Novel Full Chapter 192: The Leaderboard
Chapter 192: The Leaderboard
"H-how are we fourth?!" Darius asked as he looked at the leaderboards being displayed on the magic tool.
It very clearly showed that they had completed the dungeon raid in forty three minutes, just two minutes behind the North.
With the speed and recklessness with which he was going through the floors, he had expected to be the first to clear it, and yet, they weren’t.
He couldn’t argue with the results either, since he certainly wasn’t stronger than Adrian or Renelle....that he was sure of.
But then there was Cassian, who didn’t really behave like the Cassian he knew.
Perhaps third years were just that strong?
"I’ll find out at the tournament anyway," a grin appeared on his face as his mood was instantly lifted at the thought of fighting someone strong.
Orion looked at the changes in his little brother’s expression and couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
But this time, he said nothing; after all, even he was curious about how strong these kids were.
He wasn’t much older than they were, but one would expect that he’d be stronger but from what he had seen so far, that might not be the case.
So, for once, he agreed with his younger brother. He also wanted to see exactly how strong these young geniuses were.
"The Royal family has completed the dungeon raid!"
The herald’s voice echoed throughout the arena as a pair of figures emerged from one of the dungeon exits to a wave of applause.
It was the Prince and his Saintess, and they seemed mildly surprised as they looked up at the leaderboard.
Darius also looked up at the leaderboard again and realized that the two were only a minute behind them, and were ranked Sixth.
Following the representatives of the royal family, the West came out next, and the Herald immediately announced their presence.
With six groups out of the dungeon, it only remained the Church’s representatives, but by the looks of it, it seemed they were deliberately taking their time.
Each representative walked towards their assigned chambers and proceeded to wait for the church.
***
It took an hour, but the church’s representatives finally exited the dungeon, and they didn’t seem the least bit surprised at the fact that they were the last to complete their dungeon raid.
"And with that, we finally wrap up the second part of the Dungeon Raid," the herald announced, and the crowd immediately started cheering again.
The rankings remained displayed for all to see.
East: 30 Minutes
Imperial Spirit Academy: 39 Minutes
North: 41 Minutes
South: 43 Minutes
Royal Family: 44 Minutes
West: 47 Minutes
Church: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
The Church’s representatives merely walked towards their assigned chambers with calm smiles on their faces despite their placement.
If anything, they appeared completely indifferent to the rankings.
While most participants would be disappointed after placing last, the two representatives of the Church looked as though the rankings didn’t matter in the slightest.
Fortunately, the crowd’s attention quickly moved away from them.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the herald continued. "Now that every group has completed the dungeon raid, the points earned from both events shall be added together!"
The magic tool displaying the leaderboard suddenly switched and started displaying a new set of rankings, this one combining both results from the Hunt and the Dungeon Raid.
Immediately, the spectators began discussing the rankings amongst themselves.
Some were surprised that the North was still holding on to the top spot, but even more surprising was the fact that the Academy.
Well, it wasn’t truly surprising, after all, they were the only group that had managed to gather all the magic tools in the dungeon, gaining them enough points to beat the East, even though their completion time was higher.
It was almost as if they had known the location of the magic tools beforehand.
In his assigned chamber, Adrian sat quietly as Isla had somehow fallen asleep on his shoulder.
It was a strange sight to Conan, especially given the kind of image Adrian had built in his mind when they first met.
Still, he said nothing; instead, he turned to the results.
The combined rankings were now being displayed on the smaller magic tool in the corner of the chamber.
North: 1st
Academy: 2nd
South: 3rd
East: 4th
Royal Family: 5th
West: 6th
Church: 7th
Again, this wasn’t actually a competition. The points existed purely to make things more exciting for the spectators.
...
However, the group that remained at the top of the leaderboard by the end of the festival would earn the right to host the next Convergence Festival.
One of the greatest honors in Avera.
That rule didn’t apply to the Academy or the Church, however. If their representatives managed to top the leaderboard, they would instead be granted ownership of a Corrupted Land.
It was a reward the Church seemed entirely uninterested in, judging by the complete lack of effort shown by its representatives.
"We’re second," Conan muttered as he looked at the updated leaderboard.
"Mm," Adrian simply nodded, careful not to move the shoulder Isla was lying on.
A scene that would’ve elicited a nosebleed from Renelle if she were here.
"Do you think we’ll win the tournament tomorrow?" Conan asked again, as he looked away from the magic tool and towards Adrian.
"No," Adrian answered, causing a frown to appear on the kid’s face.
"There’s someone among the representatives stronger than you?" He placed a hand on his chin after the question, wondering who might be stronger than the butler.
The third year, perhaps? No.
While his scanner had displayed the same result it did when scanning Adrian, the way the butler had treated Cassian earlier made it clear that he didn’t view the third year as a threat.
The West’s representatives were also out of the question.
Darius, Orion, even Cedric.
Conan was certain Adrian was stronger than all of them.
As for the Church’s representatives...
His scanner had shown that they were weaker than Adrian as well, yet something about them felt off, almost as though what he was seeing was merely a façade hiding something beneath.
As for Lady Renelle—
Adrian suddenly interrupted his thoughts before he could think too much and said,
"There’s no way I’ll stand above my lady."