"Disappeared!?"
Alex was stunned.
"That's right. He vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind. Even his name disappeared from the rankings. Because he leveled up too quickly and had too few units, his ranking wasn't high, so not many people knew about it."
Ryan Mitchell's voice was grave.
Though they were separated by the mountain, Alex could sense the seriousness in his tone.
Moreover, this was their first meeting. Ryan had no reason to lie to him.
This meant that something truly unexpected could happen after reaching Tier 6. It was downright terrifying.
Shocked, Alex quickly expressed his gratitude. "Thank you for telling me. I owe you one."
"You're welcome."
A faint smile appeared on Ryan's cold face.
He had shared this crucial information with Alex as a gesture of goodwill, and now that his goal was achieved, he said nothing more, simply directing his units to continue mining.
The two fell into silence.
Before long, Alex had filled his entire storage space with ore. He bid farewell to Ryan and left the mining area.
Although reaching Tier 6 might bring unforeseen changes, gathering resources couldn't be neglected. After all, having more resources was never a bad thing.
Moreover, after hearing Ryan's words, Alex had a growing预感 that something significant was about to happen. It was better to prepare early.
After returning to his territory and storing the ore in the warehouse, Alex set out again to mine.
After two trips, the sky gradually darkened.
There were only thirty minutes left before the nightly ranking rewards were distributed.
Alex checked his ranking. Because he had been focused on mining and hadn't recruited any new units, he had dropped out of the top ten and was now in the teens.
The names on the leaderboard had also changed significantly, with many new faces appearing in the top ten.
The only constant was Ethan Carter in first place.
After all, he was the first to reach Tier 5 and had likely already researched Tier 5 units, starting to recruit and expand his forces.
With the remaining time, Alex didn't idle.
He closed the rankings and immediately headed to the Tower of Units, where he found that the advanced form of the Spirit of Flora had been fully researched.
This meant he could now recruit Tier 5 units.
"Good, I made it just in time."
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the 1,800 Mana he had accumulated over the past two days. While it wasn't much, it was enough to give him an edge over those who hadn't yet researched Tier 5 units.
Moreover, based on today's events, even Ryan Mitchell, ranked third, likely had no more than five Tier 5 units. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought only two Tier 5 units with him.
This was Alex's opportunity!
His gaze sharpened, and without hesitation, he began recruiting units.
Just as he was making his final push for the rankings, the Regional Chat was also in an uproar as the ranking rewards were about to be distributed.
"I bet Ethan Carter will take first place."
"Not necessarily. You can't be sure until the last second."
"First place definitely won't change. He reached Tier 5 a full day ahead of everyone else. Catching up won't be easy."
"So it's all about second and third place. I'm sure a lot of people are making their moves to claim those spots."
"Look! It's changing again! The rankings are shifting!"
"The big shots are definitely making their moves now!"
The spectators in the chat were in heated debate, while those on the leaderboard were giving it their all, fiercely competing for the second and third spots.
The rankings fluctuated every few seconds, with names rising and falling in a fierce battle.
Even Ryan Mitchell, who had been in third place, was pushed down to sixth, though he quickly climbed back to fifth.
As they said, you never knew the outcome until the last second. The crowd was in an uproar, more excited than if they were watching a blockbuster movie.
Alex, who had been in the teens, was suddenly pushed down to the forties, almost falling out of the top fifty.
"What's going on? Why is his ranking dropping so fast?"
In his territory, Luke frowned as he watched Alex's ranking.
Half an hour ago, he had been keeping a close eye on Alex's name, expecting to see some impressive performance.
But after waiting for so long, Alex's ranking hadn't risen. Instead, it kept dropping, leaving Luke puzzled.
At the same time, others also noticed Alex's ranking.
"Look, Alex has dropped to the forties. That's rough."
"Alex? Wasn't he in fifth place before?"
"Fifth place? He's long been pushed out of that."
"He probably won't make it into the top ten this time. Plant-based units are just too weak."
"I think he was just lucky to make it into the top ten the other day."
"What's the point of making it in? The real big shots are only starting to show their strength now."
…
Alex's entry into the top ten had been hard for many to understand.
Now that they saw his ranking plummet, some couldn't help but gloat.
With only five minutes left until the rewards were distributed, it was almost impossible for Alex to climb from the forties into the top ten.
So most people turned their attention to the top ten, no longer paying attention to Alex's ranking.
"One minute left!"
Someone in the chat began counting down the time.
The spectators, who had been arguing nonstop, held their breath, their eyes glued to the leaderboard, afraid of missing anything.
The big shots on the leaderboard also made their final pushes, causing the rankings to shift wildly.
"Five seconds left!"
"Five…"
"Four…"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One…"
"Time's up!"
Finally, a flash of light swept across the leaderboard, and the names froze in place, reflecting the rankings from the previous second.
Everyone's hearts raced as they eagerly looked at the top ten, curious to see which big shots had made it.
As the light faded, the names on the leaderboard gradually came into view.
As expected, first place was still held by Ethan Carter, with no change.
After all, he had reached Tier 5 a full day ahead of everyone else, and with his powerful demon-based units, this outcome wasn't surprising.
But when their eyes fell on second place, everyone was stunned.
"Second place… Alex!?"
"What's going on? How did he end up in second place!?"
In an instant, everyone was shocked, their eyes widening in disbelief.
No one had expected this outcome.
Alex had been in the forties just moments ago. How had he suddenly jumped to second place?
How was this possible!?
"He jumped over forty spots? How did he do that?"
"This is insane! Did he recruit several Tier 5 units at once?"
"No way! He must have cheated!"
"Cheated? You try cheating and see if you can pull that off!"
"I'm shocked. Who would've thought such a dark horse would emerge?"
"This is incredible. A plant-based unit lord took second place?"
"Alex is truly in a league of his own."
"Where are all those people who were laughing at him earlier? Why are they so quiet now?"
Alex's leap to second place sent shockwaves through the community.
No one had expected Alex, who seemed to have no chance, to emerge as a dark horse in the final seconds and claim second place.
Those who had been mocking him earlier immediately fell silent, afraid of drawing his attention.
The Regional Chat was abuzz, with everyone discussing this unexpected turn of events.