Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

Antoine cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to the lower end of the list.

”We have broken these fourteen individuals down into categories based on their threat levels, their locations, and their willingness to cooperate with a unified human front. Let us begin from the bottom.”

Antoine pointed to Rank 14.

”Aiko Mizuku. Her name appeared on the panel just two days ago. We know very little about her personal background, but her metrics tell a specific story. She is Level 10, but she has already established a territory named ’Shikoku Sovereignty.’”

A Japanese politician sitting not too far away sighed, shaking his head.

”The word sovereignty is a deliberate statement, Antoine. She has secluded herself. Our local agents in that sector attempted to make contact, but she declined. She wishes to remain independent.”

”File her under the non-cooperative list for now,” Antoine nodded, his finger sliding up to Rank 13. ”Quiet Daoist. A complete ghost. We have absolutely no idea who this person is or where they are located. None of our informants across the sectors have heard a single whisper of this name. This person is categorized as ’entirely unknown.’”

Antoine paused, his eyes moving to the next name.

”Rank 12, Hassan Al-Malik. We have successfully established contact with him. He is currently operating in Sector 9, and he has already consolidated a significant number of survivors under his banner, though he bears no territory.”

A Moroccan representative smiled slightly, leaning forward.

”Hassan is a reasonable man, but he is pragmatic. He has stated that he is entirely willing to align his forces with the New World Government, but he demands a permanent seat on this council and absolute administrative control over his resources. We are currently negotiating the finer details, but he is cooperative.”

”Good. Secure that alliance as quickly as possible,” the former Secretary of Defense muttered. ”We need every high-level combatant we can get.”

Antoine’s finger moved to Rank 11. ”Stormcaller. This one is... problematic.”

John’s attention instantly perked up. He leaned forward in his seat as an intelligence officer sitting right next to him stepped up to report:

”Our scouting parties discovered Stormcaller’s location near the easternmost edge of the continent,” the officer explained, his face grim.

”Before I detail the interaction, I must clarify the geographic scope of our current situation for those who were absent from yesterday’s briefing.”

The officer pulled out a small holographic device, a bit similar to the one Antoine used to display the ranking panels just now, but it looked more inferior. It was obviously provided by Antoine from the multiversal store, specifically for these agents.

The agent activated the device, and it lit up with a holographic map to show a sprawling, irregular landmass divided into distinct zones and smaller sections with names over them.

”Through the combined efforts of our scout units, specifically individuals with classes geared heavily toward speed and agility, we have managed to overlay the locations of known sectors and settlements onto the world map of the continent we currently reside on. We wanted to catalog the exact number of human sectors in Zone 0 and determine the physical boundaries of our region.”

The officer pointed to the outer edges of the map where the landmass of Zone 0 abruptly stopped, morphing into a deep, dark blue expanse.

”Previously, we assumed the System’s reformation of the planet had conjoined all global landmasses into a single, massive super-continent. That is incorrect.

At the eastern edge, Zone 0 continues directly across a vast body of water. There is another continent lying beyond that ocean, continuing the circular ring of Zone 0 around the globe.”

”Can we reach them?” a German politician asked.

”No,” the officer replied flatly.

”The deep sea is teeming with monstrous, high-level aquatic beasts. Furthermore, even though the narrow corridor crossing the ocean falls under the protection of Zone 0, the oceanic waves and erratic weather patterns are absolutely chaotic. No human asset has survived an attempt to cross by water.

We have no maritime vessels, no ships, and spending our scarce multiversal tokens to purchase water-faring vehicles from the store right now is simply not cost-efficient while we are still struggling to build our land infrastructure. We must focus entirely on this continent first, and trust that our counterparts on the other side of the world are making similar efforts.”

The officer then tapped the projection, highlighting a storm-covered land at the edge of the continent.

”Which brings us back to Stormcaller. The team we sent to negotiate with him nearly did not return alive. The man is exceptionally violent and deeply unstable. He views his lightning affinity as a divine mandate to rule his territory through raw terror. The moment our diplomats attempted to speak about a unified global government, he leveled the entire area with a lightning strike. He is filed as extremely hostile.”

Antoine Blanc nodded, his expression dark as he took over and moved to the next person.

”Then we have Rank 10, White Raven. Another blank space. No data. No location. This person owns a single dungeon, but we have yet to locate either them or their dungeon. Filed as unknown.”

Antoine then pointed to his own name at Rank 9.

”As you know, my own progression has allowed us to establish the United New Eden in Zone 1. It is currently the only secure frontier base we possess, and it will serve as our primary shield when the three-month information blackout period expires and the ancient variants return.”

His finger slid up to Rank 8.

”Iron Tyrant. Level 10. Territory named the Iron Sovereignty. Like the Japanese girl, his territory name suggests an isolationist mindset. We have no contact data. Moving on.”

Antoine’s hand stopped directly over Rank 7, his eyes narrowing significantly. ”Jolene Okafor...”

The room went entirely silent. Every politician and military analyst stared at the line of text with a mix of hunger and intense interest.

”This is where the numbers become deeply irregular,” Antoine said.

”She is only Level 10, yet she has not just one, but two territories and three dungeons at the same time...”