Chapter 304: Rank Skill Revealed

The group tore through the forest, the dense undergrowth seeming to part beneath their feet as if it sensed their urgency. Every stride snapped wet branches and crushed slick leaves, releasing the sharp scent of earth and moss. They burned every drop of stamina, driving themselves faster toward the Wild Zone. The steady rhythm of their footfalls blended with the distant cries of birds and the nervous rustle of the canopy above.

“It could still be a false alarm,” Ronan said, breath ragged with effort. “Your bird’s an idiot, right? Maybe someone’s just injured and it thought they were dead. Or it mistook some zombie corpses the soldiers dragged to the camp.”

“He might not know math,” Evangeline shot back without slowing, “but he damn well knows the difference between the living and the dead.”

High overhead, Jerry circled in a wide arc, his black wings slashing across the gray sky. He moved like an anxious shadow, eyes sweeping the terrain ahead. For the group, he was an edge they couldn’t afford to lose, especially with a destination this uncertain.

The deeper they pushed into the forest, the stranger it became. Misshapen creatures began to drift between the trunks, undead wanderers drawn like moths to the Wild Zone. Eleanor, bow already raised, loosed arrow after arrow without breaking stride. Each shot cracked like dry wood, each impact dropped a corpse silently into the undergrowth. Behind them, the path they left was a ribbon of stillness and death.

***

The smell shifted as they neared the edge of the Wild Zone. The air grew heavier, as if every breath had weight. The barricade that once blocked the path was shattered.

“Something definitely went down,” Jack muttered, his voice dropping instinctively.

They crouched low in the thick underbrush, using fallen logs and stones for cover. Fingers tightened around their weapons, eyes sweeping the ruins for the slightest movement.

“I’m sending Jerry ahead,” Evangeline said. The raven let out a harsh croak at the command and launched forward, wings beating until it vanished beyond the gate.

“He’ll need about ten minutes to circle back,” she added, ducking down beside them.

Luke barely heard her. His focus was locked on the system interface hovering in front of him, text pulsing against the backdrop of broken stone and creeping shadows. He’d barely registered the run to get here, so driven by urgency that everything else had blurred. Now, with a moment to breathe, he finally read what the system had been trying to tell him.

[Your Rank Skill is now available!]

A larger screen unfolded the instant he tapped the notification. Lines of luminous text streamed down like a living veil, painting his face in shifting light.

**Rank F Mastered! Maximum Levels Achieved!**

Congratulations! You’ve reached the pinnacle of Rank F. You rose from level 0 in the Assassin class, evolved into a Demonic Assassin, and have now become a Demonic Predator!

In your profession you began as an Herbalist, then advanced to the Botanist of Mother Freya, and now stand as the Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya!

Each peak granted you a powerful skill. But this isn’t the end. Epic Skills are only a reward meant to drive you toward Rank E.

Requirements for Rank Evolution:
– Max Level in Profession (Completed)
– Max Level in Class (Completed)
– Max Level in Race (Completed)
– Defeat a Rank E creature solo (Completed)
– Spend all Free Points (Not Completed)
– Finish the Tutorial (Not Completed)

Luke clenched his fist. He’d known for a while he was capped at Rank F—no amount of grinding or killing could push him higher. He was locked in place. But below the list another notification pulsed, its glow deeper, different. This was his Rank Skill. There would be no choosing this time. He’d learned that Rank Skills were shaped by the system itself, built from a person’s progress—their flaws, strengths, and choices combined. A reflection of who he had become.

When he tapped it open, the system flared a warning:

[All Free Points must be allocated!]

Luke yanked up his status window, eyes running over his attributes as numbers and bars flickered in the dim light.

Name: Luke
Level: 50
Race: Half-Demon
Rank: F
Class: [Demonic Predator (Lvl 60)]
Profession: [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya (Lvl 60)]
Titles: [Dark Lord]
Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon]
Health Points (HP): 4340/4340
Mana Points (MP): 5010/(5010)
Stamina: 2789/(2950)
Soul Fragments: 104/1000

Stats:
Strength: 691
Agility: 499 (549)
Endurance: 275 (295)
Vitality: 434
Perception: 458 (468)
Intelligence: 496 (501)
Free Points: 9

Class Skills: [Advanced Blade Handling (Uncommon)], [Profane Knife Throwing (Uncommon)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Basic Blood Regeneration (Rare)], [Predator’s Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)], [Wraith Form (Ultra-Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Advanced Stealth (Rare)], [Assassin’s Tracking (Rare)], [Mana Infusion (Rare)], [Basic Archery (Common)], [Demonic Predator Hands (Epic)]

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Profession Skills: [Herbology of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Precise Extraction (Common)], [Basic Potion Crafting (Common)], [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)], [Plant Sensor (Uncommon)], [Botanical Bond of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Seed Conversion (Rare)], [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)], [Thorn Mutation (Uncommon)], [Soil Analysis (Uncommon)], [Botanical Purification (Uncommon)], [Acid Blood Arrow (Epic)]

Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Meditation (Common)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)]

Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)]
Servants: [Princess Charlie (Skeleton) – Lvl 42], [Servant Slot Available]

Luke didn’t have to think long about where to dump his remaining free points. Mana was the obvious answer.

Stats Updated:
Intelligence: 496 (501) -> 505 (510)
Free Points: 9 -> 0
Mana Points (MP): 5010/5010 -> 5100/5100

That gave him enough juice for five Acid Arrows with a little left over to bail out using Dark Dash or Wraith Form if things went sideways.

Then another notification blinked into view:

[Your Rank Evaluation is ready! Accept it? Y/N]

This was it. The Rank Evaluation wasn’t just a progress bar. It was a judgment call from the system itself, weighing every flaw and virtue to forge a Rank Skill born directly from him. Pretending he wasn’t anxious would have been a joke. This was the system’s opinion of him, maybe even the multiverse’s own cosmic verdict.

Luke tapped Yes. Something massive unfolded across his interface.