The integration of the Earth was progressing quite rapidly, faster than that of any other planet. One could say that times were sped up by almost tenfold. Moreover, since the system had been artificially accelerated, it didn't match in terms of class progression or other aspects. However, it had initially matched in the beginning, so no one had any advantages. Even the military was undergoing tightly adjusted tests based on their strength and abilities, making their Level 1 much more challenging than Alex's.

It could be said that Alex was one of the few beneficiaries because his actual combat level was well above the academy's average. Unfortunately, the rest of planet Earth fell into disgrace. Although in the first level, much of the planet was still intact, just like any other world that had undergone the trial, Earth suffered an intrusion that greatly shortened the time between waves, resulting in less time for exploration and acquiring the bonuses the system provided.

In many parts, the trial had ended by the time the fourth wave began, which was very disappointing since Earth's potential should have allowed it to reach at least the fifteenth. This outcome would greatly weaken the position of Earthlings compared to other races of Glamoria.

The primary purpose of the trial was to reward the inhabitants of the assimilated world, so the further you advanced in the trial, the greater your powers would be when you joined. Additionally, the system somehow sought to select the best of each species to grant them special powers.

Unfortunately, by the time Earth faced the fifteenth wave, 95% of the inhabitants had already perished. At this point, other races observing the trial lost all interest, although they couldn't glean many details due to a veil blocking their view. The energy readings of the world had decreased to the point where it was just a faint glow, so the others assumed that Earth's participation was coming to an end, and assimilation would soon begin.

By the time they reached the twenty-fifth wave, they had rescued all the surviving people on campus. However, the number of people who chose to trust Alex was less than a third of the total. One of the reasons might have been Alex's lack of social skills, but the main reason was discrimination. Somehow, the people who used to despise him couldn't accept that they were inferior, not even after everything that had happened. They weren't willing to acknowledge that they needed Alex to rescue them.

On the other hand, both communities had undergone radical changes. The Sanctuary of Ashes had become highly hierarchical and militarized. Even though there were people who initially didn't want to fight or were afraid of combat, everyone took up arms in one way or another. The most surprising additions were the few women who took novice classes. After a long time of practice and investing many points in them, they were able to develop sensitivity to mana and finally use magic.

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However, the Council had stagnated. Initially, they had managed to equip their members with better weapons and could buy advanced classes using methods not available to the Sanctuary, as well as exploiting certain sectors of their population. However, they soon found themselves overwhelmed as the level of enemies began to increase rapidly, and their members didn't trust each other. The casualty rate began to rise rapidly, and they started to collapse.

Unfortunately, Alex was forced to intervene. He couldn't let them collapse because if the central base was destroyed, their problems would become at least ten times worse, so he had no choice but to help them.

Of course, the high-ranking members of the Council, being the miserable rats they were, couldn't resist the temptation to get a slice of the situation by demanding resources and more assistance from the Sanctuary.

"Grandmaster Alex, are you serious? We can't keep protecting these people. Last time, they used our members as bait to escape. If it hadn't been for your timely arrival, we would have lost at least 15 people."

"I'm sorry for that, John, but I can't let the central base fall. If that happens, our chances of moving forward will go down the drain."

John simply sighed; it was a bad habit that seemed to infect the people around me.

"I understand, sir."

"However, I also won't allow them to hit us for free."

John was stupefied in his position, and I decided not to speak further. It would be better to show my determination through actions. If those bastards from the Council want to play hard, I'm willing to play with them.

Meanwhile, I decided to open the store. I had accumulated enough points to buy one of the unique blessings. It could be said that it wasn't so hard to gather the score, but in reality, it was extremely difficult because every time you accumulated a decent amount of points, you had to reinvest them quickly to improve yourself or your faction, so you were in a constant struggle to save.

Unfortunately, when I scrolled through the store page to the unique upgrades, most of them were gone. This made me furrow my brow strongly. How the hell did other people manage to get these upgrades on their own faster than me? Finally, the realization hit me; the Council had continuously squeezed its members for points and hadn't allowed them to improve. This must be the reason. Every one of those damn bastards must have obtained one of these upgrades, thinking about what would come next.

It was already public knowledge that this trial was to assess our capabilities and reward us when we integrated into a new world called Glamoria. The system had allowed us to obtain scattered information about what awaited us once there and the powers we could acquire. So, in their infinite greed, these bastards only thought about securing a better personal position.

My blood boiled at the thought of it, so I focused on the only talent that was still available: Bond with Nature.