Primordial Awakening: I Breathe Skill Points!-Chapter 56: Gold Standard

The white VR hub dissolved around Zeph as his eighth placement match loaded. His elderly DirtyGrandpa avatar materialized on one side of a pristine dueling arena—flat stone floor, clear boundaries, zero environmental advantages for either competitor.

Perfect neutrality. Perfect fairness.

Which meant this was going to be a perfect beatdown.

His opponent appeared on the opposite side, and Zeph felt his enthusiasm die a quiet death.

The nameplate read: SilverPhoenix - Level 56 - Platinum II

’Level 56. That’s twenty-one levels higher than me.’

’Platinum II means he’s been grinding ranked for months. Probably has tournament experience.’

The avatar itself told the rest of the story: pristine equipment that screamed "family money," movements that were too smooth and practiced to be self-taught, and an aura of casual confidence that only came from people who’d never had to struggle for anything in their lives.

’Guild family genius. Inherited bloodline. Professional training since childhood. Premium everything.’

’And I’m over here with a crude goblin axe and self-taught technique.’

’Fantastic.’

[Match begins in: 5... 4... 3...]

Zeph slid into his combat stance anyway. Iron Woodsman’s Foundation making the positioning automatic, weight distributed perfectly, axe held in reverse grip for maximum flexibility.

’I’m going to lose. That’s not even a question. The level gap is too wide, his advantages too numerous.’

’But I can make him work for it. Learn something. See how the elites actually fight.’

[2... 1...]

[FIGHT!]

SilverPhoenix moved first, and the movement was wrong in a way Zeph couldn’t immediately identify. Too fast for the avatar’s visible stats. Too smooth for normal human motion.

’Bloodline ability. Movement-type enhancement. Fuck.’

A sword materialized in the genius’s hand—not drawn from a sheath, summoned from thin air, which meant spatial storage integration at minimum—and the blade was already swinging toward Zeph’s neck before he fully processed the opening.

Zeph activated Predator’s Advance.

[AGI: 156 → 312]

The world shifted into hyper-clarity. SilverPhoenix’s sword slowed to something Zeph could actually track.

He sidestepped, the blade missing by centimeters, and counterattacked with a horizontal slash aimed at the genius’s exposed ribs.

His axe connected—

And bounced.

Not off armor. Off the avatar’s actual skin.

’Defensive bloodline ability too. Or high-grade body enhancement runes. Or both.’

’Of course he has both.’

SilverPhoenix’s counter came immediately. Not a single strike but a combination—three-hit sword combo that flowed together like water, each strike covering the weaknesses of the previous one.

Master-level technique. Possibly Grandmaster.

Zeph dodged the first two through sheer luck and instincts, but the third caught his shoulder.

[Damage: 380]

[HP: 2900 → 2520]

’Thirteen percent of my HP from a single hit. And that wasn’t even a critical.’

They separated, circling.

SilverPhoenix looked mildly surprised. "You’re fast. Faster than your level suggests."

"I get that a lot," Zeph replied, keeping his tone neutral.

"Won’t matter. You can dodge all you want. Eventually, you’ll run out of stamina or make a mistake." The SilverPhoenix’s smile was polite, almost friendly. "Nothing personal. You’re just outmatched."

He wasn’t wrong.

The fight continued for another eight minutes. Zeph used every trick he’d learned—Phantom Step for repositioning, Wind Blade for ranged pressure, Cleaving Momentum to slowly build damage potential, Adaptive Resilience to reduce the impact of repeated sword strikes.

He landed exactly four clean hits.

Total damage dealt: 340 HP out of SilverPhoenix’s 4,200.

He took fifteen hits.

Total damage received: 2,520 HP.

When the final strike came—a perfectly executed thrust that Zeph’s exhausted body couldn’t dodge—his avatar dissolved into pixels.

[MATCH CONCLUDED]

[Winner: SILVERPHOENIX]

[Placement Match 8/10: DEFEAT]

[Performance Rating: EXCELLENT]

[Updated Record: 6-2]

-----

Zeph sat in the white hub space, breathing steadily despite no actual physical exertion.

’Lost. But not embarrassingly. I lasted eight minutes against someone at least 20 levels higher with every advantage money can buy.’

’That’s... actually not bad.’

[Next match loading in 60 seconds...]

’No rest between placements. I want to see how I perform under pressure.’

’Let’s see what match nine brings.’

-----

Match nine was worse.

Level 54 dual-element caster with fire AND ice manipulation. The kind of build that required either incredible talent or incredible resources to pull off—managing two opposing elements simultaneously was notoriously difficult.

This guy made it look easy.

Fire for offense, ice for defense. Switching between them with the fluidity of someone who’d been training the combination since awakening.

Zeph adapted. Used his massive AGI advantage to stay mobile, never letting the caster establish proper distance. Activated Adaptive Resilience early and let it build resistance to both elements through repeated exposure.

Got the caster down to 30% HP.

Then the bastard pulled out an S-rank combination skill—fire and ice merged into a steam explosion that filled half the arena—and Zeph had no counter for it.

[MATCH CONCLUDED]

[Winner: FROSTFIRE]

[Placement Match 9/10: DEFEAT]

[Performance Rating: EXCELLENT]

[Updated Record: 6-3]

-----

Match ten was loaded immediately.

Level 52. Balanced build. Professional tournament veteran with a win rate that suggested this wasn’t someone who relied on level advantage—this was someone who actually knew how to FIGHT.

