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[Observation of World No. 004 "Strike the Blood"]
[In order to uphold the friendly cooperation agreement with the allied Little Garden Central Core, revenue will be split 9:1 after deducting the Dimensional Forum's base operating fee.]
"Huh? Didn't this skinflint forum take 9.5 last time? Why's it 90% now? Did it grow a conscience?"
Ryo scrolled through the records in mild disbelief. Then his eyes caught a particular line.
'After deducting base operating fees, proceeds will be split 9:1 with the Little Garden Central Core.'
Base operating fees.
Right. Of course.
Anyone with half a brain could read between the lines. First, skim off 90% as a "base fee," then split the rest 9-to-1. End result? The Forum pockets ninety-nine percent and tosses a pitiful one percent like a tip.
Fantastic. His cheat, Forum Bro, was still operating in peak condition.
A seasoned capitalist through and through.
Ryo shook his head and pulled the page down to what he actually wanted to see.
[World "Strike the Blood" (name customized by Holder) has been incorporated into Little Garden's observation scope.]
[Points earned: 120,000.]
[Spirit Rank Merit gained: 2,000,000.]
[WARNING]
[WARNING]
[Holder's base Spirit Rank has reached the standard of a Four-Digit Elite. However, no Authority imprint exists within the Spirit Rank. This severely deviates from the life-tier classification established by the Little Garden Central Core.]
[Holder is advised to obtain an Authority and engrave it into the Spirit Rank as soon as possible to prevent the onset of the "Wind of Decline."]
"…What?"
Ryo's brows knit tightly as he pulled up the backend interface and began combing through it.
"So Little Garden's Central Core requires that any Four-Digit existence must have an Authority engraved in their Spirit Rank, not merely possess one externally?"
Ryo did have Authorities.
At the most basic level, his divinity contained a fragment of Fire Authority, on the verge of sublimating into Scorching Heat.
From the world of Campione, he'd also acquired the "Great Ritual of the Old Covenant" from the King of the End, Rama. A specialized Authority targeting godslayers.
On top of that, there was the Emotion Authority Algol shared with him.
Any one of those could be engraved into his Spirit Rank and become his exclusive Authority.
But what would that actually mean for him?
His main path wasn't Little Garden's system. It was the Cosmo.
The effects of Authority were still unclear. Acting rashly might do more harm than good. And frankly, it didn't suit his temperament to blindly follow someone else's structure.
"…Let's just ask."
Ryo opened the Dimensional Forum and posted a question.
For all its penny-pinching, the one good thing about this leech of a platform was that it knew everything, and asking questions was free. Might as well squeeze it back.
[Question: What impact will engraving an Authority into my Spirit Rank have on me?]
[Answer: Positive impact. No malignant effects.]
Ryo frowned.
[Question: Elaborate.]
He wasn't looking for a fortune-cookie answer.
[Answer: Data locked. Please check the Central Core backend for detailed information.]
[Holder may also spend 50,000 points to permanently block the Little Garden Central Core from inspecting his Spirit Rank.]
[Proceed with point deduction?]
Ryo rejected it instantly.
Fifty thousand just to hide? Not happening.
He closed the Q&A window and entered the backend directly.
Lines upon lines of information flooded the screen. It took him quite a while to piece everything together.
At its core, the issue stemmed from Little Garden's definition of life, rooted in the primordial Gift known as the Spirit Rank.
In Little Garden, the strength of one's Spirit Rank directly determined one's life tier.
The stronger the Spirit Rank, the higher the life form.
The reverse, however, was unacceptable. You couldn't have a low Spirit Rank but a high life tier.
Spirit Rank defined your existence. It was your classification.
Your combat power could exceed your rank. A Four-Digit could rival a Three-Digit in strength.
But your life tier itself could not surpass your Spirit Rank.
Ryo had already run into this before. His Cosmo couldn't exceed his Spirit Rank.
A Five-Digit Spirit Rank could only support the Sixth Sense. His Seventh Sense had only manifested when he broke past the Five-Digit limit.
So how did the Central Core determine the scale of a Spirit Rank?
Two metrics.
Merit scale. And Pillar scale.
Merit was straightforward. The greater your impact on the world, the more merit you gained, and the larger your Spirit Rank grew.
Even if your initial Spirit Rank was weak, massive merit could rapidly inflate it.
But it was a hollow kind of growth.
Quantity without quality.
The Pillars, however, were different.
They represented Little Garden's system framework.
A mortal is born with a Spirit Rank. Through divine gifts, training, or accumulating merit, they strengthen it until they can sense concepts. That stage is Six-Digit.
Then they condense concepts, refine multiple concepts into Authority fragments, and elevate their Spirit Rank further. Their life essence approaches a demi-god. That is Five-Digit.
From Authority fragments, they condense a complete Authority. Once acknowledged by the Central Core, they are granted Four-Digit status.
At that point, they may collect faith and become acquired gods if they want.
Next, they liberate the constraints of Authority and sublimate it into Divine Right. That is Three-Digit, the realm of god-kings.
Beyond that, Divine Right is sublimated into Cosmic Truth. That is Two-Digit. One becomes a universal principle, a fragment of the multiverse itself.
As far as Little Garden knew, only one mortal had ever completed that path.
Shakyamuni. The Buddha.
A being who rose from mortal to become cosmic Truth.
Throughout this entire process, if the Spirit Rank was a house, then Authority was the load-bearing pillar.
That was why they were called Pillars.
"So my situation right now is basically a massive house with no support beams inside? A structurally unsound building?"
"And the Wind of Decline is the government demolition team coming to tear down illegal construction?"
Ryo couldn't help but mutter.
So in the eyes of the Central Core, the warning basically translated to: We've noticed your unsafe structure. Renovate immediately or we'll send in demolition.
Somehow, it felt painfully modern.
"So what exactly are the pros and cons of engraving an Authority into my Spirit Rank?"
He closed his eyes and let the Forum's vast data network feed him the answer.
Slowly, clarity began to form.
.
.
.