Reincarnated in the game world ~ A gamer's beginning to [Dungeon job hunting recommendation]

The buzzer echoed, signifying the end of the match. 

Mert crossed his arm in contemplation over the unexpected twist, and eventually nodded in comprehension.

"Ah, so that's how it is, huh."

Reglam, too, nodded in comprehension.

"Seeing as the match drew closer to ending, they must have concluded this was enough consideration for the other classes."

While everyone thought Class-1 would not take anymore action, their sword suddenly descended on the Class-18, bringing a conclusion to the match. 

It was a surprising outcome for the Mert and Reglam, having believed the last struggle to be lit between Class-10 and Class-18. But looking back at the situation, they understood why Class-1 followed with their action.

After all, after the initial round up, Class-1 had gone out of the loop to give room for other classes to showcase their abilities. Meanwhile, the clash between Class-10, Class-18, and Class-6 had lasted for nearly 30 minutes. That had been more than sufficient—it was, sufficient... right? Should be...yeah—time for them to display their performance. 

"Moreover, Zephyr wouldn't have let it happen either way."

"You're probably right. Whoever won in the end amidst their conflict could have displaced Class-1 from top with their points. Zephyr certainly wouldn't let it happen."

As the two reminisce, image of Zephyr surfaced in the back of their mind. They recalled his glittering eyes as he spoke of his excitement for the Inter-Class battle. 

—To enjoy the greatest thrill, taking the top is definitely the way to go! 

With what they know about Zephyr, this was something he would certainly say. Reglam hadn't been in the guild for that long, yet he, too, believed that was very Zephyr-ish. 

"Class-6 must have sent a request to Class-1 after being caught in the vice of two classes, and I am betting my money that Zephyr already had it down." 

"For sure."

Mert said, figuring out the details of the match in the second half. 

Class-6 had certainly dispatched a messenger to Class-1, asking for rescue. 

In a normal scenario, the recipient class would have turned a blind eye to the case when they'd the game in their base. It would only open a gap in their armor to allow their enemies to take advantage of. But well, Zephyr was someone who was certainly not being known for his conventional decisions. 

Class-1 saw this as their chance and swiftly set out. Mert and Reglam could already imagine Zephyr's face full of smiles. 

And so, they brought down the base of Class-18 in an abrupt raid. As for why Class-18? Their guess was the distance. Class-18 was quite close to the Class-1 base, compared to distance from Class-10's base. 

They probably thought Class-6 should be able to figure out the situation as long as the opponent loses their ally. Alas, Class-6 had been long cornered, and in the end, they couldn't make it out in time. 

Eventually, though Class-1 themselves shouldn't have expected the situation to take such a turn, the cumulative point of three classes—the points Class-6 had harvested from tackling Class-4 base, then Class-18 reaping the benefit of these points, and ultimately the elimination of Class-18's base itself—turned to Class-1. 

Overall, their points surpassed the threshold of 2400. —Incidentally, Class-1 had smashed the previous record to win with the highest possible score in their first match. In their second match, they broke their own record for the second time. It had been a highlight of the match broadcast. 

Meanwhile, Class-10 had been left with 95 points which came from defeating guardian monsters after cornering Class-6 for 30 minutes.

Had Class-1 not made their move, the accumulated points of Class-10 could have surpassed the mark of 1000, dethroning Class-1 from No.1 rank. But both of them knew that would never fly under Zephyr's watch.

"Well, this ends the 17th block match either way. Next is the 18th block."

"And that's our call to move. Though there are still three hours before the appointed time, what's your plan until then, Mert?"

"I guess, I will check out on the 18th block that's going to be playing out in the 7th arena. I am quite curious about Rina's strategy too. Plus we can gather intel on other classes."

"Sounds right. We might face them in the final after all."

Confirming their schedule, Mert, Reglam, Noel, and Lacritta decided on their next course of action before their imminent match. 

On the way, they struck chit-chat with Eden's members they happened to meet, and then moved to 7th arena. 

