Michael continued reading.
[Rank 8: Vhalros]
[Level: 100]
[Realm: Abyssal Bone Realm]
-
[Rank 9: Yue Hanzhen]
[Level: 100]
[Realm: Nine Heavens Dao Realm]
-
[Rank 10: Orvath]
[Level: 100]
[Realm: Worldroot Realm]
The ranking revealed very little. Only one's ranking, name, level, and realm. There was no race or class included.
Still, for knowledgeable people, the realm alone already revealed plenty.
A name from the Ancient Dragon Realm was most likely a dragon. A name from the Celestial Dominion was most likely an angel. A name from the Azure Sword Realm or Nine Heavens Dao Realm was most likely a cultivator.
However, despite these interesting speculations, Michael's attention remained fixed on Rank 7.
After a few seconds of silence, Michael finally exhaled.
"…Director, just what kind of person are you?"
Michael soon pulled his thoughts away from the name Arven Vale. Whether it truly was Director Arven or not, it had nothing to do with him for the moment.
His gaze shifted downward.
"Where am I?"
The ranking panel responded almost immediately.
[Rank 198: Michael Norman]
[Level: 75]
[Realm: Aurora]
Michael froze.
"…198?"
He had expected his ranking to be much lower. After all, everyone above him was Level 100.
Even below him, for another fifty positions or so, the names he skimmed past were still almost entirely Level 100 awakeners. Among them, his Level 75 was especially eye-catching.
Michael rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression.
"It probably counted my undead."
He was confident in himself, but not delusional. On his own, he didn't believe he could truly match a peak Rank Four monster. The only reason his position was this high had to be because of the High Drake.
The ranking rules had already stated that summons, contracted creatures, equipment, skills, and treasures all counted as part of one's strength.
Since his High Drake had fought against three peak Rank Four experts and survived, the Origin Will had clearly used that performance to evaluate him.
Still, Michael didn't fully trust the ranking.
"This initial list is probably inaccurate."
After all, what if some terrifying person had entered the Origin Battlefield and done nothing for the past two hours?
What if someone was hiding their strength? What if someone had not encountered any strong enemies yet?
The ranking was based on early performance, not absolute strength. In a few days, it would most likely change drastically. Perhaps his own rank would be pushed down very soon.
As for whether he wanted to compete for the rankings, Michael decided to take a wait and see approach. He had no intention of eagerly fighting Level 100 monsters for monthly rewards without knowing what they were capable of.
Who knew what trump cards they had hidden?
Fortunately, the challenge system did leave him an escape route. If defeat became unavoidable, he could always choose to surrender. This made Michael considerably less resistant toward the ranking system.
After closing the leaderboard, he looked around at the various options floating before him.
"…Hm?"
There seemed to be more functions than he had initially noticed. His gaze soon landed on one labeled: [Personal Profile]
Without much hesitation, Michael selected it. The moment the panel expanded, he couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Compared to the Land of Origin, this place really does feel more game-like."
Back when he had still been an ordinary person before awakening, countless rumors had described the mysterious world only awakeners could enter as something similar to a game.
Though the Land of Origin had done justice to that rumor in its own way, it still felt very real. Now that he was standing inside the Origin Battlefield himself, he had to admit it matched that old imagination surprisingly well.
The only difference was that death here was real. At least in the Land of Origin, one did not truly die.
Michael's attention returned to the panel.
[Profile]
Name: Michael Norman
Realm: Aurora
Level: 75
Current Rank: 198
Highest Rank Achieved: 198
Number of Victories: 0
Number of Defeats: 0
Number of Matches: 0
Monthly Reward Distribution In: 717 Hours 42 Minutes 11 Seconds Michael glanced at the final line.
"…Thirty days."
More accurately, one month. Originally seven hundred and twenty hours. Now, just over two hours had already passed since everyone entered the Origin Battlefield.
Michael continued browsing through the profile. Besides the basic information, there wasn't anything else available yet.
"It looks like more functions haven't been unlocked yet…"
Michael wasn't particularly disappointed. The Origin Battlefield had only opened a little over two hours ago. If every function were available immediately, there would be little sense of progression.
Michael closed the profile panel. Since there was nothing else available for now, his attention naturally returned to the rankings.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind as he looked at his rank again.
Among the nearly two hundred names above him, he seemed to be the only Level 75. In other words, the only Rank Three.
Michael recalled the angel he had encountered earlier. The female angel was also Rank Three. And if she existed, then he wasn't the only Rank Three who had entered the Fourth Layer.
What he didn't know was whether it was just the two of them in the Fourth Layer, or if there were more, and if there were more, whether they had made it into the rankings.
Curiosity immediately surfaced in Michael's heart. Without wasting another second, he rapidly scrolled downward. The names passed before his eyes one after another.
Rank 250…
Rank 300…
Rank 400…
Rank 500…
His gaze swept across the list at astonishing speed until finally the list stopped at exactly one thousand entries.
Michael stared at the bottom of the list.
"…Only a thousand."
A part of him had wondered if the rankings covered all awakeners in this layer. Now it seemed only one thousand awakeners in the entire Fourth Layer could occupy a ranking position.
Considering the sheer scale of the Origin Battlefield and the countless awakeners scattered throughout it, making the rankings at all was already an extraordinary achievement.
The fact that he had somehow entered at Rank 198 became even more absurd.
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