CHAPTER 147: 147. RANK ★★★★

"[Phantom Surge]..." I muttered under my breath.

And then—I moved.

Zig-zagging along the battlefield, my form began to blur. Each step left behind an afterimage, flickering like ghosts caught mid-sprint. My speed surged, the world slowed, and I split into a dozen versions of myself across the ground. To the untrained eye, I was everywhere.

Orion narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on the golden spear at his side. He spun in place, trying to track me, but I could tell—he’d already lost my true position.

I was just a flicker. Just an echo.

Then—I was right in front of him. My fist raised, only inches away from shattering his smug expression.

But he reacted.

"[Second Style – Slash]!"

His arm blurred, slashing diagonally with the golden spear. The sound of wind tearing echoed—but his blade hit only air.

An afterimage. One of many.

I was already behind him.

"[Violent Fist]!" I roared, amethyst mana erupting from my knuckles.

Dark light surged, crackling with volatile energy. The raw force concentrated in my fist, condensed down to a terrifying point of impact.

BAM!

A concussive shockwave blasted through the field. My punch connected squarely with the side of his helmeted face. The crunch of metal shattering echoed like thunder.

Bits of his black-and-crimson armor splintered, jagged shards embedding deep into the skin beneath. Blood sprayed. His head snapped sideways as the force sent him tumbling, skidding across the ground like a tossed ragdoll.

He groaned, pain lacing his voice, and stabbed his spear into the earth to slow his momentum.

Big mistake.

I didn’t wait.

My leg swung upward in a brutal rising kick that smashed beneath his chin—CRACK!

His head jerked back, and his body launched upward, the spear slipping from his hand as he was hurled into the air.

Blood splattered against my boot, warm and wet, some of it trailing into the air as he rose like a broken bird.

A wicked grin curved my lips.

There was something I’d been meaning to try.

Until now, I’d been operating within the limits of Rank ★★★—my mana limited to what surged within my body, what I could forcefully channel.

But Rank ★★★★?

That was different.

It wasn’t just about stats. It was about how you used mana. The higher ranks didn’t just draw power from within—they pulled from the world itself. From the air, the soil, the void between atoms. They bent the ambient mana around them like gravity.

And right now—this virtual space had mana in abundance, any space had.

My fingers flexed. My arms raised.

Orion was still airborne, dazed and likely wondering what the hell had just happened.

I looked upward—and focused.

For a moment, just a breath, I saw it. Faint, nearly invisible threads of amethyst weaving through the air. Like veins in the sky.

Mana.

Not mine—but there, all around me. The ambient current of the simulation.

My heart raced. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was instinct.

Either way—I reached out.

The mana responded.

Lightning sparked in the air, faint and wild. My breath caught as static rose along my skin, my vision sharpening. The sky—once clear, basked in sunlight—began to shift.

Clouds churned into existence, rolling in fast from all directions. Grey and heavy. The sun dimmed behind them, and in its place, a thick gloom swallowed the battlefield.

Kaelira looked up in stunned silence, her eyes wide at the sudden change.

But I couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t feel anything beyond the sheer thrill.

I was commanding the sky.

ZAP!

The first bolt struck, a lance of violet lightning cracking across the heavens. It missed Orion by a few feet, but it set the tone.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Three more followed, hammering down like divine punishment. The clouds twisted and roared, the mana in the air responding to my will as if I’d been born to command it.

And still—he was up there. Caught between freefall and the rumble of the storm I had summoned.

I couldn’t see his face through the clouds. That irked me.

I wanted to see the terror.

I raised my hand again, my fingers crackling with static, and called out—

"Let’s see you tank this."

The clouds surged one last time, swirling into a spiral of concentrated mana. The wind howled like a dying beast, and all at once—a massive bolt of amethyst lightning descended.

BOOOOOM!

It struck dead center on his falling body, lighting the sky like a second sun. The explosion rocked the terrain, sending shockwaves in every direction. Dust kicked up. Corpses flew.

Silence followed.

A heavy, tense silence.

I stood still, my body trembling—not from fear, but from the sheer exertion of what I had just done.

The sky slowly cleared, the clouds parting, the sun returning in the aftermath of destruction.

Ash and steam drifted from the crater where Orion had fallen.

And in the center, buried in molten earth, was a figure. Burnt, broken, barely breathing.

But alive.

Barely.

I exhaled, chest heaving, sweat trailing down my temple.

"...Guess I still need to work on my aim."

Kaelira finally approached from behind, her voice low. "What the hell was that?"

I turned to her, still grinning like a maniac. "That... was me getting started."

But the aftermath wasn’t over yet.

And I sure as hell wasn’t going to give Orion another chance to stand.

What if he had some hidden healing trick? Some kind of last-resort revival card?

No. I wasn’t playing that game.

