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Chapter 148: Demon Realm Rankings

[10th Place: Gaion Clan, 1,001,534 points]

[9th Place: Cecilia Mercenary Corps, 1,193,420 points]

[8th Place: Bellusia Clan, Contribution Points: Private]

[7th Place: Private]

[6th Place: Private]

[5th Place: Ardehain Clan, Contribution Points: Private]

[4th Place: Hyark Clan, Contribution Points: Private]

[3rd Place: Private]

[2nd Place: Private]

[1st Place: Private]

.

.

.

I looked at the top of the rankings and tilted my head in confusion.

"What\'s with all the \'Private\' entries?"

A short, stocky man who had been loudly chattering away beside me for a while now looked me up and down before speaking.

"Is this your first time in the Demon Realm?"

"It is."

"Where are you from? Judging by your group, are you mercenaries? Or from a clan?"

"I\'m from a clan. The Samael Clan."

The stocky man laughed loudly.

"I see. You can set your ranking to private. You can hide everything, or just your contribution points. But for people like us, it doesn\'t really matter."

"Why not?"

"Look at the ranking board. It\'s only the top ranks that can hide their information."

Kant had given me detailed information about the Demon Realm, but it wasn\'t everything. He must have omitted information he deemed unimportant.

As the stocky man said, from a certain rank onwards, all rankings and contribution points were public.

"Thank you."

The stocky man laughed heartily and said,

"Don\'t mention it. We gotta help each other out. The name\'s Chano. I\'m with the Life Mercenary Corps. What about you?"

"Ruin Samael. Commander of the Samael\'s Crazy Mage Squad."

Just then, someone called out to the stocky man.

"Chano!"

"Well, well, look who it is!"

Chano approached someone with exaggerated gestures and winked at me.

"Seems I\'m a popular man. Let\'s meet again sometime."

After Chano left, I looked at the ranking board again.

Even though the top ranks were private, I could pretty much guess who they were.

Ranks 1 to 3 would be the Divine Clans, and below them would be the Vassal Clans.

[TL/N: A Major change— Noble Clans→Vassal Clans (Fits the Context more accurately as clans who serve the Divine Clans)]

However, one peculiar thing was that there was an unfamiliar mercenary corps among the Vassal Clans.

"Anyone know anything about the Cecilia Mercenary Corps?"

I asked in a low voice, and Palge answered in a similarly hushed tone.

"They\'re a regular mercenary corps based in the north. They\'re small, but they have a fearsome reputation. Whenever they participate in a war, all hell breaks loose."

Arin added,

"The commander of the Cecilia Mercenary Corps is known as the Mercenary King."

I replied,

"That\'s quite the title. What\'s their background?"

"They\'re not a knight."

"What weapon do they use?"

"A spear."

I noticed Makan, who had been listening quietly, suddenly shrug his shoulders.

Mercenary King who uses a spear, huh?

It reminded me of Gento Tycoon.

Zion, who had been scrutinizing the ranking board, muttered,

"The rankings at the bottom are constantly changing."

Indeed, from the three-digit rankings downwards, the positions were fluctuating.

The rankings were constantly shifting according to changes in contribution points.

"...It\'s getting tougher. It used to be easy to enter the higher-level Demon Realms with just over 7,000 points."

"You\'re telling me. Now you need over 10,000."

"Still, Chano, your mercenary corps is almost at 10,000 points. I envy you."

Listening to their conversation, I looked at the very bottom of the ranking board.

The lowest rank listed was 1,000th.

Most of the rankings were recorded by groups like clans, mercenary corps, societies, and factions, but not all of them.

There were also rankings registered by individuals.

After checking the ranking board to a certain extent, I went to an administrator in charge and gathered more information. Then, I said to my subordinates,

"Let\'s go."

My subordinates all looked at me at the same time.

"To the Demon Realm."

* * *

Agouro Mahonguro, a 4th-grade clerk belonging to the Magic Tower Alliance Administration, was writing a report with weary eyes.

He didn\'t even have time to organize the mountain of documents piled on the table. He had been losing sleep for three days, and even after drinking three bottles of Awakening Potion, his mind wouldn\'t clear.

