Chapter 75: This Radiant Demon Must be the Most Evil One of Them All

Dazzling spotlights illuminated the surrounding walls inside a massive classroom. The room didn’t feature a typical rectangular layout; instead, it was structured like an oval arena. Tiered, circular rows of seats rose upward, with the highest row nearly touching the ceiling.

The fourth period was now more than halfway over. In the center of the arena, demons were locked in fierce combat. High up in the spectator stands, a brother and sister sat quietly while waiting.

[Time remaining: 3 hours 30 minutes]

[Mission Objective 1: Achieve over 60% exploration of the academy. (Current progress: 748%)]

They were Silver Licensed Challengers from the Kingdom of Yaloran. They suspected that demons might have infiltrated the ranks of the challengers, so they were now silently monitoring the shifting mission objectives within the Shadow Realm dimension.

However, there was something wrong with the numbers. At the start of the fourth period, progress had stood at only around 40%, but it had subsequently skyrocketed at an absurd rate.

Their own exploration of the school had led them to realize that, given the sheer scale of the academy, fully exploring the academic zone would yield a completion rate far exceeding 100%. Logically, 100% represented the maximum exploration limit the Shadow Realm dungeon had estimated that the challengers could achieve within the twelve hour timeframe.

Yet, the current situation defied all logic. The figure kept jumping upward at short intervals and was still continuing to climb! The siblings were completely baffled as to what was happening.

Everything had gone normally when the third period ended. The changes in the exploration progress clearly indicated that all three teams had cleared a Difficulty 3 classroom, resulting in a combined 18% increase.

Through their investigations during the earlier periods, the siblings had gathered some intelligence: an uninvited guest was coming to the academy tonight to conduct an inspection. Apparently, this visitor struck fear into the hearts of even the senior instructors.

The "source of danger" referenced in Mission Objective 2 was undoubtedly this "inspector." As for the specific nature of their identity, their intentions, and their connection to the humans infiltrating the academy, only by converging and exchanging information could the three groups of challengers piece together the key to unraveling the mystery.

This was the true intent of this Shadow Realm challenge.

However, no matter what clues or secret signals the siblings left during the breaks in an attempt to contact the other four challengers, the others showed absolutely no intention of working with them.

In a Shadow Realm dungeon where everyone started scattered and identities were concealed, challengers couldn’t identify one another unless they actively discovered a way to meet up. Given the situation, the correct strategy would normally be to skip entering a classroom during the fourth period and instead devote all effort to locating and teaming up with the other challengers.

Unfortunately, just moments ago, the school issued a new emergency regulation.

All students must return to the academic zone. Attendance in a classroom during the fourth period is mandatory. Leaving is prohibited. Instructors will begin patrolling the corridors immediately. Any student found will first be driven into a classroom, and those who continue to defy orders will be executed on the spot. Additionally, all Difficulty 3 classrooms will be closed during the fourth period.

This absurd rule made it feel as though the Shadow Realm dungeon had suddenly accelerated into a rampage state. Left with no choice and fearing for their lives, the siblings retreated into a Difficulty 2 classroom to wait out the period.

The young girl's voice trembled as she asked, "Older Brother, could someone have made a mistake that triggered a dangerous mechanism early?"

Her hollow gaze seemed to search for a glimmer of hope to cling to, yet she found none. The young man bit his lip, unsure of how to respond. He was also consumed by a boundless dread and anxiety that threatened to swallow him whole, but as the older sibling, he couldn't let his own fear worsen his sister's panic.

He murmured softly, trying to comfort her, "...Don't worry."

Since the first period, he had been monitoring changes in their exploration progress to deduce when and in which difficulty level classrooms the other teams were operating.

Two of the challengers were methodically clearing classrooms in the academic zone, keeping pace with them, yet they showed no interest in meeting up. Their behavior was bizarre, as if they didn't care at all about actually clearing the Shadow Realm dungeon.

Then there were the two slackers. Despite having the ability to clear Difficulty 3 classrooms, they had skipped entering any classroom for two full periods, the second and the fourth! They seemed to be aimlessly wandering the functional zones, completely impossible to track down.

The young girl bowed her head, clasping her trembling hands in prayer. "Goddess... we've done nothing wrong. Why have we ended up in a demonic school like this? If You are still willing to shield us, please, send someone to save us..."

When a person was reduced to praying to the gods, it was a sign of their utter despair.

Just then, the classroom door was pushed open. The sound of the lock disengaging echoed through the room, jarringly loud. A large group of demon instructors strode in, moving with a steady, purposeful gait that seemed to clear a path for someone waiting just outside.

This sudden intrusion instantly seized the attention of every demon student present, as if time itself had been paused. Then, stepping through the doorway with the air of a leader, a Radiant Demon with black hair and green eyes entered the room.

He paused for a moment and swept his gaze across the classroom. The Radiant Demon then immediately ordered an end to the lesson and commanded, "Come now, escort every student in this room to the headmaster's office."

It felt uncomfortably like they were prisoners being marched off to a detention camp. The young man and woman in the back row felt a wave of absolute hopelessness wash over them. The moment they had dreaded had finally arrived.

Yet, they couldn't fathom how the mechanics of the Shadow Realm had gone so haywire such that the headmaster himself would come to personally eliminate them. Sensing the unease permeating the classroom, the Radiant Demon frowned slightly.

He then raised a hand to signal for calm and rapidly said, "Students, do not worry. My office is safe and quite spacious. The school is currently undergoing a surprise inspection, and the curriculum in this classroom has a risk of being flagged for non-compliance, so I need you to step aside for a while. Once the fourth period ends, you may return to the academic zone, and the school will compensate each of you with three credit coins. As your headmaster, I give you my word."

At once, the demon students quieted down, their expressions shifting to surprise at this unexpected stroke of good fortune. Naturally, they had little reason to doubt the headmaster's promise. After all, he was flanked by so many senior instructors that he would hardly need to go to such elaborate lengths if he intended to harm them.

The siblings, who had been holding their breath out of tension, now exchanged looks. Their lingering anxiety became mingled with confusion. It almost felt as though the headmaster was helping them, or even protecting them? But no matter how they looked at it, the only one who certainly wouldn't help the challengers was the headmaster, that Radiant Demon!

With an aura of unfathomable mystery that commanded the utmost respect from even the most formidable demon instructors, he wielded supreme authority. He was undoubtedly the most evil leader of the demons in this Shadow Realm dungeon!

The school must have run into some trouble, causing the progression of the Shadow Realm challenge to go off-track just enough to offer them a glimmer of hope. The mechanics of the Shadow Realm remained baffling, no matter how much one observed them. Yet now, a small chance of survival had opened up for them.