SL: Chapter 754 – Day 28,216 – The Ranking List

I put my hands on the golden pillar. I selected to initiate a vote. I had the votes, which were stupid. I then selected the option for the ranking list. I then paid one trillion points to purchase it. Time to see if the hype I had built up regarding the ranking list mattered. I didn’t think it would. I had been disappointed too many times in the past.

Touching the pillar, the information was put directly in my mind. It would stay for a day before resetting.

1. ERROR-The Avatar
2. ERROR-ERROR
3. Human-Michael
4. Sword-Ascalon
5. Human-Young Michael
6. Human-Clarissa
7. Human-Michelle
8. Human-Doctor Katz
9. Human-Akulla
10. Human-Jorsch

Looking at the list, there was a huge amount of rage building up inside of me. I stepped back and waved at Clarissa who was nearby to take a look. The Avatar lived. She lived! There was no one else that pissed me off like she did.

And she was listed as the most powerful being in the Systemic Lands. I would hunt her down and kill her no matter what. It was unacceptable that she was living somewhere. I regretted not checking this list sooner.

“That is concerning,” Clarissa said.

“I know. Have your people double check everywhere for the Avatar. Offer a hundred billion points for her location and a trillion for bringing her to me,” I declared without hesitation.

“The Avatar isn’t the most concerning thing,” Clarissa said. I turned to look at her.

“I am not asking Clarissa. I want everyone, I mean everyone looking for the Avatar. I don’t care what it takes. If anyone is hiding her and doesn’t turn her in, I will wipe out that entire city. I am not joking,” I said fiercely. If she had died, I could have let my hatred go, but since she was alive, there was just pure rage.

I would devise even worse tortures. I didn’t know what I would do, but it would be so horrible that people wouldn’t dare to look. Maybe give her some hope and or give her a friend and torture that friend. Whatever it took to make that horrible woman suffer as much as possible. Nothing was off the table, nothing.

In fact, I might even cut her up and feed her body parts to herself. That would mentally break a person. Reshape her flesh into a donut and strap her to a pillar. She would exist as a flesh donut.

“I will make sure it is taken care of immediately, but no one has reported any signs. But I will double check everything and issue the bounties across the Systemic Land,” Clarissa said.

“Good. Very good,” I said while breathing heavily.

“I am more concerned about whatever is in the second place. Two errors for race and name is not a good sign,” Clarissa said.

“It isn’t, but maybe I will find whatever it is when looking about the Systemic Lands. I am going to check every corner and see if there are corners. If there is anything left hidden, I am going to find it and kill it,” I replied.

“You sound confident,” Clarissa said.

“After decades, this is it. I am not going to grind anymore unless there is no other option. I am done grinding. I will either unlock the secrets of this place, or get strong enough to go through that exit and fight the monsters there,” I replied.

“That sounds like a bad idea,” Clarissa said.

“It does. But there is nothing left to do. Just grinding some more, won’t reveal any secrets,” I said.

“There is that guidebook from the store?” Clarissa asked me. I considered it, but it was probably trash. But it was another stone to be overturned.

“I will save up for it as I clear everything else. Like I said, I won’t leave anything unchecked. The guidebook is a good one. There have been no other additions to the store?” I asked.

“No. But it is not like I can check with a meta-point,” Clarissa said.

“Annoying things. But again, not surprising. You are also quite high up,” I said.

“I earn a lot of points, even though I spend a lot, I keep myself topped up,” Clarissa said. I gave her a questioning look. “The list didn’t give the size of the gaps or any indicator what it is ranking on.”

“Stats, that is the only thing that makes sense and how it is ordered. There is another Sphere or alien out there that is stronger than me. Surprising that the sword isn’t stronger than me,” I said.

“You have been grinding for a long time and it doesn’t look like the sword can gain more meta-points,” Clarissa said.

“Focusing on stats was always the correct choice. But you are right. The second place position is concerning. But also, the Avatar,” I muttered. I wasn’t about to let that woman escape me ever again. Perhaps I could turn her into a flesh cube or a chair. There would be poetic justice in that.

“That was anti-climatic,” Clarissa said.

“It was honest. One of the few honest pieces of information that I have gotten so far about this place. There are only two beings above me. One is a horrible woman turned human nugget that has discarded any semblance of humanity and the other is some mystery alien,” I said as I made my way back to the airship.

“The people in ninth and tenth?” Clarissa asked me.

“Do you know of them?” I asked.

“Yes. Individuals who are part of my grinding teams,” she said.

