ranks them using a few criteria: the amount and difficulty of commissions completed, the individual skill levels of the members, as well as any recommendations or reviews that were received throughout the year. Dawn Avengers always came out on top, while Disciples of Destiny and Blue Cross of Clerics clinched the second and third ranks, their order switching every other year or so. Meanwhile, everyone else highly contended for the other spots.

A gentle ting rang from the newspaper—the announcement on the front page disappeared, making way for multiple long lists of names. Before anyone could react, Lyn snatched up the paper and scanned through the page.

She gasped. Her lips tugged upwards as she peered at the rest of the team. "No. Fucking. Way."

"What is it?" Millie urged, holding onto Cydney's arm like a koala. "What rank did we get?"

"Guess."

"Top hundred overall?" Raph suggested cautiously.

Lyn winked. "Higher."

Irene threw a finished can of soda towards Lyn. "Just tell us already, damn it!"

Lyn dodged with a tilt of her head. "Second place for best newcomers of the year, third place for independent teams. As for overall ranking..."

She paused for a dramatic effect, and, before Irene could throw another item at her, exclaimed, "Twenty-nine!"

There was a long moment of silence before the room erupted into cheers. Millie pulled the unsuspecting Cydney in for a tight embrace as she squealed in joy, while Irene grabbed Raph by the shoulders and shook him back and forth.

"How... How are we so high up?" Raph asked, his face pale from being swung around too harshly.

"Yeah, we only worked for a year!" Millie said.

Lyn beamed, immense pride filled her heart. "The rankings reset every year, so they consider everyone equally on a yearly basis, and I have to say, we did really good this year. We did a lot of high-level commissions, a couple of high-profile ones, especially our joint commission with the QA. And I also know that Blue Cross put in some really good reviews about Raph from that time."

"Yeah, they've been trying to scout me ever since that quest," Raph muttered. "I'm really not that good, they're overestimating me..."

"Hey, Raph, you know what that's called? Imposter Syndrome," Lyn chided. "Get rid of it! You're really good, and you saved my life from the Witches."

Raph managed a small smile but still shook his head. "It really wasn't what it seems like, the poison wasn't as much as they made it out to be—"

A loud fluttering sound interrupted the man—a huge wave of letters appeared from thin air and fell onto the dining table like a pouring rain of messages.

A smirk tugged at Lyn's lips. "There it is."

"Commission requests?" Millie asked.

"No, interviews. Do you guys want to do it? I did it when I first got into Dawn Avengers. It's pretty fun. They take your photos, ask you questions, and then you get a lot of publicity which will help the team."