Chapter 218 Creature Cultivation Ranks & Threat Levels
After winning his match, Lyrian was sent back to his solo sandbox room, which was like the game lobby. He could choose to start another match or do something else. His finger hovered over the rank button once again, but before he could click it, another message sounded from the BF voice.
"Player [One Shot] would like to join your room. Accept/Decline."
And then another one right after.
"Player [Blade] would like to join your room. Accept/Decline."
'Huh? One Shot and Blade... those sound familiar,' Lyrian slightly joked to himself. 'I guess those two aren't trying to hide their identities.' He smirked at his own joke as he accepted both requests. Within seconds, the two materialized in his world. The player with the username 'One Shot' above his head was Alten, as his main weapon was the bow. And the player whose name was 'Blade' was obviously Leon.
"Blade isn't very clever," Lyrian said as Leon walked forward. Leon looked to the side.
"Yeah... whatever," he replied, not concerned with a fancy name. Alten, on the other hand, was smiling.
"What do you think of my name? It's true, isn't it?" He put on a cool voice as he continued. "One Shot... One Kill..."
Lyrian cringed slightly at this. Alten quickly returned to his normal self and decided to ask a question about something he just noticed.
"That's odd... what does 'Zero' supposed to imply? If it means that you are worthless, then that's quite depressing," he joked. "Not very much like you, haha."
Lyrian paused for a moment to think. 'I guess he's not wrong. When I first got this name, it did mean that I was worthless... but now I can change the meaning...'
"It means Zero losses." Alten didn't think this meaning was too bad, as he nodded and curled his lip down, slightly impressed.
"But... its main purpose is to keep myself anonymous. Since you guys have already seen it, I don't want you to reveal my iden--"
Lyrian wasn't allowed to finish. The other two had already gotten the message.
"Of course, I won't reveal your identity. You have my word," Leon said, as Alten quickly followed up. "Yep, no problemo."
Lyrian smiled, slightly relieved to hear this, although he knew it was most likely going to turn out like this anyway. He at least needed to tell Alten and Leon, since they were far too involved in his personal life to keep a lie like that with them.
"But... what are you going to do when someone asks to 1v1 you? How are you going to keep yourself anonymous then?" Alten asked a question that Lyrian was still thinking about up until now.
"I'll have to figure it out, I guess."
The three didn't chat for much longer. With Lyrian's room set as the lobby, they all began ranking up.
Currently, Lyrian has 1 point. He was the Amateur Rank. To rank up into the Elite Rank, he needed a total of 20 points. The other two entered their rank matches, but Lyrian did so only after wrapping himself in a fully-fledged mummy suit made of his bed sheets. It was impractical, but he would have to get a suit later on...
He entered his first match and immediately unleashed Garmr. The wolf tore through Lyrian's opponent almost instantly, grabbing onto him and ferociously shaking him in the air.
+1 Rank Point.
The same was the case for the next match, and then the next after that. It was like trying to fight the boss creature of the Entrance Exams by yourself... impossible.
+1 Rank Point.
+1 Rank Point.
The day seemed to soar by as a mysterious hidden figure rose in the ranks faster than many had done before. His sheathed face was etched into the minds of many, and his name didn't fall below their recognition either.
+1 Rank Point.
+1 Rank Point.
+1 Rank Point.
+1 Rank Poi---
At 10 PM, when Lyrian slumped onto the bed, feeling slightly tired after the day of nonstop demolition for 8 hours straight, his face bore a wide grin. "140 points. Not bad." He smirked, allowing himself to fall asleep in that spread-out position. Flying past Amateur and Elite, Lyrian was now at the Professional Rank.
Although, for the most part, he only used Garmr when he wanted not to waste too much time on a stronger opponent, his ability to fight with Garmr had also increased by leaps and bounds...
***
715 years ago. Midst of the great Human-Elven conflict, otherwise known as the treacherous war that sunk two continents in the depths of its horrifying despair; The Ear War.
...
"ARRGHHH! KILL THEM ALL! ALL THOSE TRAITORS!" A valiant general roared as he rode atop his horse and stormed towards the opposing enemy army. His soldiers, thousands in numbers, followed behind him with a deafening roar of their own, which echoed through the earth.
Spears rained down in the blood-orange sky, a horizon that blocked out the sun due to the blood that had spilled over on it. The war that had been going on for years wasn't looking like it was going to stop anytime soon.
