Path of ranking

Ranveer says, "Okay, but we will need weapons, so what about that? Because I don't think any of us have claws big enough to fight a beast or monster. We'll have to wait for the seventh day for that." Rajesh replies, "Yeah, that's true. Anyway, I'm good at running, so I'll just tire out the beast or monster by making it chase me, and then you guys can take it down and send it to your grandparents." Rajesh says this with a laugh. Ruhi then says that she doesn't really know how to do anything special, and that's why she's here with their team: to find her family. Jack says he will make a plan, and if everyone agrees, they will follow it. Rakshit then says, "Alright, I called you all here because I wanted you to get to know each other and be ready to fight together when the time comes. Now, listen to what I'm about to say."

They start discussing things...

Rakshit says, "Okay, let's meet here on the 7th day morning." Rakshit thinks to himself, "By the seventh day, these people will have weapons. Honestly, I feel something is off because there are many people here who were already living here before us. Some of them are really powerful, and they were brought here just like us. But since I just created this game, how did they get here before us? It feels like there are some things I didn't make." Viraj replies, "Alright, we'll meet on the 7th day and get our weapons from this golden statue."

The Seventh Day: 11 people are gathered in front of the statue. Rakshit says, "Alright, now everyone, go in front of the statue, say your name, and praise it. Who knows, you might get a powerful weapon."

Viraj steps forward and loudly says, "I am Viraj Chaudhary. I will spread your greatness across the world. Your beautiful eyes make me want to drown in them..." Before Viraj can say more, a weapon, a sphere, appears in his hands. The system sends a notification: "You have received an unranked item. Normal Sphere. Use: short+long-range attack."

Rakshit says, "Honestly, I was just joking when I said we should praise the statue. I thought maybe this would be a rank 3 item, but this is just a useless thing with no rank." Viraj says, "I thought it would be rank 3, but this is completely worthless. Anyway, it doesn't matter; you'll be getting items like this too."

Then Ranveer steps up to the statue and receives an iron shield, which is unranked, but its name is quite powerful: "Iron Demon Shield. Use: defense, and it can evolve with the user's rank." Ranveer says, "I think this is a good start." Next, Rajesh steps forward and raises his hands. He gets a sword, and the system gives the description: "You have obtained an unranked item. Normal Sword. Use: cut down the heads."

Rajesh laughs and says, "Seems like the statue knows what humans like." Then the rest of the group steps forward, receiving their unranked items:

Santeno gets a bow and arrow: "Bow and Arrow of Perfection. Use: it hits the target no matter what."

Pritam gets a helmet: "Unbearable. Use: it can block critical head hits."

Valen gets a light but full armor: "Protective Cover."

Ruhi gets two knives: "Blood Thirst."

Jack gets the spectacle: "movement detector."

Then, Kauri steps up and the golden statue starts to glow. A notification appears: "You have received 10 power stones. Mission: 10/100 power stones." Rakshit thinks to himself, "10 power stones? That's nothing. Honestly, I feel bad for Kauri." Then, Reha steps forward and receives Krisis, which are weapons similar to knives but longer and with a shape like a snake. "Monster Hunter. Use: it can deal super critical hits to monsters."

Finally, Rakshit steps forward and says, "O golden statue, the great sage, Heaven's Equal, wish to deliver a message. They said they don't want to witness the end of the world, so they sent me to you to save the world." Just then, the black wand in the statue's hand disappears. People around are shocked because the wand, which even the grandmaster couldn't make disappear, is now gone.

Viraj says, "What did you just say? The wand is gone?" Rakshit sees the notification: "You have received a B-rank item. Broken Wand. Use: this item is used for recovery. Penalty: You received an item that is far beyond your rank. You cannot use its full power, and you can only use one skill." Rakshit says, "I didn't say anything about this. I didn't get anything either." Viraj says, "Seems like your luck is pretty bad."

