Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
```html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Ranking Restrictions
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was an unexpected system message.
I paused the skill training I had been about to start and mulled over the content.
The opening of Zone 2 across all dimensions was something I had anticipated.
But what mattered was what came next.
Ranking restrictions.
This wasn't just some ordinary convenience feature.
It was a signal that the system was deliberately starting to divide information by class.
A blatant intent to grant more information to the strong and limit it for the weak.
I immediately opened the community window.
The interface that greeted me was strikingly different from before.
A new tab labeled [Ranking Restriction Notices] had appeared at the top of the board.
Below it were four notices lined up side by side: [1st Place Notice], [10th Place Notice], [100th Place Notice], and [1000th Place Notice].
Four notices directly authored by the system welcomed me.
A red exclamation mark hovered next to each menu, signaling unread new information.
Each notice was locked, viewable only by those at or above a specific ranking.
In other words, anyone in the top 1000 could view the first notice.
Of course, every lock was open to me.
Below them were posts written by ordinary people.
As expected, the community was abuzz with the newly added feature.
Since it had only just been implemented, most posts were fully public with no restrictions.
A new option called 'Ranking Restriction Settings' had been added when creating posts.
The poster couldn't set a restriction higher than their own current ranking.
Someone ranked 1001 couldn't write a top-1000 restricted post.
It was an obvious limitation.
And as rank 1, I could ignore all restrictions.
Monopolization of information. The system had officially permitted it.
I checked the most recent post.
Comments had already piled up dozens in an instant.
People were plunged into confusion.
The knowledge that information existed beyond their eyes.
The anxiety and sense of deprivation it bred had overtaken the board.
The comments mixed rage at the system, resignation, and mockery from high-rankers.
But their cries were nothing more than empty echoes.
I felt no emotion toward their clamor, shifting my gaze upward.
Their complaints meant nothing to me.
It was the natural progression. This world's essence was competition, and competition's core was the information war.
The system was now openly providing more information to the strong, widening the gap.
Most posts discussed the ranking restrictions.
But a few mentioned Zone 2.
'If things had gone as I expected, this board should've been flooded with Zone 2 talk.'
After briefly pondering the system's unpredictable changes, I quickly scanned more posts.
Then, one caught my eye.
People were rediscovering gold's importance and hotly debating what to do next.
Gazing at the post from rank 899, I fell into thought.
City evolution and zone expansions.
And Zone 5.
It felt impossibly distant still, but it held meaning as the system's long-term blueprint.
And it implied that total resources could increase infinitely in the long run.
Gold's value would skyrocket now.
Until now, gold was just currency for consumables or gear.
Even I had little use for it beyond mana potions.
But from here on, it would become the key resource dictating the growth speed of entire dimensions.
Other dimensions would pool gold from multiple people, expand zones, and grow together.
But I was different.
All the gold in this dimension belonged solely to me.
With one person controlling everything, I could invest whatever amount I wanted, whenever, to expand zones.
Yet looking at quests alone, fewer people meant less total gold in the dimension.
The more people, the more gold spent—but total gold would rise even faster.
Thus, zone expansion speed could be caught up to.
'A variable has entered my long-term plans.'
Another pressure disrupting my monopoly.
With a hardened expression, I checked the next notice.
Hoping it wouldn't amplify my unease, I opened it.
It contained far more provocative content than the 1000th place notice—beyond comparison.
Transcendence Tournament. And an epic-grade item.
A stage had finally been set to directly clash with powerhouses from other dimensions.
At this point, even normal-grade items were hard to come by, so an epic-grade item's value was unimaginable.
Whether epic was just one step above normal, I didn't know.
'And second? The first event hasn't been revealed yet. If day 20 is the second, the first is probably day 10.'
No clear info on events yet, so I couldn't tell if they were periodic.
Anticipation for the upcoming tournament swelled as I looked for more posts.
Sure enough, a new post with 100th-place restrictions had just gone up.
The atmosphere in these posts and comments was worlds apart from the low ranks.
More detached, brimming with confidence.
I impassively skimmed their debate.
Intra-dimension competition? Internal fractures?
Irrelevant to me.
This dimension's representative was decided from the start.
From day one, when I alone arrived solo.
I am Dimension 64's master.
My sole concern was the epic-grade item.
I had to claim it.
In a 1v1, I'd never lose.
I didn't know how ranks 2 and 3 had grown, but they couldn't surpass me.
The fundamental gap between monopolizer and not.
I scrolled down to check the next notice.
