The words settled with quiet weight. Merlin the Sage, a figure whose name carried influence across countless worlds, had just admitted that some rewards lay beyond even his reach.
Alex's expression remained composed, but internally his understanding of the battlefield shifted. This was not merely a place for competition. It was a structure designed to redistribute opportunity on a scale that affected entire universes. The implication alone made the trial far more significant than he had initially assumed.
"More importantly," Merlin continued, his eyes sharpening slightly, "if you accumulate enough victory points, you can ascend the ranking. Every month, the top one hundred receive a substantial increase to their totals. Reputation also functions as a form of currency. Higher reputation grants permissions and access to special items that ordinary participants cannot purchase, regardless of their point totals."