On the other side were long-haired warriors with pale skin and tall stature, riding forward atop large cockatrices the size of horses-travel birds. The river of ground formed between the two armies, which was quickly closing in on itself, stretched on for hundreds of miles!
It had slopes and curves but spanned across the vast horizon, where the eye could not meet its end. Millions... no, hundreds of millions of army men, of the phalanx
, and of soldiers neared each other, the 135th large clash of this war, and the one said to be the most devastating yet.
*SHINNG* A shining star shot across the sky! No, it wasn't a star, but a beam of light, a man who traveled fast! *BOOM* With an earth-shattering explosion, he landed on the ground, and the impact of the blow dug a separation of land so big in length that it caused the two armies on either side to halt in its wake.
That land, which stretched for hundreds of miles, was torn into two.
***
"And that... is all for today's class. We will continue learning about Ephrias Varant The Legendary tomorrow. Have a nice day." Mister Peseral said as the bell rang, prompting Lyrian to stand and move to his next class.
***
The next class on Lyrian's schedule was the Spirit Pet class. Upon his arrival, Ms. Nria began the lesson by emphasizing the importance of proper egg care and how to handle these mysterious eggs to initiate the growth process.
The day's lesson unfolded rapidly, but it left an indelible mark on Lyrian, as it served as the foundational knowledge for all creatures in this mystical realm - the Creature Cultivation Stages.
Lyrian's prior knowledge of cultivation stages was limited to the Genesis Rank, but as Nria delved into monster cultivation, she explained that each rank roughly aligned with intelligent cultivation levels, such as those of humans, elves, dwarfs, and others.
The equivalent creature cultivation rank to Genesis was the Pure Beast, encompassing three distinct stages: Layers 1, 2, and 3. Lyrian surmised that Genesis followed a similar pattern.
Beyond Pure Beast, there was the Growth Beast, also consisting of three layers.
Subsequently, the Evolution Beast, Rampage Beast, and the formidable Titan Beast followed suit. This revelation suggested that Lyrian had a total of five cultivation levels to aspire to.
Nria briefly touched on creature threat levels, hinting that they would be explored more in-depth in the Hunting Class. Nevertheless, she briefly outlined them in ascending order of danger: HAVOC, GUARDIAN, DISASTER, CALAMITY, and the rarely-seen CATASTROPHE.
The last of these, as Nria emphasized, was so colossal and destructive that it could only be vanquished with the united force of an entire continent to minimize catastrophic casualties.
Nria concluded the lesson by recounting the legend of the King Of All Monkeys, the Jian Monkey, a golden-furred primate whose roars could level cities and sneezes obliterate armies.
As Lyrian absorbed the knowledge imparted in the Spirit Pet class, he found himself immersed in a world of wonder and possibilities. Each layer of the Creature Cultivation Stages held its unique challenges and rewards.
The Pure Beast stages, for instance, focused on fundamental abilities, such as enhanced senses, agility, and basic elemental manipulation.
Growth Beast stages, on the other hand, delved into specialization. It was during this phase that a creature began to develop its unique traits and abilities, setting it apart from others of its kind.
The Evolution Beast stages promised even greater power and mastery over the elements. It was said that creatures at this level could control natural forces with precision, from summoning storms to manipulating terrain.
Rampage Beast and Titan Beast stages represented the pinnacle of creature cultivation. These were the stages where legends were born, where creatures could reshape landscapes and challenge the gods themselves. Lyrian knew that reaching these heights would be a daunting task, but he welcomed the challenge with unwavering determination.
Nria's mention of creature threat levels added another layer of complexity to Lyrian's understanding of the world. HAVOC, the lowest level, was familiar to him. He had already encountered creatures of this threat level during his entrance exam, creatures that could cause chaos and destruction but were manageable with proper training.
GUARDIAN, the next level up, intrigued Lyrian. He recalled the powerful creatures he had seen during the entrance exam, ones that had an otherworldly presence and strength. The idea that creatures with an OP (Overall Power) of 10 or more fell into this category made the most sense to him.
DISASTER, CALAMITY, and CATASTROPHE were levels of increasing danger. These creatures were forces of nature in their own right, capable of unleashing devastation on a grand scale.
Lyrian understood that his journey through the Creature Cultivation Stages would be marked by challenges and trials, but the prospect of facing creatures of such magnitude both thrilled and humbled him.
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