As I moved to tap [10th Place Notice], a familiar nickname caught my eye.
Sword King [5].
Sword King. He'd dropped to 5th already.
He'd posted under 10th-place restrictions.
Seemed he wanted to share his thoughts on the 10th notice with fellow top rankers.
I clicked his post.
Comments were far fewer than before, but their weight was on another level.
The true elites within top 10.
I could glimpse a bit of their real intentions.
I watched their exchange with interest.
They were finally preparing to cross the line.
But they were one step late.
As they began pondering murder, I'd already harvested many souls and claimed the rewards.
Regeneration might be bluffing, but even if true, not as many as me. I was the first killer.
And in dimensions where others had grown, casual murder would be tough. Top 10 might differ.
Just in case, I tapped the [10th Place Notice].
As Sword King said, it detailed what I already knew.
And finally, I checked the last notice.
The one only I could see. Made for one person.
The moment I tapped [1st Place Notice], my heart quickened slightly.
Firsts and uniques always held immense power.
This would be no different.
The content that appeared crushed all prior notices with its shocking truth.
"..."
Is this real?
I reread the notice several times.
For the first time, having no one to share this info with felt stifling.
I had to bear this colossal secret alone.
I wondered what others who'd seen the 1st place notice thought.
Right then.
A new alert popped in the community.
A special notice for posts with ranking restrictions close to mine.
The author was...
Lord [3]
Lord. Rank 3.
He'd finally shown himself.
One of the few top ranks who'd never posted or commented.
Restrictions: top 3.
Visible only to me, him, and 2nd place.
I clicked without hesitation.
Arrogant, yet utterly realistic proposal.
His tone held minimal respect for me and 2nd.
But less than a minute after posting, a new comment appeared below.
Eok. 2nd place.
His entrance was far more intense than Lord's.
Brash, blunt, overwhelming pressure like crushing everything with force.
Where Lord attempted polite intimidation for dialogue, Eok openly weighed my strength.
I thought.
The curiosity about others' views on the 1st notice, just moments ago.
But I erased it immediately.
Share?
Ridiculous. Just a fleeting curiosity.
Lord replied right away.
2nd place, Eok.
The closest to me.
Even in this brief exchange with 3rd, his traits shone.
2nd yet not arrogant, realistic assessment of me.
Asking about jobs risked info leak but gleaned that Lord wasn't level 10.
Lord showed quick judgment too, admitting no job without bluffing.
Of course, their ranks biased high evaluation.
But most shocking: he'd acquired a job.
Far beyond my expectations.
Clear proof he'd monopolized resources somehow.
Had they killed too?
Lord at 3rd likely hadn't; probably level 9 or 8.
Through their talk, I vaguely gauged top ranks' growth speed.
I quietly observed their conversation.
They saw me as rival, checked me, sometimes plotted to unite against me.
But they didn't know yet.
The chance to return to Earth after 100 days.
I recalled the 1st place notice once more.
It had been a gut-dropping shock at first.
Vanish.
The horrific truth behind the system's promised 'chance to return to original world.'
Not merely a chance.
A survival trial every 100 days.
Failure meant utter death.
'All unqualified existences... vanish.'
If even I, rank 1, failed qualification, it wouldn't end with my death.
Perhaps every human in this world would vanish with me.
The odds were minuscule. Or so I believed.
But the system's—or its controller's—intentions in crafting this massive arena.
Not for me to judge yet.
I just needed to grow strongest now, ensure survival.
Post-return to Earth or rechoosing Transcendence World felt distant future; only qualification mattered.
Nothing outweighed the threat of death for me.
One must live for a future.
Under heavy pressure, other thoughts branched out.
'What if qualification isn't based on strength?'
Wait, that's... dangerous.
Good alignment only? But system fostered evil deliberately.
If evil-aligned lacked qualification, problem unsolvable fundamentally.
I considered the opposite. Seemed more likely.
Unlike before, I pondered the system seriously now.
Unlike glossing over prior, new perspective emerged.
System's tone always polite, but this notice differed.
Harsh words like 'forcibly,' 'vanish' used directly.
Past polite messages confused people; if this leaked...
System was like Transcendence World's law, untouchable by me—but no longer.
Couldn't see it as mere game operator anymore.
System had clear intent.
Opportunity for humanity? Or calamity?
First time feeling massive responsibility, or fate's weight, beyond simple survival and growth.
I quietly closed the community window.
Trust only myself.
I etched that deep in my heart again.
Now, time to resume my solo growth.
```