The power of an S-Ranked Awakened, even one not listed among the fabled Golden Ranking, was awe-inspiring in a way that defied ordinary comprehension.
It wasn't just a matter of statistics.
Of strength, speed, or mana capacity.
It was the way the world changed when they acted. The way the laws of nature seemed to hesitate. The way enemies, no matter how monstrous, lost their shape and certainty just by standing near them.
A-Rankers were elite. Terrifying in battle. Each one could change the course of a local war, turn defeat into victory, or hold a city wall on their own.
But S-Rankers were forces of nature.
The difference wasn't just one letter. It was a chasm. A fracture between human potential and something else. Something more.
There were S-Rankers barely stronger than an A-Rank, those who scraped into the rank by stretching their abilities to the limit. They were rare, dangerous, and always revered.
And then there were the others.
The untouchables.
