Chapter 5

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Boss Cao continued, “Hands down. I assume most of you who got the question wrong chose B. The option was there to trick you…”

In fairness, Mr Cao’s lecture was clear and concise, covering all their blind spots and how to rectify them in the future. It was a shame that most of Chen’an’s classmates viewed him as just another dictator because of his position as Year Head. Mr Cao went through the questions one by one, before stopping at one he wanted them to pay extra attention to.

“One of you will have the honor of explaining the solution of this question to us.”

[Warning! Chemistry Teacher has activated his skill: choosing victims for execution.]

[There exists a chasm between the knowledge possessed by teacher and student. If Chemistry Teacher’s target fails to meet his standards, they will suffer a ‘public execution’ for the next minute, during which one point of their Lifeblood will be reduced every second. That is, unless they die before 60 seconds is up.]

That was… unexpected. Did this mean Chen’an was about to hear his name called?

Mr Cao’s voice rang out, effectively answering his question. “Chen’an, come explain the question to us.”

Mr Cao’s gaze was uncharacteristically benevolent. Chen’an’s chemistry results had been enough to win his favor–regardless of his performance in his other subjects. He had only scored 88 marks on this mock-exam, but Mr Cao had seen his script and knew that he had lost 6 marks to carelessness, and the remaining 6 on the more challenging questions. All in all, satisfactory results, especially since the higher-order questions had been originally meant for students of Imperial College.

Chen’an had a natural gift for chemistry, but he harbored no illusions about getting into Imperial College, which was why he wasn’t fretting over his lost marks. He loosed a breath he had been holding. Considering how dramatic the warning from the system had been, this was a little anticlimactic. This would be a piece of cake.

He stood up and explained his solution confidently.

“Excellent. Chen’an’s technique of simplifying questions by using the characteristics of matter as a binding principle is effective. You can try it if you encounter any difficulty.”

[The effects of being the BOSS Chemistry Teacher’s chosen victim have disappeared. You successfully avoided his attack.]

Sighs echoed from some of his classmates. “Chen’an’s a real marvel. I heard he only scored 88 marks this time, though,” said one of them, who was labeled ‘Struggling Student’.

“Who cares? He’s way above us both, with our–what, forty, fifty marks? We’re nothing like him,” replied another aptly-named ‘Struggling Student’. They trailed off into silence.

[Your stellar accomplishments have wounded the self-esteem of two Chemistry Failures.]

[Chemistry Failure #1’s current Lifeblood: -22]

[Chemistry Failure #2’s current Lifeblood: -20]

[Congratulations on defeating two Chemistry Failures. You have gained 4 experience points and 8 gold coins.]

[Model Worker envies your skill in chemistry and feels inferior. Her current Lifeblood: -14]

Chen’an was caught unawares by the influx of notifications–so many defeats, all at once!

He eyed the two classmates who had spoken; sure enough, the monster icons over their heads were gone. A thrill shot through his heart.

So, I can kill more than one target at a time.

It would be like luring every child in the vicinity to him with a couple of sweets, only to eliminate them all without lifting a finger. In other words: a massacre.

His breathing hitched sharply. The importance of this discovery couldn’t be understated.

Killing individual monsters couldn’t compare to the relish of destroying them in packs, herds, groups, whatever. Once, a game called ‘Unrivaled Mower’ shot to popularity because of its concept, which involved plowing down monsters like cutting grass. Especially since his experience from earlier had proven that he didn’t have the time to think of ways to defeat monsters one by one–twenty minutes, and he had only landed three kills!

Chen’an was so absorbed in his own excitement that he didn’t notice that Mr Cao’s eyes had been boring into him for ten seconds straight.

[Chemistry Teacher has unleashed his skill: Death Stare. He has honed this skill over years of practice. The Death Stare causes damage for every second that it lasts.]

[Current Lifeblood: -6]

The second notification blinked across his vision repeatedly. Godammit! So much damage–

Chen’an shook himself back to reality and fixed his gaze on the blackboard. Only then did Mr Cao retract his glare.

Those few seconds had cost him 36 drops of Lifeblood. If he had reacted any slower, the Death Stare would have–appropriately–killed him right then and there!

This was bad news. Chen’an hadn’t even had the chance to attack Mr Cao, and he had nearly lost his life to him. He should have expected nothing less from the dungeon BOSS.

Once bitten, twice shy. Chen’an kept his stare focused on the blackboard, warding off his complacency–and Mr Cao’s Death Stare. Still, the urge to kill multiple monsters at once was an itch demanding to be scratched. The next time Mr Cao directed a question to the class, several students raised their hands, but Chen’an beat them to it by standing up.

Five monsters were defeated in a single stroke, including three Model Workers.

Immediately, Chen’an advanced one level and gained one attribute point.

The system alarm sounded.

[Congratulations on completing the beginner dungeon. You have defeated 11 regular monsters, 0 special monsters, 0 elite monsters, and 0 head monsters.]

[Main task: Completed]

[Number of side tasks completed: 0]

[Rate of increase in rewards, based on your performance: 0%]

[You have gained 20 experience points, 50 gold coins, and a micro dungeon treasure chest.]

He had passed. Relief flowed through Chen’an’s heart like cool water before checking his updated stats window.

[Name: Chen’an]

[Level: 2]

[Title: None]

[Experience: 22/50]

[Lifeblood: 60]

[Vitality: 6]

[Power: 6]

[Agility: 6]

[Spirit: 8]

[Charm: 5]

[Luck: 1]

[Potential points: 1]

[Achievement points: 6]

[Gold coins: 64]

[Skills: High school physics, high school chemistry, high school mathematics, high school biology, high school history, junior high school Chinese, junior high school English]

[Items: 1 micro dungeon treasure chest]