Free Web NovelChapter 35: The Top Rankers
Darius felt a force pierce his side and shoot up to his chest. No one had attacked him; it was his own power that had suffered a major setback. He staggered backward several steps.
"S-Sir Thalion." Darius swallowed hard.
Everyone greeted him respectfully, but Lucius alone kept staring at him.
For a brief moment, Thalion looked him in the eyes, and there was a slight clash of gazes that made Thalion frown.
He looked Lucius up and down, as if trying to scrutinize and understand him. However, he found nothing unusual, so he simply looked away to see Khoy and Darius.
"Attempting to break the rules in my home is a clear insult to my Morwen family. No matter how strong the Asturians are, they will never be able to intimidate the Morwens to the point of making us bow down to them. Do you understand that?" Thalion said to Khoy.
Khoy lowered his head in fear and nodded several times. "Y-y-yes, sir."
"A processed sale is refundable only if both parties agree. Forcing the other party not only violates the rules of the Seven Ancient Families, but also violates the rules of the Rankers. It is an insult to the sovereignty of the system and a clear breach of ethics. I hope this doesn’t happen again. Especially not on such a special occasion as this!" Thalion scolded once more, causing Khoy and Darius to lower their heads.
Finally, Thalion turned his gaze back to Lucius and Clara. "Since you like ancient tools, and my family owes you an apology, why don’t you stay a little longer to see the new tools we’ve brought?" he asked.
Khoy looked up, in shock. "Sir, they aren’t qualified..." His voice was immediately silenced by a stern look from Thalion.
Khoy lowered his head again, and Thalion paid it little mind.
Lucius perked up at the mention of the new tools they had brought. "Did you buy them from outside, or did you go to the Kalgarth Grounds?" he wondered.
Thalion then looked at him again, realizing he was the leader of those two. "The Seven Ancient Families and Ouroboros are collaborating with the Great Sun Guild to explore some recently discovered ruins, and we managed to bring back many things. I’m passing on my invitation to you; it will be very revealing."
’The Sun Guild!’ Lucius’s eyes sparkled with immediate interest.
A guild very familiar to him, as it was one of the Major Guilds of Sun Island, the counterpart to Shadow Island. Although it is better known today because Kael, his former best friend and current Global Ranking Leader, was born there.
As one of the islands with people ranked in the Top 10, it holds a high standing among the Civilization Islands. Far too high for this island’s level. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
However, Ouroboros is no ordinary guild in the field of research.
’That collaboration makes sense. Though I wonder if that bastard has anything to do with this mission,’ he thought.
It wasn’t a good idea for him to run into him at his current level.
’Even if Thalion can’t recognize me, despite the fact that we’ve met a couple of times in my past life, that doesn’t mean Kael can’t. We traveled together for years, and that guy was an expert at sensing the soul vibrations of other people,’ he thought.
Lucius had already made up his mind the moment he heard the island’s name, so he spoke up. "Sure. I’d like to join in; it’s always enlightening to see what they bring back from the Kalgarth Plains."
Thalion smiled slightly and urged them to follow him. "All right, then, this way." Without delay, he led them into the tent, toward the upper levels.
Darius stayed behind with Manager Khoy, embarrassed by the situation.
’Damn, that damn lucky bastard.’
Darius looked at Manager Khoy. "Lead the way," he declared.
"Huh? W-where?" Khoy asked, swallowing hard.
"Where? To the welcome event for the members of Sun Island arriving today! To the event!" he retorted forcefully.
Where else would it be? They came here precisely for that.
Manager Khoy swallowed again. "Y-Young Master, couldn’t you think it over? L-Lord Thalion was angry..."
"Think what?!" Darius roared in his face. "If that bastard goes there, I’m going too! You think he’s worthy, but I’m not? My father will be there!"
Khoy closed his eyes to keep this guy’s spit from getting in them, but in the end he sighed and slumped his shoulders. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
’Why did I agree to take him? Sigh...’
With nothing else to do, Khoy nodded at him. "Please follow me," he said.
Soon they were all walking toward that grand hall.
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"As long as the event hasn’t started yet, you can do whatever you like, but avoid disrespecting anyone. The people here are all high-ranking, and some are quite intolerant," Thalion reminded them, then nodded to the employee to continue guiding Lucius and Clara’s group.
"Very well, Mr. Thalion. Thank you," Lucius replied respectfully before Thalion left.
Finally, a Level 1 Employee—a shabbily dressed man who had been cast out of his family like a dog—and another person who had been cast out of her family found themselves face to face in a high-society setting.
Everywhere the employee looked, there were familiar faces from high society.
Businessmen, Rankers, members of various families, and powerful guild members.
Among the prominent faces were Thalion welcoming the guests, who were Valerius Asturias, Elara Castelier, and her father. The Leader of the Thorne Family, various leaders of the other Seven Ancient Families, and other leaders from the Ranking.
The Local Ranking shone brightly above the heads of those leaders.
The number "1" of the Local Ranking stood out above Valerius Asturias’s head.
The "2" above Roger Thorne’s head.
The number "3" above Sylas Castelier’s head.
Each of them chose to reveal it to everyone, so that everyone could understand who they were without even knowing them.
Some of the current leaders of the "New Creation" Island of Civilization.
There were also a few foreigners.
In the middle of the room stood a huge table laden with many items, covered with a special burgundy cloth.
’There are a lot of ancient tools underneath,’ Lucius thought.
Although it was difficult for him to sense with his current body, he could still perceive small fluctuations of mana that indicated its contents.
However, he didn’t have much time to observe it, because within a few minutes Thalion and Valerius stepped forward to warmly welcome certain people who had come "from afar."
"Each of us here is a person of high standing and prestige. However, the people we are about to meet hold exalted positions throughout the world. Unlike us, who are an island in the midst of growth and development, they come from above."
"From on high."
"From the finest civilized islands humanity has to offer."
"They are so exalted that kneeling before them would be the ideal thing to do. However, they are too humble to allow it, for they do not believe they deserve it."
"Please, let us welcome the members of the Sun Guild, Miss Sylph and Mr. Gerard."
As soon as they finished speaking, two "young" people entered through the door, side by side. Behind them came three others; they were personal guards.
They were dressed in elegant clothes, but by no means ordinary. They were made from the finest materials they could afford on a highly civilized island like the one they came from. Not even the clothes worn by everyone else present could compare to theirs.
The woman wore a long, form-fitting dress that made her look elegant. The man wore a suit with a blazer.
They weren’t just elegant—they were imposing.
Neither of them chose to display their rankings.
Instead, they decided to show something else.
The color of their systems.
"Rank S! It really is the golden color of Rank S!" Some people couldn’t help but exclaim aloud, almost losing their breath at those few words.
The color of your system defines your actual rank; this is what they look at when assigning you to a class at an academy. For example, the color of Lucius and Clara’s system is gray, representing Rank F.
Moving up, Rank E is brown. Next comes a shiny bronze color. Then silver. Sapphire blue for Rank B.
In Rank A, like Valerius and his group, the color was Red. It is one of the most imposing.
However, nothing is more imposing than the Gold color of Rank S. Anyone who enters Rank S no longer changes their Rank, although their ranking continues to rise as they grow stronger.
For many of those present, this was the first time they had ever seen that legendary golden color.
For Lucius, it was just another day at the office, but... he was still in shock at the sight of the faces that walked in.
’It can’t be them...’ He swallowed hard.
A movement that, though not out of the ordinary, did not go unnoticed by those two. Both frowned for a moment and turned toward the spot where they had sensed something strange.
However, there was no one there, so they decided to resume their walk down the red carpet.
