Chapter 6: The Global Rankings
No matter how long a player spends on their challenge—ten minutes, an hour, even a maniac like Chen Mo who attempted it ten thousand times—in the end, everyone is simultaneously transported to the instance hall.
“Brother!” Ning Xuan waved excitedly and threw herself into Chen Mo’s arms.
“Ning Xuan, I’m just glad you’re all right.” Chen Mo stroked her long, jet-black hair. Though she was only thirteen, her hair cascaded past her shoulders, longer than most adults'.
Ning Xuan pouted, boasting, “Hmph! Who do you think your sister is? How could anything happen to me? By the way, brother, what was your final score? I bet you weren’t as amazing as me, hehe!”
Chen Mo felt a flash of indignation. He was, after all, a man with a built-in bug. Confident, he declared that his score of 1000 meters was unbeatable, leaving everyone else in the dust.
Chin up and chest out, Chen Mo said with self-assurance, “Ning Xuan, listen well. This might shock you! My final score was 1000 meters!!”
Pfft!
Ning Xuan doubled over in exaggerated laughter, clutching her stomach.
Wait, wasn’t this the wrong reaction? Shouldn’t she be shocked, awed, crying out in amazement? Why laughter?!
Nearby, the tattooed young man—the troublemaker from before—overheard. Chen Mo had heard his lackeys call him Dashing Brother.
Dashing Brother pointed at Chen Mo’s head with disdain. “Hahaha, guys, there’s someone here showing off about a thousand meters! What a riot!”
“1000 meters? That’s nothing!”
“Trash! Utter trash!”
Ning Xuan clenched her little fists, cheeks puffed in anger. “Shut up! Don’t you dare insult my brother! You think you’re so great? Try competing with me!”
Dashing Brother leered, “Oh, little sister, you’re pretty cute. Don’t say I’m bullying you—watch and learn!”
Ding—
A string of data popped up above Dashing Brother’s head.
This was the basic function of the Smart Core, allowing you to publicly display your stats.
Above Dashing Brother’s head, it read:
[Dashing Brother]
[Warrior Trainee]
[Constitution: 20]
[Mental: 5]
[Instance Record: Temple Escape 3500 meters]
What? 3500 meters!
Chen Mo was truly speechless now. After all his efforts and ten thousand attempts, he only managed 1000 meters, and this small-time thug had reached 3500?
Using his data scan, Chen Mo noticed Dashing Brother’s 20 constitution points were distributed as: Strength 2, Endurance 2, Agility 16!
Scanning the others nearby, Chen Mo saw everyone’s attributes were distributed differently: some had 10 points in strength, others in endurance. But Dashing Brother’s 16 points in agility were off the charts. That speed must be incredible—no wonder he could reach 3500 meters!
Basking in the envious stares around him, Dashing Brother gloated, “Hahaha! Did you all see? I’m not just the king of this street, but this whole hall!”
His lackeys rushed to flatter him, “Dashing Brother is amazing! Following you, we’ll all make it big!”
Pfft—
Ning Xuan snickered.
Veins bulging with rage, Dashing Brother barked, “You little brat! Laugh at me, will you? I’ll tear that smile off your face!”
He actually made a move toward her.
Still, Ning Xuan kept laughing, not the least bit afraid.
Chen Mo stepped in front of her, ready for a fight. “Stop! One more step and don’t blame me for what happens!”
Dashing Brother darted from side to side—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
His speed rivaled a motorcycle. Was this really human? So this was the power of 16 agility!
“Hahaha! A thousand-meter loser. What can you possibly—”
Dashing Brother’s words froze in his throat.
His entire body was instantly encased in ice, cold air radiating off him, his face a picture of stunned disbelief.
Bling! Bling!
Ning Xuan was aglow, like a magical girl from a fantasy game, dressed in a pink mage’s robe encrusted with pink jewels, wielding a wand set with a pink gem. Even her hair had turned pink!
Thump!
Dashing Brother’s lackeys fell to their knees in terror. “Little lady—no, honored madam—please don’t kill us! We don’t even know Dashing Brother!”
Dashing Brother’s face twisted in fury, but there was nothing he could do, his body frozen solid.
Chen Mo swallowed hard. “Ning Xuan, what’s…?”
Ning Xuan beamed with pride. “Role switch! I chose Mage Trainee and awakened ice magic—Freeze! Awesome, right?!”
Role switch? What the heck was that?
[Analyzing data]
[Analysis complete]
[Extracting sample]
[Extraction successful]
[Role Switch function unlocked]
Of course! His Smart Core was always a step behind. Only now did it unlock this function. Chen Mo realized his Smart Core was like a transfer student: it had to analyze what other Cores could do, then learn those features.
Role switch!
Chen Mo was curious to see what he’d look like after switching.
[Role switch successful]
What on earth? Switch successful? Chen Mo looked down at his tattered clothes. This was supposed to be a successful switch?