Knock, knock—

Agouro looked at the door with a tired face.

"Come in."

The door carefully opened, revealing a young man he had never seen before.

Judging by his clothes, he seemed to belong to the Administration...

No.

Looking closely, he was vaguely familiar.

He was probably one of the low-ranking administrative staff.

"What is it?"

"I-I have something to report."

Agouro, feeling a surge of irritation, pointed at the young man.

"Where do you belong?"

"I\'m in charge of mana measurement in the Administration Department."

"And?"

"Huh?"

"Is this the right procedure? Who\'s your superior?"

The young man\'s face turned pale and he replied,

"I-I apologize. He\'s away on a business trip... I thought I should report it... I\'ll be going now."

Watching the young man\'s retreating figure, Agouro sighed and said,

"Hold on."

The young man turned around with a look of near fainting.

"Forget it. I won\'t scold you, just tell me. What\'s your report?"

"Well..."

"Is there someone who needs a Special Entry Pass?"

"Not that..."

Agouro, feeling another surge of irritation, picked up an empty bottle, then forced himself to calm down and said,

"Just tell me already."

"A Magic Sphere broke."

"...What?"

The young man hurriedly waved his hands and continued,

"I\'ve already taken care of it. Fortunately, there was a spare Magic Sphere..."

Agouro interrupted him,

"This is a new one. Why did the Magic Sphere break? What was the color?"

"Ah, it was for a Low-Grade Entry Pass. There were no peculiarities. It was white. Really."

Agouro looked into the young man\'s eyes for a moment.

The young man\'s eyes darted around with an anxious expression.

Something felt off, but Agouro was too tired to press a low-ranking employee.

"It seems the Magic Sphere was defective. As I said, I\'ve already taken measures. Fortunately, there was a spare. I\'ve also informed the Asset Team. You don\'t have to worry about it."

Agouro waved his hand dismissively.

"You can go."

"Huh?"

"I said you can go."

The young man hurriedly bowed his head and replied,

"Thank you for your time!"

Agouro started looking at the report he was writing again.

Recently, the Administration had been under increasing pressure from the Magic Scholars of the Main Tower.

For some reason, their interest in the Demon Realm was growing.

"Damn it. They should at least send more staff."

After working on the report for a long time, Agouro\'s brow suddenly furrowed.

He took another bottle of Awakening Potion and forced himself to focus on the report again.

A few minutes later.

"Oh, dear."

Unable to concentrate any longer, Agouro pushed the report aside and crossed his arms.

Leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, he suddenly muttered,

"...A Magic Sphere broke?"

Agouro tilted his head.

"That\'s strange. Did that really happen?"

Shaking his head as if he couldn\'t understand it, Agouro suddenly opened his eyes and muttered to himself,

"Even with a Special Entry Pass holder, that shouldn\'t happen. Even if a superhuman pours mana beyond the critical point, a Magic Sphere can\'t break."

Agouro searched his memories.

"That\'s never happened in the 10 years I\'ve been in the Administration. Did it happen before that?"

It was such an unusual case that Agouro couldn\'t recall anything immediately.

"I seem to remember hearing that something like that happened with a Divine Clan before. Who told me about it...?"

It was a long time before Agouro started muttering to himself again.

"...But that can\'t be the case this time. The color of the Magic Sphere was white, wasn\'t it? Was it really defective? That doesn\'t make sense either."

Agouro\'s eyebrows twisted in an inverted figure-eight, a habit he had when deep in thought.

While pondering the unsolved riddle, Agouro suddenly turned his head to the left.

"Huh?"

Light was emanating from a small magic circle on the wall.

Then, an alarm sounded.

Weeeeeeng—

Agouro jumped to his feet and hurriedly approached the magic circle. After adjusting his posture, he spoke to it.

"Ah! Yes, Floor Lord. This is Clerk Agouro Mahonguro. Yes, yes. I\'m fine. Please speak."

"..."

A moment later, Agouro\'s expression slightly distorted as he replied,

"Yes, yes. I will finish it and submit it by today. Please, go ahead!"

