Aura was not too eager to apply in the Rankings since she knew it would only serve as a waste of time in the current situation.

After Entering the room, they were met with different sorts of equipment that were getting used by other RiftWalkers. The room was quite large and seemed like a training facility. There was also a platform in the middle of the room where two people were currently going at it.

There were others who seemed to be showcasing their strengths. They were displaying their abilities as they punched a screen that seemed to be made of thin cylinders. Another person ran on a strip that stretched from one end of the room to the other. He was quite quick as he left behind a trail of fire.

After Ragnar had taken in everything going on in the room, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Luckily, he noticed a person approaching them. Dressed in black garments that seemed to be uniform of the staff in this establishment, he was not much older than Ragnar and Aura, probably in his 20s. After reaching them, he spoke after checking the screen in his hand.

“This is … Ragnar, I assume?”

Ragnar looked at him calmly.

“It’s Lord Ragnar for you, I won’t say it again.”

The person furrowed his brows. He was about to open his mouth and say something when he heard another voice. A very beautiful voice at that. He just now noticed that another person had followed this haughty bastard inside.

“Just do it.”

Aura sighed as she tried to prevent another conflict before it could erupt. She was glad she came along inside. The man didn’t say anything after noticing her outfit and her hair colour. It was clear that he didn’t want any feud with her. So, he looped around it completely.

“Follow me.”

Ragnar didn’t say a thing as he walked after him. There was a difference between orders and instructions. So, he let it go.

Aura wondered how many times this scenario was going to repeat itself in the future as she followed behind them. She was worried since she was sure that Ragnar would have actually attacked that person if he messed up again. As for what the outcome of that would be, it was still to be seen.

The man stopped in front of the screen that people were punching. It was a screen made of a lot of thin cylinders spaced closely. The man pointed at the screen and spoke.

“Hit it with as much power as you can.”

Ragnar looked at him strangely.

“What if it breaks?”

The man appeared annoyed as Aura simply smiled. Although she didn’t think that Ragnar actually had the strength to break it, it was still quite reassuring to see him be so confident in himself.

The man spoke without making eye contact with Ragnar.

“It doesn’t break even when Mystics attack it, at least without their abilities, it doesn’t. Do you have more strength than a Mystic?”

Ragnar spoke while he walked up to the screen.

“Maybe.”

The man didn’t think anything of his words and just observed him quietly.

Ragnar prepared himself as he rubbed his right fist with his left. He was thinking about how much strength he wanted to use. In the end, he decided to go all out. Why not? He pulled his hand back, rooted his feet into the ground, then punched with his shockwaves and Soundwaves firing at full throttle from his fist.

BOOOOOOM

The resonating noise caught the attention of everyone present in the room as they turned their heads to stare in this direction. The man responsible for recording the result was staring with his mouth open as it seemed like his eyes were about to pop out. Aura’s face had turned serious, as a hint of intense excitement lingered in her eyes. Her goal might actually be achievable.

On the other hand, Ragnar was looking at the screen with a frown. He couldn’t help but sigh. The screen hadn’t broken. It had only depressed to form a perfect hemisphere. The curve looked really clean though.

But the man and almost all people in the room begged to differ. Because that was the highest extent, to which the screen could bend. And there was also the fact that other Arcanes could probably not even cause a dent into the screen. Unless they had abilities that were specialised in impact and power.

The man turned to look at Aura with gratitude in his eyes. He might have really been troubled if he got on the bad side of this person. Since it was clear as day for him that this was not someone he should be offending. That was not to say that he was scared of Ragnar’s strength. Well maybe a bit, but mainly it was more because of the fact that he was just an Arcane. So, he was definitely going to get much stronger than he himself could ever be.

Similarly, although other people were shocked by this performance, it was not ground-breaking. Since there came some people, whose abilities were completely focused on impactful attacks. But that did not directly convert over to Rankings. Since brute strength was not the deciding factor in who will win a fight. Or was it?

The man in charge of handling Ragnar’s result said with slight hesitance.

“L-Lord Ragnar, now we will test your speed.”

Ragnar simply nodded as he moved towards the red strip. The strip stretched from one end of the room to the other.                                                                             The start and end of the strip had poles with artifacts attached to them. They were probably responsible for measuring speed. He stood at one end of the strip and prepared himself.

The man looked at his screen, then spoke while looking back up.

“You can go whenever you are ready.”

BOOM

Ragnar shot forward as soon as his words came to a halt. And in the next instant, he was at the end of the Strip. This time he hadn’t used even quarter of the speed he was capable of. Since it wasn’t needed. He would have still made it in an instant. But with a louder noise.

The man was not too shocked this time but he still gave Aura another grateful look. Aura was not too surprised either since she had witnessed Ragnar’s speed for herself.

Ragnar walked back up to the two of them as he asked what next. The man took his head out of the screen and spoke with eagerness in his tone.

“Now, we will assign you an opponent from the Rankings that is available right now. If you defeat him then you will take his place in the rankings.”

Ragnar thought about this for a moment before he nodded and spoke.

“Then assign the highest ranked person that you have.”

The man’s expression turned troubled as he said with awkwardness.

“Actually… we can only assign you the opponent who is the same rank as you for your first match, it is in our rules. But of course, I will select the highest ranked Arcane for you.”

Ragnar frowned as his gaze turned heavy.

“And how high is that?”

The man scrolled through his screen before he finally spoke.

“It is the person ranked at 132.”

Ragnar’s frown deepened.

“Then how will I move higher?”

The man spoke with a practiced ease as he had repeated this part countless times.

“You will be allowed to duel anyone who is at most 10 ranks higher than you. You can only duel those who are available in HCR. If they are in HCR and don’t respond to your duel within 14 days, then you will take their place. But you can only duel one person in this way every month.”

Ragnar’s brows furrowed even deeper after his long answer. Why does everything have to be so complicated.

“Won’t it take me forever then if I want to reach higher?”

Aura felt the same as she added another point to his doubt.

“And what if someone gains a huge powerup, like a Tainted perk? That method has so many flaws.”

The man seemed to be calm despite the doubts raised. He smiled as he answered calmly.

“Exactly for that reason, we have another system in place. If a person thinks that they can defeat someone who is more than 10 ranks higher than them, then they just need to issue a Challenge.”

Ragnar asked with surprise visible in his eyes.

“We can fight anyone then?”

The man chuckled at his question.

“Yes, and no. It will still depend on whether your opponent accepts it or not. You can issue a challenge and mention the highest rank that you are willing to fight. Then anyone below that Rank can accept your challenge, but at a price. A challenge is issued along with a wager. You have to wager something. It can be Enders or it can be an item. If you lose the duel, then whatever you wagered will belong to the victor. Of course, since it is a wager, the opponent will also have to wager the same value in Enders or Items to accept your challenge. And if you win the challenge, then you will win the wager as well. So, in order to move higher faster, you can accept other people’s challenges or issue your own.”

Ragnar couldn’t help himself as his signature mad grin had appeared on his face halfway through his words. He can make money this way as well?