The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

The Adventurers Guild called A-rank and S-rank the liquefying and solidifying realms, respectively. Then they divided the realm above into three ranks.

The SS-rank, SSS-rank, and the Hero-rank.

These three ranks were also called the "shackled realms." When people managed to completely solidify the mana in their mana pool, they would feel the shackles in their bodies—the shackles that were binding their mortal bodies.

It was the limitations of the mortals that were preventing them from reaching godhood. There were ten shackles in a mortal's body, and upon breaking one of these shackles, a person would reach the so-called SS-rank. Then, if they broke four shackles, they would become SSS-rank. And breaking seven shackles will make them reach the Hero-rank.

The Hero-rank was the closest to godhood, yet achieving it was entirely different. The peak of the Hero-rank was completely breaking all the ten shackles inside a mortal's body.

Then, after it, was the god realm.

For Lumilia, Lynn, Eunice, and Bryan, this level was too far for them. So it was still a mystery, and they didn't have much information in this realm. Even their teachers didn't have any ideas after breaking the ten shackles.

But some people said that breaking the ten shackles wasn't the last step. Many people failed to do it, so they landed on the realm between godhood and the shackled realm, the demigod realm.

"If you want to know more about this god realm, then you should ask Princess Alea. After all, her great-grandfather is one of the god-level powerhouses of this country. Unlike my family, who only had demigods." Eunice said to Lumilia.

"I see..." Lumilia nodded.

Demigod was still a force to be reckoned with, and having it inside a family would be a tremendous deterrent force. The Giniver Family had demigods in their ranks, and that's the reason why they were one of the Ten Great Families of the Eternal Empire.

It was so huge compared to her family. Her father was only in the shackled realm, and he's the only notable force of the Asvares Family. That's why their family was pressured when various nobles tried to get the honey that he got from a fourth evolution monster.

Also, not all noble families had powerful forces. Some of them were just rich and didn't even reach the shackled realm. They could only hire different powerhouses to become their guards.

"The class will start, so I need to go. See you later." Eunice smiled as she stood up and left after saying goodbye to them.

"See you later," Lynn said as she waved her hand.

Lumilia looked at Lynn and Bryan before she asked, "Should we go now?"

The three separated and went to their departments.

...

After the class, Bryan went to the Adventurers Guild to have his adventurer rank promoted to A-rank. He was eligible for it as his mana was already liquefied, so he passed easily. It made him the second A-rank adventurer of the Dark Oculus Legion. Yanagi was the first A-rank of the legion.

She started from the lowest rank when she just registered, but then she easily completed various quests, and the branch guild master promoted her directly to A-rank a few months ago.

But now, at this moment, according to Teacher Bargan. Her power level has already surpassed A-rank, reaching the realm of solidifying mana. She was currently the strongest force in the Dark Oculus Legion. Her name could terrify a bunch of weak-hearted people.

Promoting Bryan to A-rank surprised only a few people, as most of them knew that he had the strength to back it up. After all, when he showed his power in the small event, his name spread out even outside of the academy.

He was an A-rank adventurer, so he could take on those high-level quests in the guild. This was an entirely different rank compared to the one below. The number of quests that he could take was several times greater than before, and the rewards for these quests were also surprisingly good. The only problem was that the danger it possessed wasn't ordinary.

Some of it was about subjugating third evolution monsters, while the others were about picking ingredients from dangerous places. Also, some of it was about investigating powerful organizations.

After that, Bryan didn't go back to the dorm. Instead, he went to the Lanny Corp and asked the director about the girl.

"The girl was found yesterday at night. She was trying to leave the country through illegal means, but the guard caught her, so they put her in the detention center," the director explained to Bryan.

"Um... Can you accompany me to the detention center to meet her? I felt that something was happening in this country." Bryan asked the director.

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do. But please wait for a moment; I will inform Jimmy about this," the director said before he took out a transmission talisman to call Jimmy.

Bryan left the room and waited for the director at the entrance of the Lanny Corp. Since he wasn't good at understanding things and just always followed his emotions and instincts, he will bring the director with him.

After a while, the director came out of the door and called Bryan.

"Sir Bryan, let's go. I've already received Sir Jimmy's permission to help you," the director said to Bryan.

"Oh, thanks," Bryan said.

"It's nothing. I'm just doing what my superiors want." The director shook his head.

The two arrived at the detention center after a few minutes of walking. They talked to the guards before the guards let them inside the place. The director explained why they came here, and one of the guards escorted the two.

"We are here," the guard said as they arrived in front of a small room.

"Can you tell us what you know about this girl? I'm sure that you've investigated her since she was trying to leave the country using illegal means." The director asked while glancing at the girl in the room.

"Yeah, according to our information, this girl is called Mina, and she is a prostitute in the red light district in the north of the country. She's also in huge debt, and the reason she's trying to run away is about money. She knew that she couldn't pay, so she decided to run away," the guard explained to the director.

"Is that also the reason why she's saying that this country is dangerous and no one would be able to protect her?" The director asked.

"Yes, as long as she didn't pay her debt, the government wouldn't help her. We would imprison her for a few years depending on the amount of money that she owed." The guard replied.

"Hmm..." The director nodded, and he gazed at the girl inside the room. He then asked, "How much is her debt?"

"Twenty-five thousand platinum coins..." the guard said.

"What?!"

The director was shocked as he opened his eyes widely and let his mouth hang down. Twenty-five thousand platinum coins were no joke. This amount of money was simply terrifying.

He was ready to pay the girl's debt and bail her out, but this was something that he didn't expect.

But it was suspicious. How could a prostitute owe that amount of money? Where did she place it or where did she spend it?

She could already buy a mansion with that money and hire powerful experts. Her life would change, but it didn't.

'Sir Bryan's instinct was right. There is something more to this case,' the director thought as he glanced at the guard.

"It's shocking, right? We're investigating where she spent that amount of money. It's like it just pops out of nowhere and vanishes into thin air," the guard said to him.

"Inform me if you gather information about where she borrowed that amount of money," the director said to the guard.

"Yes, I'll contact you if we gather more information." The guard nodded. Even he found this to be a strange case. He hasn't encountered anyone who borrowed that amount of money except for those rich nobles.

"Thanks. We'll talk to the girl now," the director said.

"It's fine, but that girl won't tell us anything about it. She just said that she didn't do anything wrong," the guard told him.

Bryan and the director went inside the room and sat down in front of the girl.

"Hello, we meet again." Bryan greeted the girl with a smile on his face.

The girl simply glanced at them before she closed her eyes, but her body was trembling as if she were afraid that she was going to die.

"We wanted to help you get out of here. We couldn't help you if you didn't tell us what you know," the director spoke in a gentle tone.

"Y-you know... n-nothing..." The girl said it with a shaky tone.

"That's right, we know nothing. That's why we wanted you to explain it to us," the director said.