**[Info] Let’s Learn About the Power Ranking in Silia**

You’ve just started playing the god-tier game, *Silia Online*.  
Dropped into a quiet village, you find yourself assigned the rank of a Wood-tier mercenary.  
At this point, curious players may wonder:  
“How high is Wood-tier, anyway?”

First, let’s break down the six levels of mercenary ranks:

1. **Wood-tier (목급/Wood)**  
2. **Bronze-tier (동급/Bronze)** (*known as Bronze in Western versions*)  
3. **Silver-tier (은급/Silver)**  
4. **Gold-tier (금급/Gold)**  
5. **Platinum-tier (백금급/Platinum)**  
6. **Lord-tier (로드/Lord)**

If you've read fantasy novels or played competitive games, these ranks should sound very familiar.  
When starting the game, you receive the Wood-tier mercenary rank, which is the lowest rank in the Mercenary Guild.  
Since Wood-tier mercenaries are at the bottom, they don’t even get a ‘Mercenary Badge’ to prove their status.  
In-game, most Wood-tier NPCs you encounter are basically street thugs or weak characters.

Hold on a second.  
Those with sharp eyes might have noticed something strange here.  
Wood-tier makes sense for beginners, but what’s with that non-mineral rank?  
That’s because Lord-tier operates on a different level than the others, but I’ll explain that later.

Currently, the player with the highest level is at 59, carrying a Gold-tier Mercenary Badge.  
So, how powerful is a Gold-tier mercenary in the world of Silia?

Here’s where another ranking system comes into play:

1. **Novice**  
2. **Beginner**  
3. **Expert**  
4. **Master**  
5. **Demigod**

It’s getting a bit complicated, so I’ll simplify it:

- **Novice**: Someone who cannot use mana.
- **Beginner**: A person who has just started to handle mana.
- **Expert**: A person skilled at using mana.
- **Master**: A person who has mastered both mana and weapons.
- **Demigod**: A being that has transcended humanity.

Gold-tier mercenaries fall into the Expert category.  
You might think, “Only Expert level?” but the truth is, most people in Silia never break through to the Master level, so it’s by no means a weak rank.

For reference, other professions that start at the Novice level, like mages, begin at Beginner-tier because they need to handle mana to advance.  
Just like in real life, where experience, skills, and physical capabilities vary, even at the same rank, the strength of individuals can differ wildly.  
So, even if you manage to defeat an Expert NPC, don’t get cocky—you never know who you’ll face next.

As for Lord-tier and Demigod-tier, which I briefly skipped over, these are essentially the same rank. Most players have never even heard of them because it’s a legendary level.  
Rumor has it that the first emperor of the Arka Empire, who founded the nation, reached this Demigod-tier.

…

Anyway, that’s all for today’s lesson on the power rankings.  
The Expert-tier might feel frustratingly slow to progress in due to the nature of RPGs where leveling gets harder, but remember: not all Experts are the same. With enough dedication, you can push yourself to become stronger.

In the next post, we’ll cover the monsters of the Silia world.  
If you found this helpful, leave a like!

**[Comments]**

- Great info!  
- Haha, the serious tone at the end had me cracking up.  
- Most of the badass NPCs are Experts... How strong is a Master?!

---

**“Pine!”**

While Journey was still struggling to come up with a solution, someone barged into the tent.  
It was a woman in typical priest attire.  
She burst through the entrance and hesitated briefly when she saw Journey.

"Uh, hello. My name’s Lemoni... I’m with Pine's raid group."

"Nice to meet you, I’m Journey, the streamer."

“What’s the matter, Lemoni?”

“Oh!”

Lemoni, who had been awkwardly greeting Journey, suddenly remembered why she’d come rushing in.

"The Wanderer’s Guild has requested a meeting!"

"Huh? The Wanderer’s Guild is involved now?"

Journey's eyes widened in surprise.  
The Wanderer’s Guild wasn’t known for having a clear objective.  
They weren’t a guild focused on gaining power or authority, nor were they a group of craftsmen.  
They were the kind of people who needed a guild to belong to, but found the requirements for other guilds too strict, so they joined the Wanderers.  
That’s why, despite having a large membership, they rarely engaged in organized activities.

"They didn’t join as an official guild, but it seems many of their members have gotten involved in this war, so their guild leader has stepped in."

"That’s still surprising... For someone so obsessed with leveling to show up here, things must be pretty serious."

“Are you going to respond?”

Pine hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Let’s hear what they have to say. I doubt they’d try to pull anything with Journey here."

"Huh? Why me?"

"You’re a big name. People say that one word from you can shift the whole dynamic of the PC scene. Rumor has it, more than one streamer had to quit because they fell out of your favor..."

"Wait, why are you suddenly accusing me of things?!"

- Whoa, whoa, whoa...  
- No wonder the number of streamers has been dropping lately...  
- The real power player in the PC world, lol.  
- Please, just spare the streamers I watch.

"Oh no, that was supposed to be a secret. Please, just this once, let me off the hook?"

“I told you, that’s not true!”

Journey’s face turned red, and she snapped in frustration.  
But since Pine seemed genuinely playful, she quickly calmed down.

"By the way, Pine, are you representing the Kana faction?"

“Our group was the first to engage in battle, so we kind of ended up in that role. We’re fairly well-known now.”

