43 - Ranking

Perhaps it's Van's 23 years of navigating the perils of this world that sharpens his instincts.

Every life-threatening encounter he and his party faced seemed to resonate deep within his bones—a testament to his ability to learn and adapt swiftly from past mistakes.

And just as Amoria uttered those words, he felt that familiar shiver.

Despite this, Lalyn and Marcilla (And Mika and Rika) seemed unfazed and soon made their way home. Van and Amoria ascended to her residence.

'As I thought, it was just a baseless sensation. There's no way they'd be jealous or anything. This isn't a harem manga. And even if it were, I'm definitely not the protagonist. It must've been all in my head. Surely, they don't care who I end up with,' Van rationalized to himself.

"Ah," Amoria muttered as she turned off the lights, her voice echoing softly as they headed to their respective rooms.

"Since my daughter's here, we'll need to be considerate... At least for now," she sighed, turning towards Van.

"...Good night, Van," she said, her face clouded with frustration before she disappeared into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

'What did she mean by that? Did I mess up again...?' Van pondered, confused.

'Oh well. I'll talk to her about it in the morning, if I remember,' he decided with a casual shrug before entering the guest room Amoria had prepared for him.

'Sigh... Everything's gotten so complex,' Van mused as he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting to his imminent enrollment at the magic academy.

'Magus's rank, huh...?' he contemplated.

In this world, only Magus and I had the ability to see our own Stats and Levels directly. For others to appraise such attributes on their own would require an exorbitant amount of energy—so immense, in fact, that the practice has been outright banned. For example Salem Dyke and his dead appraiser. Higher stats mean more energy, and even if my stats were lower, it would be downright wasteful.

'I suppose the shadow lord wanted to be accurate.'

'Either way, it was simply inefficient for everyone else.'

To navigate this, this world's society has established a system to classify power through a series of rankings. Those rankings are measured using a special stone, and at least a C-Rank magician to measure the rank. Ranks are as followed:

F Rank

E Rank

D Rank

C Rank

B Rank

A Rank

S Rank

Legendary Rank (L Rank)

Myth Rank (M Rank)

At the pinnacle of this hierarchy stands G Rank, for Godly. This tier is reserved for the most formidable beings, such as the Demon Lord and the Dragon King, recognized as G-tier threats due to their immense power and influence.

Above all, however, exists a classification that transcends even the Godly: Ascended Rank, designated as "AX". This is a status that apparently only that harem-loving Goddess has achieved... And, according to the Demons, The Archdemon, too. According to this world's history she and him were originally ranked G when they roamed the mortal lands, they were then equals to the ancient Demon Lord and the Dragon King. A while later, the two ascended to the God Realm, known as Arataxia, with two separate regions that each govern on their own. They attained a power so unparalleled that it necessitated the creation of the AX Rank.

This ranking system is the standard method to gauge and communicate power levels within this realm.

When I was transmigrated, I began my journey as an F Rank and, through countless trials and battles alongside Magus and others against formidable foes like the Demon Lord, I advanced to C Rank by the end of our adventures.

As for Magus, I'd say that harem bastard transmigrated as an AX with those broken harem passives.

Seriously though, he was ranked C when he transmigrated. He advanced to S by the time we fought the demon lord. The fact he reached cap level means he probably moved up to the Legend before he died.

From there on, the qualifications to attain M rank and beyond are unclear to me. I doubt I'm anywhere near those, even with these stats. Since I only have a lot of power in only three areas (STR/VIG/RES). My stat radar chart probably looks like the damn X, Y, Z graph—just straight lines in three directions, considering their scale.

'Still, I'd take it. These stats realistically put me above everyone in the capital, most likely.... So I won't have trouble keeping them safe...' He thought, gradually nodding off..

...Completely unaware of the two slender and feminine figures spying on him outside of the window, eaten with envy.

Van woke with the first light, stretching and yawning into the calm of dawn. 'I can't remember the last time I slept this well...' he thought, his mind slowly shifting from the fog of sleep to the clarity of day.

'Hmm... Now that I have some time to myself... I need to check something...'

"Status Open," he commanded, and before him, his status window materialized, a familiar interface that had accompanied him throughout his adventures in this world.

Name: Van Hellix

Age: 17 (42)

Sex: Male

Race: Human

LEVEL: 212

STATS:

VIG: 999 (+48,004)

STR: 999 (+30,361)

RES: 999 (+42,731)

DEX: ...

MANA: ....

...

....

'Wow, these stats are way higher than I expected. And level 212...? I suppose I leveled up by killing Salem Dyke... Or maybe his Orc? Either way the fact the stats still rise by a percentage is insane. Quite the oversight by our benevolent Goddess... I bet she's tearing her hair out seeing these numbers. Nah, who am I kidding? She's probably too busy milking that bastard dry,' he mused, a chuckle escaping him as he stared at the ceiling.

'I wonder if you could convince her to say hi every now and then... if you'd even want to,' he pondered, his gaze dropping, a shadow of guilt crossing his face.

'After all, I didn't visit you despite what you wanted... all this time. Why would you bother with a bastard like me? Hah.'

But a resolve hardened in him as he considered his next steps. 'Don't worry, though, your harem and their little ones are safe with me. I've decided to stay here until this dragon threat is dealt with... I owe you that much.'

'Although, it hardly compares to what I really owe you for teaming up with a weak guy like me... Damn, I miss you, man.'