At the same moment, the gazes of all the Divine Gifted present focused on the newly appeared golden leaderboard!
Then came waves of gasps and exclamations.
"Holy hell!!"
"This... how is this possible?!"
"That's way too exaggerated! Is that level even achievable for a human?"
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! It must be fake!!"
"Did the leaderboard malfunction or something??"
...
Disbelief and chaos filled everyone's eyes, as if they were witnessing a miracle that shouldn't have happened!
Mustel narrowed his eyes slightly, adopting an expression of pure enjoyment.
Who doesn't love showing off? He felt the previous monotony and fatigue of grinding monsters vanish instantly. Mustel believed he was the strongest among this batch of Divine Gifted, the Chosen One selected by the Holy Seraphim, destined for greatness in this other world!
Mustel's heart swelled: "I am the strongest!"
"So what if Morrian is also Legendary Rank like me? She's just a support class. She didn't strive for opportunities to get stronger like I did. Sooner or later, she'll be trampled under my feet and reduced to a subordinate."
"And you, the previous first and second place on the leaderboard! You're just my defeated opponents! Once I surpass you, you'll never catch up again!"
He further noticed that nearby, Morrian and the group of Celestial Seraphim followers all wore expressions of utter shock, making Mustel savor the moment even more.
He felt as refreshing as ice-cold soda on a summer day.
The admiration from his followers might have an element of flattery, but seeing an aloof girl like Morrian stunned by his ranking gave his vanity immense satisfaction.
Except, he noticed the shock in his followers' eyes seemed a bit excessive.
Didn't they already know he was Level 7?
Was it really necessary for them to look so exaggerated?
Mustel didn't dwell on it, until he overheard his followers' discussions:
"That level is absolutely ridiculous! Level 19! What kind of monster is that?"
"Where did Level 19 come from? We've been grinding all day just to gain one level."
"Did the top ranker find some kind of leveling paradise? But even if it is, you still need the strength to kill monsters there! The more EXP they give, the stronger the monsters are! Among the Divine Gifted who crossed over with us, who could possibly be this fierce?"
...
Mustel's expression grew stranger the more he listened: "What Level 19?"
"And isn't the top ranker me? Why are you insisting on calling them 'the top ranker'? Just call me by my name?"
He froze, only to see the other Divine Gifted staring at the glowing golden leaderboard above his head, continuing their chatter:
"Just who is this badass? Level 19! That's insane!"
"Level 19? How long would it take us? It'd be impossible without at least half a month or a month!"
"Truly invincible!"
"And this Level 7 guy in second place... he looks so confident. It's hilarious."
"This Mustel guy... he's a joke. Did he spend points to show off the leaderboard? But he's not even close to first place! Not even close!"
...
Listening to the crowd, Mustel's expression became increasingly peculiar.
"What are you all talking about? Why are you suddenly hurling personal insults at me? Why keep mentioning Level 19? And saying I'm a joke?? Am I hearing things?" Suspicious, Mustel couldn't help but look up.
He suspected the Divine Gift Space had displayed incorrect data!
From the crowd's words, it seemed a Level 19 individual was actually the top rank on the Divine Gift Space's power leaderboard. But how was that possible?
He'd only reached Level 7 thanks to the Celestial Seraphim's help and securing the perfect monster-grinding spot!
Level 19? They had to be joking!
Mustel looked up. Sure enough, the power leaderboard clearly displayed his name and "Level 7," positioned prominently in the upper section of the display.
But the next second, his expression froze solid.
Mustel rubbed his eyes, only to discover that above his own rank, there was clearly displayed—
[Anonymous Divine Gifted]: Level 19!
Mustel jolted, stunned into momentary paralysis by sheer shock...
He stood rooted to the spot in utter confusion, taking several seconds to regain his senses.
A few seconds later, while everyone present was still staring in awe at the "Level 19" marking the top of the leaderboard, a furious roar suddenly erupted: "How is this possible?! Fake! It has to be fake! The top ranker must be cheating! They must have hacked the system! How could anyone possibly be Level 19 already?! Or the Divine Gift Space's power leaderboard is completely inaccurate! It's bugged!"
Mustel roared in rage – he felt utterly humiliated.
His Level 7 had taken immense effort and tedious grinding to achieve. How could someone possibly be Level 19?
Based on his past experience playing online games, it had to be either a bug in the Divine Gift Space, or this Level 19 player was cheating.
