<h4>Chapter 1609</h4>


    "This is so unpleasant! I am most unhappy!"


    Charlotte grumbled while eating her sushi with furious vigor.


    "He hasn''t enrolled for 10 days and he''s already one of the Gauntlets, one of the Thirteen Rounds even!"


    "Calm down, Charl..."


    Sigmund chewed on his chicken meat.


    "You''re not actually upset that he got a high rank. You''re just upset because he''s ranked higher than you, right?"


    "Yeah! What about it?!"


    Charlotte shrieked.


    "He passed up a nk answer sheet for his theoretical exam, how is that guy higher than me in ranking?!"


    Charlotte is ranked no.6 in the academy.


    She spent a year upgrading her skills and hitting the books real hard to improve her grades. It is a result of a year''s hard work to get to where she is.


    She just can''t fathom being surpassed in ranking by a flunkee who passed up a nk answer sheet. Said flunkee (Wu Yan) is currently ranked no.4.


    "Yeah..."


    Sigmund continued.


    "But, you do know that the top 100 are chosen ording to a different set of criteria than enrollment, right?"


    Charlotte stayed silent.


    The initial contestant pool is chosen from students'' grades as the primary consideration.


    Basically, the CGPA of the students is calcted and the top 100 students from <i>all four</i> grades of the student body are chosen.


    However, this makes it so that freshmen can stand out more easily than older students since they only need to ace the first 1 or 2 semesters to be in the contestant pool.


    For instance, had Raishin and Wu Yan scored good results in their previous semester, they would have easily made the cut since the previous semester is thest one to be tallied toward the current Walpurgis Night.


    Meanwhile, older students who had their CGPA dragged down by a few semesters of mediocre results risk being disqualified despite theoretically being better students than freshmen.


    Hence, by giving these students the option topete and rece current Gauntlets, these students can still join Walpurgis Night if they have the ability to back it up.


    Walpurgis Night is about choosing the strongest Puppeteer among the students. If grades were the primary determinant throughout the selection process then it would favor freshmen too much.


    Thus, there is another pool of students among them. This second pool of students consists of the top 49 rankers.


    These people are selected for their skills andpetency in using dolls.


    The 50th and below are all determined using grades.


    As such, these 49 students are usually so powerful their names are known inside and outside the academy.


    Charlotte''s journey into the top 13 Rounds proved her hard work and diligence as well as herpetency.


    The Top 13, this title isn''t just for show. These are students with monstrous talents a cut above even the top 49 rankers.


    Raishin is a transfer student, he is a year 2 student just like Charlotte. Meanwhile, Wu Yan who has never touched Puppeteering courses in his life before, enrolled as a freshman.


    Technically, Charlotte and Raishin are his seniors.


    "Wu Yan fought Magnus on even grounds, he also soundly defeated Felix. I feel like even no.4 isn''t doing him any justice."


    Sigmund looked at Charlotte.


    "Plus, he''s your good friend, shouldn''t you be happy that your friend is in the top 5?"


    "F-Friend..."


    Charlotte was taken slightly aback.


    "I-I also want to congratte him but..."


    Gauntlet holders are all her enemies.


    Charlotte thought about Felix and his remark.


    She is too naive for her own good.


    Can she still treat Wu Yan like a friend since they might very well turn into enemies at the Walpurgis Nightpetition?


    She already swore to take down everyone in her way, right?


    To be Satan, she even stayed away from students who might join thepetition. She lowered her guard against Wu Yan because he said he wasn''t joining the Walpurgis Night.


    He is a very formidable opponent should he choose to be a participant.


    Not just that, he knew her moves because they sparred often. He knows Sigmund''s magic, her fighting style. Even ignoring that, he is someone who could go toe to toe with Magnus.


    Charlotte has to admit it, she stood no chance in a straightforward fight.


    Charlotte can''t afford to be called naive again.


    "Charl..."


    Sigmund can sense his mistress'' concerns.


    "Wu Yan is a trustworthy man."


    "Trust?"


    Charlotte snickered.


    "I''ve already been stabbed in the back once."


    Sigmund continued.


    "I think you already know Felix is a backstabber."


    Charlotte stayed silent.


    "I think you already know that guy was just putting on airs. You liked his fa?ade but you chose to ignore his hidden true self."


    Sigmund brought out Charlotte''s insecurities.


    "You might not have consciously thought about it but I think you subconsciously knew that Felix guy was someone who approached you with ulterior motives."


    "I mean, you agonized over your decision and chose to believe the guy you just met instead of the one you had a crush on."


    Sigmund sighed.


    "If you chose to trust him then, I see no reason why you shouldn''t just stay the course and trust him to the very end."


    Charlotte couldn''t say anything.