Global Lords: Building the Strongest Civilization with SSS Rank Talent

Rubedo kept his expression entirely neutral. He rested his elbows on his console and interlaced his fingers. "I left absolutely nothing behind. I had no family and no friends. My life on Earth consisted of learning new things and observing systems and surviving in complete isolation. Existing in this void is practically identical to my previous life."

Sylara offered a sympathetic nod. Gorr remained quiet and processed the pragmatic response.

"There is a much larger issue we need to discuss," Rubedo stated. He brought up a digital text transcript of the Radiant Monarch's conversation on his screen. "The Radiant Monarch specifically mentioned the details of his premium summoning event. He said the event promised thirty elite units. He complained that he only received twenty-nine units total."

Gorr frowned and tapped a spectral finger against her chin. "He said he threw one defective husk to synthesis and kept the remaining twenty-eight units as mercenaries."

"Exactly," Rubedo confirmed. "I was the defective husk. That accounts for twenty-nine people. I remember the exact headcount inside that banquet hall in Miami during the reunion. There were exactly thirty people locked inside that room when the Royal Mage initiated the spell."

Sylara widened her eyes. "One person is completely unaccounted for."

"Twenty-eight active Heralds," Rubedo calculated aloud. "I make twenty-nine. The math guarantees one of my classmates never spawned on the Fourth Continent with the rest of the group."

Gorr gripped her pickaxe tightly. "Where did they go?"

Rubedo stared at the digital map on his console. He considered the possibilities of the game engine's vast mechanics and the temporal anomalies of the server. "They either spawned on a completely different continent during the initial extraction, or they somehow managed to bypass the system parameters and escape the game entirely. We need to locate them using standard scouting patrols and physical information gathering."

Sylara shook her head. "The best way to know more would be to ask your former classmates who are now Heralds themselves. There is no other way to get accurate information about what happened during the actual summoning process."

Rubedo looked at the screen. "I know that. I still refuse to talk to them."

Gorr frowned and leaned forward. "Why? Do you feel some kind of empathy toward them? They treated you like absolute trash back on Earth."

Rubedo tapped his fingers against the obsidian armrest of his throne. "I am afraid I will simply kill them the moment I see them."

Gorr leaned on her spectral pickaxe and stared at the video feed. "You need to control your temper. The thirtieth classmate represents a massive unknown variable in this server. We cannot afford strategic blind spots while we wait for those teenagers to finish their exams."

Sylara nodded from her wooden throne. "You possess absolute authority over your own actions. You can suppress your urge to kill them long enough to ask a few questions. The value of this information outweighs your personal vendetta against them."

Rubedo listened to his closest allies. He stared at the cosmic crystal console and analyzed the situation. He required exact details regarding the final moments inside that banquet hall before the Royal Mage triggered the summoning spell.

His former classmates held those specific memories.

'I didn't see the thirteenth person, but I don't know who it was. The others were already there at the hall before I arrived, and everyone ignored me, so I am not sure who that was.' Rubedo thought to himself.

'To be honest, I am not sure how many in the list either. I was just so happy after seeing my name that I didn't pay attention to other names. THere are high chances that some of them didn't come or something.'

"Fine," Rubedo agreed. "I will ask the questions."

Julia Vance rested in the Gildreath medical ward. Apostle Krug currently stood guard over her stabilized body. Rubedo decided to use Krug as his vessel to conduct the interrogation directly.

He pulled up the system menu and selected the Absolute Descent Protocol, targeting the blue marker representing Krug on the digital map.

As his finger hovered over the confirmation rune, he recalled the Battle of the Continental Moat. He had descended into Krug to save the frontlines from four rival gods, and the system had applied his SSS-Rank Growth Multiplier directly to the merge.

The cosmic density of his soul had torn Krug apart from the inside out. Krug's scales had splintered into glass, and his internal organs had liquefied under the strain, leaving him in a regenerative coma for three years.

Rubedo had spent immense resources synthesizing the souls of captured officers just to rebuild him. Krug currently operated as an Apostle with incredible durability forged from pure synthesized energy.

Rubedo calculated the improved stats on his console and hoped the upgraded vessel could contain his presence without detonating.

He pressed his finger against the rune.

The crystal console flared with violet light, generating a sequence of alerts across the monitor.

[ SYSTEM ALERT: ABSOLUTE DESCENT PROTOCOL INITIATED. ]

[ VESSEL CONFIRMED: APOSTLE KRUG. ]

[ ASSESSING DIVINE TRAITS... ]

[ SSS-RANK TRAIT: 100x GROWTH MULTIPLIER APPLIED TO DESCENT MERGE. ]

Rubedo's vision faded to black as his consciousness tore through the dimensional barrier of his sanctuary and plummeted toward the mortal plane.

Down in the Gildreath medical ward, Krug stood beside Julia's bed. He suddenly gasped and dropped his battleaxe onto the stone floor as violet flames erupted from his eyes and mouth. His newly forged scales cracked under the cosmic pressure, forcing him to his knees.

He gripped the sides of his head while Rubedo violently forced his way into the mortal shell.

The violent shuddering finally stopped. The explosive violet fire sank deep into Krug's veins, leaving his cracked scales pulsing with a dull glow.

Rubedo exhaled a breath of ash and hot air, feeling the heavy, restrictive sensation of physical lungs expanding and the thudding of a mortal heart.

He planted Krug's massive hands on the stone floor and slowly pushed himself upright to test the limits of the synthesized flesh.

'It held. Barely.'

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