Meanwhile, in Novice Village #5…
Slash!
A monster fell apart in two clean pieces.
"Here we go," Damon laughed loudly, wiping blood from his machete. "Another [Challenge Token]!"
"Nice one!"
"I got one too," Maki said as she walked over, her own machete still dripping. The metal glinted faintly as she smiled. "That makes two for this fight."
"Perfect," Damon nodded with satisfaction. "Those idiots from [Novice Village #1] are still taking their sweet time."
"They can't catch up anyway," Maki laughed. "They'll just lose and get their experience and resources cut in half for twelve hours."
"The weak deserve to die," Damon said coldly. His smile twisted into something cruel. "That's how this world works now."
Before they were chosen by [Eternal Ascension], Damon and Maki had lived very different lives from most people.
They were gang members. Violence, theft, intimidation, those things were normal to them.
They fought almost daily, took what they wanted, and never cared about consequences.
Deep down, they both knew it couldn't last forever. If they kept going like that, prison or death was only a matter of time.
But then everything changed. That thing descended on their world. [Eternal Ascension].
In an instant, their old world was gone. They were dragged into this new place filled with monsters, systems, levels, and skills. A world where strength wasn't just useful—it was everything.
When Damon realized that, he felt something awaken inside him.
A world where the strong ruled. A world where violence wasn't punished, but rewarded.
From that moment on, Damon swore to himself that he would become stronger than anyone else. He would crush anyone beneath him. No mercy. No hesitation.
And so far, it was working. He was level 4, the highest level in Novice Village #5.
Damon glanced at the event panel floating before his eyes.
[Novice Village #1: 14 Challenge Tokens.]
[Novice Village #5: 25 Challenge Tokens.]
"Hah!" Damon laughed and turned to his group. "We're already halfway there, and they can barely scrape together anything!"
"Of course, boss!"
"They can't compare to us!"
"We kill way more monsters than they do!"
The entire group was in high spirits. They moved with confidence, even arrogance. To them, this event was already over. Victory felt guaranteed.
Just as they prepared to charge another group of monsters—
Ding!
A sharp sound echoed through the air. A panel appeared in front of every player's vision.
[Novice Village #1 was the first to gather 50 Challenge Tokens.]
[Novice Village #5 has failed the challenge.]
Silence.
"What?" Damon muttered.
He stared at the panel, his smile disappearing instantly. A vein popped on his forehead as disbelief twisted his face.
"This… this is a joke, right?"
Beep!
Another panel appeared.
[Novice Village #5's players will have all experience points and resources halved for the next 12 hours.]
[Novice Village #1 is spared.]
"What the hell!?"
"How is that possible!?"
"We were winning! How did we lose!?"
Shouts erupted all around.
Not just in Novice Village #5, but in both villages. Nobody had expected this outcome. It made no sense.
They were ahead. They had more tokens. So how?
"How could Novice Village #1 suddenly get thirty-six tokens!?" someone yelled.
Confusion quickly turned into disbelief. Then disbelief turned into anger.
Many players immediately opened the event leaderboard, desperate for an explanation.
---
[Challenge Token Leaderboard:]
[1. Leon Rykard: 37 Challenge Tokens.]
[2. Damon Regicide: 17 Challenge Tokens.]
[3. David Windbreak: 7 Challenge Tokens.]
[4. Maki Dusekaar: 6 Challenge Tokens.]
[5. Eleonore Starlight: 5 Challenge Tokens.]
…
---
The rest of the list barely mattered. Most players had one or two tokens at best, earned through sheer luck.
Everyone's eyes locked onto the name at the very top. Leon Rykard.
Before this, he had only two tokens.
Now? Thirty-seven. In less than an hour.
"That's impossible…"
"That has to be cheating!"
"How can one person get that many!?"
Whispers spread like wildfire. Fear, jealousy, and resentment mixed together. No one could understand how it was even possible.
Maki slowly walked toward Damon. His entire body was shaking, his teeth clenched so hard it looked painful.
"D-Damon," she said carefully. "Calm down. We can always—"
Slash!
Damon suddenly swung his machete.
The blade crashed into a nearby tree. The trunk split cleanly in half and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Silence followed. Damon stood there, breathing heavily. Then he laughed.
"Haha…" He straightened up and wiped his blade slowly. "I see."
His anger faded, replaced by something colder.
"Leon Rykard."
He spoke the name softly, like he was tasting it.
A wide grin spread across his face. The players watching felt chills run down their spines.
'Whoever that Leon guy is… he's dead.'
'Even I feel bad for him.'
Everyone in Novice Village #5 knew about Damon's talent.
SS-Rank Talent: [Enraged One].
The angrier Damon became, the stronger he got. The closer he was to death, the more terrifying his power grew. It had no clear limit.
That was how he had cut down a tree like it was nothing.
If he was pushed far enough, Damon could even one-shot a level 5 boss.
And now, Leon's name was burned deep into his mind.
One day, Damon would find him. And he would make him pay.
…
Back in [Novice Village #1].
"Oh… we actually won."
"I didn't even do anything."
"That was way too close."
"I guess we should thank Leon."
Relief spread throughout the village.
Players slumped to the ground, exhaling deeply. Many of them hadn't even tried to help with the event. They had fully expected to lose.
"Well, I guess we really could count on Leon," David said with a grin. "Good work, everyone."
"Phew…"
"Yeah," Eleonore said quietly, rubbing her chin. A small smile appeared on her lips. "Leon really is strong."
Far away from the village, Leon stood over the corpse of the monster that had given him his final [Challenge Token].
The moment the token entered his inventory, he didn't hesitate.
He immediately sent all his tokens to the event score.
The event ended instantly. Victory.
This time, unlike his past life, Novice Village #1 won.
"Damon must be furious," Leon said with a grin. "Good."
He absorbed the three essences he had just gained. His [Spirit] increased by 6.
Then a new panel appeared.
Ding!
[Since you contributed the most Challenge Tokens, you are granted 25 free attribute points and an Epic Treasure Chest.]
Clang!
A massive chest materialized in front of Leon. At the same time, his free attribute points increased.
[Free Points to Allocate: 30.]
"Hah," Leon laughed softly. "Put everything into [Spirit]."
His [Strength] and [Agility] were already absurdly high. His [Constitution] was boosted by his equipment.
[Spirit] was the only stat still lacking. And he needed it. Strong spells meant survival.
Without wasting time, Leon reached out and placed his hand on the chest.
An [Epic Treasure Chest]. Better than an elite or rare one.
The current ranking was simple: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Elite, Epic, Legendary.
There were higher ranks beyond Legendary, but that was a problem for the future.
[Epic Treasure Chest: May contain Eternal Coins, an epic-ranked item, skill stones, enhancement stones, or a skill book/spell scroll.]
Leon smiled. This was the reward for his hard work.
And without hesitation, he opened it.