Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Rankings Revealed
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After Oh Heon's match ended, special gazes began to converge on him.
Among them was this man's gaze as well.
"Strong."
The single word he uttered might have sounded like any ordinary cheer to those around him.
But in truth...
'And those crystals, the moment they were fired...'
'They subtly adjusted their trajectory mid-flight.'
'Whether that's user control or some special ability, I can't tell.'
'...He might even be my finals opponent.'
This was no casual admiration—it was a serious, cold evaluation followed by a firm conclusion.
The reason this young man could accurately gauge the tremendous power manifested from Oh Heon's ring...
Was because he was the rank 4 powerhouse known as the Sword King.
Harboring an unusual obsession with the sword, he immediately visualized the blade in his mind with crystal clarity.
Even this rough sword conjured purely by thought...
Reflected an aura capable of cleaving anything.
In his mind, a complete swordsmanship system—refined and polished over 20 days—unfolded perfectly.
Then, a message confirmed that his unique ability had fully activated before his eyes.
Among the myriad paths of the sword, he was seeking the shortcut to enlightenment.
The Sword King believed that with this unique ability, he should test every event that might grant skill insight against it.
His [Swordsmanship Enhancement] skill proficiency was currently at 76%.
With an odd-stage upgrade imminent, he redoubled his efforts.
Forgetting entirely the dimension's ongoing chaos that had plagued his mind...
He immersed himself as if he were the very participant in that recent battle.
After I advanced to the finals using my ring...
The remaining 10 rounds of matches proceeded sequentially during that time.
The arenas were far apart, and many hadn't even hosted their final preliminaries.
In the end, I couldn't watch the other matches.
And as expected, even after all matches concluded, about 20 minutes remained. Including rest time, around 30 minutes.
Recalling those 10 rounds...
It was a complete and overwhelming victory.
Still, I judged that people wouldn't pinpoint me as number one.
This was thanks to info I'd gleaned from the community.
According to reports there...
Several others besides me had ended their matches overwhelmingly, so mine probably didn't stand out.
Of course, they'd have realized by now that I'm in the top ranks.
Even so, up to round 10, I'd thoroughly hidden my true info.
This was the best I could do.
Misleading true rivals I'd face in the finals about my info was gain enough.
However, round 10 was a bit risky in this plan.
I hadn't expected the system to forcibly reveal info...
'Still, I got lucky in several ways.'
If my core info—like unique ability or all stats—had been exposed in this match...
The prelim info holders were split between winners and losers.
Dropouts or finalists couldn't exploit it.
But post-event, returning to original dimensions with knowledge of my unique ability or skills...
If we met again someday, they'd counter my powers.
Fortunately, my opponent was a weakling I'd never face again, and the system guaranteed no info leak.
No worries there.
Time passed like that.
Ten seconds later, a message announced the finals' start.
10...
9...
8...
The finals.
Shorter than the long preliminaries, yet the matches everyone anticipated would soon unfold.
As the 10-second countdown ended, a mystical energy unlike before enveloped the surroundings.
At that moment...
All finalists and spectators in viewing mode were separated into different fields.
When I opened my eyes...
An enormous, majestic space unfolded— incomparable to before.
A circular arena like the Roman Colosseum scaled up dozens or hundreds of times.
I stood at its center.
The endless spectator seats could hold tens of thousands, perhaps more.
The stands were packed with viewers, their cheers piercing the vast distance to reach my ears.
"Whoa, all those rankers are up there?"
"Insane... Number one too, right?!"
"Too far to see clearly!"
"It's the Sword King! Sword King!! Is that him?"
And then.
In a corner of the stands, Siron could barely contain his surging emotions.
'Oh Heon is... down there.'
Siron didn't shout like the others, but his clenched fist spoke of his excitement.
"Fight!!! Dimension 97!!"
"Who'll be the strongest?!"
"Finals for Sword King!"
Over ten thousand spectators were enthralled in this historic moment.
An unprecedented reaction.
But right now, the crowd meant nothing to me.
Standing at the arena's center, I surveyed my surroundings.
Sixteen people stood summoned in a circle at equal intervals.
These were the ones who'd broken through the preliminaries—the finalists I'd compete against.
Thanks to my superhuman Agility stat, I could clearly see their faces even in this vast space.
They wore vastly different attire, each with distinct features.
In that brief moment as we observed each other, the system heralded the true start of the finals.
The system's next announcement was enough to stun all finalists, myself included.
...What?
Did I read that wrong?
Revealing nicknames and rankings?
This was unexpected.
I furrowed my brow momentarily. A message I hadn't anticipated at all.
I wasn't alone.
The other finalists stirred subtly at the prospect of their info going public.
Some masked their expressions like me, but others openly showed dismay.
Everyone, however, initially stared rigidly into space.
As confusion from this unforeseen system move lingered, a massive system window appeared in the arena's center.
There, the 16 rankings and nicknames shone clearly.
「 Transcendence Tournament Finals Participants List 」
1: Transcendence [1] 2: Oppression [2] 3: Afterglow [3] 4: Sword King [4] 5: Lord [5] 6: Severance [6] 7: Monster [7] 8: Life [8] 9: Love [9] 10: Ruler [11] 11: Iron Wall [13] 12: Earth [14] 13: Hende [15] 14: Nickname [19] 15: Assassin [22] 16: Advent [35]
Ha... Hiding was completely pointless now.
