Chapter 77: A Matter of Points

Inside a hall, a large screen had come alive. It was divided into four sections, each showing a different part of the terrain. This was the live feed from the Dungeon where the second-year Selection was taking place. Looking closely, one could see that each section displayed a different environment. One showed an ice-cold landscape where snow fell continuously, another depicted a desert filled with sand dunes, the third showed heavy rainfall, and the last displayed a swamp.

These screens weren't showing four different Dungeons but a single Dungeon with four separate terrains, each possessing its own distinct ecosystem and severe weather patterns.

Several individuals were operating smaller screens throughout the hall. This was the monitoring room for the Selection process. Every year, the Academy conducted the Selection in a different Dungeon. This year, they had chosen this four-terrain Dungeon to accommodate the larger number of parties participating in this year of selection competition.

Usually, when this kind of Selection took place, the Academy established rules that every student had to follow. However, problems still arose. Some students refused to mingle with others, while certain parties deliberately avoided particular students for various reasons.

As a result, many students were left without parties. Some of these students came together to form their own groups, but they sometimes lacked enough members to fill their parties. To address this issue, the Academy allowed parties to recruit capable students from the first year.

However, this arrangement created another problem. Some parties continued to avoid certain students, including first-years, leaving even more students without groups. This year, the number of second-year students who had been excluded from existing parties was unusually high, which led to the formation of more parties and increased the demand for first-year recruits.

Each party was expected to have at least six members with a variety of Classes. If a party lacked one second-year member, it could recruit a first-year student to fill the vacant position. However, if the party leader believed that a single first-year student lacked the potential to compensate for the missing member, the party was allowed to recruit two first-years instead.

The rules were different when a party lacked two second-year members. In that case, it could recruit exactly two first-years in total, not four, even if the party leader felt that neither student was capable enough. The Academy had introduced this restriction to prevent second-years from deliberately excluding their fellow students and replacing each missing member with two first-years. One missing member could simply be an unfortunate mismatch, but two might indicate deliberate exclusion or excessive confidence in the party's own abilities. The Academy wouldn't allow parties to exploit the recruitment rules to avoid their fellow second-years while gaining additional members.

Other individuals on the hall monitored the live feeds and transferred important footage to the main screen. At the center of the hall, the Academy Teachers sat on neatly arranged chairs. Besides the Teachers, two individuals wearing Royal sigils were also present. They were officials who had come to monitor the Selection and choose promising students to represent the kingdom.

"Mr. Stanley, should we remove this two-slot rule, select students based on merit, and assign them to parties ourselves? Would that solve the problem of so many first-year students participating in this Selection competition?" asked a middle-aged man sitting at the center of the Teachers. He was addressing Stanley, the Head Teacher for the second year.

"Mr. Terence, that would significantly affect team management, cooperation, and individual motivation. Students need to assess their potential alongside others and join parties by mutual agreement. Forcing parties together wouldn't produce the best results," Head Teacher Stanley explained.

"Mr. Stanley, this is a matter of the Kingdom's pride. We cannot consider these other issues right now. We should assign them to teams and order them to perform. Then our kingdom's status will rise, which will benefit its people," Terence suggested firmly.

"I'm not sure the Academy's management would agree with that idea, especially the Advisors and the Elders." Stanley directly brought up the Academy's Elders and Advisors rather than referring to the Academy's Head Teacher.

Hearing Stanley's response, the royal official fell silent. The officials knew they had very little authority within the Academy. They could suggest ideas, but they couldn't outright order the Academy to follow a particular rule. After Terence stopped arguing on that subject, the Head Teacher fell silent as well.

"So, which parties should we focus on, particularly those with the potential to win? Give me a merit-based ranking." Since their previous discussion had ended abruptly, Terence asked about the parties most likely to emerge victorious in the current Selection.

"Yes, we have that list," Stanley said, signaling for it to be displayed on the main screen.

Soon, the screens changed, showing a large number of students standing in groups inside a hall. This was where the students had gathered to wait for the Dungeon gate to open.

One section showed a party of six students, consisting of four males and two females. Other sections displayed a different parties of six students.

"These four parties have the potential to win this Selection. Everyone in these parties is between Level 45 and Level 55. Their party leaders are among the top ten in Merit, while the other members are among the top thirty," Stanley explained, outlining the strengths of the four parties.

"That's a great achievement. This is exactly what I expected, and it's what I wanted to see. These students have already won in my book. They are parties made up of experts. Very good. I'm looking forward to their performances," Terence said, suddenly becoming more enthusiastic after hearing about the rankings and merits.

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"So, this tall student must be Rank One in the second year," Terence asked eagerly.

"You guessed correctly, Mr. Terence. Student Jakob Adobati is currently Rank One in the second year," Stanley said, looking at a tall student with a buzz cut and a broadsword strapped to his back.

"Very good. Give me the details of the members of these four parties," Terence requested. He wanted to learn about their achievements so far, as he had already decided that one of these four parties would come first.

---

Inside another large hall, all the students had gathered and were waiting. Max and his party stood among them. Looking around, Max spotted some familiar faces from his class. He saw Nathalie Abascal, who had placed third in the First Dungeon Expedition, and Hugh Gwyllim, who had placed seventh. He recognized several other first-year students as well. However, he couldn't find Anne.

