Epic of Caterpillar
chapter-391

[Day 217]

[Kireina] gained +29 Skill Points and Subclass Skill Points due to the prayers of your believers!]

[Kireina] gained 14.626.970.000 EXP due to the prayers of your believers!]

[LEVEL 073/250 EXP 119.734.660.432/400.000.000.000]

Today in the morning, Agatheina contacted me through the artifact she has given to me, she wanted to 'measure' my rank and that of my family… although I'm guessing that this is just an excuse to talk with me, she has grown attached and it seems to adore me for an uncertain reason.

"Agatheina, what exactly do you mean by 'measuring'…?"

"Ah! Good question… fufufu… Although this may be lost knowledge, in the past, we used to measure mortals by ranks, similar to how we measure other gods' strength."

"So there are even measurements between gods?"

"Indeed! Kireina-sama! Each God has nine ranks in between their classifications, from Living Deity, Demigod, God, Great God, and Supreme God! I am personally at Rank 3 of God Stage… six more Divine Trials are needed to raise to Great God, but each one only appears after I feed my Divine Energy with enough resources and materials, for thousands of years until it appears…"

"So Gods don't have levels neither Experience Points?"

"No, we don't have such a luxury… although there have been gods born when the System was created, they lose the ability to level up through it when they raise to divinity, Experience Points become meaningless, killing thousands of mortals won't raise our strength… But we are getting too off-topic, I can explain such things in detail later on… for now, let me explain other things"

Agatheina explained to me that Mortals also had their own ranks, which were twenty. She couldn't really measure the ranks of my family with her own eyes through the artifact, but by using another Appraisal Artifact, it was possible.

She sent me such item in the same fashion as the others, by making them appear in my Item Box… I wondered how she did such a thing.

"Earlier, I gave you my artifacts and other items through dreams, but now that I have given you my blessing, we have a natural connection, I am capable of sending items to your Item Box through the system… you should be able to do the same with those you've blessed… Anyways, use the artifact right away! I am really curious if you have already reached the peak of the mortal realm!"

The artifact had the form of a sphere, with a crimson eye in the middle, using it over me made it produce strange sounds, similar to a machine on Earth. Suddenly, I got a notification through the System.

[Loading New [APK]

[…]

[Ancient Mortal Realm Rank Classification Successfully Integrated!]

"Huh? Agatheina, it appeared on the System…"

"Ah, that's right! The Appraisal Artifact function is to 'update' the System to use certain functions… us gods are capable of changing the system a little bit through the creation of 'System Artifacts', although it is nothing much, it won't increase your strength either make you grow faster, it only helps in the visualization of a classification long lost within mortals. It may help you have a clearer insight into your strength and that of your family and subordinates aside from comparing Stats"

It is really convenient for me to have things explained to me by a Goddess than having to figure them on my own…

As I glanced at the system, I saw my stats, and right bellow 'CLASS' there was 'RANK'.

[NAME: Kireina

[CLASS: Demon Overlord of the Sin of Lust

[SUB CLASS (1): Masterful Item Creator

[SUB CLASS (2): Advanced Alchemist

[RANK: 17/20 Of the Mortal Realm

"There it is… I am rank 17 out of twenty, it seems that I am not really at the peak of the mortal realm as you thought…"

"R-Rank 17?! That is quite high, and rank classification only takes into consideration your base strength! That means that whenever you transform like in that time when you 'touched' (attacked) me, your rank probably skyrockets to 20! And that was just before… now that you've eaten the weakened Megusan's soul, you're probably a pseudo-Living Deity of Rank 1 or 2, with just a few perks that you lack, such as the manipulation and production of Divine Energy and the use of Techniques, Skills or Spells that use it"

"I see…"

"And that's without counting your 'Divinity Devouring' Skill, which is virtually a completely different thing than the Technique we Gods know… with it, you are even capable of damaging a God at Rank 3 such as me… It's probably that a God alone cannot take on you, there would need a large group of them… but even then, you could devour them as you fight… Your strength breaks all the boundaries and rules known, Kireina-sama"

"Boundaries… But how can I raise into godhood if I am not at the peak of the Mortal Realm through my base strength?"

"Hm, I don't know the details, but most mortals are ready to raise into godhood at Rank 16, however, some that persevere can keep nourishing their base strength up to rank 20 and then raise to godhood with more power, but the amount of time that it takes beat the convenience of raising to godhood right away. Also, you still need to reach max level, right? Your rank will most likely reach 20 when you hit max level"

"I see… Another question… will I get those Divine Energy Skills by raising to godhood?"

"Yes… Although… perhaps, if you somehow eat another god… maybe you could obtain their ability to manipulate and produce Divine Energy as a Skill,"

"Wait, you know about my power?"

