CHAPTER 55: DISCIPLE CULTIVATION SYSTEM CH55 RANK GAME BEGINS.

An hour had passed, and now all the first-years gathered in front of a large fissure in space.

The fissure, humming with an ethereal sound, was the gateway to the isolated dimension where the Rank Games would be held.

The isolated dimension, constructed by the hands of numerous spatial mages, offered a unique terrain each year - and the theme for this year was Urban.

"Cheshire, do you think we’ll be teleported to the same place?"

"I hope so."

Currently, among the vast numbers of students entering the fissure were Ellie and Cheshire, both of whom were pretty overwhelmed.

Ellie didn’t want to be separated from Cheshire since she had already experienced how mentally frail her friend was.

While teamwork wasn’t shunned in the Rank Games, it wasn’t encouraged either - after all, the possibility of being betrayed by your own team was never zero.

The most used tactic in this kind of game was gathering weaker students into one group, enticing them with promises, and getting rid of them when they least expected it.

Ellie, on the other hand, didn’t believe either she or Cheshire were weak, but she didn’t want her friend to gain a low rank just because someone used her inferiority complex against her.

A likely candidate was the detestable teacher, Mister Art, who was one of the Gatekeepers of this year’s game.

"I hate that man."

Using the keen sight inherited from her elf lineage, she observed the side profile of Art, who had just entered the portal.

"Cheshire, if we get separated, don’t go to the east Safe Zone," she warned, only for Cheshire to sigh.

"Ellie, I can take care of myself..."

"But..."

"I know my weaknesses. I’m not prepared to challenge them yet either, so I won’t go looking for beating." She smiled and added, "I promise."

Impressed by her maturity, Ellie nodded - and before she knew it, Cheshire grabbed hold of her hands and dragged her into the portal.

---

Valaria stood on the terrace of a skyscraper, leaning on the railing fencing the roof. She took in a deep breath, her curious eyes searching through the urban streets below for something... no, someone.

Like many of her colleagues, she had stepped into the portal and had been randomly transported somewhere in the vast isolated realm.

Before her were scattered dozens, maybe even hundreds of skyscrapers, each teeming with students just like her.

She could even see a few running across the asphalt streets below.

Watching the silver ring fixed on her index finger, she tapped the railing rapidly, a knowing look forming on her face.

She wouldn’t lie - right now, more than anything, she wanted to hide, to become unnoticed just so Trish wouldn’t find her.

But reality was far crueler than she thought, because the very person she didn’t want to be found by had been teleported right beside her.

Trish sat on the railing on the other side, playfully swinging her feet over the empty ground below.

"Aren’t you going to eliminate me?" she said, cracking a smile to hide her defeated expression.

The crazy swordswoman hadn’t yet drawn her sword, but the intent to cut her down was visible through her pale blue eyes.

"You’re less impressive than I expected, so I’ll use this strange analogy. I want meat on my prey before I hunt it down. The satisfaction then would be much greater."

Val tilted her head.

"The game lasts for a day. I’ll come and get you during the second half. Exactly twelve hours from now."

There was no refusing her, nor arguing back.

All Val could do was watch as Trish fell forward, allowing gravity to take hold of her.

About twenty stories down, her body dissolved into nothingness as if it had never existed to begin with.

"That was actually really cool."

She didn’t hold a positive impression of Trish, but she had to admit - that girl knew how to make an exit.

Leaning forward a bit and staring at the long descent below, she sighed and leaned back once again.

"Maybe someday!"

Everyone wanted to look cool once in a while - she wasn’t an exception to the rule. But right now, superhuman stunts were out of her league.

"Twelve hours, huh?"

Relieved, she muttered, wondering how she was going to spend those hours.

"I guess I’ll clear the weeds then... except for me, of course."

Tapping her storage ring, two black metallic batons materialized in her hands, which she gripped tightly.

The familiar weapons brought back hunting memories from the previous day.

These memories, in a way, acted as a trigger for her.

As long as they didn’t go away, she would remember her beating.

She would remember the bleeding, the sores, and the bruises.

This trauma was created by Art.

She was really beginning to hate that man.

She wanted nothing more than to scar his face and strangle him until he passed out - but she was far too weak to do that now.

So she was going to project all her pent-up frustration onto the people she was about to fight.

It was just artificial dopamine she had created. How effective it was depended on how delusional she was willing to get.

"Heh!"

No aura, no spear - just copium.

"This better be worth it."

Her expression twisted into ecstasy as she rammed through the rooftop door and began her fight of her own.

---

A giant mall stood at the east district of the large urban city.

Situated on the mall’s rooftop was a slender and lean young man.

His hair, cut short around his shoulders, was blonde and held a resemblance to the mane of a lion as it was rapidly tousled about by the artificial breeze of this fake world.

He stood still and unbothered, his eyes closed.

Cold and distant.

If someone saw him, those would be the perfect words to describe him - and yet his face occasionally shifted into solemn sadness.

He remained motionless for what seemed like an eternity before his fair hand drifted to his back, where he grabbed hold of the hilt of his sheathed weapon.

A sleek black katana was drawn from its sheath, its edge fresh and untouched by combat.

"My last downtime," he sighed, his eyes opening halfway to reveal a pair of sapphire eyes.

"Will my blade finally know blood then?"

He lived in the present, and yet his mind lay far in the future.

A day or two, a week... it couldn’t be more than a month before his prediction would come to pass.