CHAPTER 126: RANKINGS

The sky brightened, and three carriages raced across relatively flat grassland, speeding like the wind.

Carlotta had remade the carriage card, this time using Wind Magic Stones. The effect was far better than the previous one, which had been centered on Wind Speed Stones.

Using Wind Magic Stones as the core, Carlotta created three such carriage cards in one go. One carried herself and Amelia, while the other two were shared among the rest, squeezing in as best they could.

"I think I should get some sleep."

Carlotta yawned, watching the scenery outside.

For her, daytime was sleeping time, and nighttime was when she was active.

But after entering this area, the surroundings were vast and open, with no cover. She felt that falling asleep here might not last long before monster attacks disturbed her rest. To sleep peacefully, she’d need a more suitable place.

Ahead, a forest came into view, and the three carriages quickly sped toward it.

However, as the carriages approached the forest, Carlotta gradually sensed something was off.

She saw a massive bird soar across the sky above the forest. Although merely passing through, the aura it emitted was terrifying, so overwhelming that the forest instantly fell silent.

Carlotta had good reason to believe this was a Resonator level monster. But why would a Resonator level monster appear here?

She silently summoned her information panel, checking a piece of intelligence she’d obtained earlier. It listed the locations of all Resonator level monsters. Even if they move, their updated positions will be shown in real time.

Yet there was no indication of the giant bird she’d just seen.

’Could it not be a Resonator? No, that should be a Thundercloud Giant Bird. The rank of this monster is tied to its size, something that large must definitely be a Resonator.’

Carlotta thought, even confirmed with Amelia, who gave a definite answer.

Yes, it truly was a Resonator level monster.

The only explanation for it not appearing on the intel was that they had already entered the Inner Zone.

The intelligence panel only tracked Resonator level monsters within the Outer Zone.

"Have we really approached the Inner Zone?"

Carlotta murmured.

"That area ahead is indeed the Inner Zone. Should we turn back?"

Amelia asked.

The sky Island itself was divided into inner and outer zones, with the Inner Zone being greatly more dangerous than the Outer Zone.

For instance, anyone exploring Sky Island who was already a Resonator would be directly teleported to the Inner Zone and unable to access the Outer Zone.

While Resonator level monsters were rare and few in the Outer Zone, they were numerous in the Inner Zone. Encountering one would be extremely dangerous.

Carlotta thought for a moment and said, "Let’s go take a look first."

Although the Inner Zone was dangerous, she didn’t think it would be completely devoid of safe spots. Even resting briefly at its edge should be possible.

The carriages continued forward, finally slowing to a stop at the foot of the mountain.

To enter the mountain means entering the Inner Zone.

"The elemental presence here is so intense."

Carlotta stepped down from the carriage, gazing into the Inner Zone, faintly sensing something.

Amelia came beside her and said, "Legend has it that the Inner Zone of Sky Island is a natural elemental land."

Carlotta’s expression shifted slightly.

An elemental land referred to an area exceptionally rich in elemental energy. Cultivating here will bring twice the results with half the effort. In the outside world, such places were extremely rare and monopolized by noble families, never open to outsiders.

Yet on Sky Island, the vast Inner Zone itself was an elemental land.

This stirred Carlotta’s interest. If she could cultivate within an elemental land, the time needed to break through to Listener would be greatly reduced.

"Huh? That’s..."

Suddenly, Carlotta’s eyes lit up.

In a patch of woods, she spotted a tree bearing fruit, golden-yellow, oval-shaped, and looking incredibly delicious.

Amelia noticed too and said, "Those are Sunroots. Their effect is similar to Magic Bananas, but several times stronger. They’re also used in alchemical potion-making."

Sunroots were a rare treasure, extremely precious in the outside world and practically nonexistent in markets.

"I’ll go get them."

Carlotta said.

The distance to the Sunroots wasn’t far.

Amelia warned, "Be careful. That’s the Inner Zone, there could be unseen dangers."

Carlotta nodded.

