Chapter 56: Press Conference, Perfect Load-Out For Star Hunters

Zenith City rose out of the horizon long before the aircraft actually reached it, towers climbing higher than anything Logan had ever seen back home, glass and steel catching the midday sun in a hundred different directions at once.

The Ascendant Circle’s headquarters sat at the exact center of it all, a single spire taller than every building around it, gold trim running the length of its edges like something had poured molten light down the whole structure and let it harden there.

Logan’s borrowed aircraft settled onto a private landing pad near the top, and Garen was already waiting there when the doors opened.

"There he is." Garen grinned. "Ready for this?"

"As ready as I’ll ever be." Logan stepped out, the mask already settled into place, Leon Flanke’s face looking back at him from every reflective surface nearby.

Isolde met them just inside, tablet in hand, already running through details.

"Talent." She didn’t look up. "We’re calling it Infinite Ascendance. Sounds appropriately dramatic, doesn’t commit to any specific mechanic anyone could actually verify."

"Class is Voidblade Sovereign," Garen added. "Close enough to what you’ve actually got that nobody catches you contradicting yourself by accident, different enough that it doesn’t point anywhere useful."

Logan nodded, filing both names away carefully. "Got it. Infinite Ascendance. Voidblade Sovereign."

The conference room turned out to be less a room and more a small auditorium, rows of seats already packed with reporters and cameras and a few faces Logan recognized from broadcasts he’d half-watched growing up.

Isolde walked him out first, made the formal introduction, and then it was just Logan standing in front of more attention than he’d ever had pointed at him in his entire life.

"Leon Flanke, Mythic-rank Talent, Mythic-rank Class." A reporter near the front didn’t wait to be called on. "Can you tell us anything about either one?"

"The names are written above in the display. That’s all you’ll get." Logan kept his voice even, matching the confidence he’d practiced in his head the whole flight over. "But I can tell you what’s next. I’ll be entering Star Hunters in a few hours."

"Directly Tier-4 from Tier-1? Amazing. Could you tell u show much Tier Points you earned in your Floor 1 Match?"

"No."

"Have you fixed your load-out of Star Hunters? Are you willing to show us?"

"No."

"Given that you increased your player tier to four at once, do you have enough to stand alongside the level 30 players as a level 10 player?"

"Yes."

The room erupted into noise, a dozen more questions thrown at once, and Logan let Isolde field most of them from there, answering only what actually needed his own voice behind it.

By the time it actually ended, Logan’s jaw ached from holding the same composed expression for the better part of the thirty minutes that felt like hours.

He left the way Garen had shown him earlier, a service corridor that bypassed the main lobby entirely, avoiding every camera still set up out front.

Garen caught up with him near a smaller landing pad, something small and dark held out in one open palm.

"New ride." He pressed it into Logan’s hand. "Tier-9 Rare-rank aircraft card. Stealth, anti-scan, solid defense, and it can actually fight back if it needs to. You’ll be safe in it. Consider it a gift."

Logan turned the card over once, already feeling the weight of what it represented. "Thank you. Really."

"Go on." Garen clapped his shoulder once. "Go do whatever it is you actually wanted to do today. You’re free. Enter the Star Hunters when you are ready and arrange a solid load-out."

He summoned the new aircraft the second he was clear of the building, and it folded into shape around him in silence, sleek and dark and built for exactly the kind of trip he had in mind.

Home came first.

Synthia was waiting for him in the garden when he landed, four items laid out on a cloth in front of her, each one radiating something distinct even from a distance.

Two Legendary-rank, two Mythic-rank items consisting of one sword, one hammer, one armor, and one shield.

Of course, they were entirely useless to him, but it could still earn him a good chunk of Tier Points.

"These are incredible." Logan turned each one over in his hands, genuinely impressed with what she’d managed out of a single shopping trip’s worth of materials. "Alright. Let’s go sell these properly."

The flight to Nebula City took less than a minute, the new aircraft moving fast enough that the world outside blurred into streaks of color without a single sound of strain from the engine.

He found a buyer for all four items inside the first shop he checked, someone who clearly recognized quality the moment it was laid out in front of them.

```

[ 4x Item sold. +9,850 Tier Points ]

```

He opened the Tower Shop through his own interface next.

The shop ran regular prices for him, since he was a Tier-4 player shopping in the Tier-4 section. He’d earned every one of those Tier Points himself too, not had them transferred over or gotten them through some cheap-dealing exploit, selling something worthless for an inflated sum.

Neither of those tricks would have worked anyway. The Tower didn’t bend that way for anyone. There was no fooling it and no working around its rules. Players could only raise their Tier using Tier Points they’d genuinely earned themselves, whether that came from a match directly or from a production Talent and its summons selling actual goods. That’s why Alice had to fight in Floor 1 again.

’This gear set is good.’

A full Mythic-rank gear set caught his eye almost immediately, four pieces sold together as a matched set.

```

[ Obskalon Brimstone Regan Set (Mythic/Tier-4) ]

> Set Bonus: Brimstone Barrier (Passive)

Cost: 5,000 Tier Points

> Obskalon Brimstone Regan Plate (Armor)

+400 Attack | +400 Constitution

> Obskalon Brimstone Regan Greaves (Boots)

+500 Speed | +300 Constitution

> Obskalon Brimstone Regan Gauntlets (Gloves)

+400 Attack | +300 Arcane

> Obskalon Brimstone Regan Crown (Helm)

+400 Arcane | +400 Speed

```

Logan didn’t hesitate. "Buying all four."

```

[ Obskalon Brimstone Regan Set purchased. -5,000 Tier Points ]

```

He equipped all four pieces right there in the shop, and felt the weight of three thousand two hundred stat points settle across his whole body at once, a difference he could feel immediately in the way his own footsteps landed on the ground.

’That’s better.’ He rolled his shoulders once, testing the new fit, and let himself grin.

Now he had enough stats to fight in Star Hunters. A Mythic-rank gear set and three Mythic-units mean a perfect load-out to enter a match with.

’Billy, Solveig, and Synthia will be useful. I can only take three inside with me anyway, and it’s best that they ascend to Tier-4.’

Martha didn’t need to ascend higher. If she did, the food she cooked would kill his parents due to their overbearing energy.

His parents were normal people. Thus, they could only digest and benefit from food from Tier-1 ingredients at best.

Before leaving, he talked with his parents and Vina, and told them he’s going for another match and will return in at most 48 hours since Star Hunter had 48 hours time limit.

"Good luck, son. All the best."

"Don’t be reckless. Although we know you won’t do that, I just want you to come back to us."

Logan smiled. "Don’t worry. I’ll come back safe and sound, and more powerful than before. I promise."

"I want to grow up fast!" Vina pulled a long face. "I can’t wait to play together with you."

"Haha, you still have a lot of time before that happens."

"Umu! I will train hard!"

Logan then waved his hand. "Alright, see you later. I got the match."

MATCH FOUND!

MAP AND FACTIONS GENERATED!

500 PLAYERS ENTERING THE GAME: STAR HUNTERS!