[Um..guys.. I've re-edited it that while only the too hundred are rewarded, o ly the too ten advance to the nationals]
The clearing was already burning when they reached him.
Trees lay split in half, bark still smoking from residual mana. The air stank of iron and scorched earth. Ten awakeners surrounded a lone figure at the center of the devastation, weapons raised, faces tight with greed and calculation.
They had chosen their prey poorly.
Zane stood with his coat torn at the shoulder, dark mana rolling off him in slow waves. His eyes lifted lazily as the last of them lunged.
> Skill Activated — Phantom Split
His form fractured into layered afterimages.
Steel passed through empty air.
Before the attacker could register the miss, Zane's blade slid through his guard from below, cutting upward in a brutal arc.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,300
Another rushed him from the side, roaring as fire coated his weapon.
Zane pivoted and met the strike head-on.
> Skill Activated — Resonance Strike
The impact didn't slow him.
It fed him.
Stored force detonated outward in a compressed wave, folding the attacker backward and smashing him into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk in two.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,100
Two more came together, one binding his shadow while the other struck from above.
Zane didn't dodge.
> Skill Activated — Blade Domain
The world inside ten meters of him changed.
Movement sharpened.
Space tightened.
Every angle became his.
His blade flickered three times.
Shadow shattered.
Steel rang once.
Then silence.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 5,900
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,000
The remaining six hesitated.
Too late.
Zane stepped forward.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Inevitable.
A spear user tried to retreat.
> Skill Activated — Void Step
Zane appeared in front of him and drove his knee into the man's chest, launching him backward before following with a downward cut.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,400
A shield bearer raised a glowing barrier.
Zane struck it once.
Twice.
> Skill Activated — Night Sever
The third strike passed through the shield…
and into the man behind it.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,800
Panic broke the formation.
One ran.
Zane threw his blade.
Not to kill.
To pin.
The man screamed as the weapon embedded in his thigh. Zane was there a heartbeat later.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,200
The last two attacked together, desperation burning in their eyes.
Zane met them head-on.
> Skill Activated — Phantom Split
Skill Activated — Resonance Strike
Afterimages tangled their senses. Their weapons struck air. Their mana-fed blows rebounded into their own bodies.
Two bodies hit the ground almost at the same time.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,500
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,700
Silence reclaimed the clearing.
Zane stood alone among the fallen, breathing steady, blade humming faintly with leftover force.
Above him, the ranking board flared.
Numbers surged.
Then reordered.
[Zane — Rank 1 | Points: 89,300]
[Lily — Rank 2 | Points: 81,800]
[Zael — Rank 5 | Points: 66,900]
Across the dungeon, reactions rippled instantly.
"…He's back on top."
"That fast?!"
"A whole squad… erased."
Observers outside the dungeon leaned forward in their seats.
"That's no coincidence," one murmured. "He waited for challengers."
Another shook his head. "No. They went to him."
Inside the forest, Zane wiped his blade clean against a fallen cloak and looked in the direction Zael and Lily had gone.
"…So," he muttered, eyes narrowing slightly, "you're still climbing."
Mana stirred faintly around him.
Not anger.
Not excitement.
Anticipation.
The hunt wasn't just about survival anymore.
It was about who would stand highest when the board froze.
And now…
Zane had reclaimed the summit.
The dungeon began to shrink.
Not physically—but in feeling.
Mana currents bent inward, paths subtly warping so that distant regions folded toward the same central zone. The system's invisible hand was herding the remaining contestants together.
No more hiding. No more skirting around strong presences.
The end was coming.
A new message burned across every vision.
[Remaining Contestants: 112]
[Final Convergence Phase Initiated]
[Central Zone Unlocking]
Across the battlefield, the top ten felt it at the same time.
---
Zael stopped walking.
"…So this is it," he murmured.
Lily stood beside him, spear resting on her shoulder, eyes sharp.
"They're forcing encounters," she said. "Coward-proofing the trial."
Her ranking window hovered faintly in her vision.
[Lily — Rank 2 | Points: 81,800]
[Zael — Rank 5 | Points: 55,900]
She glanced sideways at him. "Still planning to pretend you're fragile?"
Zael smiled faintly. "Only as much as necessary."
They moved with the flow of mana, forest thinning into broken stone plains veined with glowing cracks. Ruined pillars jutted from the ground like the bones of some ancient creature.
