Leon stared at the glowing panel before him, eyes narrowing as the numbers settled. Every stat, Vitality, Stamina, Strength, Senses, Speed, Aura, had reached 10,000. But what drew his focus wasn't the digits; it was the new title beside his rank.
C-Rank (Mortal >>> Ascendant).
He exhaled, a faint grin forming.
Trial takers were graded in three major stages—F to D Rank were the Mortal Stages, C to A Rank the Ascendant Stages, and S to SSS Rank the Divine Stages. Each was more than a simple rank-up, it was a transformation. The jump between stages wasn't about quantity. It was quality.
A single stat point in the Ascendant stage carried the weight of dozens from the Mortal realm. Even affinities changed, becoming denser, sharper and truer to their nature. Force pulsed with new gravity, and Destruction… it whispered louder now, like it had found its voice.
