Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

Chapter 71: The Empty Settlement

Erissel gave her one last look before turning away, and the retreating army followed soon after. Elinox made no attempt to pursue them. She remained where she was until the enemy formations had moved far enough away that continuing the fight would have meant committing Olmost’s forces to another full engagement.

Only then did some of the tension leave her shoulders. She had spent far more Mana than she wanted during the battle.

The Crown Marshal’s clone still stood behind her, and Elinox glanced toward him before speaking with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Uncle."

The clone gave no response.

Elinox had no idea whether the real Bartholomew could hear her through it, though knowing him, she suspected he probably could.

Her attention returned to the western station. From where she stood, the victory looked anything but clean.

Sections of the defensive line had collapsed. Several buildings had been damaged. Healers were already moving between the wounded while soldiers searched through broken structures for anyone trapped underneath them.

Bodies lay among the damaged defenses as well. Olmost had held the western station, though the victory had still cost them soldiers.

Elinox returned her sword to its sheath and walked toward the nearest group of wounded men as Light Mana gathered around her hands.

The first soldier she reached had blood soaking through the bandage wrapped around his abdomen. His eyes widened when he recognized her, and he started trying to straighten himself, but Elinox placed one hand near the wound.

"Stay still."

Warm Light spread through the injury, slowing the bleeding before the damaged tissue beneath the bandage began closing.

Once his condition had stabilized enough for the nearby healers to handle the rest, Elinox moved on.

She continued through the station, treating whoever she could reach. Light Mana passed over burned skin, damaged muscles, broken bones, and wounds that had remained untreated while the medical teams struggled to keep up with the battle.

There were people she could no longer help, and Elinox knew that before she started. She focused instead on the ones who were still alive.

Zishan was sitting against what remained of a damaged barricade when that familiar warmth reached him.

His head lifted.

He had been staring at the System notifications hovering at the edge of his vision without actually reading any of them. Blood had dried along one arm, several smaller cuts covered his uniform, and the strain from using Gravitic Anchor, Beast King’s Authority, Ember Malediction, Stormwing Rend, Thunderwake, and Rift Steps throughout the same fight had finally started catching up to him.

Light Mana entered his body, easing the soreness in his muscles while several smaller cuts began closing and the ache in his shoulder gradually disappeared.

Zishan looked toward the source and saw Elinox farther down the road, moving between the wounded with Light gathered around her hands.

He recognized the feeling.

It was the same warmth he had felt earlier when she healed the injuries Larper had left behind.

Zishan remained where he was and watched her for several seconds before lowering his head again. ’We won.’

The thought should have felt better than it did.

The enemy army was retreating, the Griffin and its Captain were dead, and the western station was still standing. Zishan had survived the battle, gained Gravity, earned more Levels, and probably had enough rewards waiting for him to make the version of himself from a few weeks ago scream until someone threw him out of the camp.

Yet when he looked at the greenish System panels hovering in front of him, none of it gave him the excitement he expected.

He just felt strangely empty.

Another thought then entered his mind.

Zishan had questioned almost everything since arriving in Cyrune. He had questioned Mana, Skills, Classes, Magic Professions, military ranks, Beast Taming, the System, and probably half the people unfortunate enough to explain something to him.

Somehow, he had barely questioned the biggest thing.

He had died on Earth.

Then, he had opened his eyes on a battlefield in another world and, after the initial panic, simply started trying to survive here.

Zishan frowned at the thought. ’Why the hell did I accept that so fast?’

There had always been something distracting him before he could think about it for too long. Soldiers trying to kill him, Magic Beasts trying to eat him, quests appearing in front of his face, the System insulting him, or some other problem that seemed much more urgent than wondering why he had been dropped into Cyrune in the first place.

Even now, he didn’t know the answer.

He only knew that for some reason, living here had started feeling normal much faster than it probably should have.

[DING!]

A new notification expanded.

[EMERGENCY QUEST COMPLETE]

[Break the Aerial Assault]

[Primary Objective: Highland Griffin grounded.]

[Secondary Objective: Enemy Beast Tamer defeated.]

[Survival Condition fulfilled.]

[Settlement processing...]

[SETTLEMENT CONFIRMED]

[EXP: 80,000 — SETTLED]

[Level: 85 — CONFIRMED]

[Gravity Mana Affinity — PERMANENT]

[Gravitic Anchor — PERMANENT]

[Gravitic Anchor]

[Tier: Grandform]

[Perfected Glimpse: Removed]

[True Mastery: Beginner]

[Residual Insight: Retained]

Zishan read through everything without smiling.

Another panel appeared beneath it.

