Thanks to Shog's news of advancement, the depressing atmosphere become spirited and joyful.
Soon, everyone sat together and ate the rations they brought to replenish their energy.
Even though everyone came out of the crisis unscratched, they all hated the feeling of powerlessness before that young man, who is capable of taking their life's with a thought.
"Captain Jose, What do you think about that young man's strength?" Gin asked while others also looked at Jose, anticipating an answer.
Watching the eager faces before him, Jose smiled bitterly and sighed, "I don't know about that young man's level of strength."
"But...I know there's another level above rankers called 'Supreme Rankers'. Like us, the Supreme Ranker stage is divided into nine stars from low to high."
"Everyone in the Supreme Ranker stage posses horrifying strength; I heard even the modern weapons won't cause much damage to them."
"Supreme Ranker stage is the true starting point of one's path in martial cultivation," Jose said in a longing tone.
'Supreme Ranker!'
Everyone was excited hearing Jose's words that there's another stage above the Ranker stage. It also ignited everyone's desire to pursue absolute strength.
Today's encounter with that arrogant young man taught Gin a harsh lesson that only Strength is absolute. 'I want to increase my strength!'
"Don't speak to anyone about what happened today. It's a blessing that no one died." Captain Jose solemnly spoke.
Everyone on the team silently nodded their head, grasping the severity of the situation.
"You may all wonder, how I know about these things? It's because of my status as Advanced Ranker."
"So, if anyone wants to know more, your only way is to raise your strength." Jose encouraged.
After resting for a few mins, Team Jose once again begin their journey and reached District 13 in the evening.
"Gin, Astro, you guys performed well today for a newbie; You can expect good news from Ranker Division" Jose indirectly mentioned that both of them are passed in their examination.
Gin was happy since becoming Ranker is his dream, so was Astro.
"Gin, I will welcome you with open arms if you want to join our team," Jose patted Gin's shoulder and said.
Gin's show of strength and his extraordinary perception made Jose think of him in a new light. Jose was also sure, Gin will become someone incredible in the near future.
"Thank you, captain Jose. I will consider your offer." Gin said and also thanked everyone on the team for their help during the mission.
"Brother Gin, we will meet at the entrance examination," Astro exchanged his contact information with Gin. Soon, everyone parted their own ways.
Gin reached his home around nightfall, after having his dinner he straight away crashed on his bed as he was tired journeying the whole day.
--
Morning,
Gin woke up around 6 AM and begun his morning practice. Unlike before, his practice was very effective after he got the symbol and Empreyean chaos scripture.
He could feel the 'essence energy' pouring inside and nourishing his entire body. His strength was also constantly improving.
Gin practiced his breathing technique and Burning Skull Martial arts for almost 3 hours, only then he left the training room to have his breakfast.
Even though 'Burning Skull' hybrid martial art is only a low-level combat technique, it's destructive power is comparable to some Mid-level combat arts; Gin also tested it during his battle yesterday.
The only drawback is, only skills like Burning Fist can bring out its true power as one needs the essence energy to execute this fist technique.
Thanks to Gin's high-level comprehension, he was able to understand the Burning Fist's true meaning and bring out its full potential.
Right now, his strength is around 260 Kg, equal to a four-star ranker which is also the lowest level of qualification for one to participate in the entrance examination of the Martial Arts Academies.
Gin was eagerly waiting for the message from Ranker division because only using the Ranker identity, he can access the techniques and information's privy to ordinary peoples.
Around 10 AM, his communication bracelet rang and a three-dimensional image took shape before him. It's the holographic image of the same female who spoke to him before, concerning the Ranker exam.
"Good Morning, Mr. Gin Reyhart. Ranker Division is happy to announce that from today onwards, you are a respected 3-star Ranker in our organization."
"You will receive your Ranker Identity at doorstep, please keep it safe as it represents you and our organization. Once again, our congratulations on successfully passing the trial and becoming Ranker."
After transmitting the message, the image vanished leaving stunned Gin, alone. One could see various emotions in his face, joy, stubbornness, relief, and tears.
'Finally, I became Ranker!' Gin thought, with his fist clenched.
It may seem easy, but only he knows how much he suffered, sacrificed and worked hard without any sleep to reach today's level.
Even though he may have obtained a legacy from the Ancient era by heavens will, but no one could question his hard work.
Without his hard work and strong will, he wouldn't have reached this stage today.
Gin didn't let the momentary success to his head as he knows the path to absolute strength is filled with dangers and uncertainties.
Just after 1 hour, he received a metal box from Ranker division at his doorstep which is well-secured and password protected.
When he opened the box with the password provided by Ranker Division, a silver crystal card came into his view.
It looked like an ordinary visa card, simple yet exquisite. It was a light silver card with his name, 'Gin Reyhart', carved at the center.
Even though the card looked simple, Gin knows how important it is to him. Without any further delay, he swiped the card in front of his communication bracelet.
'Ding'
A translucent screen emerged before him,
Name: Gin Reyhart
Rank: 3-star Ranker
Missions: None
Achievement: None
Ranker Credits: None
He quickly clicked the 'Ranker Division' icon below the screen which took him to a new page.
It's the highly secured domain of Ranker Division which can only be accessed using the Ranker identity. Gin was waiting for almost 6 years for this day!
'This is it!' Gin excitedly viewed the screen.
Various sections such as Missions, Informations, Books, Techniques, Weapons, Ranker Credits, etc could be seen.
Gin soon clicked the Information section. The information he wants is naturally regarding his parent's disappearance in an ancient ruin.
He finally saw the information of the ruin he was searching - Mystic Sun Ruin, a four-star ruin under the Human Union.
This is the ruin where his parents lost their lives, but Gin still believes they are alive somewhere in the ruin.
It's not some groundless belief of Gin, as Human union didn't confirm his parent's death nor did they found their bodies inside the ruin.
Soon, Gin saw the information he wanted, 'Mystic Sun Ruin is currently closed for the outside world, only some experienced and top-ranked Rankers can enter with Human Union's permission.' says the report.
Gin sighed. Since Human Union announced the ruin is closed, they won't allow peoples like him to enter. So, he can only increase his strength and obtain the qualification to enter.
For that, he needs to display his talent and extraordinary strength to the higher authorities of the Human Union, which is only possible if he gets accepted into the best academy.
Thankfully, there's one month remains until the academic examination; Within this short timeframe, he needs to increase his strength and skills to the level of martial academic standards.