"Well, yes, Omgramid, the God of Sand and Earth shared your status when you went to conquer his dungeon, in the hopes of finding someone that saw you as a menace and to help him kill you… and you know how that went, no one helped him and he turned into a Fallen God, falling into another Realm"

"I see… it is quite frightening to know that a lot of gods know most of my powers in that time… can gods appraise anything inside their dungeons?"

"Most can… Although Omgramid might have used a special technique or Skill for that"

"Well, there is no point in worrying about that for now… Going back to the mortal's rank topic, what about the other classifications that I've seen in the race title of others?"

"Hm? What do you mean, Kireina-sama?"

"You haven't seen them? Normal, King, Emperor, Kaiser, Overlord, or Sovereign?"

"Ah! Those! Those are mere classifications between species and subspecies, it depicts their power compared to their own race, not the entirety of the mortal realm, it is just a classification to show that you are stronger than your brother, or that your grandfather is stronger than you… as you can see, Humans and most Demi-Humans don't have those titles"

"I see... it was always so confusing, well, now I have a clearer perspective in such things"

Most of my wives were with me talking on their own, as I conversed with Agatheina through the telepathy of the artifact, though Rimuru was looking at me with weird eyes when she saw how I used an artifact that she had never seen over me.

"Masta? What's that?" she asked.

"Ah! I have been talking with Agatheina for a while… Did I look weird by standing by myself? Sorry… here, this artifact will let you see your 'Mortal Realm Rank', it is an ancient classification used before Genesis was split into Realms"

"Uwah! I will be able to finally measure my power truly!"

As Rimuru used the artifact, the other girls became interested in her and all of them ended using it on themselves.

"I am rank 13, guu!" said Rimuru.

"I'm rank 13 as well," said Zehe.

"Hmmm… Rank 13 too! Fufu" laughed Nesiphae.

"I'm rank 13 too, it seems that all of us that evolved recently have such rank," said Brontes.

"Indeed, I'm rank 13 as well," said Gaby, smiling with her sharp teeth.

"Oh my. I really did not expect to be Rank 13 as well… well, this is a pleasant surprise" said Alice.

"Not really… I just evolved but I am rank 9!" said Nanako.

"Heh, you still gotta train harder, Nanako!" roared Oga.

"But you're rank 8, Oga…" said Acelina, who was Rank 8 as well.

"Ugh…" Oga muttered. She was considered quite strong, but after seeing her own rank... well she is just trying to evade reality.

"Do not worry, evolution is not the only way of raising one's rank… or that's what Agatheina said, there are several other things that need to be taken into consideration, such as your Skills levels, number of Skills, and even equipment… although the last one needs to be bound to your Soul?" I said, trying to cheer up Oga and the other girls at a lower rank than nine.

"Hm, so it's a combination between one's stats, skill levels, evolution, and equipment that determines the Mortal Realm Rank?" asked Charlotte, who was Rank 8.

"Indeed, it is a combination of several factors, although some may have a specialization in physical combat, you may have your rank increased if you try to understand magic as well, and vice versa," I said.

"I wonder if you can induce a 'forced evolution' in us, Kireina… like you did with Mao!" said Lilith, who was Rank 9.

"Oh right, Mao-chan… Where is she? I wonder what's her rank…" said Rimuru.

Mao's head surged from within my shoulder, as she was currently equipped inside of my body, after using the artifact in her, her Mortal Realm Rank was revealed to be 8.

"She's eight too! She jumped in ranks absurdly quickly with those forced evolutions then…!" exclaimed Ismena, who was barely Rank 8.

"I considered that as well… but forced evolutions come with lower stats than you would get by naturally evolving, and it also requires specific materials and items. Mao was able to evolve again because I just had the perfect materials of a strong Dungeon Boss that was of her same species…"

"I see… Ah, I feel ashamed of being Rank 7… We must polish our skills. Although a 'forced evolution' sounds enticing" said Sofarpia.

"Me too, when we first evolved, we really thought that was very strong… But we are far from that! Mao is stronger than us!" said Sofelaia.

"Hehehe… That's right, I'm stronger, gao!" laughed Mao, who was receiving praises everywhere.

Both Centaur Twins discovered that they were at the peak of Rank 7… but because most of my wives were of a minimum of Rank 8, they felt ashamed of themselves.

"Though I would be happy if you just evolved naturally if you really want it, we could search for materials for your 'forced evolutions' in the Forsaken Labyrinth, there should be monsters similar to your species that could be used as materials"

"Well, I may not be Rank 13, but I'm happy about being Rank 11, I don't feel the necessity of forcing my body to evolve, I suppose," said Kaguya.

"I'm also Rank 11! I wonder why I've been just slacking off in the castle for some weeks already…" said Nephiana.

"It must be because you have a Hero Class and also a Special Evolution? Blessings also help, I suppose" said Adelle, who was Rank 10.