Rakshit then reflects on how he knew the golden statue must have some consciousness. He realizes that the statue belongs to the Golden Demon, who stopped 10,000 dark spirits with his 10,000 demon army. The wand is nothing compared to the real wand the Golden Demon used. The Golden Demon had regeneration powers and infinite energy, and the fight was called the "Fight of Will." Rakshit then decides, "Alright, Viraj, let's go. We need to head east first, where the weakest monsters are."

Rakshit thinks to himself, "It's good that Viraj gathered information on the safest place. We will head east first because that's where the weakest monsters are. As we move forward, we'll face ranked monsters and beasts. Once we unlock the system and start collecting power stones, we won't be able to use them immediately. It takes one minute to consume a power stone, and during that time, we can't move. All our defenses will be open, and anyone can attack us."

Viraj says, "I don't see any monsters here."

Rakshit says: "Yes, because we are just at the entrance of the city. We need to find monsters in the outskirts. They had said that this place was called the City of Apocalypse." As Rakshit steps inside the city, a notification appears on the system.

Notification: "You have found the hunting area. The City 2, Difficulty Level - Normal. Total monsters in 6-mile radius: 1000."

Viraj says: "Did we step into the wrong area? Because I don't have enough stamina to fight 1000 monsters. And anyway, according to the plan, we shouldn't be fighting so many monsters at once. What should we do now?"

Jack says: "Alright, I think the fastest among us should attract all the monsters and bring them to us. According to the information, those undeads are quite slow."

Rajesh says: "I'm the fastest here, so I will bring the monsters to us." No one has any objections to this.

Viraj says: "Okay, but we'll only fight 50 monsters together. Later, when we feel we can handle more, we'll fight more."

Rakshit says: "Just remember, if you feel like something's wrong with the undead, come back quickly without thinking."

Rajesh says: "Okay, I'll be back in a bit after a quick round." He runs off, and 10 minutes later, he comes back running, looking terrified. His face shows clear signs of fear, and his eyes make it obvious how scared he is.

Suddenly, everyone gets a notification:

Notification: "10,000 monsters detected in the 6-mile radius."

Rakshit says: "What's happening? First, there were 1000 monsters, and now there are 10,000. Why so many?"

Rajesh shouts: "There's a 3rd rank monster inside! We need to get out quickly!"

Rajesh rushes towards Rakshit and Viraj.

Rakshit asks: "What does this monster look like?"

Rajesh says: "It's also an undead, but it has a crown made of copper. As soon as I got close, I got a notification that I detected a 3rd rank monster. When I saw it, I ran back immediately because the nearby undead were trying to devour it, and there were so many undead, I can't even explain. Some of them followed me here."

Rakshit thinks to himself: "This is a good opportunity. A 3rd rank monster's power core should be weak now. But first, I have to deal with these undead."

Viraj says: "Everyone get ready." With that, an arrow is fired, hitting an undead in the head.

System Notification: "You have killed an unranked monster. Devour the power stone."

Then, 23-24 more arrows are shot, each hitting the undead's head. After a while, Santeno says that he's run out of arrows.

Ruhi, Rajesh, and Reha each start cutting down the undead with ease, sometimes decapitating them or attacking their hearts. Together, they kill almost 127 undeads:

Santeno: 29

Ruhi: 33

Reha: 30

Rajesh: 35

Afterward, they all take a break, while Pritam collects all the arrows and hands them to Santeno. The rest collect the power stones from the monsters. They gather 78 power stones, which are divided equally among everyone, so each person receives 7 stones. The extra stone is given to Rajesh because he did the most work.

When Rakshit sees the power stone, which is a deep purple color, he swallows it. A notification appears:

Notification: "You have received 1 power stone. 1 minute left to emerge."

After 1 minute, Rakshit opens his eyes, feeling much stronger. He then swallows the remaining 6 stones.

Notification: "You have received 6 power stones. 6 minutes left to emerge."

After 6 minutes, when Rakshit opens his eyes again, he feels a huge surge of power. He tells everyone, "Now, we'll go hunt the 3rd rank monster."

