The destruction of his virtual body had cost him a considerable amount of palace points, yet the exhilarating duel with Zach made the expense worthwhile. The battle had pushed him further than any of the seventy duels that came before it. Even though the fight ended in a draw, Emery felt satisfied with the result.
When he logged back into the Virtual Palace, a new notification immediately appeared before him.
[Congratulations. You are now ranked within the Top 500 of Stage 5.]
[Reward: 2000 Palace Points]
Emery paused in surprise. The message was unexpected, but the explanation quickly became clear. His seventy victories had accumulated enough ranking points to push him into the official leaderboard. With the reward added to his balance, the fifty palace points he had spent regenerating his destroyed virtual body suddenly seemed insignificant.