"I'm rather disappointed in myself, I am Rank 9…" said Mady.

"Well, you're probably Rank 9 because most of your Skills are not for battle. That doesn't mean that you are not less useful or less important" I said, comforting Mady while hugging her shoulders.

"Ah… w-well, if you say so," she said, flustered for a bit.

"I'm Rank 9 as well… but I feel a tad bit realized, it is quite high in my opinion, especially taking into consideration that I used to be a human with barely any fighting Skills or talent," said Altani, analyzing her own growth.

"Well, we are both Rank 11, Nixephine. I never expected that you would be at the same level as myself, a True Light Spirit" said Nefertiti, teasing Nixephine.

"Hoh? You really did not expect that someone like me could be at your level? Fufufu, I may surpass you in the future" said Nixephine.

Nefertiti and Nixephine could have been Rank 13 or above if they were still Dungeon Bosses, as the Dungeon boosted their stats greatly, but now that they are 'free' from it, their stat had been lowered. Though their high Skill levels remained, and the two quickly raised in stats after leveling up for a while in the Dungeon.

Then my children decided to see their own Ranks as well, some surprised faces were revealed.

"Huh?! I'm Rank 12! Just a little bit below mother (Nesiphae)!" said Amiphossia.

"To be expected of Amiphossia-sama, nya!" said Geraldine, she was Rank 8.

"Indeed! We wouldn't follow anyone weaker!" said Shirohibe, she was Rank 7.

"Woof!" growled Seishin, the Twelve Limbed Phantom Wolf, he was Rank 6.

"Growl!" roared Sesshomaru, the Phantom Nine-Tailed Fox, he was Rank 6 as well.

"You four need to level up some more! But maybe mother could induce a 'Forced Evolution' in you four?" asked Amiphossia.

"We'll see," I said, it shouldn't be so hard, as they were quite weak, forced evolutions should happen more easily.

"Ah, I'm Rank 10… I thought I would be weaker, perhaps the evolution into a Chaos Human gave me the necessary boost… I wonder which Rank is Mater Kekensha" said Evan.

"Ah! Evan-kun, you're so strong!" said Amiphossia, completely forgetting about her ghost companions.

"H-Hey, why am I weaker than Amiphossia and Valentia?! This System is unfair! I don't care about this!" roared Ryo, he was Rank 11… for some reason. It may be because he has been slacking off in the practice of magic, he shines the best when he combines both magic and physical martial techniques.

"You should practice more magic then, young man," said Zehe, her scarlet eyes gleaming with a menacing light.

"Ugh… Yes, mom"

"Hehe, mommy! I am Rank 12! Just like a big sister! Aarae-chan, big sis will protect you!" said Valentia, she was exceedingly happy.

"Ahaha… I'm glad you are strong, sister… but please stop squeezing me…" said Aarae, he was Rank 11 as well, his physical combat talent was slowly flourishing, but his magic and MP pool were outstanding, and he had developed his Magic Aura.

"It is good to have such a strong partner, I feel safe with Aarae-chan, haha" laughed Ervin, he hasn't realized how strong Aarae was before because he barely leaked his magic Aura. Ervin was Rank 7. He seemed to have realized how dangerous it was to court him back then… but he succeeded, so it does not seem to bother him that much.

"Onii-chan, I'm rank 11 as well!" said Vudia, hugging Aarae. Her physical strength was that of a titan, she was able to destroy giant boulders with her small hands, and her magic was outstanding as well. She was a genius both in physical combat and magic, but she was taking it easy, if she decided to train with Brontes, she could raise to Rank 12, perhaps.

"I didn't expect to be Rank 12!" said Ailine, she wasn't good with physical techniques, but her magic was probably the most outstanding in the entire family, she completely broke any rules put into mortals, every day she improved by leap and bounds, constantly learning new Spells and leveling up her Magic Aura. She was a magical prodigy.

The day went on as normal after this large event of measurements… We went with most of my family to hunt on Dungeon Monsters and Bosses compatible with the ones that wanted a 'Forced Evolution' until late at night, where we had a fulfilling dinner, we'll leave the evolutions for tomorrow I suppose.

[Calculating EXP gained…]

[Kireina] gained 20.730.925.500 EXP!]

[LEVEL 073/250] [EXP 140.465.585.932/400.000.000.000]

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[Mortal Realm Rank Classifications] (New Section!)

This classification only calculates their strength based on their base form, stats, skill quantity, skill level, technique efficiency, magic capacity, magic manipulation, Aura control, Soul Rank, and Soul-Bound Equipment.

If characters power up through transformations, special armor skills, berserk modes, buffs, and so on, their ranks may increase exponentially. Most would break through two to three more ranks in these temporal power-ups, Kireina may break all boundaries as she can damage Gods by this point.