Rajesh says: "Yes, but if we go there, we might have to fight it, because there are so many undead there, much more than you can imagine."

Rakshit says: "We don't have a better opportunity. We'll also collect power stones from the normal monsters around, and maybe even the 3rd rank monster's power core."

Viraj says: "But who will keep the 3rd rank monster's power core?"

Rakshit says: "Whoever lands the last critical hit will get it. And anyway, the normal monsters' power stones will be plentiful."

Ruhi asks: "But if we can't stand up to the 3rd rank monster, what do we do?"

Jack says: "First, we'll attack from a distance, and then we'll fight it face-to-face."

Viraj says: "Alright, let's go then."

Rajesh leads the group, saying he saw the monster behind a building. They arrive and find a huge number of undead lying around.

Viraj says: "We need to collect power stones from these undead as we move forward."

The group spends the next 18 minutes collecting power stones from the monsters they encounter. Here's the breakdown:

Viraj: 89 power stones

Ranveer: 91 power stones

Rajesh: 107 power stones

Santeno: 81 power stones

Pritam: 85 power stones

Valen: 98 power stones

Ruhi: 77 power stones

Kauri: 75 power stones

Reha: 111 power stones

Jack: 170 power stones

Rakshit: 300 power stones

In total, they collect 1284 power stones. Rajesh says, "We're done! But I have 15 extra, and I'll take one rank-3 power core." Ruhi insists on having 16 stones, not 15.

Rakshit thinks to himself: "We should have gone back, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The 3rd rank monster is seriously weakened now, and the difference in power between unranked and rank-3 monsters is enormous. If we kill it now, we'll get its power core."

Viraj says: "Alright, everyone listen up. There might still be more undead in the city, so we need to devour these power stones now to gain strength."

The group begins devouring their power stones. After 93 minutes, the system notifies Rakshit:

Notification: "You have successfully collected 100 power stones. You have received the title: The Devourer."

The system provides details about the title:

Title: The Devourer

Use: You can devour anything

Time limit: None

Restrictions: You cannot devour living things until you reach a specific rank.

Other titles received include:

Ranveer: Demon of Endurance (Enhances defense, time limit: 15 minutes)

Rajesh: Sword of One Hit (Can perform 1 super critical sword hit per hour)

Pritam: Unnamed (No effect)

Ruhi: Unnamed (No effect)

Jack: Nine Tails (Unknown effects)

As they feel the power surge, Rakshit says he has enough strength to fight non-stop for 3 hours. Ranveer feels like he just woke up from a nap. Rajesh feels like he can cut through iron with a single sword strike. The others continue devouring their power stones, gaining their respective titles.

The group sets off toward the 3rd rank monster. After another hour, they spot the monster, which has a deep cut around its neck. A notification appears:

Notification: "Rank-3 monster discovered. You have unlocked the path of ranking. Eliminate the monster to rise to rank-3."

Rakshit thinks to himself: "This is it. If we kill this monster, we'll all rise to rank-3, except me. But first, I need to make sure I deal the final blow."

Rakshit: "This is exactly what I needed. Now, if we kill this monster, everyone will reach rank 3, except me. So, I need to think about how to make the final attack count."

Viraj: "First, we'll target the part of the monster where it's already injured."

Rajesh: "Its neck is already half-cut anyway. If you guys let me make a full-power attack, I might be able to cut off its head."

Jack: "Alright, so first, we need to weaken the monster further. For that, Ranveer uncle will have to engage in a head-on fight with it, blocking its hits with his shield. That way, the monster's attention won't be on the rest of us. Then, we'll create an opening for Rajesh uncle to attack from behind."

Rakshit: "Santeno will handle keeping the normal monsters at bay, and I'll give directions to everyone else on what to do and when. Alright, let's move out."

Rakshit: "Alright, for now, we need to send Ranveer ahead."

(Ranveer runs towards the monster, which swings its hand and hits Ranveer's shield with a slap, sending him flying backward.)