Chapter 255: Hierarchy
"The Third World is twice the size of this current world, it’s in a whole space entirely... In this world, there are countless races, and factions, but no rulers... In these factions, the strongest belongs to Lamashtu--"
"--Wait." Mirabella swallowed hard, the bite of fruit suddenly turning to ash in her mouth. She looked at her in genuine shock, her mind spinning as she processed the impossible scale of the threat. The monstrous entity she had just been discussing wasn’t some sealed relic of the past; she was an active, looming nightmare.
"Lamashtu is in the Third World?" She asked in shock, and Luigi nodded her head grimly, confirming the terrifying reality.
"She is not only in that world, she is the strongest there, with thousands of fighters under her command... The second strongest are the cultivators."
"Cultivators?" Mirabella echoed, the term foreign to the System-bound logic of Galaxy Fall.
"Yes, they are beings who could draw energy directly from heaven and earth... They don’t have to kill or absorb evolution stones to level up... The cultivators are also divided into five peaks, which are known as Sword Peak, Lotus Peak, Earth peak, Demon peak, and Holy Peak, each ruled by one peak Master each, and elders. But note, these people aren’t the main leader of the cultivator fraction, no one knows their main leader." Luigi said.
The angel’s words painted a picture of a society entirely divorced from the familiar LitRPG mechanics. No experience points, no monster farming—just raw, terrifying mastery over the ambient laws of the universe. She continued laying out the cosmic chessboard:
"The third faction are known as Spirit Creature faction; This faction belongs to spirit Beasts, some of them are humanoid, it consists of beasts and monsters. The fourth faction is known as Avalon faction, which belongs to four major race, known as Elves, Beast men, Dragons, and Dwarves."
"What about Humans?" Mirabella asked in confusion, casually peeling another banana. In Galaxy Fall, humans ruled the dominant empires—the Sword, Dragon, and Eagle—dictating the flow of the entire world. To not hear them mentioned among the major factions was jarring.
"Humans? They are at the bottom of the food chains, completely at the mercy of the four major factions... They are only used as slaves, cannon fodders or food." Luigi answered, her voice entirely devoid of pity. It was simply the brutal, unvarnished truth of a higher dimension.
"This is strange, the humans here are exceptionally powerful, how come they are being use as slaves in the Third World?" She muttered in confusion, her brows knitting together. She thought of the monstrous talents in the competition, the untouchable elites like Jessica and Andrew, whose mere presence could flatten mountains.
"That’s mainly because the highest ranking here isn’t even close to the highest ranking in the Third World... A Lv500 fighter is a trash there. Most humans think advancing to the Third World with their current ability will make them invincible, but they learned it the dark way." Luigi stated coldly. The absolute peak of mortal existence was nothing but the starting line of a much more brutal race.
"Hmm... You said there aren’t any rulers, why did you say that?" She asked, probing for a geopolitical weakness.
"The Third World doesn’t have any kingdom... They have shelters. These shelters can be as big as a village, a town or even a city... The top four factions are in a peace agreement, so every race in the Third World wants to join them just to be protected, especially humans... If you aren’t in any of these four factions, you are a walking target for all creatures... The Third World is the most dangerous place in existence, and it’s not governed by Galaxy Fall’s rules."
The revelation struck heavy. Without the absolute laws of the System to enforce order, the Third World was an apocalyptic free-for-all dictated entirely by raw power and ancient bloodlines.
Mirabella collapsed on the bed, staring blankly at the high-vaulted ceiling. Her mind, usually so sharp and calculating, struggled to digest the massive paradigm shift.
"Lv500 in the Third World is trash, humans are being use as slaves there, and if you aren’t in any of these four factions, you are already dead... Just hearing all these will dishearten anyone who plans to enter the Third World." She muttered. The insurmountable wall of progression seemed entirely rigged against them.
"I believe Master can save the humans and form your own faction..." Luigi said with a small, almost reverent smile, seeing the unyielding spark still alive in her new master’s eyes. She continued, falling back on old habits:
"If the great King’s mark was still active. The Spirit Creature faction would have bowed before you... But now---"
"---Luigi, I can forge my own path." Mirabella snapped violently. She sat up in a flash, staring at Luigi with a deep, authoritative frown. She refused to be a proxy for Julian’s dormant empire; she would conquer this new frontier on her own merits or die trying.
"I apologize for my ignorance." Luigi quickly said, instantly lowering her head, reminded once again of the lethal pride her master possessed.
"Tell me, how many forces do I need for a faction?" Mirabella asked, her tone shifting back to cold, tactical planning.
"Two is already enough, as long they are strong enough, you can dominate... But I suggest more fighters, Master shouldn’t be the only one fighting always." She said. In the higher realms, sheer numbers meant nothing before absolute strength; a single King-stage entity could eradicate an army of millions.
Mirabella slowly nodded her head, her blue eyes turning to Adira, who was floating quietly nearby. With the Divine Fairy’s broken powers to actively summon World Bosses, she might have a formidable opening hand. But a crucial question remained: were the apex predators of this world even considered a threat in the next?
"About the monsters, are world Bosses considered strong?"
"Master, in the Third World, World Bosses are considered as Vice leaders of an army, in overall, they aren’t that strong." Luigi answered, instantly crushing that strategic pillar.
"You must be kidding me!!" Mirabella blurted out, her composure slipping. The creatures that required entire elite academy teams and hundreds of thousands of points to defeat were mere middle-management in the Third World.
"I won’t dare!" Luigi insisted, bowing lower.
Mirabella exhaled a long, measured breath, forcing her racing heart to calm down. The rules had changed, and she needed to understand the new parameters. She asked a very important question:
"Ok, tell me about the strength ranking system in the Third World."
Luigi nodded, shifting into the role of a guide. "In the first world, the highest ranking is Level 29. In our current world, the highest level is Lv500, and in the Third World, the highest level is a Peak King stage cultivator."
"Peak King stage? Wait, In their ranking, how strong is a Lv500 fighter?" Mirabella asked in surprise, trying to map her current system’s cap to this new, terrifying cultivation scale.
"A peak Lv500 fighter is only a Peak Five Stars Cultivator in the Third World." Luigi said, her words dropping like an anvil, stunning Mirabella completely in place as the vast, terrifying abyss of the true power ceiling finally opened up before her.