"Whatever terrain we're dropped into, we need to move towards the center, where the four terrains meet. The first party to reach it will earn 10 points, and the points awarded to each subsequent party will decrease according to its finishing position. Every Boss monster core we collect will earn us 1 point, while ordinary monster cores will earn nothing. Only Boss monster cores will increase our Rank. However, the reward for reaching the finishing point was still worth pursuing. Boss monsters lived in special locations, so hunting them would be a drag.

"We'll quickly kill any Boss monsters we encounter along the way, move fast, and avoid confrontations as much as possible. We'll only engage if someone actively attacks us. Does anyone have any questions?"

Paula quickly explained the plan. Reaching the finishing point first would grant ten points at once, equivalent to collecting ten Boss monster cores. This demonstrated just how valuable the reward was.

"Do we have a time limit to finish the Dungeon raid?" Max suddenly asked.

"Yes, the deadline is five in the evening," Paula replied.

Hearing this, Max fell into deep thought. It was currently around ten in the morning, and the deadline was five in the evening. Yet, a finishing point with special rewards had been established for those who reached it first. That didn't make any sense to him. After hearing Paula's explanation, he had expected a much shorter time limit, perhaps two hours or so. Instead, they had seven hours.

"So, we have a seven-hour deadline?" Max asked.

"Yes."

"How far away is the finishing point?" Max asked again.

"Maybe 15 km!" Paula informed him.

It was a considerable distance, but still relatively short for a seven-hour deadline, considering that the second-year students had already learned Mana Techniques. Fifteen kilometres wasn't a huge distance, so reaching the destination would take at least two hours, provided they didn't get caught up in a massive wave of monsters. Based on this, Max still felt that there had to be some kind of catch.

"Is there any rule requiring every party to reach the finishing point?" Max continued asking questions.

Hearing this, Paula thought for a moment before answering.

"No, I don't think there's any condition requiring every party to reach the finishing point."

"How many Boss monsters does the terrain have? Do we know the number?" Max asked.

"No, we don't have any such figure. If we consider a terrain with a 15 km radius and assume each Boss territory stretches at least 2 km, there might be around 50 to 60 Bosses," Paula calculated, although her voice faltered as she considered the number.

"Then why do we need to be the first party to reach the finishing point just to earn a mere 10 points when we could potentially earn more by spending the seven hours hunting Bosses?" Max asked. The party members were capable of fighting Bosses, so they had a good chance of earning more points by hunting them than by simply racing towards the center.

"That's a good plan, but the Teachers prefer to award points to parties that move quickly and make better decisions rather than those that engage in gruelling Boss battles," Paula explained.

Teachers, like people in general, liked flashy skills, quick decision-making, and the ability to avoid monsters cleverly. Even if the parties could earn more points by killing additional Bosses, doing so would come at a cost. What if they weren't strong enough to finish off a monster using flashy skills? What if they got stuck in a difficult situation that forced the Teachers to intervene and save them? Such a failure would end their dreams of representing the Kingdom in the kingdom-level competition, making their names known, and bringing pride to their families.

“Are all of you confident enough that we can beat everyone in the race to the finishing point? If not, what is the point of rushing? We could try Max’s suggestion,” Isabelle said after understanding what Max was suggesting.

Hearing Isabelle, the five party members fell silent for a while, thinking about their chances of securing first place. However, their current concern was not even winning. They were aiming for a top-ten position, which would guarantee them at least four points if they finished between fifth and tenth place. If they ranked lower, the points awarded would decrease, and no points would be given to those who finished below the top twenty.

Then again, what was the point of aiming for a top-ten position? Would that even help them get selected in this Selection competition?

"Let's see how things go once we enter the terrain. We should make our decision based on which of the four terrains we get dropped into," Paula said after thinking for a while.

The terrain they entered would be chosen at random. If they were dropped into the desert, staying there for the full duration would be extremely difficult. The icy terrain would present a similar problem. At least they could consider hunting Bosses if they were dropped into the swamp or the rainy terrain.

Max nodded. He couldn't insist on this matter because the others would be doing the heavy lifting, which meant they would have to battle the monsters themselves. He and Isabelle wouldn't be providing much support, and Max, in particular, would be nearly useless in battle, as healing support was all he could offer. Therefore, giving suggestions was where he had to stop. It wasn't as though he had firmly suggested hunting Bosses and mutated monsters during their First Dungeon Expedition, either. That plan had worked primarily because of his status as the Grand Duke's Heir. Otherwise, those people would have turned their backs on him.

While they were discussing their plans, the iron gate of the Dungeon was finally lifted, revealing a large, swirling mass of energy within the Gate. The entrance was enormous, allowing at least four parties to enter at once, unlike during their First Expedition Dungeon, when parties had been sent in one at a time.

A Teacher stood in front of the gate and delivered some final advice, instructions, and best wishes. After that, the parties entered according to their registration order. Max's party was in the last batch once again, entering exactly five minutes after the first batch.

Max and his party finally entered the Dungeon. As usual, his vision went dark and then returned. When it came back, he found himself standing in front of a scorching desert.

Well, there goes my suggestion of hunting Bosses. Even if the party wanted to hunt Bosses, they probably wouldn't want to do so here. A hot Dungeon was the least favoured environment among the Awakened.