Chapter 120: Top 20

The treatment room had finally quieted down.

Rhea was lying on one of the beds with her eyes closed while a medical Awakener finished treating the wound across her side. The injury was no longer life-threatening, but the blood spear had gone deep enough that she would need several days to recover completely.

Lily sat beside her bed, refusing to leave, while Emily, Maki, Yuna, and the six Nephilim waited for the medical team to finish. Reinhard stood near the window, his expression thoughtful as he looked back toward the battlefield they had barely escaped.

The Bloodkin had not chased them.

That bothered him more than if they had.

You enter. You take. Then you repay.

He still didn’t understand what they believed the team had taken, but before he could think about it further, a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[B-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Calculating Returns...]

Reinhard’s attention immediately shifted.

[Reward Calculation Complete.]

[Reward Granted.]

[Legendary Reward Granted: 4x Royal Mana Infusion — High-Grade.]

Reinhard’s eyes lit up. Four. That’s exactly what we needed.

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x C-Rank Mana Evolution Treasures.]

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x C-Rank Body Enhancement Treasures.]

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x Mana Infusion — High-Grade.]

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x Mana Infusion — Superior-Grade.]

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x Mana Infusion — Royal-Grade.]

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x Enlightenment Leaves.]

[Additional Reward Granted: 9x Enlightenment Grapes.]

Reinhard quietly read through everything. The rewards were far better than he’d expected from a B-Grade investment, and more importantly, there was enough to improve everyone in the room.

Four Royal Mana Infusions. Nine sets of resources. Exactly enough.

Reinhard smiled at these before he continued walking forward.

He had passed sealed rooms and abandoned storage chambers throughout the castle on the way to the Heart of Origin. Finding a cache of rare resources there wouldn’t raise a single eyebrow after everything they’d already seen.

He closed the notifications and waited for the medical Awakener to finish with Rhea, then turned toward everyone.

"Everyone, I have something for you."

Rhea opened one eye from her bed. "If you’re about to give me something that makes me get out of this bed, I’m refusing."

"It’s not that kind of gift."

"Then I’m cautiously interested."

"You were going to take it either way."

"I know. I just like to pretend I have standards."

Lily immediately nodded. "Good."

Rhea stared at her. "You didn’t even let me finish."

"I know you."

"I was going to say thank you."

Lily paused. "...That too."

A few people laughed, easing some of the tension left behind by the mission.

Reinhard reached into his storage and brought out the first group of resources. "I found these while we were moving through the castle. I wasn’t sure what all of them were at first, but I figured out enough to know they’re useful. We should use them while we have the chance."

Nobody questioned it. After everything they’d encountered inside the Garden, an ancient Bloodkin stronghold hiding rare resources wasn’t exactly surprising.

He handed out the Mana Evolution Treasures first, then the Body Enhancement Treasures according to what each person needed, then the three grades of Mana Infusions. The group consumed them one after another.

Mana surged through their bodies and into their Gnosis, a brief wave of pressure passing through as everyone adapted to the increase, their strengthened bodies absorbing the greater output without trouble.

Then came the Enlightenment Leaves, deepening everyone’s understanding of their own abilities, followed by the Enlightenment Grapes, sending one last wave of comprehension through the team.

By the time everything settled, the entire group had noticeably stronger Mana, greater physical tolerance, and better control.

Reinhard looked around the room. Everyone had received something. Everyone had benefited. And nobody had the slightest idea where any of it had actually come from.

Perfect.

Rhea slowly pushed herself upright.

Lily immediately looked at her. "Don’t."

"I’m fine."

"You’re terrible at lying."

Rhea smiled. "I was going to say I’m stronger."

Lily paused before reluctantly nodding. "...You are."

Rhea’s smile widened.

"See," Reinhard said. "Stronger. I did that."

"You handed us fruit."

"Expensive fruit."

For the first time since the Bloodkin attack, the room felt lighter. The team had been hurt, and they’d learned they weren’t as prepared as they’d believed. But they’d also come out stronger, and Reinhard had no intention of letting that be the end of it.

A few hours later, the team gathered at the Association for their official evaluation.

The evaluator looked through the mission report before setting it down. "Combat: Exceptional. Rescue: Excellent. Adaptability: Exceptional. Coordination: Excellent. Leadership: Excellent. Professional Reliability: Excellent." He paused before adding the final category. "Experience: Developing."

Nobody argued. Their experience really was the weakest part of the profile.

The evaluator looked at them for several seconds. "Your experience is still your biggest weakness." Reinhard nodded. "We know."

"That’s refreshing. Most teams argue with me about this part."

"We’d rather save the arguing for things worth arguing about."

"But your rate of adaptation is the highest I’ve seen from a newly established team."

The room went quiet. Mara’s expression softened slightly. Seraphine looked toward Maki, and Maki gave her a small smile. They’d only been working together a short time, and the Association had already noticed.

The evaluator activated the ranking display.

[Team Ranking Updated.]

[Previous Ranking: #25.]

[New Ranking: #18.]

For a moment, nobody reacted, like the number needed a second to actually land. Then Rhea’s eyes widened. "We’re Top 20."

Lily grabbed her arm as she started moving too fast. "Don’t celebrate by reopening your wound."

Rhea stopped and laughed. "I wasn’t going to."

"You absolutely were."

Maki stared at the display. #18. They’d started far outside the upper ranks. Now they were officially one of the twenty strongest teams in Elyndor, and somehow that still felt less surreal than the man standing next to her casually handing out legendary treasures like party favors.

Emily smiled as she looked around the room. Rika crossed her arms, but the small smile on her face gave her away. Kael quietly congratulated Adrian, who looked far more excited than he was willing to admit. Mara laughed under her breath.

For the first time, there were no separate groups standing around the room. No Ashcroft side and Nephilim side. They were simply standing together.

The evaluator watched them celebrate before speaking again. "Don’t get comfortable."

The room gradually quieted.

"Top 20 teams aren’t simply stronger than everyone below them. They have specialties. Some dominate Abnormality suppression. Some specialize in relic recovery. Others focus on Bloodkin territory, hostile Awakeners, or large-scale rescue operations." His gaze moved across the team. "You have strength, adaptability, and coordination. But you don’t have a defined specialty yet."

Reinhard looked at the ranking display. #18. They’d reached the Top 20. But apparently, that was only where the real competition began.

"Top 10 is different," the evaluator continued.

Mara’s expression turned serious. "Why?"

He looked at her. "Because the Top 10 aren’t simply teams anymore." A pause. "They’re institutions."

The room fell silent. Even Rhea, who had an answer for everything, didn’t try to make a joke out of that one.

Reinhard looked toward the others. They had climbed from rank 25 to 18, from a team nobody had taken seriously to one the strongest names in Elyndor were finally about to notice. Not bad for a group that had been bleeding on hospital beds a few hours earlier.

For the first time, Reinhard understood that reaching the Top 20 had never been the real destination.

It had only been the door, and something told him the room on the other side of it was going to be a lot less forgiving than this one.