He suddenly understood. The “Ordinary Human” role was exactly that: himself, just an ordinary guy! Damn!
“Brother? Brother?? Are you all right? Don’t be discouraged. You might get stronger in the future. And you’ve got me—I can protect you!”
Protect me? Is that encouragement or an insult?
Chen Mo noticed many people had switched roles. Some appeared as Warrior Trainees in bronze armor, others as Mage Trainees in gray robes.
“But wait, Ning Xuan, why does your mage robe look different from everyone else’s?” Chen Mo asked, puzzled.
Ning Xuan’s smug smile nearly reached the sky. “While I was wandering, I found a fork in the path. At the end, there was a dead end, so I used ice magic to create a bridge. I kept going and found a treasure chest. When I opened it, I got the Mage Trainee skin—Magical Girl!”
Chen Mo nearly choked on his own blood.
Comparisons could kill you. He’d thought having a unique Smart Core made him invincible, but his little sister was even more extraordinary—she’d awakened an even rarer ice magic!
After all, Mage Trainees only had a chance to awaken a single magic skill. Out of the thousands in the instance hall, only a few hundred had managed, and nearly all of them just got the basic Fireball spell.
But Ning Xuan had awakened Freeze, a spell only high-level mages could use, capable of freezing enemies or objects!
With Freeze, she’d iced the temple entrance, blocked the chasing gorilla, and bought herself a full minute of peace. She wasn’t escaping—she was strolling!
Normally, Mage Trainees couldn’t even jump a three-meter pit, let alone five. But Ning Xuan, lacking a warrior’s physique, simply froze the pit and walked right over!
It was elegance itself, like gliding on ice—graceful and refined.
She was truly blessed!
Of course, Chen Mo couldn’t have been happier to see his sister so extraordinary. “Ning Xuan! You’re incredible!” He pinched her little nose affectionately.
But then he grew serious. “Remember, fortune brings envy. Don’t flaunt your stats like Dashing Brother, especially your role ID.”
With a scan, Chen Mo could see all of Ning Xuan’s attributes.
[Ling]
[Constitution: 5]
[Mental: 50 (20 base, 30 bonus)]
[Special: Magical Girl skin, Spell +10, Mana +10, Meditation +10]
[Instance Record: Temple Escape (Novice) 8000 meters]
What dazzling stats! Absolutely out of this world. That’s why he warned her not to reveal her data; otherwise, someone with ill intentions could target her.
For instance, Security Captain Xiao Yong, whose snake-like eyes were constantly searching for anyone showing off their stats.
Ding-ling-ling—
A pleasant chime sounded as the Evolution Sprite shimmered into view.
The Evolution Sprite, ever with the same sweet smile, announced, “Congratulations to all on completing your first instance challenge. You have thirty minutes to rest, chat, or visit the instance shop to spend your points.”
“The current instance completion rate is 0.02%. Each person may enter the same Evolution Sphere once per day; you may enter ten different Spheres daily.”
“When the novice instance completion rate reaches 10%, a second wave of higher-level Evolution Spheres will descend on Earth, unlocking advanced instances, more roles, and more equipment.”
“A friendly reminder: the instance hall is under safe protection. Attacking others is forbidden and will result in point penalties.”
“This round, a total of twelve million people worldwide participated. Now, the rankings will be announced!”
Whoosh!
A translucent screen appeared before every person, displaying the instance shop, leaderboard, and other options.
Chen Mo noted that he could only see his own screen, not anyone else’s. Everyone was absorbed in checking their own stats.
However, with his data scan, Chen Mo could read the screens of others, see their point totals, their purchases—everything at a glance!
He was like the game’s database, able to access everyone’s data with ease.
And this was only the basic function of the Smart Core. If he could collect ten Cores and unlock the Core Assembly, the potential would be staggering!
Ning Xuan impatiently tapped open the leaderboard and quickly found her name. “Brother, I… mmmph… mmm…”
Before she could blurt it out, Chen Mo covered her mouth, whispering, “Quiet, don’t let anyone overhear!”
Ning Xuan could hardly contain her excitement, whispering, “Brother, look—the 900th spot in the China Region, that’s me, your brilliant and beautiful little sister!”
Chen Mo checked the leaderboard, and sure enough, there was her name—Ling—at number 900.
Yet he couldn’t feel happy. Eight thousand meters, a score beyond his wildest dreams, was only enough for 900th place in China, and around 20,000th worldwide!
Scanning the rankings, the 300th place in China had 10,000 meters, and first place a terrifying 15,000 meters. That meant not only had the top player cleared the instance—they’d gone far beyond!
Worldwide, five thousand people had cleared it.
Chen Mo guessed that clearing the instance would surely grant a reward, and the next challenge would offer even greater difficulty and richer rewards.
The gap between ordinary people and the elite would only widen.
It was frightening—truly frightening!