Chapter 39: Shifting Tides
The simulation chamber hissed open, releasing a gust of cool, sterilized air. Orion stepped out, his body still thrumming with the adrenaline of battle. The transition from the brutal, chaotic battlefield to the pristine halls of reality always left him feeling momentarily displaced. His hands still clenched involuntarily, muscle memory gripping the sword.
The ranking HUD flickered to life as he exited the simulation room, its sleek holographic display shifting in response to his biometric signature and the leaderboard unfolded before his eyes. Orion's gaze immediately locked onto the top ranking.
[1st – Orion Reyes]
Relief settled over him, but only for a moment. His fingers hovered over the interface, scrolling down. The rest of the leaderboard had changed—drastically. The names that had been firmly entrenched in the Top 10 were no longer there. Instead, they had been shoved far down, some barely clinging to the Top 70.
Aurelia's name stood out.
[10th – Aurelia Velstrane]
Orion's brows furrowed. That was impossible. Just before his final battle, she had held Rank #2. Now, she had plummeted, just barely holding onto a spot in the highest-ranked contenders. Meanwhile, the other top ten who had dominated the rankings for the last phase had been pushed into the 70s.
What the hell happened?
His mind raced through possibilities. The final battle had been unpredictable, but this—this was something else entirely. For the Top 10 to be overturned so dramatically, something major must have happened while he was still fighting in his own war.
He scrolled through the records, but the system only provided timestamps and match logs. No detailed battle footage. He would have to look into it later.
It wasn't just the shift in rankings that unsettled him—it was the implications. Had someone found a loophole? A secret strategy?