"Divine Gift Space, you owe me an explanation! This has to be fake!" Before he could finish speaking, a strange ripple of energy pulsed through the air.
High above, a streak of violet lightning instantly struck Mustel's body.
In that instant, he was blasted backwards by the lightning, spat blood, and collapsed weakly to the ground.
Simultaneously, a notification flashed before his eyes: You have defied the gods' authority. Level decreased by 1.
Mustel instantly felt significantly weaker; the stats gained from his level-up were directly deducted.
In response to Mustel's challenge, a majestic voice resonated in everyone's minds: The Power Leaderboard of the Divine Gift Space is infallible. The growth of Divine Gifted is without flaw. All advancement is earned through arduous trials, step by step, according to the unique characteristics of each class. Baseless challenges are forbidden.
A mysterious, ethereal figure appeared in everyone's vision.
It hovered mid-air, its movements nimble as a soaring dragon, radiating immense power!
Immediately after, a second voice echoed: As the top-ranked Divine Gifted has chosen anonymity, only a projection of their strength, devoid of identifying information, is displayed.
Instantly, the expressions of all Divine Gifted who had harbored doubts changed drastically.
They all felt that majestic aura. More importantly, they sensed the terrifying power of the top ranker. This was far beyond merely being "Level 19." The presence felt comparable to – no, far more intense than – the level dozens-strong powerhouses of the various races that had recruited them!
"This person must be a Legendary Rank class like Mustel, possibly even stronger!"
The Divine Gifted, having been transported for nearly two days, had already deduced a pattern: the higher the class tier, the greater the power gain per level, and the correspondingly harder it became to level up.
This meant that this Level 19 top ranker hadn't just reached Level 19; they had also endured the experience penalty inherent to a high-tier class! Their actual accumulated experience was likely astronomically higher than the surface number suggested!
This was the undisputed number one among the Divine Gifted!
In comparison, Mustel's earlier words and actions seemed utterly clownish – reaching a measly Level 7, then daring to summon all Divine Gifted to search for guild-creation items while trying to mooch off resources.
The true powerhouse likely hadn't even shown themselves in the Divine Gift Space yet, still relentlessly slaying Demonic Beasts and growing stronger.
The gap between them was like a firefly, convinced of its own brilliant light, instantly dwarfed by the radiance of the rising sun!
...
Mustel shakily pushed himself up off the ground, his body still trembling.
He no longer dared to question the Divine Gift Space's leaderboard.
However, a flicker of deep-seated resentment and hatred ignited in Mustel's eyes.
While he wouldn't risk offending the Divine Gift Space again, his bitterness towards the mysterious Divine Gifted occupying the top spot was intense.
If it weren't for them, he thought, how could I have suffered such severe injury, punishment, and the loss of a level?
Weighed down by this accumulating hatred, Mustel felt an overwhelming urge to tear that unknown Level 19 entity apart with his bare hands.
Internally, he kept repeating: "That person must have discovered some cheat. How else could they possibly reach such a high level?"
"Ah! I remember now," Mustel muttered to himself, "one of the Celestial Seraphim Lords mentioned that certain special classes can rapidly advance by burning their life force. Those classes might eventually reach levels tens or even up to 100, but they're ultimately just cannon fodder for Legendary Rank class holders like me." "That has to be it. That's the only way they could have shot up to Level 19 so fast."
He recalled the Celestial Seraphim explaining that such Cannon Fodder Classes were usually only obtainable through specific cultivation methods, but Divine Gifted could awaken into any class.
Having found this "reasonable" explanation, Mustel's contorted expression gradually smoothed out. He was still the most exceptional! That top spot was merely stolen by someone with a trash class!
Yet, the hatred churning in his eyes only grew more turbulent.
With this "answer," Mustel felt an even fiercer loathing for that Level 19 Divine Gifted. That person might steal the Level 25 class reward! Worse, they had caused him public humiliation and the loss of a level! How could he possibly tolerate this?
"Right now, everyone must be looking down on me with utter contempt!"
Mustel was furious. The waves of pain wracking his body and the debilitating weakness from his level loss twisted his face into a vicious snarl.
The next moment, something else drove him toward utter frenzy:
Mustel braced himself for the mocking laughter of the gathered Divine Gifted.
But they didn't laugh at him.
They ignored him! To him, he might as well not have existed.