Lensa’s post-breakthrough elemental attainment was still growing.
Eren waved his hand at her even after knowing she might not be paying attention to him. He knew that it would be a while before stabilizing her breakthrough was as spontaneous as it was unexpected.
Plus, the Expert ranker must have sensed Lensa’s breakthrough by now. She would be on the way to look after Lensa. Thus, it would be better if Eren got on with the next task in his hand. He wanted to meet up with one of the highest scorers in Minerva’s Utopia.
After all, he needed a capable working bee for all his potioning projects.
He needed to meet up with Arizihana and Marie.
***
Top 50 ranking lists.
One of the most exceptional rankers of their generation was taking center stage in White Raven city. These lists were based on Minerva’s Utopia’s four testing grounds.
There were four Top 50 lists representing four testing grounds. They would get updated every month by a panel of rankers appointed by the White Raven guild. They would consider many parameters apart from the scores of the testing grounds to come up with the top 50 performers for each testing ground.
In White Raven City, the Top 50 performers would receive various benefits. As a result, becoming one of the top 50 rankers was something most adventurers aimed at.
There was also a Grand Top Ten list that took into account the scores a ranker received in every testing ground. The results of these separate tests would then be combined before coming up with the names for the Grand Top Ten.
These ranking lists weren’t present in Eren’s previous timeline. This was the butcher’s brainchild to spark competition among all the rankers who participated in the exploration of the subspace. Plus, he wanted the scores rankers received in the separate dimension to hold relevance outside it as well.
That way, he could commercialize the competition.
Anyone who aspired to be in any of these ranking lists would compete on the testing grounds as if their life depended upon it. They would tend to buy better artifacts and better potions, and opt for high-tier disposable items to survive and thrive inside Minerva’s Utopia.
Successful rankers buying such items from the city would encourage other rankers who want to be on the ranking lists. As a result, these competitors would keep on stimulating the city’s economy to new heights.
The ranking lists were one of the reasons why the city was growing so rapidly. The butcher was using the ingrained competitive psyche of adventurers and hunters to make profits. And the best part of this plan was, nobody could stop it from not being lucrative.
Eren had also made facilities for rankers in the Top 50 to compete against each other in the presence of the audience and their supporters. The Top 50 would challenge each other or accept challenges from outsiders. The showdown would take place in front of the audience, further stimulating the economy.
The Top 50 were all happier about participating in these events because they would provide them with an extra source of income. The higher a ranked participant placed in the Top 50, the better the rewards would be for their participation and wins.
Top 50 lists and weekly events made some rankers very popular among the citizens of White Raven. Earning fame and money for themselves, the successful rankers were inclined to stay in the city for as long as they could.
***
A well-known inn inside White Raven city.
This inn was a preferred choice for a lot of adventurers because it was near to the subspace’s entrance. It was affordable and could host a huge number of people at once with its spatial magic.
The inn was equipped with all the necessary amenities. Plus, it would give special discounts to rankers who were within the Top 50 ranking lists. So it was no wonder that Arizihana and Marie were staying here.
These two were slowly starting to make a name for themselves. Since there was a cooldown period between two successive entries into the separate mention, the repeat explorers would keep themselves busy by participating in these competitive events.
Arizihana and Marie were no different. Arizihana had emerged as a capable fighter after participating in these events a few times. Meanwhile, Marie had participated in potion-making face-offs and won them all.
However, Marie was a cultist with a bounty on her head. So she had changed her appearance a bit and was assuming a false identity. She went by the name Mica these days.
This afternoon, however, the inn management invited the two ladies to a luxurious room. Someone very prominent in White Raven city seemed to be interested in them.
“How can we help you, Adept Eren Idril?”
Arizihana bowed a bit in front of Eren as she asked. She was standing beside Marie who also copied Ari’s gesture but didn’t say anything.
The butcher smiled back and gestured to the two ladies to take seats.
“It’s nice to meet you once again, ladies. I’d like to offer you an opportunity you might be interested in.”
For some reason, the two rankers felt their consciousness getting pulled into Eren’s emerald green eyes. Thus, they didn’t notice that Eren had hinted at them about meeting beforehand.
Eren paused and let the two ladies sit in front of him before speaking up.
“I’d like to offer you a chance to work with me in the White Raven guild. I could use talents like you for my upcoming projects.”
Eren lit up his Sativa Stick from the newly filled stock and smoked. He then operated on the small array imprinted on the table and made two glasses of beverages appear in front of the two ladies.
The two ladies were taken aback when Eren invited them to become guild members of his guild. Although the guild had just started making a name for itself, it was rumored to be backed by many big organizations. Plus, it had a stable source of revenue with its city and Minerva’s Utopia.
Any seemingly unaffiliated ranker like them would happily join the White Raven guild, which had not accepted any official members for a long time. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Arizihana and Marie who were not looked after by their organizations anymore.
Plus, the offer was extra tempting because the founder of the White Raven guild itself had decided to extend the invitation personally to them.
