NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
Let’s find out about Silia’s power rating!
You, the player starting the legendary game Silia Online, have just landed in a quiet village. Congratulations! You are now a lowly Wood-ranked mercenary.
Curious minds might wonder: just how high is that Wood rank?
Well, mercenary ranks are divided into six levels:
– Wood
– Bronze (or, as some foreign folks say, “Bronze”)
– Silver
– Gold
– Platinum
– Lord
If you’ve read a fantasy novel or played a competitive game, this should all feel familiar. When you start, you’re at the very bottom of the mercenary guild hierarchy, holding a Wood rank that barely qualifies you as a mercenary. No rank badge or anything to prove it, just a measly registration.
In practice, most Wood-ranked NPCs in the game resemble neighborhood thugs, so… crunch.
Now, hold on a sec. If you’ve got a sharp eye, you might wonder why there’s a rank that isn’t associated with a mineral.
Well, that’s because the Lord rank is strangely on a different level compared to the others. More detail on that later!
Currently, the highest level player is at level 59, proudly carrying a Gold mercenary badge. So, what kind of power does a Gold mercenary wield in the Silia world?
Here comes another batch of ranks:
– Novice
– Beginner
– Expert
– Master
– Demigod
Things might be getting a bit complicated, so I’ll simplify it from here.
Novices can’t even use Mana. Beginners just started to learn. Experts handle Mana like pros. Masters have mastered both Mana and weaponry. Demigods? Well, they’ve transcended humanity itself!
As for Gold mercenaries? They’re considered Experts.
You might think being just an Expert isn’t that impressive, but most people in the Silia world never break through the Master barrier, so it’s definitely not a low rank.
So, unlike other professions that start at Novice, magic-oriented ones like Magicians start as Beginners, since you need to know how to wield mana to even change jobs.
Even if levels are the same, the power varies greatly due to skills, added abilities, and physical stature. So, if you manage to defeat an Expert NPC, don’t underestimate the next one you encounter!
I skipped explaining Lord and Demigod before, noting that they’re basically the same rank. Most folks probably claim they’ve never heard of it. dramatic gasp Demigod, being such a grand title, is reserved for legendary realms.
Rumor has it that Arca, the first emperor who founded the Lo Arka Empire, was at this level.
…
(Continuing…)
…
Today, we learned about power rankings. As the RPG nature ensures that leveling up gets harder, the Expert phase may feel tedious. But remember, not all Experts are the same! So work hard and get stronger!
Next up, let’s delve into the monsters of the Silia world.
Hope this was helpful! wink
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Comments Below
– Info added!
– Serious until the end, then boom! LOL!
– Most NPCs seem like Experts, but how strong are Masters?
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“Pine!”
Just when Joanie couldn’t think of a sharp strategy, someone burst into the tent in a hurry.
It was a woman dressed in typical priest attire. The woman burst into the entrance and momentarily startled Joanie.
“Oh, hello! I’m Lemony… Pine’s very busy right now.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m streamer Joanie!”
“What’s going on, Lemony?”
“Ah!”
Recalling the reason why she rushed into the tent awkwardly while greeting Joanie, Lemony exclaimed.
“The Wanderer Guild has issued a request to talk!”
“Really? The Wanderer Guild joined in?”
Joanie gasped in surprise. The Wanderer Guild isn’t some guild with a clear purpose. They don’t aim to get stronger to wield power, nor do they hang out just to hammer away.
There are simply so many guilds with outrageous membership requirements that those who don’t fit in end up in the Wanderer Guild.
So, even though there are many members, they’ve never collectively acted until now.
“Well, it’s not like they’re participating under the guild name. But I’m guessing more guild members joined the fight, so the guild master decided to step up.”
“Still, it’s strange… If someone obsessed with leveling shows up here, things must be quite serious.”
“Are you going to accept?”
After hesitating for a moment, Pine nodded.
“Sure. We can at least listen. With Joanie here, are they really going to ambush us?”
“Huh? Why would I?”
“You know, you’re a big deal. They say just one of Joanie’s words could shift the tides of the gaming world. Rumor has it there are streamers who quit just because they got on your bad side…”
“No way! Are you trying to slander me here?!”
– shivers
– No wonder there seem to be fewer streamers lately…
– Joanie, the true powerhouse! gasp
– Please let the streamers I watch survive!
“Ugh, that’s right! It’s a secret! Can you please overlook it just once?”
“Not at all!”
Joanie shouted, her face turning red. But she meant it, so she calmed down pretty quickly.
“By the way, Pine, are you the leader of the Kana Corps?”
“Our guild was the first to engage in battles, so we ended up with that title. We have a bit of a reputation too.”
