Chapter 267 - 266 : End of the treasure hunt (2)

Chapter 267: Chapter 266 : End of the treasure hunt (2)

Arthur’s voice rang through the massive crystal chamber.

"Everyone, concentrate your attacks on the monster!"

The students from the arriving academies turned toward him.

"We cannot let anyone take the crystal before us!"

Arthur pointed toward the golden crystal resting on the pedestal behind the Chimera.

"The crystal is protected by a spell. It can only be claimed after the boss monster dies!"

His crimson eyes gleamed.

"Together with the 5 points this A-rank monster gives, this is the best chance any of us have!"

For a moment, the chamber fell silent.

Then a collective sense of relief spread through the gathered students.

Arthur’s words made sense.

They had all seen the protective barrier surrounding the crystal. No matter how tempting it was, none of them could touch it while the Chimera remained alive.

More importantly, they did not doubt Arthur.

If he had been capable of stealing the crystal while the monster was distracted, he would have already done it.

Instead, Arthur had stayed in the fight.

He had gathered the academies together.

He had directed everyone’s attention toward their true obstacle.

The Chimera.

With renewed determination, the academies attacked together.

The Infernal Chimera roared in fury.

Its massive body was covered in wounds.

Burn marks covered its golden fur, while ice clung to its legs.

Blood flowed from its blinded right eye.

Its main serpent head hissed wildly, while the goat head snapped at the air in pain.

But it was still fighting.

It continued breathing fire, swinging its massive claws, and whipping its scorpion tail with enough force to crush anyone caught in its path.

The students had no choice but to keep attacking.

Lumina Academy moved first.

Their students raised their hands.

Golden light gathered around their palms.

"Light Spear!"

Dozens of concentrated beams of holy light appeared in the air.

They shot toward the Chimera’s remaining eye, throat, and front-leg joints.

Shhk!

Shhk!

Shhk!

The spears struck their targets.

The Chimera roared.

Its vision blurred as the holy energy disrupted its movements, slowing it down for a brief moment.

Martial Star Academy immediately seized the opening.

Their students rushed forward.

They did not rely on complicated spells.

They relied on their bodies.

Aura-enhanced fists slammed into the Chimera’s legs.

Heavy kicks crashed against its ribs.

One student wearing reinforced gauntlets leaped toward its chest and punched with enough force to create a shockwave.

BOOM!

Another Martial Star student swung a massive hammer into the Chimera’s damaged leg.

CRACK!

The monster stumbled.

Its HP bar dropped sharply.

[ A-Rank Dungeon Boss: Infernal Chimera ]

[ HP: 5% ]

The Chimera roared in desperation.

Flames erupted from its mouth.

Its scorpion tail whipped through the air.

Its serpent head snapped toward every student who came close.

The entire chamber descended into chaos.

Arthur watched the HP bar carefully.

The moment it reached 5%, he clapped his hands.

Clap!

"Rubina!"

A faint green light appeared behind one of the massive pillars.

Rubina emerged from her concealment.

The other students had not even realized she had been hiding there.

Her hands glowed brightly.

"Greater Restoration."

Warm green energy spread throughout the chamber.

The spell did more than heal injuries.

It restored stamina and recovered a portion of their mana.

A soft green aura wrapped around Arthur, Victor, Jasmine, and Evangline.

Their exhausted bodies suddenly felt lighter.

Their damaged mana circuits stabilized.

Their remaining mana reserves increased.

The other academies noticed the green glow surrounding Celestias Academy’s team.

Then their eyes shifted toward the Chimera’s nearly empty HP bar.

They immediately understood what was about to happen.

The final blow.

"The final strike!"

"Those 5 points belong to our academy!"

"Attack!"

Every academy moved at once.

Lightning arrows shot through the air.

Fire spells erupted from raised hands.

Wind blades sliced toward the Chimera’s throat.

Students blurred forward with swords, axes, spears, and daggers raised.

Everyone wanted the final strike.

Everyone wanted the 5 points.

Lumina Academy launched another barrage of holy light.

Martial Star Academy rushed forward with reinforced fists and weapons.

Black Star Academy formed dark mana spells.

Glacier Peak Academy created ice blades around their weapons.

Every academy attacked with everything they had left.

Meanwhile, Ava and Eva had already begun moving toward the pedestal.

The twins were not interested in the monster anymore.

Their target was the crystal.

The moment the Chimera died, the protective spell would disappear.

They planned to seize the crystal before anyone else could react.

Then they would escape and take the first place and the 8 points that came with it.

They never suspected that Arthur had simply made all of it up.

Arthur had convinced them that the crystal itself could only be taken after the monster guarding it was defeated. Since the monster was an A-Rank creature, none of the students were actually expected to defeat it in the first place.

Everyone believed him because his story seemed to make sense. If there really had been no restriction preventing them from taking the crystal, Arthur would have simply taken it himself.

And that was exactly where they were wrong.

Arthur could have taken the crystal.

He simply hadn’t wanted to.

The A-Rank monster had given him a huge number of points, and Arthur was far too greedy to leave those points behind. So, instead, he had fabricated a believable lie and let everyone draw the wrong conclusion themselves.

It was a clever move.

No one realized just how greedy Arthur truly was.

Meanwhile Christopher’s eyes narrowed.

’Hey, can you hear me?’

The mysterious voice inside his mind answered.

’What do you want, boy?’

’Give me more strength. More mana.’

Christopher stared at the Chimera.

’I will take those 5 points no matter what.’

The voice inside Christopher’s mind answered.

’Alright.’

Its tone was amused.

’But remember, you will have to pay me back.’

Christopher gritted his teeth.

’Just do it, you bastard.’

In the next instant, mana surged around his body.

A dark violet aura exploded outward.

His strength increased.

His mana capacity rose.

The restrictions of the Virtual Subspace weakened around him.

Christopher raised both hands.

"Void Sphere!"

A massive purple sphere materialized above him.

It spun violently, distorting the air around it and pulling dust and loose stones into its orbit.

Then Christopher unleashed it.

The Void Sphere shot toward the Chimera at blinding speed.

Christopher smiled.

"Those 5 points are mine."

But his smile disappeared.

A massive ice wall suddenly rose between the Void Sphere and the Chimera.

BOOM!

The Void Sphere crashed into the barrier.

The impact shook the entire chamber.

Cracks spread across the ice.

But it held.

Then the dark sphere exploded.

BOOM!

The barrier shattered.

But the explosion had been stopped.

The Chimera remained unharmed.

Every student turned toward the person who had created the barrier.