[Kireina: Rank 17/20]

[Rimuru: Rank 13/20]

[Zehe: Rank 13/20]

[Nesiphae: Rank 13/20]

[Brontes: Rank 13/20]

[Gaby: Rank 13/20]

[Alice: Rank 13/20]

[Mady: Rank 9/20]

[Adelle: Rank 10/20]

[Lilith: Rank 9/20]

[Charlotte: Rank 8/20]

[Altani: Rank 9/20

[Nephiana: Rank 11/20]

[Nanako: Rank 9/20]

[Ismena: Rank 8/20]

[Acelina: Rank 8/20]

[Kaguya: Rank 11/20]

[Nixephine: Rank 11/20]

[Nefertiti: Rank 11/20]

[Oga: Rank 8/20]

[Sofelaia: Rank 7/20]

[Sofarpia: Rank 7/20]

[Amiphossia: Rank 12/20]

[Ryo: Rank 11/20]

[Valentia: Rank 12/20]

[Aarae: Rank 11/20]

[Ailine: Rank 11/20]

[Vudia: Rank 12/20]

[Evan: Rank 10/20]

[Yiksukesh: Rank 13/20]

[Geraldine: Rank 8/20]

[Seishin: Rank 6/20]

[Sesshomaru: Rank 6/20]

[Shirohibe: Rank 7/20]

[Athos (Sword/Soul Copy): Rank 7/20]

[Ervin: Rank 7/20]

[Mao: Rank 8/20]

[Wall (Little Clone): Rank 8/20]

[Wall (Original Body): Rank 14/20]

[Gubo (Gaby's Thunder Slime 'Pet'): Rank 7/20]

[Guubo (Giant Slime, Guardian of the Forest): Rank 13/20]

[Vajrara: Rank 6/20]

[Redgaria Bitefrost: Rank 13/20]

[Herbell: Rank 11/20]

[Makesia: Rank 7/20]

[Edmond: Rank 7/20]

[Ashura, Yokai King: Rank 8/20]

[Agamocles: Rank 6/20]

[Agamocles Jr: Rank 5/20]

[Medastus: Rank 3/20]

[Aegina, Centaur Twins Little Sister: Rank 4/20]

[Aegina Mother: Rank 3/20]

[Acathea, Vudia & Ailine Friend: Rank 4/20]

[Acathea Parents: Rank 5/20]

[Ligurian, Kelpie Chief and Ervin's father: Rank 6/20]

[Trianesna, Chief of the West Dragon Centaur: Rank 8/20]

[Yinglong, Chief of the East Dragon Centaur: Rank 9/20]

[Wagyu: Rank 13/20]

[Kekensha: Rank 13/20]

[Tsuchimizu: Rank 10/20]

[Kurimuzonhōn: Rank 11/20]

[Yuki-Onna (Ice Wolf Leader): Rank 11/20]

[Truhan: Rank 13/20]

[Celica: Rank 12/20]

[Slime Family (Combined) (Milim, Ranga, Benimaru, Shion, Luminous, Aloysius): Rank 13/20]

[Kizuato: Rank 11/20]

[Goruden: Rank 11/20]

[Meiji: Rank 10/20]

[Meiji's Spirits (Except Brontes): Rank 10/20]

[Yukan'na: Rank 10/20]

[Jinsoku: Rank 10/20]

[Wyvern Overlord: Rank 11/20]

[Abellona: Rank 12/20]

[Aine & Adena: Rank 11/20]

[Titus: Rank 12/20]

[Eshne: Rank 10/20]

[Jorogumo: Rank 11/20]

[Ganjo: Rank 12/20]

[Kuraen: Rank 10/20]

[Yamiyo: Rank 9/20]

[Erathe: Rank 8/20]

[Undead Team (Yurei, Katara, Futima, Duruno, Gufumin): Rank 9-10]

[Palami: Rank 10/20]

[Asure: Rank 10/20]

[Raito: Rank 9/20]

[Rin Sisters: Rank 7/20]

[Blood Elf Sisters (Clumsy, Weird, Serious): Rank 10/20]

[Roneth: Rank 7/20]

[The Ten Chimera Team Led by Catterpillar: Rank 10/20]

[Hekatoncheires: Rank 12/20]

[Blood Skeleton Nether Worm Knight: Rank 11/20]

[Corrosive Abyss Fungus Empress: Rank 10/20]

[Average Giant Skeleton Guardian: Rank 7/20]

[Keenan: Rank 11/20]

[Jerold: Rank 10/20]

[Caedmon: Rank 11/20]

[Cassandra: Rank 10/20]

[Aleksandra: Rank 13/20]

[Nereid: Rank 9/20]

[Kjata: Rank 10/20]

[Ocypete: Rank 8/20]

[Smilkas: Rank 8/20]