She cautiously entered the mountain. In an instant, she felt an overwhelming concentration of elemental energy envelop her. With each breath, magic power surged naturally, and her entire body’s mana seemed to rejoice.

This sensation made her reluctant to leave. She almost wanted to stay in this environment forever, it felt that good.

After taking several deep breaths, Carlotta moved toward the Sunroots, intending to retrieve these precious fruits first.

She activated her Speed card, but didn’t unleash full speed. Instead, she approached at a normal pace, staying highly alert, until she reached the tree bearing Sunroots.

Each Sunroot was as large as a human head. Nimble as ever, Carlotta climbed the tree and picked the fruits one by one, immediately storing them in her Storage Card, leaving the tree completely bare.

At that moment, Carlotta’s heart tightened, she felt as if something was staring at her.

Without hesitation, she jumped down to the ground.

The instant her feet touched the soil, she noticed the Sunroot tree she’d just climbed collapsed completely.

Before the tree even hit the ground, Carlotta burst into full speed and fled. A fast-moving monster gave chase during her escape, but it simply couldn’t match Carlotta’s speed, watching helplessly as she dashed back into the Outer Zone.

"Screech! Screech! Screech!"

At the edge of the Inner Zone, a calf-sized, gray-furred, beepedal giant rat with sharp claws stood shrieking, seemingly furious.

Sky Island had rules: monsters from the Inner Zone couldn’t enter the Outer Zone. Thus, the giant could only scream in rage, powerless against Carlotta who had escaped.

Amelia said, "That’s a Steelclaw Rat. Its claws are extremely sharp. It’s a middle tier Listener-class monster."

Carlotta immediately tore the Cross Rose from her necklace. "A mere middle tier listener dares to screech at me? Amelia, let’s eliminate it right now."

Amelia had no objections.

Although both were ninth-tier apprentices, together they could easily handle a middle tier Listener-class monster.

They stepped forward together, entering the Inner Zone.

The Steelclaw Rat was momentarily surprised, wondering why its prey dared to return. But like a monster, it didn’t think much, immediately lunging toward the two.

The Steelclaw Rat possessed extremely sharp claws, capable of easily shredding even solid rock. Yet, no matter how sharp those claws were, they couldn’t change the outcome.

When Carlotta and Amelia entered the inner zone together and attacked simultaneously, the Steelclaw Rat was instantly suppressed.

In no time at all, this monster stationed at the edge of the inner zone, possessing the strength of a middle tier Listener, was killed on the spot, its blood splattering across the ground.

"The claws of the Steelclaw Rat are worth quite a bit. They can be used to craft alchemical items."

Carlotta began gathering loot.

She swung her Cross Rose, severed the pair of claws, and handed them to Amelia to store. The rat’s corpse itself was useless.

Suddenly, the body of the Steelclaw Rat split open by itself, and something dropped out.

"What’s this?"

Carlotta picked it up and examined it.

It was a small tablet, seemingly carved from some monster’s bone, with a rough texture to the touch.

Why would something like this drop from a Steelclaw Rat?

Just as Carlotta was puzzled, a glow flickered across the bone tablet. Then, a beam of light shot out, forming a screen displaying lines of information.

1st: Olivia Garcia, 621.

2nd: Zorn Wilson, 588.

3rd: Black Rose, 575.

...

1422nd: Unnamed, 1.

What was this?

Carlotta tilted her head slightly, pondering the origin of this object.

Amelia stepped closer and softly said, "I didn’t expect this time it would be the Sky Ranking."

"You know what this is about?"

Carlotta asked.

Amelia nodded and began explaining.

She mentioned past events. When Sky Island appeared before, the outer zone remained unchanged, merely exploration and monster encounters. But the inner zone, during different periods, would have varying competitive rules.

The Sky Ranking was one such rule. When this rule emerged, each monster in the inner zone would carry a token, some more, some less. Those who entered the inner zone needed to collect these tokens and compete over them.

Before Sky Island closed, rewards would be distributed based on the number of tokens each person collected. The one with the most tokens would receive an incredibly generous reward.

