Rankings

"Now then, everyone's probably curious, so let's announce the DP Rankings."

With "Father's" words, the atmosphere grew tense once more.

"Alright, pay attention everyone! First, the top ten! Well, there hasn't been any change in these rankings for years, so let's just breeze through it!"

First through tenth place were displayed all at once in a table.

There was no change compared to two years ago when Rokuko last attended.

First through third place were, respectively, Number 1, Number 2, and Number 3. Fourth was Number 7, fifth was Number 9, and sixth was Number 6. Seventh was Haku, Number 89, with Number 5 in eighth, Number 10 in ninth, and Number 8 in tenth.

Roaaaaaar! Number 5 let out a frustrated roar, breathing black flames toward the heavens.

The top ten was almost entirely dominated by single-digit cores. Rokuko felt that Haku, who had broken into that group, was truly amazing.

The amount of DP possessed was also displayed alongside — but since Rokuko didn't know any digits above trillion, she understood it was enormously impressive but couldn't actually read it.

"Hmm, after all, Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are excellent. I'm pleased. Keep collecting more and more DP just like this."

"I am deeply honored by your praise, Father."

Kneeling and giving thanks like a knight, Number 1 bowed. Numbers 2 and 3 followed suit. Numbers 2 and 3 appeared as silver and bronze colored knights respectively, cutting quite a fine figure. Among the 1st through 99th cores known as the First Lot, it was said that "Father" had created these three with particular care, so in a sense this was only natural.

Being told to collect even more after accumulating so much DP that the number was unreadable — Rokuko felt they were truly in a different dimension.

"Numbers 7 and 9, you're doing well too. If possible, try to surpass Number 3, alright?"

"Yes, Tou-sama."

"I shall do my utmost."

Numbers 7 and 9 had taken female forms with green and blue hair respectively. They were apparently called the "Mountain God" and "Sea God." Well, Haku was called the "White Goddess," so Rokuko figured they were all similar.

"Numbers 6, 89, and 5 — you've been taking good care of those ranked below you. Raising the overall level is also important. Thank you."

"You are too kind."

"Above all, I am happy to please Otou-sama."

"Father, though I am still inexperienced, this Number 5 is glad to be of service."

Number 6. A stern older man clad in ominously black armor. Known as the "Great Demon King," his faction was called the Demon King faction.

Number 89. Needless to say, this was Haku. Founder of the Raverio Empire and Rokuko's elder sister. Here, she was called the "Betrayer."

Number 5. The only one in the top ten who hadn't taken human form — a black dragon. This was a display of his will to neither hide the form "Father" gave him nor disguise himself. Many reptile-type cores, including Ontentoo, followed him. They were called the Dragon King faction.

"Numbers 10 and 8. You two are working hard as well. My regards forever — keep on living, alright?"

"My King, I am grateful for your blessing."

"I shall answer your expectations with everything I have, Master."

Number 10. An elderly man wearing a vestment that imitated "Father's," though adorned with gaudy, ostentatious decorations.

Number 8. In contrast to Number 10, an elder who wore only simple cloth clothing and leaned on a staff.

"Well then, I'll announce everyone through 699th place. Man, there's a lot of movement in the lower ranks, so it's fun to watch, isn't it?"

A horizontal table appeared with much smaller text than the top ten display but covering a far larger area. If Kehma were here, he probably would have said it looked like test score rankings.

All rankings from 11th to 699th place, along with the corresponding Dungeon Cores, were displayed.

This also included Dungeon Cores who had died, like Number 379. Their DP at the time of death was recorded, frozen in place.

And so Rokuko tried to find her name by looking near the bottom of the rankings.

That said, since she'd earned quite a bit after Kehma came, she was hoping she'd at least escaped from dead last.

So, looking from the bottom up… past cores who had died immediately after being born, past cores who had used up all their DP in a final struggle… she looked all the way to 400th place but couldn't find "695." She continued looking toward the 300s.

Around 300th place, there were many 600-series cores, and since most couldn't humanize yet, there was a rich variety in appearances.

Watching Rokuko, Number 629, an orange rabbit, rubbed its face and spoke to her.

"Nkyu? What are you doing, 695? The bottom is over there, nkyu?"

"Eh, ah, no, um… My number isn't there. That's strange."

"… Did Papa finally forget you, nkyu?"

"I-I don't think so."

"Then why don't you look at the DP column to find it, nkyu? You must have overlooked it, nkyu."

Ah, that's true. Recalling how much DP she had, Rokuko checked the DP column in the rankings before her.

…300th place, Number 629. DP in possession: 351,200.

Huh? Come to think of it, how much DP do I have right now…? I've been getting quite a bit in DP as inn fees from Haku-anesama, so I should have a decent amount, right?

So she checked the DP display on her menu. Recently she'd put a limit on the display for the amount she could use, so it had been showing around 100,000 the whole time. It had been a while since she checked the total DP.

729,359 DP.

"… Hm?"

She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

The display was still 729,359 DP.

… No, no, no, that can't be right. Most of our assets should be in gold coins. Not long ago, Kehma said that if we converted all our gold coins into DP, it would be more than our current DP.

Wait, hold on. Does that mean we actually have more than double this amount…?

And even without that, I'm already higher than the 350,000 DP at 300th place?

"What's wrong, nkyu? Staring at my hard-saved DP like that. I get that you're jealous, but you have to earn it yourself, nkyu?"

"Ah, no, it's just… Yeah."

And so Rokuko walked further up the rankings…250th place, roughly 500,000 DP.

Wait. Wait, how far up does it go?

Finally, Rokuko found her number.

"…210th place, 695…?"

She checked again, but it definitely said 695. She turned around once, then looked back — it still said 695 at 210th place.

For reference, 200th place had 1,000,000 DP, with the numbers rising rapidly to over 10,000,000 DP by around 150th place.

"… Hehe."

An odd smile escaped her without realizing it.