The magic circle faded back to its original state.

Agouro sat down and started frantically writing his report again.

"Damn it."

* * *

Westernmost edge of the Central Continent.

At the very western border of Keplan, a majestic magic barrier of tremendous height stretches across the horizon.

"...Even though it\'s the same Keplan, it feels very different."

The squad members sitting in the front of the transport carriage looked out with curious faces. A few hours after departing from the city, the vibrant scenery of Keplan disappeared, and a desolate atmosphere gradually took over.

"We\'ve arrived."

We got off the transport carriage and looked around. Nearby, a magic barrier emitting a dazzling array of colors was visible. It was clearly no ordinary barrier.

The barrier became denser towards the western end of the horizon, and at its very end stood a white skyscraper.

"Wow, is that the White Magic Tower?"

"It looks incredibly tall. I\'d love to run up to the top of the tower. I have a feeling it would be exhilarating."

"Oh, you ignorant fools."

"Don\'t call me ignorant, Zion."

"And don\'t call me a pig!"

"I didn\'t, pig!"

"You just did!"

I smacked each of the three idiots on the head.

Whack—! Whack—! Whack—!

Once my subordinates quieted down, I looked alternately at the top of the White Magic Tower, shrouded in clouds, and the barrier. It seemed that the White Magic Tower served as the central axis of the barrier that spanned the entirety of Keplan.

Arin pointed to a spot.

"It\'s over there."

A fairly large town had formed near the barrier. Many people were milling about, all either waiting to enter the border or enjoying themselves after leaving it.

As we passed through the town and approached the barrier, we saw a large, official Magic Tower Alliance branch building in the center, with temporary branches at regular intervals to the left and right.

Knights and mercenaries, boasting their well-honed skills, were broadly positioned in rows. They were dispatched from the Alliance.

I stared at the barrier right in front of me and rotated the circles in my heart up to four.

Wheeeeeng—

"What are you doing, Commander?"

Chanting a short incantation, I immediately shot a wind blade at the barrier.

Taaang—

I felt a tremendous rebound at the same time.

Immediately, those guarding the barrier approached and shouted,

"What do you think you\'re doing!"

"Just testing the barrier."

"What?"

"Is there a problem?"

I asked back as if it were natural.

Because, well, I\'m a man who can\'t suppress his curiosity.

"Since it seems like your first time, we\'ll let it slide. Be careful."

After glaring at me for a moment, they turned away.

I, too, looked left and right from the center.

There were hardly any people to the west where the barrier grew thicker. This was the path to the higher-level Demon Realms.

On the other hand, a considerable crowd had gathered in the east where the barrier was weaker.

The east led to the lower-level Demon Realms.

Recalling Kant\'s words, I entered the official branch building.

Unlike the headquarters in the city center, the interior wasn\'t extravagant, but a faint tension permeated the entire building.

I approached someone who appeared to be a guard and said,

"I want to enter the Demon Realm."

The guard replied,

"Go to the second floor."

When I went up to the second floor, there was a large space dedicated to Demon Realm-related affairs. A staff member who looked like a newbie approached and asked,

"How can I help you?"

"I want to enter the Demon Realm."

"Please show me your Entry Pass."

When my squad members and I showed our passes, the staff member checked the register, nodded, and asked,

"Would you like to register as individuals or as a group?"

"Can we do both?"

"Yes, you can."

"For now, we\'ll register as a group."

"What is the name of your group?"

I thought for a moment and replied,

"Samael Clan, Crazy Mage Squad."

"Alright. The contribution points will be added together. Which Demon Realm do you want to enter?"

"The quickest one available."

I was itching to get going.

The staff member checked something for a moment and said,

"Go to Section 37 of the eastern barrier."

"When can we enter?"

"It\'s already activated. If you\'re deemed to have no issues, you can enter immediately. Please arrive within three hours."

I went outside and headed straight for the section the staff member had indicated, looking around as I went.

"Wow."

Quite an interesting sight unfolded before me.

It almost felt like a lawless zone.