Chapter 26: Rank Verification
The aromatic scent of newly brewed coffee lingered softly in the air, dancing along the wisps of steam and the light morning breeze until it reached Terrence’s hotel room.
He greeted the morning with an optimistic smile—or at least, he tried his best to. Millions of thoughts were racing through his mind, every single one tempting him to act on something, but he forced himself to stay grounded and patient.
Deep down, those thoughts revolved around his urgent plan to enter an A-Rank dungeon rift to farm high-ranking beasts for their cores. The only place he could get reliable, real-time information about active gates was the Contribution Agency.
So, on this new day—with just six days remaining before his scheduled duel with Lucas—Terrence made his way to the agency after finishing his free hotel breakfast.
As he arrived at the agency’s main grounds, he was greeted once again by the breathtaking architecture and bright, grand interior design of the establishment. It never failed to amaze him, despite the countless times he had walked through these doors in the past—back when he was still desperately hoping to awaken, visiting only to consult the staff about the ceremony.
Now, Terrence was standing here as a verified contributor and tamer, or whatever official title they used, though it held no special name since practically every human possessed beasts once they reached the proper age.
"Can I ask for the current locations of active A-Rank rifts, please?" Terrence asked, stopping before the sleek marble counter.
The female attendant behind the desk was as attentive as ever. She immediately booted up her digital tablet and began typing away. "ID card, please."
Terrence obliged, pulling his white card from his jacket and handing it over. As she scanned the details into the system, a faint frown began to form on her forehead.
Noticing the sudden shift in her expression, Terrence couldn’t help but feel a subtle prickle of worry in his chest.
"It seems like you are still not allowed to enter A-Rank rifts anytime soon, sir," she said, looking up from the screen.
"Why is that?" Terrence asked, his brows furrowing.
"Well, the active rifts matching the rank you asked for are currently only located in Nara City, Hanging City, and Looming Bridge," the attendant explained smoothly. "There are unfortunately none anywhere near Suran City at the moment."
Terrence’s lips formed a small, disappointed ’O’.
He bit his lower lip thoughtfully before speaking up. "I can just travel there. But... that will take at least a full day with the public transportation schedule, right?"
The attendant smiled, her eyes narrowing slightly into friendly crescents. "Even so, I still think you would be wasting your time traveling there. You haven’t actually applied for rank verification yet."
Terrence paused, tilting his head a bit in confusion. "What is this verification?"
"Your card here indicates that you have a theoretical rank limit of A," she clarified, tapping the screen. "However, that is merely a measured estimation of what your body can physically endure regarding rift pressure. It does not verify your actual combat abilities or command proficiency."
With a quiet wave of realization, Terrence gave a slow nod. He had completely overlooked that crucial administrative detail, acting as though he didn’t already know how strict the system could be. But it was already too late to dwell on it—he wouldn’t be able to acquire an A-Rank beast core as quickly as he had hoped.
"Can you arrange the verification process for me right now?" Terrence asked.
"Yes, sir. Please wait a moment."
The attendant continued to tap rapidly on the glass screen of her tablet. After a few silent moments, she raised her head.
"You can complete your official verification by participating in a joint dungeon expedition. Whether you clear the rift, bring back concrete proof of combat, or simply have a credible witness confirm your performance, it doesn’t matter as long as you demonstrate that you are competent. And of course, if you happen to die inside... well, that simply means you weren’t fit to enter an A-Rank rift in the first place, right?"
Terrence nodded calmly. He already understood the cold reality of the system. The verification process wasn’t actually designed to preserve human life; it was meant to reduce unnecessary casualties inside high-rank rifts.
Since rifts were lethal by nature, the agency wouldn’t hold back people who wanted to push themselves up to their absolute body limit. It was only natural that tamers would want to test their boundaries.
Still, the verification served a practical purpose, allowing tamers to cultivate potential that might not have shown up during their awakening. As for any other specific political or administrative reasons behind the rule, Terrence really didn’t care to dive into them.
"I have assigned you to a B-Rank dungeon rift," the attendant stated, finalizing the entry on her tablet. "You should expect to work alongside complete strangers. Some will be total newbies, while others are seasoned veterans."
Terrence nodded along as the attendant launched into a brief, mandatory orientation checklist—information that didn’t particularly matter to him, but was required for her to recite by law.
"So, in quick summary," she concluded with a professional smile, "the dungeon environment is classified as a Jungle Biome. You can check the public bulletin board near the exit to review the typical beast types you should expect to encounter inside."
"Thank you," Terrence said, finally escaping the dragging orientation the attendant clearly enjoyed delivering a bit too much.
Equipped with his official assignment details, Terrence strode over to the large holographic bulletin board and read through a few crucial pointers regarding Jungle Biomes.
’This whole mission is such a buzzkill,’ he thought with a silent grimace, tapping his fingers against his coat pockets. ’Why did the system even bother giving me a sleeping vampire if I can’t even wake it up immediately?’
He let out a quiet sigh.
’At least I can use this B-Rank run to improve my combat synergy with the Shadow Hound,’ he reasoned. ’But still... the thought of unlocking another active S-Rank...’
The S-Rank Vampire Butler remained completely cold and inert inside his Beast Sanctuary, its dormant status pushing him to hasten his pace so he could get this verification over with as fast as possible.
A short while later, Terrence arrived at the staging site for the B-Rank rift, located just a few kilometers south outside the main perimeter wall of Suran City.
As he stepped onto the dusty staging clearing, his eyes scanned the gathering crowd—and instantly landed on a very familiar face.