The system didn't give them time to breathe.
The moment the slaughter at the convergence slowed, a new message descended across the sky in cold silver light.
[Final Rule Confirmed]
[Only Top 10 Contestants Advance to Nationals]
[All Others Will Be Eliminated at Phase End]
Silence spread through the battlefield.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind that came when prey realized there was nowhere left to run.
Lily stared at the glowing text.
"…Only ten?"
Her jaw tightened. "So everyone else here is just… trimming."
Zael nodded faintly. "They never wanted survivors. They wanted a ladder."
Around them, panic bloomed.
Some contestants backed away immediately, retreating toward broken ruins and shattered trees, hoping distance could buy safety.
Others did the opposite.
They grouped up.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Top ten only…" "Then we kill the top ten." "No—kill anyone close to the line." "Form squads—now!"
Zael's ranking window flickered.
[Zael — Rank 5 | Points: 66,900]
Lily's followed.
[Lily — Rank 2 | Points: 81,800]
Zane stood farther out on the plain, sword resting against his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
[Zane — Rank 1 | Points: 89,300]
Rank 3's crimson eyes gleamed as he scanned the field, already calculating.
Rank 4 lowered his bow slightly, then slowly raised it again—this time aiming not at the weak, but at the strong.
"…They're going to dogpile the top ranks," Lily muttered.
Zael exhaled. "Of course they are."
As if summoned by the thought, movement rippled at the edges of the clearing.
One squad.
Then another.
Then another.
Twelve awakeners in total.
Not randoms.
Ranks in the teens and twenties—but organized. Tight formation. Buff auras already rising.
Their leader stepped forward, eyes locked straight onto Lily.
"Rank Two," he called out. "Hand over your points, and we'll let you walk out conscious."
Another voice added, gaze shifting to Zael. "And Rank Five too. You're convenient."
Lily's spear tightened in her grip.
Zael tilted his head slightly. "See? Popular."
She didn't laugh.
"…We can't afford to get dragged into a long fight."
Zael's eyes drifted toward Zane.
Zane wasn't moving.
Not yet.
He was watching.
Waiting for something worth cutting.
Rank 3's voice carried across the plain. "Careful. If you gather too much attention, you'll bleed points to someone stronger."
The squad leader sneered. "Then come take them."
That was the spark.
Mana surged.
> Skill Activated — Battle Hymn
Skill Activated — Iron Skin
Skill Activated — Wind Acceleration
The squad rushed them in a wave.
Lily stepped forward first.
> Skill Activated — Spear Art: Crescent Drive
A blue arc carved through the front line.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,500
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,300
Lily Total: 90,600
Zael moved beside her—not ahead.
Two attackers slipped through the opening, blades flashing.
Zael met them head-on.
Phantom Split.
Afterimages scattered their timing.
One strike.
Then another.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 3,900
Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,200
Zael Total: 75,000
The remaining squad faltered.
That hesitation cost them.
Lily pierced one through the shoulder and ripped the spear free in a spray of light.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,700
Lily Total: 95,300
The last two tried to retreat.
Zael didn't chase far.
He only cut one down when it crossed his range.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 4,100
Zael Total: 79,100
The clearing went still again.
Breathing hard now, Lily glanced at her window.
[Lily — Rank 2 | Points: 95,300]
Zael's hovered lower.
[Zael — Rank 5 | Points: 79,100]
Still below her.
Still where he wanted to be.
Across the battlefield, others weren't so restrained.
Rank 8 was torn apart by Rank 4's arrows.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,800
Rank 6 ambushed Rank 10.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 5,900
Rank 3 finally moved.
He strode forward and crushed a fleeing contestant with a single downward blow.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 7,200
Zane stepped at last.
One cut.
One body.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 6,600
Zane Total: 95,900
The ranking board trembled.
Names shuffled.
[Zane — Rank 1]
[Lily — Rank 2]
[Zael — Rank 5]
Only five slots left.
And more than thirty people still standing.
Lily swallowed. "…It's really happening now."
Zael's gaze fixed on the figures still moving across the shattered plain.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "From here on…"
His eyes drifted briefly to Zane.
"…every kill changes the future."
Above them, the system chimed again.
[Remaining Contestants: 41]
[Final Phase — Top 10 Lock Approaching]
The dungeon's light dimmed.
The ground pulsed faintly.
As if the world itself were holding its breath.
And somewhere between blood, ambition, and fear—
The final ten were about to be decided.
------
Then suddenly the sky darkened.
