Chapter 29: RANKING 

<Mikael PoV>

"Yehey!!!!!"

"Wooohhhhooooo!!!!"

All of us jump around. Happiness filled the whole place. Now, the only thing left is to wait. To wait in our return.

"Mikael. Help me find the Basilisk's Item drop."

"Eh, how? The whole Castle is destroyed now and the Boss is buried.  "

".... Have you forgotten? The Castle has a self restoring system. See, it's starting to fix itself. "

Oh, right, my bad. I looked and found that the Castle moved. The rocks are floating and aligning itself.  I can't believe that this is happening right now. This looks like a scene in an action 3D movie that I watched. 

"I find it mysterious. I know the Castle has a self- restoring system, but this gives me goosebumps in amazement"

My hair is standing up. I realized something important.  This whole Awakening and Punishment Event is still an unknown thing for me. What is the reason? What's going on and why is this happening? Why now? Why are we transferred here? 

"Kyle..."

"Hm? What?"

"Never mind"

I stop. 

Instead of asking him, I believe I'll find the answer on my own. I think this is not the end. In fact, it's just the beginning.

"... Okay. Let's go and take it. It will takes 30 minutes to fix the Castle. I need that Items"

"Yes, yes. Anyway, what Item is it actually? You said it's from the Last Boss. I guess this is the right time to tell me."

"The Dragon/Phoenix Heart. It's an Item that only drops by the Basilisk. Basilisk is a Monster that can only find inside the Punishment event, it's rare, super rare.  That's why I really need this Item. It can increase my mana regeneration and optimized my skill. A great item for me. A person who can't use his skill efficiently."

"Oh. So you want it bad. Now I know why you're eager to get it"

Dragon/Phoenix Heart. It sounds cool. Can optimized a skill huh... Heart? He's not talking about real heart, right? Man, I believe I will see something grotesque. I hope it doesn't look awful.

We entered the Castle and find the large corpse of Basilisk. Some parts of its body are crushed by big rocks. It looked deformed and many scales has been felled off.

If a hundred rocks buried you, and it weights a thousand. I'm sure your body will be crushed and die. 

"Ah, take some meat of it. It has a great taste and increase your strength. I tell you, this is your only chance to eat this delicacy"

".... Okay"

Monster meat is really delicious so I already expected this.

I look for any parts that's already open. My Defense Void is on a cool down so I can't use it. Fortunately,  I found some parts that lost its scale. I cut it and took a great amount of meat.

"Okay, I have already taken a meat. How about you? "

*Swoosh!! *

I hear a swift sound, I think he used his Orb Beam... Poor Basilisk, you're dead, but someone just kills you again.

"Here.  I now have the Dragon/Phoenix Heart"

"Oh! I want to see it!"

I'm curious how the Basilisk's heart looks. 

The Heart has a golden color. It's a crystal with a size of a fist. It reflects the lights and shine like a star.

"... Cool. It looks like a jewel, what are you going to do?"

"Of course I'll eat it. "

"...."

It has a size of a fist! How can you eat it? By portion!?

"By the way, I saw the Items that it dropped"

He throws an Item and I caught it. It's a book. A big book.

"What's this? Encyclopedia!? What am I going to do about this? Read it?"

For your information I hate reading. I'm getting sleepy whenever I read. Seeing letters is not my forte.

"Yes, read it. It's an Encyclopedia of monsters. I don't need that, but I believe you will. "

Re- really!? Encyclopedia of Monsters! I can use this to identity any monster that I'll meet.

"Hehe, thanks. This is a big help"

The Basilisk dropped other Items. Such as the Ring of Wind who increases mobility. And the Basilisk's Armor that protects you from physical and magical attacks by 39%.

"I believe the ring is good for Niña. As for the armor, Miriam can have it. She's too weak in physical combat. I want you to give it to them. I need time to consume this Heart. I'll be gone for some hours. "

"Hey!! Is that all-... and here he goes. Sigh"

He left me alone. Well, nothing's new about it. Besides, I can carry this much.  No biggie. 

I took the armor and ring. Our female friends are waiting. When I found them, I realized that they were helping the injured.

" I bet it's Miriam's doing"

"Oh Mikael! You're already here. As always you are really great. I never thought that you can execute it flawlessly!  To anger that Final Boss is a thing that I'll never do."

Miriam talk to me. Well, I know that you're easily frightened. Pfft-  I remember how scared you are when the hobgoblin killed Christian.... I can relate about that, yeah. 

"Hahaha. Is that so, of course I can do it! I'm the strongest! Hahahaha"

"Hmmp! Arrogant. Just because you have the highest level doesn't mean you're the strongest. Your level will never erase the fact that you're an idiot. "

.... Niña. Are you still angry when I decline your offer to help? If you ever say that I'm an idiot again, I'll  (Kiss you.)

"Brother what's that? Why are you holding a book?"

Ah. I forgot. I should gave it to them.

"This meat came from the Basilisk. Kyle said that it's delicious. This armor is for Miriam and this ring is for the b*tch "

"Hey!!"

I give the Armor and Basilisk meat to Miriam. And I throw the Ring to Niña. 

"Thanks Mikael!"

"No problem"

After an hour, Kyle appeared. He looked refreshed. I guess he successfully eaten the whole heart... 

Anyway, we roast the Basilisk's meat and eat it.

"!!! So good! What meat is this! Is this the taste of a snake meat!? I can't believe it."

Miriam's eyes shine. I do agree with her. This taste delicious, I'll surely miss this food.

"What a waste. The Basilisk is already gone. We can't eat it now"

[Announcement: The Punishment Event has officially ended. Executing the returning of all Awakeners in ten minutes]

"Yes, we can now escape this place! "

"Woohoooo!!! Yehey! I can meet my family again!!"

Many celebrate, I can hear their shouts. 

Now, I can return. I'm coming home....

"Ehem."

Kyle caught our attention. He grinned showing that he will speak. 

"The top 100 will be Ranked. All of the top 100 of every district will meet... ehem. The strongest people in the Punishment will meet in one place. Don't worry, it will only take around two hours to finish the meeting. "

Ah? Why didn't say it earlier? I look at him but he only shrugs. 

"I believe we are part of that right? Our level is the highest here in the District 3."

"Yes. The top 100 will gain rewards. And this is a great opportunity to meet the strongest people in the other District"

.... Okay. It's just two hours. I can wait. Besides, I want to see the other Awakeners. Especially the Rank 1. 

I am level 178 now and I have the highest level here in District 3. I'm confident that I can reach the top 10 or top 20.