An overwhelming number of monsters surrounded Xu Ran and Leng Su.
"They're debuffed, but there are too many of them," Xu Ran thought.
"I'll have to get a bit more serious."
He charged straight toward the monsters.
His one-ton hammer, measuring 2.11 meters in length, spun in his hand before he violently hurled it forward.
The hammer slammed into the group, sending two to three monsters crashing into the others and compressing them into a dense mass, while Xu Ran leapt into the air, gathering momentum.
The hammer reappeared in his hand, and with a powerful aerial strike, he smashed down onto the cluster of monsters, shattering their encirclement.
[Monsters eliminated: Lv. 3 ×3, Lv. 4 ×3 | +300 EXP ×3, +400 EXP ×3]
Xu Ran — [Lv. 6 ; 6.66%]
The experience gained was shared within the party.
A golden light enveloped Xu Ran's body.
"Oh… looks like I leveled up," he thought inwardly.
He then continued running in a circular path around Leng Su, preventing the monsters from approaching her while continuing to eliminate them.
The circle gradually shrank.
He threw his hammer to scatter the monsters, then returned to close combat to finish off those he reached, dodging their attacks while targeting their weak points thanks to his Preda-Sense, before recalling his weapon.
At times, several monsters leapt at him simultaneously, but he swept them away with a single hammer strike, the speed of his blows greatly amplifying his attack power.
Meanwhile, the teachers watched the battle.
— That child is impressive! exclaimed Mr. Jiang.
— He has a very high Martial Intelligence Quotient (MIQ), added Mr. Luo.
Martial Intelligence Quotient (MIQ): the ability to think quickly and effectively in combat, allowing one to defeat opponents who are physically stronger or appear superior.
— No, it's because of his hammer. I bet it's a magical weapon. Otherwise, how could a Lv. 5 wield such a heavy and massive weapon with that kind of speed? interjected Ms. Leng.
— I understand what you mean, Ms. Leng, replied the principal. But I don't think Xu Ran's family could afford such a weapon. I believe it's due to something else.
He turned toward Mr. Yan.
— Mr. Yan! Has Xu Ran awakened his profession?
Mr. Yan gently shook his head.
— No… at least, he didn't tell me anything about it. Maybe he awakened it just before the exam!
— Looks like Mr. Yan doesn't want to tell us anything!
— Yeah, he must want to surprise us.
"I'm just as surprised as you are, you know…" Mr. Yan thought inwardly.
— That's enough, everyone, the principal said, calming the group. We'll ask Xu Ran directly after the exam.
In the forest, Xu Ran had already eliminated all the monsters.
— Devour, he said.
The bodies vanished instantly.
A total of 32 monsters had been eliminated:
18 Lv. 3,
9 Lv. 4,
5 Lv. 5.
Xu Ran — [Lv. 7 ; 9.5% | CP: 145,000 | Health: 70% | Energy: 50%]
Leng Su — [Lv. 6 ; 3% | Health: 100% | Energy: 100%]
Team Points: 19,500
Xu Ran rested his hammer on his shoulders and declared:
— Very well. Let's continue.
They then moved to another area, methodically continuing their zone clearing.
In the inner zone, Lin Xue — (Lv. 10) — and her ice clone were surrounded by three players: two at level 7 and one at level 8.
Before they could even attack, the ground began to freeze, spreading from Lin Xue's feet to theirs, immobilizing their legs.
They didn't have time to break free.
Lin Xue's ice clone lunged at them and ended the fight.
On the Blue Star, player evolution occurred in two stages: biological and magical.
Leveling up did not grant stat points to distribute. Each level increase simply expanded the individual's natural physical and mental limits.
Thus, even though leveling up represented a complete evolution, the individual had not yet reached their full potential. That full potential had to be reached through training.
Professions oriented toward physical combat prioritized body training, while those related to magic and mental techniques prioritized training the mind.
Training therefore played a major role in an individual's true strength.
Most students could only rely on the school dungeon's training sessions, exploiting not even 50% of their full potential.
In contrast, wealthy families rented dungeons and hired players to provide their children with training adapted to their profession.
This created a colossal gap, even between two individuals of the same level.
Three hours later, in the outer zone.
Xu Ran was sitting atop a pile of monster corpses, his hammer resting on his shoulders. He exhaled.
— This is the last spot.
He then activated Devour, and the corpses vanished beneath him.
Xu Ran — [Lv. 9 ; 8% | CP: 429,000 | Health: 40% | Energy: 20%]
Leng Su — [Lv. 8 ; 8.75% | Health: 40% | Energy: 100%]
Team Points: 47,900
A total of 281 monsters eliminated (33 Lv. 3, 21 Lv. 4, and 16 Lv. 5), not counting the previous 32.
— Good. It's time to join the PVP war. We're heading to the inner zone, he said to Leng Su.
She nodded while tossing out a packet of energy bars. Xu Ran also took out one and consumed it.
"This is my second use," he thought.
Chocolate Energy Bar (Consumable)
Description:
A chocolate-shaped energy bar. Instantly restores the consumer's vitality and energy.
Effects (limited by accumulation over 12 hours):
1st use:
+50% Total Health | +50% Total Energy
2nd use (within 12 hours):
+25% Total Health | +25% Total Energy
3rd use (within 12 hours):
+10% Total Health | +10% Total Energy
4th use:
No effect (body saturated)
Restrictions:
Effect only applies to players level 10 or below
Consumable item
Effect reset time: 12 hours
Xu Ran — [Lv. 9 ; 8% | CP: 429,000 | Health: 65% | Energy: 45%]
Leng Su — [Lv. 8 ; 8.75% | Health: 90% | Energy: 100%]
They then headed toward the inner zone.
Meanwhile, a level 10 student was walking, his heart pounding wildly.
The place he was in felt unnaturally strange. The trees were far too close together, total darkness surrounded him, and no sound could be heard.
Without realizing it, he had entered the heart of the dungeon—and it most dangerous area.
— …What is this place… he murmured, watching every step carefully.
A chilling sensation suddenly ran down his spine.
He instantly understood that something was watching him, though he didn't know from where.
Crack.
He spun around abruptly, pointing his weapon. His heart was pounding violently.
But he saw nothing.
He let out a sigh of relief.
Then, something fell onto his shoulders.
He panicked, before calming down when he realized it felt like droplets of water.
"Is it… rain? Inside a dungeon?" he thought as he looked up.
His eyes met horror.
An enormous gaping mouth loomed directly above him.
Before he had time to react, the jaws snapped shut, fangs piercing his throat.
His head was severed.
His body collapsed to the ground, headless.
End
Notes:
Number of participating students: 101
Number of students returned to the field: 50
Number of deaths: 36
Number of remaining students: 15