Chapter 349: The Name Still Missing

A golden scroll spread across the air beneath the great voice.

The same scroll appeared in every racial Hall. Lines of names and rewards began pouring down its surface.

[10,000th — Apefolk. Racial Fortune +1. Individual rewards will be distributed according to each Champion’s contribution.]

[9,999th...]

The racial standings were shared by everyone. Individual contribution rankings would appear separately, in each race’s own Hall.

Ten thousand. Five thousand. A thousand. Three hundred.

The Human Champions watched with growing tension. The higher Humanity placed, the better their personal rewards would be. There was pride at stake too. These were the Lords who would one day carry their race’s future. Even the most selfish among them wanted to see Humanity do well.

[101st — Voidkin. Racial Fortune +10. Individual rewards will be distributed according to each Champion’s contribution.]

The Human Hall erupted.

"The top hundred! We made it!"

"When was the last time? A hundred and seventy-six years ago?"

"We owe this to the commanders of the twelve great Realms!"

Some cheered for Humanity. Others took the chance to flatter those commanders. Far more than ten thousand races had entered Race Ascendancy, but Humanity’s past results had given no one reason to fear being left off the scroll entirely. With one hundred and first place gone, their position was certain.

No one looked happier than Ilyse.

She tried to contain herself. The smile kept returning to her lips.

"Congratulations, Lady Ardent," Lucan said. "To think Sector 666 would produce Humanity’s Paragon so soon."

Other commanders from the great Realms flew over Cassian’s Domain to congratulate her as well. How many meant it was another matter.

Some were stronger than she was. Had they known Humanity would reach the top hundred, they might have risked everything to clear another stage. Even losing nearly all their Heroes and troops would have been worth that title.

It was too late now.

The air above Forgotten Shrine became the center of attention for the entire Hall. Ilyse stood amid the gathering, receiving its admiration. Cassian and Divine Province’s Lords might have been strangers at their own doorstep.

"Listen to them," Darian muttered. "One title, and she already owns the sky."

No one watching Ilyse noticed Cassian’s expression ease.

If luck counted as strength, he could claim to be the strongest newcomer among all the races. Humanity as a whole was another matter. He had brought in an extra trillion points, but with hundreds of thousands of weaker Champions weighing down the collective result, he had not been certain it would be enough.

Now it was. Humanity had reached the top hundred.

A few minutes later, their name appeared.

[58th — Humanity. Racial Fortune +15. Human Racial Gates unlocked. Individual rewards will be distributed according to each Champion’s contribution.]

"Fifty-eighth! Fifteen Racial Fortune!"

"I’ve heard the whole race only gains about a thousand a year. Our newcomer sector has made a real contribution!"

"And the Racial Gates! If aliens invade one of our Realms, the others can come to its aid!"

Cheers rolled through the Hall. Whatever their private grudges, a stronger Humanity served them all.

Mist gathered beside the racial scroll and formed a second list.

Human Individual Contribution Rankings.

Ilyse flew several dozen meters closer without seeming to notice she had moved. Her eyes stayed fixed on the new board.

Every participant would have a place on this one. Names streamed down it, and excited cries soon rose from the Homeworld’s Domains.

"The Governor of Vaust made the top two hundred thousand! Congratulations! That’s a rare achievement for our Realm!"

"A hundred to every attribute, even at two hundred thousand?"

"Look! Alwin Valcrest of Westreach is in the top hundred thousand. He can match Champions from the great Realms!"

"Orion Valcrest? Who is that? He’s inside the top ten thousand!"

Orion gave a rueful smile.

Not one of Divine Province’s fourteen Champions had appeared yet.

His own strength was formidable. He could tear Legendary troops apart with his hands, and Cassian had even supplied him with a Legendary Domain Evolution Seal. Still, he had begun this life with nothing. An ordinary Lord receiving Cassian’s full support could now surpass an old power reborn.

What, then, would Cassian’s place be?

Orion still regarded him as a fellow reincarnate. The top hundred? Perhaps even the top ten?

He was not the only one who had noticed Divine Province’s missing names.

[8,924th — Rowan Ashford, Homeworld Realm. All attributes +510. Bound Legendary Troop Soul ×3.]

"Inside nine thousand!" Rowan laughed aloud.

Nearby Lords turned toward him. Piers Haldane’s eyes burned with anger.

"A cadet branch of some third-rate family. In Humanity’s top ten thousand."

As an enemy of Divine Province, Piers knew its leaders’ backgrounds almost by heart. With Rowan’s original advantages, he should never have been a serious contender for even a Regional Warden’s seat.

Then he had attached himself to Cassian.

Now he had far surpassed the direct heirs of the Homeworld’s greatest families. A result like that would make him a notable talent in a great Realm too. Each of Humanity’s twelve leading Realms could claim only a few hundred places among the top ten thousand.

The watching rivals felt envy, resentment, and something harder to admit.

Why hadn’t they become Cassian’s followers?

Tobias, Corin, Mara, and the other Divine Province Champions appeared one after another.

[927th — Nessa Fenwick, Homeworld Realm. All attributes +1,100. Bound Legendary Hero Soul ×1. Bound Legendary Troop Soul ×10.]

"Nessa! Look! That’s you!" Darian called.

She peered out from her hiding place in the Domain, delight overcoming her embarrassment. The items did not interest her nearly as much as the attribute reward. Eleven hundred to every attribute was a tremendous gain for any Lord.

Several Lords from the great Realms looked sharply at the words beside her name.

Homeworld Realm.

"That doesn’t make sense," Lucan murmured. "Many of our Ninefold Sanctum Lords have Legendary Heroes and nearly a thousand Legendary troops. They didn’t reach the top thousand."

He studied Nessa.

"Could this Human Lord have a Legendary Hero and an A-grade War Talent?"

Ilyse’s eyes shone for a different reason. She wanted these people working for her. The key to reaching them was plainly Cassian.

The rankings continued.

Elara’s Dwarves and Eclipse troops had carried her to seven hundred and fifty-second. Darian did even better, taking four hundred and eighty-second.

Cassian was now the only Homeworld Champion whose name had not appeared.

Almost everyone else in the top five hundred was a commander from a middle Realm or a leading talent from one of the great Realms.

Three hundred. A hundred. Fifty.

[11th — Seth Varr, Shatterstar Reach. All attributes +2,500. Bound Legendary Hero Soul ×3. Bound Legendary Troop Soul ×40.]

"Cassian’s in the top ten!"

Nessa came rushing out, apparently forgetting she had ever been embarrassed.

"Yes!"

Elara and Darian threw their arms around each other, laughing and bouncing on their feet. Seraphine and the others cheered with equal delight.

"The top ten!" Orion laughed. "Another Homeworld record. Does he ever get tired of astonishing people?"

The Lords gathered above the Domain turned toward Cassian. Even the great Realms’ commanders could no longer hide their wonder. A commander from a lesser Realm, among Humanity’s ten greatest contributors.

Yet he showed no surprise. He did not even look particularly excited.

Darian caught his breath and eyed him with envy.

"And he gets to stand there looking as though he expected it all along."

Ilyse was reconsidering her offer. For a man like this, she might have to show considerably more sincerity.

Seth’s expression was far darker. Eleventh and tenth belonged to different reward bands. He had missed the better one by a single place.

Then his displeasure gave way to shock.

Ninth. Seventh. Fifth.

Cassian’s name still had not appeared.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath when the next line formed.

[2nd — Ilyse Ardent, Fivefold Heaven. All attributes +4,300. Bound Legendary Hero Soul ×5. Bound Legendary Troop Soul ×60.]

A thunderous uproar swept through the Human Hall.