And my nickname exposed here of all places.
A moment of futility for my efforts, but unavoidable.
With a hollow laugh, I scanned the list.
Most were familiar community nicknames.
But a few were new even to me.
Regulars might not know beyond Oppression or Afterglow.
These unknowns had hidden themselves as thoroughly as I had.
Finalists eyed each other, committing ranks to memory like "Who's who? Who's number one?"
The system had only provided names—no specific faces yet.
But now, exposure was just a matter of time.
Even I couldn't hold back my curiosity about their rankings.
One by one...
I matched revealed info to faces and auras before me.
High Agility let me roughly gauge strength, but precise ranking was impossible.
...
...
...
...
Except for one person.
The translucent mask effect hid his face—the only one I couldn't see.
So that guy's... number 2, Oppression.
Oppression turned to me briefly, sensing my gaze.
He probably intuited I was number one right away.
'To sense that—his Agility is impressively high.'
Fortunately, besides Oppression, I could see everyone's faces clearly.
Including the two rankers I'd spotted in the arena earlier.
At that moment...
One young finalist stepped forward.
"No one's introducing themselves?"
A polite yet firm voice.
All eyes turned to him.
"Community nicknames match our names here, right? I'll start."
I could see his expression clearly. Resolve burned in his eyes.
"I'm Sword King. Rank 4."
Several candidates, but he was the real Sword King.
Moreover, unable to hide from me, he'd revealed something crucial.
Korean, huh? The Sword King.
His introduction sparked others to follow one by one.
"Rank 9, Love. Nice to meet you."
Love smiled politely.
But his smile rubbed me the wrong way.
Iron Wall followed.
"Rank 13, Iron Wall. Pleased to meet you."
Fierce face, but gentle tone.
Still...
All facade, no doubt.
Top rankers like these...
High chance they'd plundered many to reach here.
"Pleased. I'm..."
Rank 22, Assassin, spoke softly.
"Hello. I'm..."
A serene greeting, like back on Earth.
His nickname was Earth, fittingly.
More followed, including one ranker.
Lowest at 35, but his words carried odd weight.
An aura not to underestimate despite rank 35.
About this situation...
Rankers introducing themselves.
A once-in-a-lifetime first meeting of early top rankers.
Yet in this historic scene...
As introductions continued, crowd cheers quieted.
Reason: The vast space meant outsiders couldn't hear.
They guessed from actions alone.
As most joined in, even the silent ones started.
Most used casual speech.
"Rank 15, Hende."
Hende's voice—I recognized him as a seen ranker.
"Severance. Rank 6."
The sole woman, rank 6 Severance.
After her, rank 5 Lord paused before speaking.
"Rank 5, Lord. First time like this—gathering so many powerhouses."
Up to Severance, the mood held; Lord's words shifted it.
The 40s-looking Lord spoke, then rank 3 Afterglow followed.
"Rank 3, Afterglow."
Afterglow—one I'd seen.
Number 3, huh.
Successive top rankers brought tense air to the arena.
But after him, silence fell.
As it dragged, eyes turned to the remaining four.
Then, one urgently shouted, as if realizing something.
"Uh, I'm rank 19, Nickname! Sorry it's so generic!"
People now knew ranks 1 and 2 were among the last three.
Rank 19 seemed eager not to annoy.
Unlike me and Oppression, who'd known from start, curiosity swelled.
"I'm rank 7. Nickname: Monster."
Monster introduced near last; two remained.
Everyone held breath, awaiting our words.
Most finalists thought:
'Which of the two is number one?'
Official ranks 1 and 2.
Anticipation peaked, expecting direct answers.
But Oppression and I weren't swept up.
Still...
No one dared speak,
Or step up.
Even atmosphere-setter Sword King held back.
One reason:
Ranking.
Its sole measure: level.
Level didn't dictate all strength. But all here, through Transcendence World's fierce competition and systems, knew intimately.
Level isn't everything—but most important.
In that awkward tension among the aware...
The silence breaker was...
"Making me speak first, huh."
Rank 2, Oppression.
He continued fluidly.
"Sword King. Leading people ends today. Let me teach you something. This world grants honor by absolute results—from that moment, interest follows honor, not words."
"In this Transcendence World, strength is honor."
"Dissatisfied? ...Good day for you all."
Oppression eyed everyone but me, aura surging, then added:
"You'll get a chance to refute on this battlefield soon."
He openly scorned Sword King and others.
Finishing, he turned to me.
"Right? Number one?... No, Transcendence."
My strongest rival, with unknown power—rank 2.
Should I reply? I pondered.
Did he switch mid-sentence from ambition for number one?
As I mulled his irritating words...
About to speak first, all eyes locked on me.
Noise ceased; only my voice would follow.
Accepting it...
"Not wrong. Rank 2."
Rank 2.
Like his deliberate provocation.
I called him Rank 2, not Oppression.
Grasping my intent, some aura rose from his mask.
Detecting it was pure subtle instinct.
Only I noticed.
That it was Oppression's humiliation.
But he said nothing.
Our first exchange—laden with intent.