“Then there is no concern. I am not going to target people for just showing up on the list. Only those I have a grudge with,” I replied.

“That is good to know. Where are you headed now?” she asked me.

“The guidebook will be next and then I will hunt down the sword,” I replied.

“Really?” Clarisa asked me and I nodded.

“Yes. I might die checking the corners of this place, so I might as well do the safe things first. After that, I will be flying outwards over the void and seeing if I run into anything,” I replied.

“The Light Source should be visible,” Clarissa said and I nodded at this.

“It should be, and I will make sure not to lose my way. I can fly indefinitely with my Regeneration stat. And I can go without sleep for at least a week without any issue. But who knows what might happen when I start poking around. Some level 13 nightmare might just crawl out of that inky void,” I said.

“Well, at least there was no super battle right now,” Clarissa said.

“I wouldn’t drag you into something like that if I could prevent it.”

“I know.” We walked in comfortable silence back to the airship. It took off. So much work for some interesting information. But it didn’t show a way forward or provide the key to unlocking this place or more knowledge.

It was a brick. Useful for building upwards, but on its own, not worth much and heavy. Knowing the Avatar was alive was a weight I now had to carry. For someone to survive everything and still be around was asking for me to kill her. If the Almighty System took offense, it could come for me.

I wasn’t going to let threats stop me. At least that was the lie I told myself. Despite everything, I still feared the Almighty System. It was incomprehensible, but still incredibly dangerous and powerful.

“Juice?” Clarissa asked me and handed me a glass. I took it and sipped it.

“Lovely,” I replied. Civilization was nice. At least my airship crew got the occasional resupply to keep me topped up with decent food and spices. Juice was a nice luxury. I wasn’t a monk or a hermit, but my life revolved around constant grinding.

“So, the guidebook, then the sword, and then the corners of this place?” Clarissa asked me.

“I would like to handle things in that order. You have an idea of the zones the sword is hanging out in?” I asked.

“I do. I will make the map available. While we have the zones narrowed down, it is still an incredibly large area,” Clarissa said and I nodded at that.

“I will spend a hundred days for each thing. That seems reasonable. A hundred days to grind up the points. A hundred days to look for the sword. A hundred days to check the corners,” I replied.

“You think there is something?” she asked me.

“The Northwest and Southeast corners are probably hiding things. I just have to go to them and check them out. Perhaps there are other zones out there, other cities. We were never sure,” I replied.

“There are a set number of towers and you have found them all,” Clariss said. There were forty and I had indeed found them all.

“Hmm. Could be a new set of towers out there. I won’t know until I find them or find the edge of this place. The fact that no airships or individuals have come here from outside indicates that there is nothing beyond this place,” I replied.

“And after that?” Clarissa asked me.

“If these last three investigations don’t reveal anything and you can’t find the Avatar, I will prepare for a fight against level 13 monsters. I will test them and then assess how much further I have to go to win against them. Then I will grind and test them again and again until I can go through that exit portal of darkness,” I replied.

“It could be instant death,” she said.

“It could be. But I am done grinding just to get stronger. I am grinding to escape this place and get answers. Once I can leave, I will leave. I will let you know if I do so,” I told Clarissa.

“You think there is anything out there?”

“I have no idea. But there are aliens that are unfathomable. We will have to see how things play out. The Almighty System might react or that error being. Something will happen once I start poking around.”

“And if the gap is too big?” Clarissa asked.

“Then you will need to tell Young Michael and tell him he needs to go far beyond me in terms of stats. If he can’t do it, then find someone or do it yourself. I will be dead, so it won’t matter to me,” I replied.

“A bleak outlook,” Clarissa said.

“Living to grind is not living. That is why I want to change things up. If I just keep grinding, then I might as well accept death, since that isn’t living. It is a job. A job that I enjoy and am good at, but it can’t be my entire life,” I replied.

“I hope you succeed,” Clarissa said after she was done testing my resolve and understanding my mindset.

“I do too. It won’t be easy. Nothing is easy about this place,” I muttered.

“What if the guidebook has all the answers?” she asked.

“Then I will appreciate them. But we can only wait and see. Who knows what it could be, but it is an unturned stone I will check. With my grinding income at least it won’t take long,” I said.

Before I would have never spent a trillion points like water. But now I had earned so many, a trillion was nothing to earn and spend. I had a lot of points saved up, but not that much and I wasn’t going to eat into my health insurance. I still hadn’t forgotten that lesson.