73: Chapter 73, ranked 7th in combat power, Fu Hao

As he spoke the word "Register", a brilliant stream of light gushed out from the stone tablet, instantly enveloping Fu Hao, before quickly retracting back into the tablet.

"I usually register with guild members; doing it alone is actually quite nerve-wracking."

The light was too dazzling, and everyone's eyes around him were focused on Fu Hao—even with a million viewers, facing such a collective gaze still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Although the stone tablet was huge enough for hundreds of people to touch at once, at this moment, only Fu Hao was registering his information.

"The results should be out soon."

Based on past experience, the information registration process takes about 10 seconds to complete. Sure enough, the system prompt popped up as expected, but it was longer than he had anticipated:

[Combat Power ranking information registered]

[Combat Power rank: 7th]

[Obtained title 'Adventurer of the Kalis Empire']

[Entered top 50% of Combat Power ranking]

[Entered top 30% of Combat Power ranking]

[Entered top 10% of Combat Power ranking]

[Entered top 1% of Combat Power ranking]

[Entered top 10 of Combat Power ranking]

[Obtained title 'pioneer']

['pioneer' title effect changes in real-time according to Combat Power ranking]

[Can claim Baron title in the Kalis Empire (cannot be claimed repeatedly if holding a title from another country)]

"7th place!"

He had thought it would be good enough to just make the top 100, but the fateful number "7" not only propelled Fu Hao into the top ten, but also completely rewrote his game life.

"So, only Leonhardt is a monster."

He took half a step back and looked at the ranking on the stone tablet again:

1st Leonhardt

2nd Allen

3rd Cliff

4th Zeus

5th All-Round Master

6th Yukina

7th Fu Hao

8th Pegasus

9th Romance

10th Richie

"Wow!"

["Jin Hao" donated 50 won. (Damn!)]

["Class" donated 50 won. (How was that determined?)]

["NewNew" donated 50 won. (I'll never forget the experience of being carried by Hao!)]

- "Level 261 is ranked 7th?"

- "This is actually 1st, right."

- "He's 7th without even having a Second Awakening?"

5 days later.

[Died. Log-in prohibited for 24 hours.]

[Consumed 'Amulet' item to avoid experience point loss.]

"Training Tower climbing is temporarily suspended."

After suffering two consecutive setbacks on the 74th floor of the Training Tower, Fu Hao announced a pause in his climb. Although theoretically he had the strength to clear it, he had no certainty that his next attempt would be successful.

With only 5 months left until the battle with Leonhardt, he could not afford to waste any more time.

["Candy" donated 50 won. (What will you do starting tomorrow?)]

"What else can I do? Of course, it's grinding monsters to level up."

To prepare for the decisive battle with Leonhardt, he took the time to clear trial dungeons. Now, all dungeons below level 300 have been cleared—dungeons above level 300 require "Second Awakening," and he had not yet met the conditions. Therefore, the only way to grow was to grind monsters.

- "No!"

- "Grinding monsters is so boring!"

- "I still want to watch the Training Tower stream ㅠ.ㅠ"

The viewers wailed in the chat area, but Fu Hao had no choice.

7th day of grinding monster stream.

Fu Hao's average viewer count plummeted from 1.1 million during the 71st floor of the Training Tower to 500,000. With long periods of repetitive content, the loss of viewers was inevitable, which was also the fundamental reason why comprehensive game streaming dominated before the explosion of "otherworld".

But perhaps due to the lingering influence of defeating Leonhardt and ranking 7th, the actual number of viewers was higher than Fu Hao expected, or perhaps it was thanks to Little Gold.

"Little Gold, if you slack off again, I'll beat you."

"I'm not slacking off!"

Because Helm was not around, Fu Hao had to double as Little Gold's "trainer." Although he was almost whipped to death by Little Gold's tail at level 100, he could now completely suppress this dragon.

["Soo-hee" donated 50 won. (Fu Hao, you're really too much ㅠ.ㅠ)]

["Little Gold Fan #1" donated 50 won. (Please stop abusing Little Gold)]

The fans were happy to see Little Gold all day, but they also felt sorry for it being forced to "work high-intensity shifts." With an average daily monster grinding volume of 16 hours, it was understandable for fans to complain.

But precisely because of the fans' supervision, Little Gold's level increased by another 7 levels after the Training Tower—currently, Little Gold is level 260, and Fu Hao is level 276, both approaching the 300-level mark.

["Strawberry" donated 50 won. (Hao-sama, when will you challenge the Training Tower again?)]

"Probably after reaching level 300."

Level 100 and 200 each have their significance, but level 300 is even more special—it allows one to accept the class Second Awakening quest.

Fu Hao possessed two cheat-level classes and couldn't help but wonder: "How strong will I be after the Second Awakening?"

According to community information, the Second Awakening will enhance existing skills or generate new ones. He was most looking forward to those "Enhancement Master" skills that were underutilized due to harsh conditions.

Even though he was still spending money like water to enhance +7 equipment for tens of thousands of soldiers, this was still a drop in the bucket compared to the infinite crystals he possessed. If the utility of the enhancement skills improved, the "infinite resources" trump card would shine even brighter.

According to "Soo-hee," the change at level 300 for a Summoned Beast can be called a "Summoned Beast's Second Awakening." Just like how players trigger a Second Awakening at level 300, Summoned Beasts also enhance skills and unlock new abilities at level 300.

To reach his goal as soon as possible, Fu Hao planned to continue in "grind god" mode until max level. However, an accident interrupted his plans:

"Legend-grade dungeon?"

Fu Hao, who had been focusing on streaming recently, rarely browsed the community, but the viewers' revelation made him look up abruptly; the first Legend-grade dungeon in game history had appeared in the Kalis Empire!

["Bong Bong" donated 50 won. (Yes, but the first team that discovered it was wiped out. Now the Five Great Guilds and top players are fighting for control of the dungeon.)]

In the game settings, PK is prohibited in safe zones, but the area around randomly appearing dungeon entrances is a "PK permitted zone" until cleared.

The PK range for a Legend-grade dungeon even reaches a radius of 1 kilometer, and the location happens to be in a popular monster grinding area near the capital of the Kalis Empire. At this moment, the Five Great Guilds, top players, PK enthusiasts, ordinary players, and onlookers are gathering there, and the scene is in complete chaos.

"The dungeon is in the Forna Forest, right?"

["Bong Bong" donated 50 won. (Yes, it's in that forest right next to the Kalis capital.)]

After confirming the location with the viewers, Fu Hao took out a teleportation gem.

"I heard all the top players have gathered; how could I be absent? Combat Power rank 7th, Fu Hao, deploying."

- "Charge!"

- "Finally, we don't have to watch monster grinding!"

Fu Hao announced he was joining the battle.