Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 323 : Ranking

Alex remained silent for a long while, unsure of how to feel. He was surprised, even shocked by what he saw. He knew that just because he had the Lust Artifact boosting his strength, it didn't automatically make him a top-tier powerhouse, but still, he had been fairly confident in his own abilities… until this moment.

While the insight he had gained from reading those books certainly confirmed that he was quite the powerful fellow, it also opened his eyes to how insignificant his strength was in the grand scheme of things.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Unfortunately, even though he had gained valuable information, he was still disappointed by one fact: he had only been able to assess his strength in comparison to others and not his full physical capabilities. It seemed that humans could only gauge raw strength and, in rare cases, speed.

Although he wasn't completely sure, Alex suspected that the devices used by the authors of those books to test people's strength were the same as the ones his daughter Scarlett had used to measure his own strength after he first used the artifact. It was a device that measured one's strength and used SP (strength points) as its unit of measurement.

In the last book Alex had read, a group of scientists had even gone as far as creating a detailed ranking of the strongest individuals across the ages and levels within the Fiore Empire. It was when he came across the rankings of those at level 4, just like him, that Alex realized he wasn't the top dog he had believed himself to be. He only saw the strength of the person in tenth place, and it was enough to shake him to his core—because even that individual was stronger than him!

10. Neil Virbo: 15,200 SP

Fifteen thousand and two hundred SP, that was the strength of the tenth place!

Considering the fact that the stats the system showed him reflected his real strength, the current 700 points the system interface displayed were actually equal to 7,000 SP. This meant that the tenth place on the ranking had more than double his strength. How could he not be shocked by that? 

It made Alex understand that he was far from being the powerhouse he wished to be, but instead of feeling gloomy about that, his gaze slowly began to glow with determination.

'Let's see the rest of this ranking,' he thought as he concentrated on his book once more.

9. Reyzus Flint: 17,800 SP

8. Barbara Wardell: 18,570 SP

7. Misandria: 20,000 SP

6. Caelan Draegor: 21,000 SP

Despite the growing number of SP, Alex continued reading without batting an eyelid. The more he thought about it, the more he realized there was really no need to feel down. Sure, these people were stronger than him, but he had the help of the system, unlike them. With its aid, he could instantly become stronger, while it probably took them years to reach their current level of power.

A difference of one or two hundred SP might seem significant to them, but with just twenty or forty soul points, he could permanently boost his strength by that much. Once he grasped this, his gaze became focused and calm, and he resumed examining the rest of the ranking.

However, when Alex saw the information of the fifth person on the list, he froze.

Although this person was undeniably powerful, it wasn't because their strength was so overwhelmingly superior to his that Alex reacted like this. Rather, it was because he recognized who it was.

5. Theodore Eswald : 30,000 SP

It was his father.

Well, it was the father of the previous Alex, not Jack's, but at this point, was there really any difference between the two?

‘I knew the old man was powerful, but I didn’t think it was to this point,’ Alex whistled. In any case, it was good to know that there was someone he knew, or was even related to, on that list.

4. Dorian Virel: 30,160 SP

3. Lysandra Falkenrath: 30,300 SP

Strange, Alex thought, his gaze fixed on the rankings. In the first half—or rather, the second half, considering he was reading it from the bottom—there were sometimes explosive differences in strength between individuals. Yet, once their strength reached the 30,000 SP threshold, the disparities seemed to shrink significantly. It was as though progress began to stall for everyone once they reached this level. 

Alex was mulling over this realization when his eyes drifted toward the rest of the rankings. The moment he saw the name of the second-ranked individual, his expression darkened.

2. Leonheart Dravon : 35,000 SP

He knew that man. In fact, there was hardly anyone in Fiore—or even beyond its borders—who didn't recognize his name. After all, he was none other than the current Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards and the personal bodyguard of the Fiore Emperor. 

Alex rubbed his temples, feeling that the pressure on him was further increasing. He was going to have to face this monster if he truly wanted to take revenge for his father's murder after all.

'One step at a time,' he thought, relaxing, 'it's not the moment to worry about that.'

One thing was certain though. If he indeed wanted to have a shot at killing the emperor, then the minimum he had to do was become even more powerful than his guard was at his level, meaning that Alex would have to surpass the strength of Leonheart at level 4.

One's strength increased exponentially as one progressed through the levels. For example, among the most significant increases in strength, the one from level 4 to 5 was one of the most groundbreaking. This was the reason Alex wasn't directly jumping from one level to another even though he could theoretically do so. The stronger his foundations were, the stronger he would be in the future.

In fact, at this moment, Alex was starting to regret rushing from level 1 to level 4. Well, it couldn't really be helped, as reaching at least level 4 was a requirement for participating in the upcoming competition, but still.

He knew for a fact that everyone on that list had spent several years building up their strength before finally allowing themselves to break through the barrier to level 5. They understood that the higher they climbed on the level scale, the harder it would become to amass more power.

Fortunately for him, with the help of the system, he wouldn't face the same issue as everyone else. Unless proven otherwise, he could enhance his physical strength with the same ease, no matter his level. In fact, right now, he was wondering how far he should push his physical might before advancing to level 5.

However, there was a catch: Alex had no idea when to stop increasing his strength and level up. For all he knew, he could keep enhancing his power for decades!

'Nah, I don't think so,' he muttered, shaking his head. 'There has to be a limit to how strong one can grow without needing to level up,' he reasoned. He just had to find his own limits—or at least become ridiculously strong before making the jump to level 5.

'As I said, one step at a time,' Alex reminded himself as he finally glanced at the information of the first-ranked.

1. Reimus: 100,000 SP

"...."

Alex was at a loss for words, unsure of what to think. Here he was, thinking that around thirty thousand SP marked the point where progression stalled, and yet, the first-ranked person had a strength of one hundred thousand!!

How was that even possible?!

The difference in strength between the first-ranked and everyone else was so vast that Alex couldn't fathom how something like that was achievable.

For all he knew, someone with that kind of strength could obliterate a mountain, no, at least an entire mountain range, with a single punch!

Compared to him, Alex's 7,000 SP seemed pitiful, and yet, even with that seemingly weak strength, the damage Alex could deal was far from insignificant. He could even hold his own against people at level 5 after all.

That Reimus was simply a monster!

He couldn't help but wonder how many years it had taken that man to amass such power. No, scratch that. There was no way someone would naturally reach that kind of strength at level 4. This world was full of treasures, and perhaps Reimus had gotten his hands on something that boosted his strength to an unimaginable level—much like Alex had stumbled on the lust artefact.

In any case, seeing the score of the first-ranked was yet another slap to Alex's face. All his previous arrogance vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold but determined expression.

'Are we even sure that Reimus is human?' he mused with a chuckle. But the next moment, he froze as a thought struck him.

If a human—a race known for being weak in terms of physical might—could achieve such strength at level 4, what about some of the other races outside of humanity, born with monstrous physical advantages?