’This one I could theoretically win. The matchup isn’t terrible.’

’But I’m mentally exhausted. Two losses back-to-back. And this guy’s going to exploit every small mistake.’

He was right.

The fight was close. Closer than the previous two. Zeph’s technique was better, his speed advantage more pronounced, his tactics sharper.

But small mistakes added up. A dodge that went a half-step too far. A counter that came a fraction of a second too late. An opening that he saw but couldn’t capitalize on because his mind was half a second behind his body.

The match ended at 180 HP versus 95 HP.

Zeph lost by the narrowest margin yet.

[MATCH CONCLUDED]

[Winner: IRONSIDE]

[Placement Match 10/10: DEFEAT]

[Performance Rating: EXCELLENT]

[Final Record: 6-4]

[Calculating final rank...]

[FINAL RANK: GOLD I]

[Performance Bonus Awarded: 10,000 credits for exceptional performance despite level disadvantage]

-----

Zeph stared at the results screen for a long moment.

Gold I.

Six wins, four losses.

Top 15% of all ranked players.

’I started from nothing. Level 35, self-taught, garbage equipment, fake identity.’

’And I placed Gold I on my first placement series.’

’That’s... that’s actually insane.’

He thought about the losses. SilverPhoenix with his inherited bloodline and guild resources. FrostFire with his dual-element mastery. Ironside with his tournament experience. Zeus with his body enhancement and S-rank resistance skill.

’I lost to people who were objectively better equipped, better trained, and higher level than me.’

’But I didn’t get destroyed. I made them work for it. Took rounds off them. Forced them to use their trump cards.’

’Six months ago, I would have been thrilled to just survive placement matches. Now I’m disappointed I only won six out of ten.’

’That’s growth. That’s progress.’

The performance bonus notification caught his attention.

[10,000 credits deposited to account]

[Note: Exceptional performance against higher-level opponents warrants additional reward. Well done.]

’Ten thousand credits just for not getting completely destroyed. The System actually rewards overperformance.’

’And sponsorship offers should be—’

His interface pinged.

[SPONSORSHIP OFFER RECEIVED]

’There it is.’

-----

Zeph opened the offer, expecting something modest. Maybe a few thousand credits per month, some equipment discounts, basic support for a Gold I nobody.

What he got made him read it three times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

```

[SPONSORSHIP OFFER]

From: Horizon Gaming Collective

Position: Sponsored Streamer - Combat Division

TERMS:

- 50,000 credits per month (guaranteed minimum)

- Additional performance bonuses for tournament wins

- Stream minimum 20 hours ranked gameplay per month

- Wear Horizon branding during streams

- Non-exclusive (can accept other sponsors)

- 6-month initial contract with renewal option

Benefits:

- Professional coaching available (optional)

- 30% equipment discount at partner retailers

- Tournament entry fee coverage (up to A-rank tournaments)

- Medical/healing services discount (25% off)

- Priority customer support

- Access to Horizon training facilities

Requirements:

- Maintain Gold rank or higher

- Professional conduct during streams

- Monthly performance report

- Availability for promotional events (2-3 per year)

ACCEPT / DECLINE

```

’Fifty. Thousand. Credits. Per. Month.’

’That’s...’

Zeph did the mental math and felt slightly dizzy.

’That’s 600,000 credits per year. That’s more money than I’ve seen in both my lives combined.’

’That’s rent covered for six months EVERY MONTH. That’s equipment. Technique manuals. Skill books. Everything I’ve been desperately scraping for.’

’And it’s non-exclusive. I can take other sponsors if they come along.’

’And it’s LEGITIMATE INCOME. Proof of employment. The landlord will have no reason to question my story anymore.’

His finger hovered over the ACCEPT button.

’Twenty hours of streaming per month. That’s... five hours per week. Totally manageable even with the expedition coming up.’

’Professional conduct during streams. I can do professional. I can absolutely pretend to be a normal, well-adjusted person for five hours per week.’

’Maintain Gold rank. I just placed Gold I. Unless I spectacularly fuck up, that’s not an issue.’

There was literally no downside.

He pressed ACCEPT before he could overthink it.

[SPONSORSHIP ACCEPTED]

[Welcome to Horizon Gaming Collective!]

[Signing bonus: 50,000 credits (processing, will arrive within 24 hours)]

[Your sponsor representative will contact you within 48 hours to discuss stream setup and scheduling]

Zeph logged out of VR and pulled off his headset.

His cramped apartment looked exactly the same as when he’d logged in four hours ago. Same too-short bed. Same cracked mirror. Same mystery stains on the walls that he’d stopped trying to identify.

But everything felt different.

’I’m sponsored. I’m a professional VR fighter. I have guaranteed income.’

’I’m not just surviving anymore. I’m actually building something.’

He checked his credit balance.

[Credits: 10,461]

Performance bonus had already deposited. Signing bonus would arrive tomorrow.

Which meant he’d have 60,461 credits by this time tomorrow.

’First priority: rent. Get ahead of that nightmare before it becomes a problem again.’

’Second priority: combat capabilities. I have the Skill Fusion Crystal. I need skills worth fusing.’

’Third priority: don’t fuck this up.’

He opened the Union marketplace on his phone, filtering for A-rank skills.

Time to turn money into power.

Time to prepare for ruins that had killed thirty B-rank scouts.

Time to prove that placing Gold I wasn’t luck—it was just the beginning.