“I honestly thought you’d side with the other team…”

“As I said, they attacked us first. Not that I would’ve joined them, anyway.”

Because I supported Journey.  
Pine smiled softly.

“You supported me?”

"Yeah. There was something captivating about watching you interact with the Gravekeeper—it felt like you were trying to tame a wild cat."

“...Was that really flirting, though? I felt more like I was constantly getting beaten down.”

“Well, tigers are technically part of the cat family, right?"

“Wait, is this some kind of Stockholm syndrome?”

Lemoni was vigorously shaking her head, clearly not agreeing with Pine’s take.

"Anyway, we should get going before it’s too late. If we’re late, they’ll probably complain about wasting leveling time."

"Heh, no way... or actually, yeah, they might."

Journey thought about the guild leader of the Wanderers and agreed with Pine’s assessment.  
After all, this was someone who’d once streamed an entire day of nothing but grinding monsters without a single word.

When they stepped outside the tent, the tension had somewhat subsided.  
Though fights were still breaking out, they weren’t as intense as before.

As they reached the center of the battlefield, a waiting woman scowled and called out.

“Took you long enough. Don’t you know time is money?”

"You never fail to be predictable."

"I’ll take that as a compliment for being consistent."

The Wanderer’s Guild leader was also a streamer, like them.  
Though not as big as Journey or Pine, she had a loyal following.  
Many people had joined the guild just because they liked her.

"So, what brings the notorious leveling addict here?"

“I don’t mind PvP or wars for fun, but things have gotten out of hand. We’re getting complaints about random people being PK’d as they pass through. I can’t ignore the public sentiment forever.”

"Is this the same person who streams 24 hours of silent grinding?"

"It’s not about grinding; it’s about testing my limits. Seeing how long I can survive against endless enemies."

“...Are you sure you’re not an NPC?”

"Rude."

Yuki shrugged her shoulders.

**Translation of Chapter 16 (continued):**

---

“I didn’t tell anyone to go around PK’ing people. Why are you coming after me?”  
“You’re such a perfect example of your guild…”  

Pine continued to tease Yuki, clearly more familiar with her than Journey was.  
Yuki, who had planted her sword in the ground, pulled it out, and only then did Pine finally shut his mouth.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”  
“Let’s set some rules.”

Yuki dragged her sword across the ground, drawing a line.

“Aren’t you tired of it? They die, respawn, and come back again… and then die again, over and over. It’s endless.”  
Even though players can resurrect, human interest isn’t infinite. Eventually, the fighting would wear people down, but until then, it’s just a meaningless cycle of destruction.

“Let’s take a temporary ceasefire to regroup and then have a real fight. Whoever dies is out for good. The last team standing wins.”  
“You want a deathmatch? Like a real war?”

“What’s the point of fighting like this? Isn’t it more fun when there’s actual tension involved?”

“You really are something else…” Pine shook his head.

“And what happens when one side wins?”  
“The losing side pledges full cooperation to the winners. We’ve already agreed to this on our end. If anyone refuses to comply, we’ll take care of them. You have to do the same.”  
“Well, if that’s all it is…”

“Hold on a second. If we lose, are you telling us to just accept them blocking the roads?” Journey asked, feeling uneasy.  
“What’s the big deal? Isn’t it normal for the losers to get nothing? And it’s not like they’re pay-to-win whales who bought their way to victory. They won with their skills, fair and square.”

“But still…”

“And besides, we’ve already been pretty lenient with you. To be honest, if things hadn’t escalated this much, we wouldn’t even have gotten involved. It’s not like there’s a rule banning them from doing whatever they want in an RPG, is there?”

Yuki’s sharp reasoning left Journey at a loss for words. She couldn’t think of a good rebuttal.

“Stopping people from doing as they please is also a choice. But if you want to stop them, you need the power to do so. Or you need to rally enough people to your side that it’s not even a contest. Complaining without any leverage just makes you sound like a kid throwing a tantrum.”

“Hey, hey, let’s tone it down a bit…” Pine tried to intervene.

“She’s not wrong, though,” Yuki replied.

Yuki, clearly aware of Journey’s influence as a streamer, still spoke confidently. In fact, it was Pine who started to look a little nervous.

Pine lowered his voice and whispered to Journey, “Honestly, this is a good opportunity, Journey. In terms of numbers, we have the advantage. It’s better than dragging this out in a war of attrition.”

“Alright… Fine,” Journey nodded.

After all, this was *Silia Online*, a world where freedom was key.  
Getting angry about what other people were doing was pointless.  
Instead, it made more sense to focus on what she could do, whether by persuading others to change their minds or by shifting public opinion in her favor.

“So we’ll go with th—”

“Who said you could decide that by yourselves?”  
Thud. Thud.

At that moment, someone stepped across the line that Yuki had drawn in the dirt.  
It was a man with an unsettling grin.

Journey glanced at Yuki to see if she recognized him, but Yuki shook her head slightly, indicating she didn’t know him either.

“If you have power, you can do as you please. That’s true enough.”  
Clank. Clank.

Behind the man, there was the heavy sound of marching, armored footsteps.  
A line of knights clad in gleaming silver armor, reflecting the sunlight, followed him, their numbers easily exceeding a hundred.  
Each one bore the black sun emblem on their shoulder plates.

When Journey saw that symbol, her eyes widened in shock.

“The Empire…!”