Not with clouds—but with code.
Crimson runes spiraled across the air above the plain, weaving into a massive summoning circle. The ground groaned as if something beneath it had just woken up.
A system voice echoed into every mind at once.
[Final Phase Condition Met]
[Boss Entity Released]
[Elimination Method: Cooperative or Competitive Clearance]
[Boss Defeat Will Distribute Points Proportionally by Damage Contribution]
Lily's breath hitched. "They… they added a boss?"
Zael's eyes narrowed. "Of course they did. Too many survivors."
The earth split.
Stone peeled back like flesh, revealing a towering shape climbing out of the crater—six meters tall, plated in obsidian armor veined with molten gold. Four arms unfolded from its torso, each gripping a different weapon grown from crystal and bone.
A crown of jagged horns flared as it roared.
[Boss Identified — Abyss Warden]
Mana pressure slammed outward, knocking several lower-ranked contestants off their feet.
A Rank 18 screamed as his barrier shattered instantly.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 0
Cause: Boss Entity
Panic exploded.
Some turned to run.
Others—top ranks—didn't.
Zane stepped forward first, blade humming.
Rank 3 moved at the same time, crimson aura igniting around his body.
Rank 4 drew three arrows at once.
Lily tightened her grip on her spear. "We can't ignore it."
Zael nodded. "We don't need to carry it. Just… don't get crushed."
The Abyss Warden lunged.
Its hammer-arm smashed down, pulverizing the stone into a crater.
Rank 7 vanished beneath the impact.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 0
Cause: Boss Entity
Zane appeared on the creature's flank.
> Skill Activated — Void Step
His blade carved a glowing line across its leg.
Black ichor sprayed.
Rank 3 struck from the front, red energy compressing into a single blow that dented the creature's chest.
Rank 4's arrows slammed into its shoulder joints, pinning one arm mid-swing.
Lily surged in.
> Skill Activated — Spear Art: Crescent Drive
Her strike pierced into a cracked plate and tore free.
Zael stayed just behind her, eyes tracking movement patterns.
The boss reacted.
Its free arm swept sideways in a crescent of molten force.
Zael grabbed Lily's shoulder and dragged her back.
The blast passed where she'd stood.
Stone vaporized.
"Thanks," she muttered.
Zael stepped forward alone.
Phantom Split.
Afterimages scattered as the boss's blade-arm stabbed through false targets.
Zael slipped inside its guard and cut across an exposed joint.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 0
Damage Registered: Boss
The Warden shrieked and slammed both upper arms down.
Rank 12 was crushed instantly.
> Contestant defeated — Points gained: 0
Cause: Boss Entity
The battlefield thinned fast.
Only the top remained.
Zane leapt high, blade glowing.
> Skill Activated — Resonance Strike
He drove stored force straight into the creature's crown.
The shockwave rippled outward.
Rank 3 followed, smashing the same point with a condensed strike.
Lily hurled her spear like lightning.
> Skill Activated — Spear Art: Falling Star
It punched through the Warden's neck and exploded out the other side.
The monster staggered.
Zael moved.
Not flashy.
Not dominant.
Precise.
Night Sever activated.
His blade slipped through fractured armor and into the core beneath.
The Warden convulsed.
Cracks raced across its body.
Then it collapsed into light.
[Boss Defeated]
[Points Distributed by Contribution]
Numbers surged across the sky.
> Points gained: 12,400
Points gained: 15,700
Points gained: 18,200
Points gained: 9,600
Points gained: 7,900
Ranking windows reordered violently.
When the glow faded—
[Zane — Rank 1 | Points: 104,100]
[Lily — Rank 2 | Points: 103,200]
[Rank 3 — Rank 3]
[Zael — Rank 4 | Points: 87,000]
Zael's stayed below Lily's.
Exactly where he wanted it.
Only nine others still stood.
Everyone else… gone.
A final message descended.
[Remaining Contestants: 10]
[Final Rankings Locked]
[Advancing to Nationals]
Silence reclaimed the ruins.
Lily exhaled slowly. "So… that's it."
Zael sheathed his blade. "That's it."
Across the field, Zane met his gaze for a moment.
No hostility.
No greeting.
Just acknowledgment.
Then the dungeon light began to fade, space folding inward.
Teleportation sigils formed beneath the ten survivors.
As Lily's vision blurred, one thought lingered in her mind—
If that boss had been the last test…
What would the Nationals demand?
And behind her calm smile, Zael wondered something else entirely.
How long…
before hiding stopped being possible?