[ You have failed ]
[ Final score evaluation in progress... ]
[ You have successfully obtained a total of 153,990,000 points ]
[ Rank: First ]
Daniel, lying on his back on the ground and gasping for air, stared at the training opponent standing in front of him, still perfectly fine.
The guy only had the aura of a peak B-rank, but unlike the previous opponents who only had the rank, this one definitely had the skills of a real B-rank Awakened.
And even before that, Daniel had to pay a big price just to defeat the previous one—and his wounds still hadn't healed.
He realized that B-rank Awakened seemed to have some sort of special trait that prevented lower-ranked Awakened from healing.
Though he had no idea what it was or how it worked.
"That means I really need to understand the Law of Death soon." Daniel gave a crooked smile.
He had expected to lose—but not this badly. The last fight was completely one-sided. He never had a chance and got suppressed the entire time.
Still, that didn't mean it was all for nothing. He managed to figure out his current limits and weaknesses.
"Defeating early-stage B-ranks isn't a problem. I can fight a mid-stage B-rank, but I have no chance of winning unless I use Doomsday and Eternal Judgment—like I did against the Hero."
"As for peak B-ranks, I don't stand a chance at all." He sighed—but it was just from exhaustion.
His eyes still sparkled with joy. He had thought his limit was only early B-ranks, but now he realized he was wrong. That meant he had underestimated the Body of Death.
He put the Heavens Honor sword back into his inventory and stood up. It was time to leave.
Meanwhile, outside, chaos was unfolding.
"He actually did it… He really got first place." August said in a shaky voice filled with awe and excitement.
Even though he believed Daniel could do it, thinking about it and seeing it happen with his own eyes were two different things.
"What kind of monster is this kid... Old man, where the hell did you find someone like him?" Selenia swallowed hard.
She never thought anyone could beat Diana's record. That girl was currently ranked first nationally in every category—Medes Republic's top genius.
Diana had always been like an immovable mountain to her peers. Many other geniuses had fallen into despair under the overwhelming shine of her talent.
But finally, someone did it. Someone managed to beat her in at least one ranking.
'The rankings must've now. I can't imagine the chaos happening in the capital right now.'
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the situation.
The door opened and a handsome young man with white hair walked out.
"Mr. August." He walked toward them and gave a polite nod, though he froze a bit when he saw Selenia.
"Hahaha, kid, you really did it! You really got first place! I expected it, but you still went beyond what I imagined!" the chairman said while stroking his beard.
Daniel smiled and then turned his attention to the beautiful woman.
'She looks really familiar.' He searched through his memory, trying to remember where he had seen her.
"Black Sword of Dawn…?" Daniel frowned as he realized who she was.
"It's an honor to meet you, senior." He gave a slight bow out of respect. After all, this woman was basically his sister's future instructor.
"Oh, nice to meet you too... Daniel, right?"
"That's right. I'm Alice's older brother."
"I know. You two really do look alike—and you're both geniuses," Selenia said with a smile.
"Sorry to cut in, but kid, are you okay?" August asked after noticing Daniel's injuries.
"Oh? These? I'm fine. I tried to heal myself, but some kind of external force is stopping it," Daniel replied.
August frowned for a moment and waved his hand. All of Daniel's wounds immediately healed, surprising him a little.
"Anyway, you managed to get first place. The difference between your score and the previous top was only 12 points, but I doubt anyone will beat your record anytime soon," Selenia said.
"Actually, this pushed your fame to a national level. I don't think guilds can ignore you anymore," August added. Just clearing the Coliseum Dungeon was enough to make Daniel well-known.
Now, beating Diana in the rankings had pushed his fame to the top.
"Ah, I guess I'm in for some annoying days," Daniel scratched his head.
"Wanna join our guild? Your sister's already a member, and I'm sure she'd be happy to have her brother in the same guild. Besides, normally you'd need to pass an entrance exam, no matter how talented you are. But as someone with authority in the guild, I can directly bring you in," Selenia suddenly offered.
Both Daniel and August looked at her in surprise.
Though, after thinking about it for a moment, August realized it made sense. The Sunfall Guild had already collapsed. This kid was qualified to join even the world's best guild without an exam.
Still, he had also been planning to invite this kid to his own organization—but decided it was better to wait for now.
Daniel didn't reject the offer right away like he used to. He had come to understand that being part of a guild was necessary to gain access to more opportunities.
He had planned to think about it when he went to the capital, but he didn't expect to get such an offer now.
"We're planning to move to the capital next month. Can I give you an answer then?"
"Of course! Take all the time you need," Selenia said with a smile. The fact that he didn't reject her outright already put her at ease.
She had heard a bit about Daniel from Alice and knew he valued freedom and hated being restricted, so the fact that he didn't say no right away was already a good sign.
After that, they left the building and talked a bit more about various things as they walked. But suddenly, near the exit of the Awakened Association, someone approached them and handed a wooden box to August after bowing.
"Here, Daniel. These are the talismans you asked for." He handed the box to Daniel.
"Thanks a lot, Mr. August," Daniel said as he opened the box and smiled at its contents.
There were five talismans, and he could see various engravings on them, but he had no idea what they meant.
'One for me, one each for those two, and I'll still have two left.'
August smiled back.
"I guess it's time for me to leave. But before that, is there any place where I can improve how fast I comprehend Laws?"
"Comprehend Laws? With your current rank? …Well, I guess it's not strange with your talent. There's no such place in our city. You'd need to go to the capital or to one of the major cities in the Central Plains within the Celestial Domain. There, I'm sure you'll find buildings called Mind Mansions," August explained.
"Mind Mansions… Got it. Thank you very much," Daniel said goodbye to both of them and left.
"Alright, time for us to get back to work," Selenia said.