[EMERGENCY QUEST COMPLETE]

[The Enemy Kingdom Strikes Back!]

[Objective fulfilled: Host survived the assault and contributed to the defense of the Western Defensive Line.]

[Enemy forces have withdrawn.]

[Settlement processing...]

[SETTLEMENT CONFIRMED]

[All Stats +50 — PERMANENT]

[Mana Capacity +500 — PERMANENT]

[EXP: 50,000 — SETTLED]

[Beasts Nurturing Space — PERMANENT]

[Ember Malediction — PERMANENT]

[Thunderwake — PERMANENT]

[Lightning Mana Affinity — PERMANENT]

The panels continued.

Normally, this would have been one of the greatest moments of Zishan’s life.

He had taken everything before completing either Quest, used those rewards to survive the battle, and now the System had confirmed that none of it would be taken away.

Zishan leaned his head against the damaged wood behind him. ’So that’s it.’

[Both Emergency Quests have been successfully completed.]

’I can read.’

The System gave no response, which almost made Zishan smile.

Then he remembered the notifications he had ignored after the Griffin crashed and pulled them back into view.

[Enemy Captain Defeated!]

[Level: 283]

Zishan stared at the number. ’Two hundred eighty-three...’

The man had been only seventeen Levels away from the normal Level 300 requirement for Majors. No wonder killing him had taken that much effort.

Another notification appeared beneath it.

[EXP Gained: 5,660]

Zishan paused.

The Captain had been almost two hundred Levels above him, so the difference had already pushed the Level-gap bonus to its maximum. Then, the Griffin’s notification appeared.

[Highland Griffin Defeated!]

[EXP Gained: 0]

Zishan paused at that one, though he wasn’t exactly surprised. He had already grown far beyond the Griffin since their first encounter, and whatever EXP she might once have given him had long since become worthless.

The EXP from the Captain entered his remaining total, pushing it across the next threshold.

[DING!]

[LEVEL UP!]

✦ ═〔 PRECEDENCE 〕═ ✦

[STATUS] (Updated)

Name: Zishan Walker

Race: Human

<anno data-annotation-id="74c75833-7250-3026-a573-cb8da5c38754" data-title="Level: 86">Level: 86¹</anno>

Ascent: Unascended

<anno data-annotation-id="a789ce87-6061-e73c-160b-cf643e231112" data-title="Experience: 160 / 8,600">Experience: 160 / 8,600¹</anno>

[BASIC STATS]

<anno data-annotation-id="cd2324bc-2d70-9c7c-aca4-18c917b7b622" data-title="Distributable Stat Points: 108">Distributable Stat Points: 108¹</anno>

[MAGIC]

Mana Affinity(ies): Life, Wind, Shadow, Fire, Lightning, Gravity

Beast Taming Affinity: Awakened

Magic Profession(s): None

[BLOODLINES]

Main Bloodline: Unidentified

Grade: Unreadable

State: Dormant (Partially Active)

Other Bloodline(s):

(1) Ashen Banner Bloodline

(2) Eternal Wellspring Bloodline (Fragment)

[PHYSIQUE]

Main Physique: Unknown

Grade: Unreadable

Measurement: Failed

Other Physique(s):

(1) Insatiable Warbody

Grade: Mythical

Type: Combat / Adaptive Growth

Status: Permanent

[SKILLS]

Trace-Tier Skill(s):

(1) Rift Steps

Form-Tier Skill(s):

(1) Appraisal

(2) Verdant Weave

(3) Stormwing Rend

Grandform-Tier Skill(s):

(1) Shadow Severance

(2) Ember Malediction

Mastery: Beginner

Status: Permanent

(3) Thunderwake

Mastery: Beginner

Status: Permanent

(4) Gravitic Anchor

Mastery: Beginner

Status: Permanent

Sovereign-Tier Skill(s):

(1) Wildfire Requiem

(2) Beast King’s Authority

[TAMED BEASTS]

(1) Ridgefang Hound ×3

(2) Ironback Razorboar ×1

(3) Dragon Egg of Unknown Origin ×1

[TAMED BEAST SPACE]

Status: Unlocked

Stored Beasts: 5

[BEASTS NURTURING SPACE]

Status: Unlocked

Author’s Note: Be one of the Privilege readers and purchase at least the 1st Tier of this novel. Help me reach at least the Top 10 of the New Privilege Ranking by the end of this month (September 2026). I will mass-release Chapters if we reach this goal! It would help me grow as an author as well. I would like some golden tickets also, pretty please (practically begging).

Regardless, thank you so much for reading until this Chapter. I appreciate you all a lot. Lovelots!

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Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

Chapter 71: The Empty Settlement

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