Free Web NovelChapter 44: Global Rankings
Arc had wrapped his hand around Rhea and chained it in a way that’d make it hard to break off, and was willing to let Seraphina attack them both because not only was that the easiest way to get the job done, he had the additional attributes of the Starlight-tier Wall of Eternity strapped to his back all this while.
It wouldn’t make him impossible to kill, but what it’d do was make him harder to kill than the Avariel Healer, whose Constitution attribute didn’t amount to a meager fraction of his, even with her healing abilities.
Seraphina had bitten into them and roughed them up like a rabid dog. Her canines dug into the Avariel healer’s skin, whose healing could not only keep up with the speed at which the Legendary Spirit Beast Companion aggressively tore at them, but whose mental fortitude couldn’t hold out either, and it didn’t take long for her to stop fighting and start begging as the fear of death consumed her mind.
That was all it took to trigger the Dominator skill, and even after Arc released her, she looked at him like he was some crazy monster and quickly crawled away to create distance between them before spamming her healing spells on herself.
Arc made it clear to her that she belonged to him from that moment onward, and didn’t hesitate to show her what would happen if she ever dared to default.
Seraphina looked more excited than him to acquire a new Authority Devil under his control. She hopped and ran about him like she had excessive energy brimming within her. It made Arc genuinely smile.
"A-Arc? Is that you?"
Hearing his name from the strangely familiar voice, Arc looked up from Seraphina to see a blonde-haired girl staring at him with familiarity.
The moment he set his eyes on her, his heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t react and shifted his gaze to the familiar faces behind the girl. There were two of them, and Arc recognized them immediately.
They weren’t staring at him predatorily now, but with eyes full of recognition and curiosity. They didn’t know it, but these were the exact same coworkers who ended up as his teammates in his previous life due to close proximity.
"Bethany, do you know this man?" Max asked as he forced himself up against a tree while clutching his bleeding abdomen.
The moment he heard those words, Arc was triggered and his expression grew cold as his gaze lingered on the man, who shuddered, confusion written all over his ’innocent’ face.
Aside from being sold into slavery by the bastard, this same man had made life hard for Arc back at their office where Arc was a fellow intern at Max’s father’s organization.
Arc had been unfortunate enough to be put on the same team as Max, who, the moment he noticed Arc was a reserved person, took advantage of him by making the young man, who found it hard to say no to people, do all his projects and work for him. At the end of the day, he stole the credit for both their work and was promoted to a full-time employee. And every time Arc summoned the courage to confront him, Max would end up promising him a sweet spot in the office if he worked harder.
The same person who fought Arc over Bethany the moment he saw the two were close, and who was in the exact same elevator where they had been taken from, was the one asking Bethany if she knew him.
It might’ve been a lifetime for Arc, but it was only a few days for them. Yet this bastard couldn’t recognize him.
"Wait, is that Arc Sinclair? The shy intern at our office?" the second lady in Max’s group, whom Arc recognized as Bethany’s best friend, suddenly said in surprise.
Max heard her and looked harder, sizing the young man up when it finally clicked for him, and his eyes widened in surprise. His lips curled into a smile, but not in a good way. Before he could speak, a loud sound interrupted the group.
[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]:
[THE ROOKIE LEADERBOARD RANKINGS ARE NOW LIVE]
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the three blank screens that appeared in the sky, with ten empty slots that quickly began filling up from the bottom with the names of the top ten players.
The moment the number one name was revealed with a golden hue and a crown next to it, everyone’s eyes went wide.
[LEVEL RANKINGS]:
[1] Arc Sinclair | Lv50
[2] Rhea Malvora | Lv39
[3] Selene Ravena | Lv35
...
[EQUIPMENT RANKINGS]:
[1] Arc Sinclair | Mythic-tier Gaea’s Judgment
[2] Selene Ravena | Legendary-tier Eye of God
[3] Rhea Malvora | Epic-tier Cursed Needles
...
[BEAST COMPANION RANKINGS]:
[1] Arc Sinclair | Legendary-tier Spirit Beast Lady Seraphina
[2] ...
[3] ...
[You have achieved the equippable title ’Emperor’ for topping the overall leaderboards]
[Do you wish to equip the title now?] [Y/N]
(Title will be shown in place of your name across leaderboards and forums)
Arc immediately clicked the ’Y’ option to accept, and his name in the rankings changed, displaying the title instead: Emperor.
But almost immediately, his level changed as well, ticking up by a level.
[You have received 450 EXP points from the Destroyer]
[2.5× EXP Multiplier Triggered...]
[You have received 450 EXP points from the Destroyer] freewebnøvel.com
[3× EXP Multiplier Triggered...]
...
Arc immediately knew the Destroyer’s island was in battle with another island.
He looked away from the rankings board to see that, aside from everyone else whose eyes were glued to the rankings, Bethany had only spared it a glance to see his name at the top and was staring at him now with eyes brimming with surprise and curiosity.
Arc took a step forward and began walking towards her, and when she saw this, she couldn’t help but smile and straighten her back, slowly walking towards him as well.
He arrived before her in no time, and Bethany was spreading her arms for a hug when she realized Arc wasn’t actually looking at her, and the moment he got to her, he simply walked past her and only stopped before someone else behind her.
She froze as her heart leapt into her throat, and she slowly looked back to see Arc standing before a red-haired girl whom she recognized as the mage of his team.
Arc arrived before the weirdly quiet and injured Liz before initiating a trade with her, which she accepted in confusion. He went ahead and transferred the remaining loot from the Valemont Castle after he’d set aside what he wanted from it.
He did this at that moment because there was a Low-grade Health Potion in the pile, and he knew too well that the party didn’t have enough money to buy enough that could go around for the team.
"Can you do me a favor?" he asked Liz.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
He slightly leaned forward. "Can you send me a message if these people try to leave and I’m not back yet?"
Liz shifted her gaze from him to the blonde-haired lady behind him, whom she didn’t know personally, but quickly caught on the moment she heard her name. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
This was Arc’s ex.
She wanted to ask why, but couldn’t bring herself to and simply nodded at him.
With that, Arc didn’t waste any more time and turned to leave. He wanted to pay the Destroyer a visit for something far more important than the unfortunate people who had delivered themselves to the devil on a platter of gold.
"Arc?"
Liz suddenly called out to him, and he paused and turned.
"T-Thank you," she said.
He didn’t reply, and turned his back, walking deeper into the island with Seraphina running after him, and Rhea, unsure of what she was supposed to do, following as well.
Bethany was left there, feeling like she’d been abandoned in the middle of the sea with only a shaft to survive on. She felt a knot in her chest as she stared at the red-haired girl, who shot her a not-so-friendly look that contradicted her first impression of her, before quickly shifting her gaze to watch Arc’s back disappear into the island with a lingering thought.
’Did I do something wrong?’