I walked forward, slow and steady, my boots crunching over the scorched, cracked ground. The crater still sizzled beneath my steps. Tendrils of steam hissed up around me, licking at my legs like ghostly serpents.

I glanced at the battlefield—my battlefield.

Charred black earth. Lightning-burned soil. Debris and corpse fragments scattered like confetti after a brutal party.

Honestly? I felt good. Like, disturbingly good.

This was art.

And Orion was the centerpiece.

He was down. Half-buried, armor molten in places, his breathing ragged and shallow. Blood bubbled from his lips. His spear lay beside him—useless now. Just a decoration.

I crouched down beside him.

A short dagger formed in my hand, condensed from raw amethyst mana—compact, efficient, and cruelly sharp. I held it to his throat, pressing lightly against the soft skin under his jaw.

"Damn," I muttered. "You’re one hell of an opponent. Seriously—were you a Rank ★★★★?"

I tilted my head, inspecting the damage.

"I genuinely think so. But you’re a new one. Like me. Still learning the ropes. Shame."

I gave him a small smirk.

"Anyways, you lost, bitch."

And then, without ceremony, I slit his throat.

He didn’t scream. He didn’t beg.

He just... dissolved.

Particles scattered upward into the air, his body breaking into fragments of light and data.

+1 Kill.

I let out a long breath. My limbs relaxed.

The 345th Battle Royale has Ended!!

Congratulations to the Winners!!

The system voice boomed like the heavens had something to say.

Winners!!

Cassius Lancaster

Kaelira

Most Kills!!

Cassius Lancaster – 42 Kills!!!

Orion – 25 Kills!!

Kaelira – 10 Kills!

The reward will be distributed in a moment – 1 million RHB each!!

"...Huh?" I blinked, pausing mid-breath.

One. Million. RHB. Each.

Before I could mentally process the zeroes in that number, the world blinked out.

I woke up.

Back in the real world.

The hatch of the VR pod hissed open with a faint vacuum seal sound. I sat up, blinking rapidly. My body felt... fresh. Limber. Good, even. The fatigue was gone, replaced with a weird floating satisfaction.

Damn, that was a rush.

Kaelira emerged from the pod next to me, her red hair messy and slightly damp with sweat. She looked over at me.

I looked back.

We blinked at each other for a moment in silence.

Then I said, "WTF. We both get one million RHB? I feel like we should’ve added two more guys for fun."

She didn’t respond at first. Her expression slowly melted from blank to blissful. A lazy smile curled her lips. Her eyes practically glimmered with madness.

"Maybe I should settle here," she muttered dreamily. "It’s not a bad idea. If I don’t do any more PvP, I’ll be fine. I’ll live rich. Get a house. Raise a cat. No more hunting bandits, no more escort missions..."

Her giggling started softly. Then it became weirder.

"Ha... Haha...Hehe...EheHEHEHEHEHEHEHE—"

I smacked the back of her head. Thwack!

"Oi! Stop that witchy laugh. It’s creepy as hell. Ewwww."

She rubbed her head and glared at me. "What the fuck do you know, Mr. Grand Duke? Do you know what it’s like to live poor? You ever worked day and night as a mercenary, risking your life for a few silver? You know how I lived?! You don’t!!! So shut the fuck up!"

I tilted my head. "I just said your laugh was creepy. I didn’t insult your dreams, woman."

We glared at each other for a few seconds more.

Then—

DING.

A soft chime rang as a sleek robotic AI hologram materialized in front of us, its posture a formal bow.

"Dear Winners, please follow me. I would like to escort you to the celebration venue."

"Ah." I turned to Kaelira. "Hey, let’s go. Maybe that’s where we get our money."

She paused, then nodded eagerly. "Lead the way, money-bot."

The hologram floated ahead, and we followed it through a sleek chrome hallway. The place had no corners—just seamless curving walls of glass and silver.

After a short walk, the corridor opened into a massive domed atrium—a banquet hall, if you could even call it that.

It looked like the inside of a luxury spaceship mixed with a high-end influencer gala.

Lights dazzled from every surface. Holographic confetti floated lazily in the air. Tables were stacked with absurd food—roasted beasts, gold-dusted desserts, drinks with literal glowing liquids inside them.

And people.

So. Many. People.

Influencers. Streamers. Corporate sponsors. Gilded suits and fake smiles. Cameras floated around, projecting our faces across massive holographic screens mounted along the walls.

And as soon as we stepped in—

They swarmed.

"Cassius Lancaster! The MVP of the 345th Royale! What was going through your head during that storm sequence?"

"Kaelira! You scored the third-highest kill count! Will you be joining a guild now?"

"Cassius, what do you plan to do with the money? Are you open for brand sponsorships?"

I blinked. Then groaned. "Ah shit. This part."

Kaelira elbowed me. "Smile and wave, rich boy. We’re celebrities now."