And they weren't alone.
From the west, a group of survivors approached—six awakeners moving in tight formation. Their leader's presence was heavy, disciplined.
Rank 9.
From the south, three more—one of them Rank 8, walking with casual confidence, blade resting on his shoulder.
From the north…
A lone figure.
Dark coat. Blood still drying along the hem.
Zane.
The temperature of the battlefield seemed to drop when he appeared.
His ranking flared briefly as if in warning.
[Zane — Rank 1 | Points: 89,300]
Lily's grip tightened on her spear.
"…That's him."
Zael's gaze lingered for only a moment before drifting away. "Yeah."
No hostility. No greeting.
Just distance.
Around them, others slowed, realizing who had gathered.
Rank 3 emerged from behind a broken tower with two allies. Rank 4 appeared atop a fallen pillar, bow already half-drawn. Rank 6 and Rank 7 arrived almost together from opposite sides of the plain.
Ten presences.
Heavy. Condensed. Dangerous.
And surrounding them—nearly a hundred weaker contestants who had been dragged here by the dungeon's invisible pull.
No one spoke at first.
Everyone understood.
If chaos broke out here, the ranking board would explode.
A Rank 12 swallowed and whispered, "They're… all here."
A Rank 15 muttered, "We're fish in a shark pool."
Some backed away instinctively.
Others… smiled nervously and tightened their grips.
Rank 8 laughed softly. "Well. This saves time."
Rank 4 lifted his bow slightly. "Agreed. No point chasing stragglers now."
Rank 3's eyes moved from Lily… to Zane… then to Zael.
"…Interesting lineup."
The person ranked third was a red haired guy. He had this piercing red eyes that seemed to see through all things and the way he looked at lily and Zael was one of interest.
Zane didn't respond.
He simply stood there, blade angled down, mana calm and terrifyingly compressed.
Zael, on the other hand, sighed.
"So many eyes," he muttered. "Annoying."
Lily shot him a look. "You say that like you're not enjoying it."
"I enjoy not being targeted."
Too late.
One of the mid-ranked contestants—Rank 27—stepped forward shakily.
"If… if we don't fight each other, only the top ten advance anyway. So shouldn't we—"
His words cut off as someone grabbed him from behind and threw him forward.
A Rank 14 laughed harshly. "You think they'll let us walk?"
The tension snapped.
Mana flared.
Skills ignited.
The plain erupted into motion.
Two groups clashed instantly at the edge—steel ringing, light exploding as shields met fire and wind tore through stone.
Rank 9 charged straight toward Rank 6.
Rank 8 leapt into the fray with a spinning strike that carved a glowing arc through three weaker contestants.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 3,200
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 3,500
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 3,100
The ranking board flickered wildly.
Lily surged forward, spear flashing.
Zael followed—carefully.
Not leading.
Not lagging.
Watching.
A group of five rushed them from the right, desperation driving their attacks.
Lily met them head-on.
> Skill Activated — Spear Art: Crescent Drive
Blue mana tore through the first two.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,400
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,200
Zael slipped past her flank and intercepted a third with a short, precise cut.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 3,800
Zael Total: 70,700
The fourth tried to retreat.
Phantom Split activated.
Zael's afterimages surrounded the man.
A single strike ended it.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,100
Zael Total: 74,800
The fifth fell to Lily's follow-up thrust.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,600
Lily Total: 86,000
Nearby, Rank 7 was locked in combat with Rank 10.
Rank 4 fired from above, arrows punching holes through shields.
Rank 3 advanced methodically, every step accompanied by a crushing wave of force.
And Zane…
Zane moved like a blade through tall grass.
Every step was a kill.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 5,900
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,200
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,500
No wasted motion. No wasted mana.
The battlefield thinned rapidly.
The convergence had become a slaughterhouse.
Lily exhaled sharply, eyes bright. "…At this rate, the top hundred will be decided in minutes."
Zael nodded. "Which means…"
He looked toward the remaining high-ranked figures.
"…the real fights are about to start."
Above them, the system chimed again.
[Remaining Contestants: 73]
[Top 100 Qualification Threshold Reached]
[Final Rankings Still in Flux]
The survivors turned slowly toward one another.
Top ten. Top twenty. And the few desperate enough to still stand between them.
The convergence was complete.
And now…
Only the strongest would decide how the board ended.