"The person in first place now has 621 tokens."

Amelia looked at the Sky Ranking, then wore a thoughtful expression. "Olivia Garcia? She might be a member of the Brandon Kingdom’s royal family."

Her eyes scanned downward across the Sky Ranking, recognizing many familiar names.

Carlotta looked at the very last entry, "Unnamed," and knew it was her. Undoubtedly, with only one token, she was at the very bottom.

"It seems there are 1,422 people in the inner zone... No."

Carlotta had just spoken when she immediately corrected herself.

In the inner zone, it wasn’t possible for everyone to obtain a token. Groups of allies might concentrate tokens onto a single individual to compete for rank, leaving the others unranked.

Judging from that, the actual number of people in the inner zone wasn’t small at all.

"As long as Sky Island exists, people will keep entering, not just from Brandon Kingdom."

Carlotta’s gaze turned subtle.

Her eyes fell upon a lower-ranked name.

1362nd: General Soul Reaper, 5.

Carlotta hadn’t expected to see that pirate general’s title again. But since Sky Island had appeared along the coast of Moonlight Sea, pirates could certainly notice it. If they truly wanted to enter, it wasn’t impossible.

Especially someone like that Pirate General, whose strength was terrifying. Who could possibly stop them from entering Sky Island?

This Pirate General currently had only five tokens. Perhaps they had just entered Sky Island recently and hadn’t had time to search yet.

Of course, there was also the possibility of impersonation. After all, the name one left on the Sky Ranking seemed to be entirely up to the individual.

Thinking this, Carlotta decided to name herself.

1425th: Moon, 1.

Her chosen name was simple.

Yet in just that short moment, three more people had moved ahead of her, pushing her down another three ranks.

"Do you wish to participate in this competition?"

Amelia asked, her eyes carrying a hint of concern.

"Of course. Although I don’t know what rewards the top ranks will bring, anything produced by Sky Island can’t be bad."

Carlotta said with anticipation.

"Then let’s join."

Amelia didn’t hesitate. Though they were still apprentices, their actual abilities weren’t lacking.

Still, the inner zone was far more dangerous than the outer zone. In a place like this, actions had to be extremely cautious.

Amelia turned and gave instructions to Mia and the others, ordering them to remain in the outer zone for exploration. The inner zone wasn’t suitable for apprentices, except for her and Carlotta.

As Mia and the others left, Carlotta also recalled several of her carriage cards. Without her nearby, no one else could use them.

"Amelia, when the Sky Ranking appeared before, what kind of reward did the first-place winner receive?"

Carlotta asked eagerly.

Although achieving first place was difficult for them, perhaps only a dream, they naturally looked toward the top. That rank was impossible to ignore.

Amelia’s expression turned peculiar at her question, looking at Carlotta as if wanting to speak but holding back.

"What is it? Was there something strange about the last first-place winner?"

Carlotta was confused by Amelia’s reaction.

Amelia paused, then said, "The last Sky Ranking was about thirty years ago. The first-place reward was the Seer Magic."

Carlotta’s expression froze.

Seer Magic, an ability never seen in the world before, said to have originated from Sky Island.

Currently, only one person in the world practiced Seer Magic: Selene Vire. It was precisely because of that person that Carlotta had been forced to flee from Wales Castle, ending up in a wandering state.

Amelia explained in detail. Back then, the person who entered Sky Island and achieved first place was an elder relative of Selene Vire. Though they obtained Seer Magic, they never practiced it, because the magic was extremely difficult to master. As a secondary path, it offered little progress.

So when Selene reached the age suitable for training, the magic was passed to her. Selene lived up to expectations and achieved a decent level of proficiency.

"I never thought it would be connected to that person again."

Carlotta’s gaze turned deeply complex.

She also recalled that Duke Francis had obtained Armament Magic from Sky Island, which he passed to his daughter to practice.

But Amelia told Carlotta that Armament Magic wasn’t obtained through the Sky Ranking rule. It had been acquired by Duke Francis under a different rule.