[Position Ranking: 7th]
It flashed, and White's eyes gleamed with light.
He was ranked 7th, even after fighting nonstop for three full days, slaughtering beasts.
But then, when he sank back on the chair and thought about it, he actually felt a sense of accomplishment instead.
Why?
The first thing was that there was a total of 150 people on the Genius ranking.
He had managed to rank 7 out of 150.
That was an exceptional result.
And to boot, while many students had believed the academy wanted them to kill each other and kill fellow test takers, which naturally rewarded higher points, he had not killed any human, managing to make his way to the 7th rank all by pooling up 10 points from most beasts and 40 points from awakened beasts.
"The 7th ranking is good. Very good."
White mused.
"But some students scored higher, meaning there are still geniuses in Xtremecybers that are equally as good, or even better."
He mused, his eyes trailing over the top 6.
He only found one name familiar.
A name called Rukun Malevolent ranked 6th.
The memory of that red-haired guy who called himself a malevolent boy came to him, but in the end, he wasn't 100% sure, so he shrugged it off.
Having learned more about the academy's operations, he felt a bit relaxed, allowing him to continue to one thing that needed his attention.
"Activate System."
He ordered, and the panel immediately flashed.
[Overview of Levelling During Focus Mode Will Now Be Explained.]
"Good."
White called out.
[Last Recorded Interface Before Focus Mode Levelling]
[Name: White Sinclaw]
[Level: 4]
[EXP: 0/1,000]
[Current Interface]
[Name: White Sinclaw]
[Level: 8]
[EXP: 0/2000]
"I levelled up 4 times during the fight."
White concluded, as the panel continued.
[Last Recorded Stats Before Focus Mode Levelling]
[Stats]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 20]
[Spirit: 15]
[Combat Power: 44]
[Attribute Points: 0]
[Current Stats with Uniform Allocation Order]
[Stats]
[Strength: 33]
[Agility: 33]
[Spirit: 29]
[Combat Power: 84]
[Attribute Points: 0]
It said, and White hummed before nodding.
It's correct.
Level 4 to 8 means he levelled up 4 times, and each level up gives 10 attribute points.
That was 40 attribute points.
He ordered the system to allocate evenly, and it placed 13 attributes into each stat, totaling 39.
The remaining point out of 40 was 1, and it was allocated to Spirit, bringing it to 29.
It did things just as he ordered, and his combat power, just like before, was influenced by the accumulation of his base three stats.
Now he had 84, which was close to double his previous combat power.
Safe to say, he had grown twice as strong from his last level up, and now four times stronger than before he embarked on this test.
'Good growth.'
He mused in pride, but then, the panel flashed.
[New Benefits Unlocked.]
[You have gained enough Awakening Cells to replace all of your basic human cells and evolve into the first stage of Awakening.]
[Would you like to begin evolution?]
It asked, and White understood.
Absorbing the Life Cleansing Pool and with the system's aid, had allowed him to absorb far more than normal.
Humans possess basic cells that slowly shift into awakened cells as they absorb more essence energy.
When every cell of a human being is fully replaced by awakening cells,
They undergo an evolution that places them into the first stage of awakening: The Star Realm.
If White remembered correctly from his past life, it had taken him exactly three months after getting into the United Earth Federation before he was able to step into the Star Realm, and right now, it had barely been three days after his awakening, yet the system was asking if he was willing to proceed.
'But should I evolve now? Won't that raise eyebrows?'
White mused to himself.
Evolving so fast, it sounded harmless, but if he drew attention by being abnormal, all that would await him was constant judgment and having his moves watched by the academy, which would wish to understand what made him abnormal.
It could end up backfiring rather than helping.
But in the end, White shrugged it off.
'I have enough excuse.'
'I have an S-class Awakening, not a B-class.'
'And even the instructor said some of us, using the Life Cleansing Pool, might just be able to ascend to the Star Realm.'
'Whether he was joking or not, at least it shows there was a possibility of that happening.'
'Besides, my fight isn't with Xtremecybers.'
'It's to stop Draugr, who right now is also an S-rank Awakener and growing too.'
'For that reason, I need every power I can get as fast as I can get them.'
He rose to his feet, heading to the cultivation room.
The best environment for evolution was a place saturated with essence energy.
Once he stepped in, he shut the door, taking off his shirt and trousers, leaving only his underwear.
Then, he quietly stepped into the pool, which swallowed him down to his waist.
When he sat down, it was just beneath his jaw.
"Begin Evolution."
White ordered, and the panel immediately flashed.
[Confirmation Received.]
[Full Replacement of Basic Cells with Awakening Cells will now begin]
The system panel flashed, and White's heart pounded.
The evolution was never a good thing; he remembered that well, even back in his past.
And true to his remembrance,
RIIIIP!
A muffled sound of something being torn apart rang out, and White's eyes snapped open in horror, his hands slamming against the edge of the pool as he dug into it tightly.
'What the?'
It was like his skin, his muscles, and bones were being ripped into pieces.
[Warning: Host might indeed feel a mild discomfort.]
'You call this mild!?'
White said, his teeth creaking from how tightly he ground them together as the sound of something ripping apart grew louder until it became deafening.
[Well, maybe a bit...]
[...actually, a lot, since this is only the mildest phase of pain.]
'Wait, wait, wait, you say the mildest phase of...?'
"Argggh!"