[Current points: 18,740 (1st)-Server….(19)-Global]
One good thing about killing the boss was that his points immediately jumped up. He had gotten an instant 10k points increase…. But he was still only 19 in rank.
There were at least 18 more people who had either killed all the people in their sphere…or had somehow found a way to optimize their killing.
"Hmm, now that I have the skill, maybe I should check who is the current no.1 in the rankings."
[System's Eye level 1 has been used. Opening the ranking list.]
[No.1 - Slayer 24,657 (1st)-Server (Berserker) (level 12)]
[No.2 - Anna 20,000 (1st)-Server (Assassin) (level 11)]
[No.3 - Richard Dominus 19,000 (1st)-Server (Commander) (level 10)]
[No.4 - Noah Park 19,000 (1st)-Server (Sword Master) (level 10)]
…
[No.19 - Mark Dawson 18,740 (1st)-Server….(19-Global) (Archmage) (level 15)]
There seemed to be only two people who had actually made progress beyond killing everyone in their sphere, and Andrew felt a little curious about how they had done that.
But there was no time left to waste. Three days were already over, and he was finally in the top rankings.
"For the sake of getting rich, I need to win here at all costs. So I will need to go hunting once more."
By the end of the fifth day, Andrew managed to crawl his way even higher until he was sitting firmly in 3rd place. And the rankings had already changed once more.
Slayer was still no. 1, but Richard had pushed Anna out to be 2nd, and Andrew had also surpassed her.
[Current points: 35,980 (1st)-Server….(3)-Global]
[Current population of the sphere—5/20]
"Ah, what a pity. If I had another hidden boss, I would have been able to surpass the no. 1 player…that being said, I do have two more days…and I think I have bigger concerns here."
Out of 20 people, only five had made it till the fifth day. Andrew had kept an eye on the remaining party and noticed that they were starting to struggle now.
At this rate, the remaining people would die before he would be able to push himself to no. 1.
"Looks like I am on babysitting duty for now. Hopefully, I will still have enough time to hunt around."
He pushed himself off and followed the small party. He needed them to live for two more days, after all.
Just as he reached the small group, there was a sudden disturbance in the sky, and the god before—the god's voice—appeared all around.
"Oh~ humans are such lovely people. They are willing to go to any height to get what they want. Hmm, seeing this makes me want you all to have even more fun. So, why don't I make things a little more challenging?"
Andrew gritted his teeth as he heard the provoking voice. He suddenly had a bad feeling about all this.
"There is not much of a point difference in the top ranks, but I am sure more monsters will make the difference bigger, right? Do your best to make it till the end."
The god's voice disappeared, and the number of monsters around the forest increased in both number and strength.
It might not seem like this would do much to shuffle the top ranks, but it would actually do a lot. The round would end if 19/20 people in a sphere died. So it was a warning for the top rankers to protect the people stuck with them.
Andrew immediately jumped down toward the four-man party trying to get away from the monsters. He created a barrier to stop the monsters' advance.
Two of the pair were the same people whom he had seen before, but the other two were new.
"Y-You—!"
The familiar female stuttered as she ran past him.
"There is a safe space not too far from here. Go and hide there for now. I will bring you supplies that you need to survive. Just make sure you do not come out, alright?"
The female opened her mouth to question him, but before she could ask any more questions, her arm was grabbed, and she was tugged to safety.
"Let's not question this for now. Hurry, we need to get back to safety."
Andrew watched them leave as he finally dropped the barrier and buffed his skills. He disposed of the monster group before he headed back to the group hiding in the safe space.
They all looked relieved to see him unharmed, but before they could come out, Andrew stopped them from moving.
"Don't come out for now. These monsters are no longer something you can handle without professions. Have any of you opened a profession?"
Only the familiar girl raised her hand.
"I-I am a cook. Will that help?"
She asked, and Andrew shook his head.
"Your profession should be a support class. You all should stay here for now. I will bring you supplies to help you survive."
The group looked grateful for his help and immediately settled down.
"W-We are saved…"
The ground looked useless, and it was a miracle that they had survived this long.
It did make Andrew wonder how this group had survived for so long. So he decided to ask the question.
"How did you all survive for this long in the forest anyway?"
The group exchanged a look with each other before the female spoke once more.
"One of our…friends…got a profession that helped with monsters. They kept us safe…but they died earlier today while distracting the monsters, and we all ran…"
The guilt on the group's faces told Andrew that there was a larger story there…which he did not want to know.
Frankly, he already knew that he was crippling this group's future by protecting them right now. But saving them now would allow the group to have an opportunity to level up in the future.
Life was the most precious resource that one could have in this game, and as long as you could survive, you could find a way out of this mess.
"I understand your circumstances. This safe spot has water in the form of a river. Here, this food should last you for the next two days. Just stay here, and I will come back to check on you tomorrow."
If these people knew what was good for them, they would stay put. And from the looks of terror on the faces in front of him, Andrew already knew that he had an obedient bunch.
Just as he left the group, he suddenly felt a sharp stare looking down at him. Andrew did not look back, but he could immediately tell who was looking at him.
The god in charge of this game had noticed Andrew and was paying sudden attention to him now. It was likely curious about him, but due to system limitations, it could not see any information about players beyond what was permitted.
And soon, this curiosity would become the end of that god.
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