To put down the details, the semi-final matches for the first-years were split into phases.

—In the morning, the 6th arena was reserved for the 17th block match, while the 7th arena was reserved for the 19th block match.

—In the afternoon, the 8th arena was reserved for the 18th block, while the 7th arena was reserved for the 10th block. 

And soon, as the orange glow of evening covered the sky, all the semi-final matches had come to pass, and the eight finalists were pinned down. The list of qualifiers were as follow:

From 17th block—Class 1 (1st Rank) & Class 10 (2nd Rank)

From 18th block—Class 8 (1st Rank) & Class 9 (2nd Rank)

From 19th block—Class 51 (1st Rank) & Class 12 (2nd Rank)

From 20th block—Class 5 (1st Rank) & Class 3 (2nd Rank)

◇　◇　◇n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was the afternoon of Thursday. I—rather, it was pretty much the whole audience—stared at the giant screen on 8th arena that reflected the final qualifier block. 

The murmur broke out. Occasionally there were some loud voices, in other cases it was a whimper of happiness that engulfed the audienced stand. Everyone looked just as excited as I was. 

Even the host duo had been giving off an excited commentary at the top of their lungs. Personally, I was surprised at how long they could speak non-stop. That said, I very well understood the excitement brewing inside them.

"Man, it's great that Mert and Rina's team has qualified. Final is definitely going to rock, haha!"

As I said in a keen reflection, or rather, with a grin, Sierra gave me side-glance.

"You really do take things in stride huh."

"Of course! What else are these festiva—*cough*, I mean Inter-class matches if not to have fun!"

After all, it was no different than festive time for me. A hot-blooded match of wit and brawn clashing in a classic royal battle style! What's not there to like? 

"I certainly enjoyed the semi-finals. What about you, you felt that too?"

"It's just you...Zephyr. I would have said it, but I also had fun, I guess."

"I know, right?"

Sitting on the opposite seat of Sierra, Lana quipped in response. I replied back with another laugh.

Meanwhile, we heard some frolicking voices from behind.

"Sure enough, Class-8 won with 1st rank."

"Yeah. They did have Ely and Rita in their class after all."

"There are also Mert and Reglam. I was sure they're gonna ace their match."

It was the Harmonic Trio sitting behind us. 

I looked at Sierra with "You see that? I wasn't the only one excited to see strong opponents making their way to the final!" gaze, yet all I got was her glare in return.

"Goodness, you do know that Class-8 won't be our ally in the finale, right?"

“It's not a big deal. A little bit of spice is always welcome for fun!"

I was already sure this would be a great, fun finale. Seeing me raising a smile, Sierra just shook her head in dismay as if she was done with me. 

And speaking of strong opponents, Rina's Class-51 should be up to standard for that.

"But man, Rina completely surprised me."

"...That I agree. She should have used «Dragon's Miniature Garden» in her strategy."

"I hope you won't regret allowing the use of that, Zephyr. She's quite strong when armed with that."

It was after our match, we had gone out to watch Rina's class match, and my word, did they fold other classes so easily. 

Ultimately, the match ended with 1 hour and 9 minutes remaining. 

Class-51 topped their leaderboard with 1620 points, while runner-up Class-12 got 866 points. In fact, all the classes except the top two had been wiped out clean. The stadium was worth seeing when the audience saw a mid-ranking class's grand reversal. 

Apparently semi-final was the first where Rina used the «Dragon's Miniature Garden». A lot of people were shaken by the result, some even contemplate on their chance of winning finale. 

Anyway, Class-51 achieved their victory with the minimal hard work. Anyone who saw their performance were made to stop and contemplate, what if they had another ace up their sleeve? We're speaking of Rina. I bet she must have already conjured a plan to triumph over us.

"Relax. I have already thought of a way to counter «Dragon's Miniature Garden»."

I said in a proud tone. After all, Rina wasn't the only one working on a way to suppress their enemy. 

Now that the finale was mere one day away, I certainly was finding it hard to contain my excitement.