Ranking System

[Eric POV]

Everything was now in my grasp. I hurriedly left the store, hoping no one had noticed anything. I didn't have anything to deal with those corpses, but hiding them should give me more time.

In one heist, I felt my power triple in minutes. This growth of power was painful, absurdly so. But the payout was high. If I couldn't handle the pain, I would faint, which would have been my end.

This thrill... It was something I had never felt before. Don't get me wrong. I don't enjoy the pain I feel when powering up, but the adrenaline of overpowering my enemies was like a drug I couldn't resist. Now that I have powered up, it's time to go to a wealthier-ranking store.

"How are you feeling after gaining this much power?"

My heart jumped into a fright once Charles snuck up behind me. I had forgotten for a quick second that he was observing me.

"Do you have a brain problem? This is the third time you haven't answered my question when I asked."

"I felt my blood pumping after. I never thought I would experience this sheer excitement of becoming strong."

Before I angered Charles any longer, I told him my thoughts. Charles smiled mysteriously and spoke again.

"What do you think about illusion?"

What brought him to ask me that? I had heard that the people at the top were crazy. Would I become like that in the future?

"AHHHH!!!"

A sharp pain distorted my mind. FUCK!!! I felt like my brain was twisting. This pain was even worse when my body tried to break down.

"You seem to have mental problems. I'm here to fix it for you."

"..."

I wanted to retort but didn't have the guts to think about it or do it. Before I could answer his question, he disappeared and left me alone. Shaking all the anger off, I quickly went around.

"Excuse me. I'm fairly new to town. Could you tell me where the best-ranking store is?"

After robbing the previous store, I changed my clothing to something more intimidating. At least no one will think of me as a random peasant.

"If you walk straight left for twenty minutes, you should find one there."

Speaking to the man, he seemed to answer my question respectively. My rank had risen a lot by stealing from the store. If it were my previous self, I bet he wouldn't give me any respect.

Knowing where my next stop would be, I didn't bother with the man who gave me directions to the store.

Arriving at the scene, the place there was much more tightly guarded. With what I was wearing, the guard judged it appropriate to let me without stopping me.

Upon entering the store, the place had items many more times the value of the previous store. I let out a small chuckle seeing how everything here would be mine.

Like the previous store, I scouted everything without being too suspicious. The last store was like a test for the current one.

Any mistakes made there would be improved here. After thirty minutes of scouting for each item I needed, I noted everything I needed to get first.

The first thing I needed was an artifact that made me resistant to pain. Even if I was immortal, I had two specific weaknesses.

Fainting from pain and being locked up forever didn't seem like an ideal situation, and being sealed by someone also didn't seem like a situation where I wanted to end. One of my weaknesses would be slightly reduced once I take this artifact.

"GUARDS!!!"

With me snagging an artifact wide open, plain in sight. The shopkeeper yelled out for the guards. I ran to all the power-up resource corners, took as much as possible, and absorbed everything.

Pain overwhelmed me for the third time. It wasn't as painful as the last one because of this artifact, but it still stung like a bitch.

"FUCK!!! YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!! HOW DARE YOU LOOT EVERYTHING!!!"

"I WANT HIM DEAD!!!"

Enraged by how much money I had stolen, everyone could tell that the shopkeeper was livid. Fifty guards were in the store preparing to engage in combat.

The pain lasted longer than the first, but I could feel the growth within my body. Their eyes shook once they saw my rank increase by a large margin.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! ATTACK HIM NOW!!!"

With me in pain, the shopkeeper knew this was the best time to attack, but it was too late. The pain I felt was lessened as the growth I felt decreased.

The closest guard within punching distance had his neck slit by my sword. Those who had seen my strength were stiff as steel.

"Incompetent bodyguards."

Those who were stiff and frozen shouldn't be a bodyguard. As for those that still had fighting strength, I targeted them first since they were the only ones that could stop me there.

Dashing into them, I slashed at everything that blocked my way--even the items at the store. Five additional guards were quickly killed, making most lose the will to fight.

A few bodyguards had already run in fright, leaving only ten guards. After doing quick work on them, I went to the shopkeeper already in tears on the floor.

"Please... Spare me..."

I kicked the head of the shopkeeper and sent him flying with his body broken into pieces. For those guards that had run, my position has now been compromised.

Before I started taking over this town, I had to finish what I was supposed to do in a store like this. With all the resources, I was confident that my strength should be enough to take over this land.

[Third Person POV]

Charles stared at the man gaining power at a rapid rate. He grinned madly, seeing that this plan was in fruition.

Unlike the previous worlds that he destroyed. This one will be, without a doubt, the most entertaining one yet.