“I seriously thought Pine would side with them…”
“As I said earlier, they started attacking first. What was I supposed to do? But even if they had, I wouldn’t have sided with them.”
You supported Joanie after all.
Pine smiled gently.
“You really supported me?”
“Seeing Joanie flirt with the Gravekeeper felt like watching someone train a cat, so I was totally absorbed.”
“Flirt…? But after all that, you still felt that way? I’d probably be livid…”
“Tigers are cats too, after all.”
“Is this what they call Stockholm Syndrome or something?”
As Lemony frantically shook her head, it seemed she didn’t agree with Pine’s words.
“Let’s hurry. If we take too long, the level-up time will be cut short and they’ll be furious.”
“Oh, come on… not that they would scream about it…”
Recalling the Wanderer Guild’s leader, Joanie agreed with Pine’s words. It was totally possible, after all, that someone might end up streaming all day without saying a word while hunting.
As they exited the tent, a calmer atmosphere welcomed them.
Fights still broke out here and there, but it wasn’t as intense as earlier.
As they reached the center of the battlefield, a woman who had arrived ahead raised her eyebrow.
“Why are you taking so long? Don’t you know time is money?”
“Did you ever not meet my expectations?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The leader of the Wanderer Guild was also a streamer.
Though not as bulky as Pine or Joanie, she had a decent number of regular viewers.
Joanie knew that quite a few people joined the guild just because they liked her.
“So, what brings our rare Yuki here, who lives for hunting?”
“PVP and war are fine for fun, but it’s gotten way too heated. I keep getting complaints about random Pks from passersby. Even I can’t ignore public sentiment.”
“Does someone who streams 24-hour hunting broadcasts care about public sentiment?”
“I was challenging my limits against endless waves of enemies. How long can I last?”
“…Let’s be honest here. You’re basically an NPC.”
“That’s rude.”
As Yuki shrugged her shoulders, Pine couldn’t help but tease her a bit since they were close.
When Yuki pulled out the sword she had stuck in the ground, he finally shut up.
“So, what’s on your mind?”
“Let’s set some rules.”
Yuki scratched the ground with her sword.
“Isn’t it tiring? You die, respawn, then die again…”
Even if you could revive endlessly, people’s interest won’t last forever, so eventually, it’s just a pointless war of attrition.
“Let’s take a moment to regroup and then fight again. If you die, you’re out. The side with no members left loses.”
“Sounds like a death match. Just like real war.”
“Isn’t fighting this way boring? No nail-biting tension at all?”
“You’re something else…”
Pine shook his head.
“If the match resolves that way?”
“The losing side has to support the winning side completely. We already made consensus on our end. If anyone refuses, we’ll have to step in. Conversely, you have to follow suit.”
“Well, if it’s just that…”
“Now, wait a moment. Are you saying if we lose, we should ignore the blockage?”
“What’s the problem with that? When you lose, normally you lose everything, right? And besides, we aren’t like other games where we pay-to-win; if we lose, it’s due to skill.”
“Well, I mean, that’s true…”
“Plus, I’ve been generous so far. Honestly, if things hadn’t heated up like this, we wouldn’t even have considered stepping in. Is there any rule against this in an RPG? There’s no law against it.”
Yuki, with her firm reasoning, left Joanie speechless.
She was at a loss for words, because there wasn’t much to argue about.
“Doing something about those people is also done based on freedom. But if you want to stop them, you need power. Or draw in an overwhelming number of allies. If you complain without that power, it just looks like a child throwing a tantrum.”
“Hey, hey. Let’s talk….”
“It’s not wrong, though.”
Though she knew many viewers were watching Joanie’s stream, Yuki remained unabashed.
Meanwhile, Pine started glancing around nervously.
He whispered to Joanie.
“This is actually good for you, Joanie. If we count numbers, we have the upper hand, so this way is better than a pointless war of attrition.”
“Phew… I got it.”
Joanie nodded in agreement with Pine’s persuasion.
Yeah. In the end, this is Silia Online, where freedom reigns.
Just because someone doesn’t like it doesn’t mean you should sulk alone – it would be meaningless.
Either convince them to change their minds or create public opinion through criticism.
Finding ways to act during sulking time is the right choice.
“Let’s do it-”
“Who gave you the right to negotiate alone?”
Thud.
Just then, someone stepped on the line Yuki had drawn and approached.
A man wearing a disturbingly smug grin.
Joanie looked at Yuki to see if she knew him, but she shook her head dismissively.
“If you have power, you can do as you please. That’s fair.”
Clash!
A heavy sound followed the man’s voice.
A line of knights in shining silver armor sparkled brightly under the sunlight.
At least a hundred armored figures marched in, silencing the battlefield.
The black sun emblem on their shoulders made Joanie’s eyes widen.
“The Empire…!”