[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION - CONTEST OF POWER LEADERBOARD]
STATUS: ACTIVE
LAST UPDATED: 47 MINUTES AGO
PARTICIPANTS TRACKED: 8,247
ACTIVE SURVIVORS: 3,891
RANK | NAME | LEVEL | CLASS | KILLS | DEATHS | ACHIEVEMENTS
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
1 | FEN | 12 | Spearman/Exploit | 47 | 23 | [RESURRECTION x23]
| | | | | | [PATTERN RECOGNITION]
| | | | | | [SYSTEM ABUSE - TIER 2]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
2 | AYGER | 11 | Fighter/Optimizer | 41 | 19 | [RESURRECTION x19]
| | | | | | [TACTICAL ANALYSIS]
| | | | | | [BROTHER'S KEEPER]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
3 | LUICE | 8 | Ranger/Assassin | 34 | 4 | [PRECISION STRIKE]
| | | | | | [SURVIVAL INSTINCT]
| | | | | | [LONE WOLF]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
4 | AMANDA | 3 | Botanist/Manipulator| 2 | 0 | [PLANT MAGIC - AWAKENED]
| | | | | | [EMERGENCY EVOLUTION]
| | | | | | [FIRST BLOOD]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
5 | EMILY | 7 | Cleric/Healer | 12 | 8 | [RESURRECTION x8]
| | | | | | [MERCY PROTOCOL]
| | | | | | [LIFE DRAIN]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
6 | MARK | 6 | Warrior/Berserker | 28 | 11 | [RAGE AMPLIFICATION]
| | | | | | [PAIN THRESHOLD]
| | | | | | [BLOODLUST - TIER 1]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
7 | HERMAN | 5 | Mage/Pyromancer | 19 | 6 | [FIRE MASTERY]
| | | | | | [AREA DENIAL]
| | | | | | [CONTROLLED BURN]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
8 | COLE | 5 | Rogue/Infiltrator | 16 | 7 | [SHADOW STEP]
| | | | | | [BACKSTAB MASTERY]
| | | | | | [EVASION - TIER 2]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
9 | CHRIST | 4 | Paladin/Crusader | 8 | 3 | [HOLY STRIKE]
| | | | | | [FAITH BARRIER]
| | | | | | [CONVICTION]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
10 | LOPEZ | 4 | Gunner/Marksman | 11 | 5 | [PRECISION SHOT]
| | | | | | [AMMUNITION CRAFT]
| | | | | | [STEADY HAND]
-----|---------------|-------|-------------------|-------|--------|------------------
ADDITIONAL METRICS:
FEN - THREAT ASSESSMENT: CRITICAL
Resurrection Count: 23 (Highest)
Pattern Recognition: ADVANCED
System Exploitation: FLAGGED FOR MONITORING
Estimated Survival Rate (Chrysalis): 67%
AYGER - THREAT ASSESSMENT: CRITICAL
Resurrection Count: 19 (Second Highest)
Tactical Adaptation: ADVANCED
Synergy with FEN: MULTIPLICATIVE
Estimated Survival Rate (Chrysalis): 71%
LUICE - THREAT ASSESSMENT: HIGH
Resurrection Count: 4 (Lowest among Top 10)
Efficiency Ratio: 8.5 kills per death
Playstyle: SOLITARY, LETHAL
Estimated Survival Rate (Chrysalis): 54%
AMANDA - THREAT ASSESSMENT: UNKNOWN
Resurrection Count: 0
Power Manifestation: RECENT (< 24 hours)
Potential: UNQUANTIFIED
Estimated Survival Rate (Chrysalis): 12%
[SYSTEM NOTE: Monitor for exponential growth. Plant-based magic shows unusual scaling properties.]
CHRYSALIS COUNTDOWN: 29 DAYS, 14 HOURS, 33 MINUTES
PROJECTED PARTICIPANT REDUCTION BY CONTEST START: 78%
[END NOTIFICATION]
Fen stared at the blue screen that had materialized in front of him, hovering in the air like a ghost made of light.
"We're ranked first and second," he said quietly.
Ayger was reading over his shoulder. "We're also flagged for system monitoring."
"Of course we are."
"And Amanda is ranked fourth."
Fen's eyes found her name. Level 3. Two kills. Zero deaths. Achievements that made no sense—Emergency Evolution? First Blood?
"She just awakened," Ayger said. "How is she already in the top ten?"
"The system likes her."
"The system likes us."
"Maybe it likes her more."
Ayger's jaw tightened. "That's not possible. We've died twenty times combined. We've learned the system's language. We've—"
"We've done everything right," Fen interrupted. "And she's still ahead of us. That means either the system values something we don't understand, or—"
"Or she's more dangerous than we are."
The screen flickered, and a new notification appeared:
[SYSTEM ALERT: LEADERBOARD ACCESSED BY RANK 1 & 2 PARTICIPANTS]
[RECOMMENDATION: CONTINUE CURRENT TRAJECTORY. COMPETITION BREEDS OPTIMIZATION.]
[SECONDARY RECOMMENDATION: MONITOR RANK 4. ANOMALOUS GROWTH PATTERN DETECTED.]
The screen dissolved into static, then vanished.
Fen and Ayger stood in silence, processing what they'd seen.
"We need to find her," Fen said finally.
"Amanda?"
"Before the Chrysalis. Before the contest. We need to understand what makes her different."
Ayger nodded slowly. "And if she's dangerous?"
"Then we'll die learning about her. We're good at that."
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not meant to be."
They looked north, toward the Chrysalis, and then south, toward where Amanda was packing her bags.
The system had ranked them.
The system had warned them.
And somewhere in the space between, a girl with plant magic was walking toward them, unaware that she was already being hunted.
Not by monsters.
By the two people who understood the system better than anyone alive.
The Chrysalis waited.
And the game continued.