My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse

The woman began registering each of their names into the system. The purpose of this database went beyond just mission tracking. As she had explained earlier, it allowed the base to monitor the movements of outsiders, log the number of missions taken, and keep records of potential casualties.

In an apocalyptic world like this, human nature had already taken a dark turn. The scarcity of resources had driven some to commit murder just to survive. That's why the HOPE Base took its monitoring seriously, to ensure that people didn't believe they could get away with such actions under the radar.

If anyone was found to have murdered others for supplies or cores, regardless of whether they were awakened ability users or not, the HOPE Base would immediately blacklist them. No second chances. It was a hard rule, but a necessary one to protect what little order remained.

After the official establishment of the Blazing Wolf group and the successful registration of its members, the team was assigned the starting rank—Rank 1, the lowest tier in the hunter ranking system.

From there, they could gradually rise in rank by accumulating enough overall mission points from all members and fulfilling specific requirements. However, the higher the rank, the more demanding the criteria became. At a certain point, a group's reputation and conduct would also factor into their progression.

"Alright, your group 'Blazing Wolf' has been successfully registered. Congratulations on your establishment," the woman behind the counter said with a polite smile as she handed Jason a set of items.

"This is your Hunter's Badge," she explained, passing each badge to its respective owner. "These badges represent your individual rank and group affiliation. Printed in gold below the emblem is your team name, 'Blazing Wolf.' In the center, you'll find your surname followed by the initial of your first name, formatted similar to military identification. And a small number printed on the bottom right serves as your personal badge ID for tracking and verification."

She gestured to one of the badges, pointing out the details.

"A Hunter's Badge is issued individually to every registered hunter. It serves multiple purposes: it's your ID, your dog tag, your mission pass, and your gate clearance all in one. With this, you're officially recognized as a hunter and can freely take missions, enter, and exit the base as needed."

With that, she handed over the last badge, sealing their group's entry into the system and into a much larger world of survival, power, and reputation.

"Woah! That's cool!" one of the younger men in Jason's group exclaimed as he inspected his new badge with excitement. The badge was made of sturdy metal, detailed with the base's insignia: a spider lily behind a black wolf, with a snow-capped mountain rising in the background, all enclosed within a shield-shaped crest. At the top of the badge, the word 'Copper' was printed in bold.

"Wait, miss," he said, looking up, "what does 'Copper' mean?"

The woman smiled patiently. "As I explained earlier, each group has a ranking system, starting from Rank 1 as the lowest and moving up to Rank 10. However, since Hunter's Badges are issued individually, your personal rank is separate from your group's. You can check a group's rank on the ranking board using the group name printed below the badge."

She tapped on the badge to guide them. "Now, as for personal rankings, every registered hunter starts at Copper. From there, the rank progression goes: Copper, Black Copper, Bronze, Black Bronze, Metal, Silver, Gold, White Gold, Diamond, Black Diamond, and finally, Mythril."

"Also, if you see a star beside the rank," she added, "that means the hunter is an awakened ability user. If there's no star, it means the person is non-awakened. And the more stars beside a person's rank, the stronger their awakened ability is."

Jason nodded as he took in the explanation. "Got it. So, how do we increase our personal rank and our group's rank?"

"For personal ranking, you can increase it by accumulating mission points. Every time you complete a mission, you'll earn a certain number of points based on the mission's grade. For example, completing a Grade E mission grants 10 mission points. Once you've gathered enough, you can return to have your Hunter's Badge updated and your rank adjusted. We also have a real-time personal and group ranking board over there; you can check it anytime."

"To reach the next rank, Black Copper, you'll need to accumulate 500 mission points. The higher the rank, the more mission points are required. As for group rankings, to move up to Rank 2, your group must have at least five registered members who hold the Black Copper rank or higher, as well as an overall mission points of five thousand."

"Woah! This is just like what I've seen in manga before..." one of Jason's teammates murmured, clearly thrilled. He understood the ranking system well, and the structure only fueled his excitement. After all, this wasn't just about survival; it also gave a sense of personal and group achievement.

But Jason's thoughts went deeper.

"What's the purpose of this ranking system? Why was it established in the first place?" he asked, his tone more serious.

"Good question." The woman smiled. "The ranking system wasn't just created to motivate people; it also serves as an evaluation tool. There will be times when the base releases important missions that require a specific individual or group ranking."

"These missions will be directly sent to qualified candidates. After all, a higher rank usually means more combat experience, which helps us gauge if someone's ready for tougher assignments."

"With higher rankings come more privileges: access to better missions, greater freedom in choosing tasks, and mission priority. If a group is affiliated with the base, or with camps and shelters allied to us, they also receive monthly supply allocations."

This system, after all, was one of Kisha's strategies. She needed a way to encourage more outsiders to become hunters, and more groups to align themselves with her cause. With the right incentives, they would be more eager to accept missions and willingly serve the base's interests. Without bait, few would be willing to follow her lead, and even fewer would consider becoming her ally.

Jason nodded thoughtfully. "What about those who aren't allied with the base? Do they still get monthly supplies?" he asked.

"Yes, the higher their rank, the more supplies they'll receive," the woman explained with a teasing smile. "But of course, it'll still be less than what the allied forces get. They have priority, they get first pick from the resource pile, and whatever's left? Well, the bottom feeders can fight over the scraps."

Her tone was light, but the message was clear: ranking mattered, and so did missions.

"On top of that, missions from the base are limited. So getting your hands on one will be a real struggle."

With demand far outweighing supply, people would be scrambling for missions. How each group chose to grow, whether by gathering more members or aggressively taking on tasks, would be entirely up to them. But more people also meant more mouths to feed and more hands to split the rewards with.

Still, with a solid foundation and smart strategy, the strong would rise. And once those promising groups emerged, Kisha could handpick the best among them and offer higher positions.

In a way, this wasn't just a mission scramble; it was also her way of testing who had the potential to truly stand with her.