Chapter 84

Chapter 84

In the lobby of the Void Space terminal connected to the Black Lotus Seas, the atmosphere was markedly different from the usual bustle of heroes from around the world. Hundreds of screens were floating in the air, each broadcasting vivid scenes of students fighting various monsters, the views of the many familiars spread throughout the area.

And every so often, the many professors observing the screens would say something calmly.

“Team number 21, six Lotus Boars; score distribution: 192 points for A, 108 points for B. Team number 27, eight Black Dracos; score distribution: 108 points for A, 132 points for B...”

As each pair of students hunted down monsters, their individual contributions were evaluated and points were allocated accordingly. It was an easy matter for the professors, who all possessed perception-type skills, to evaluate every single pair of students without missing anything. It didn’t matter even if there were multiple pairs in simultaneous battle.

Tap. Tap.

Listening to the professors’ assessments, the teacher assistants inputted the scores while occasionally glancing at the screens.

He seems to fight better in actual combat and is actually quite adept at taking down monsters.

His spirit-type skills are impressive, but he’s too dependent on his spirit. With such a narrow field of view...

Aside from being an assessment, the practical doubled as an opportunity for professors, acquaintances, and clients who requested special attention be paid to certain budding talents to assess the abilities of notable underclassmen.

And of those notable underclassmen, there was one pair of students that stood out.

“Team number 256, eight Lotus Boars; score distribution: 281 points for A, 119 points for B.”

“Again, Team number 256, five Black Dracos; score distribution: 30 points for A, 120 points for B.”

“Again, team number 256, seven Lotus Rabbits...”

Unlike the intermittent updates for other teams, the evaluation for team number 256 continued relentlessly. Naturally, upon hearing that a single team was earning points at an abnormally fast rate, rushing ahead like a runaway train, the attention of those nearby was drawn to the screen.

Whoosh!

Different from the majority who were cautiously maneuvering through the zone, the two students of team number 256 were effortlessly speeding through the forest.

Seeing the ridiculous scene displayed on the screen, one of the teacher assistants incredulously murmured, “They’re able to run through that place...?”

The terrain of the Black Lotus Seas was difficult to traverse; it was muddy, covered by overgrown tree roots, and coated with a mix of plant slime and moss. It was a common occurrence that students tripped while passing through. And yet, Se-Hoon and Jake were calmly running as if they were on flat ground.

It makes sense that Jake could do that, but what about Lee Se-Hoon?

Is he really from the Department of Blacksmithing?

Seeing their adept maneuvering across the treacherous paths, the staff glanced at their own assigned screens for comparison.

「Agh!」

「Hey, get up now!」

Compared to everyone else who was tumbling and rolling across the ground during their fights against monsters, the seasoned movements of the two stood out in stark contrast.

「Roar!!」

Emerging from the sticky mud in front of Jake and Se-Hoon, three monsters—each about three meters in size, with black lotus flowers and stems protruding all over the body— were moving around by dragging their legless forms with their large arms. Blocking their path were the C-rank monsters, the Lotus Golems. Standing among the pinnacle of monsters in the Black Lotus Seas, each was worth a whopping four hundred points.

“Hm. It looks like they’ll finally come to a halt.”

“I agree, those monsters are incredibly tough.”

Densely packed with lotus stems and mud, the golem’s defense against physical attacks was on par with B-rank monsters. And even if one managed to scrape it, it would just immediately regenerate by absorbing the surrounding soil.

With three such monstrous creatures present, defeating them without stopping their jog across the terrain like before would be challenging.

Convinced that would be the result, everyone watched the screen.

Whoosh!

Three white daggers shot from Se-Hoon’s fingertips, each piercing deeply into a Lotus Golem’s body. However, that was all they seemingly did—the observers were all puzzled by the attack that hadn’t even left a scratch on the massive creature.

Swoosh!

At that moment, Jake accelerated forward.

Swish-!

Seeing the blue trail extending from his waist, the staff followed the trajectory and were left dumbfounded by the sight of the weapon they found at the end.

“...A sword?”

Sparkling like starlight, the greatsword gleamed blue.

Its beauty, resembling a work of art, captured the focus of everyone watching. Meanwhile, the Lotus Golems’ bodies, which the blue sword had passed through, began to crumble.

Thud!

Thanks to Se-Hoon’s daggers piercing the cores within them that powered their regenerative abilities, the golems were split in half without even being given a chance to regenerate.

“...”

“...”

Contrary to what the observers thought, the two were far from even slowing down. They continued on their way, effortlessly neutralizing any obstacles and advancing deeper into the Danger Zone. All the staff could do was watch in stunned silence; the performance of the two students had far exceeded their expectations.

“Team number 256, three Lotus Golems; score distribution: 800 points for A, 400 points for B,” Kasar said calmly with his arms crossed. He asked for confirmation.

“Is this score distribution satisfactory?”

“Ah, yes. That should be just right.”

“Then let’s not get too distracted and focus on the scoring process. Any omissions will result in a disciplinary report, professors included!”

“Yes, yes!”

Swiftly reviving the bustling atmosphere, Kasar looked at Jake, who was running across the screen.

That boy... since when could he wield a sword?

Jake, the second son of the Myers family, was known for reducing countless mastercrafted swords to scrap metal. In the end, he ultimately abandoned the path of swordsmanship to join the Department of Martial Arts.

His heart was racing inside his chest, its speed maintained by the blood art. Initially, he struggled with controlling his breath, but after a few minutes, he quickly adapted to the fast rate.

It took me months to reach this state... seeing him adapt so quickly is slightly irksome.

Rather than being jealous of Jake’s talent, Se-Hoon was simply uncomfortable seeing Jake use less time and effort compared to himself. Dissatisfied, he glanced at Jake before clearing his throat.

“Jake, let’s get moving again.”

“Ah, okay.”

The two resumed running through the forest, with Jake scanning their surroundings.

“It’s getting harder to spot monsters. Is it because the other students are catching them too?”

“Most likely, yes.”

Given the vastness of the Black Lotus Seas and its reputation for inhabiting numerous monsters, the presence of nearly a thousand students stirring its interior meant that there was going to be some significant change to the ecosystem. It was likely that the monsters would begin to form groups among themselves when taking into consideration the monsters’ tendency to act collectively despite being different species.

This seems like enough training for Jake for now.... Maybe it’s time to wake up the Divine Tree, thought Se-Hoon.

Before the regression, the Divine Tree remained hidden in the Danger Zone thanks to being dormant deep underground and perceived as an ordinary plant. Thus, like a plant, awakening it from its dormant state required Se-Hoon to find its roots.

There’s an easy way to find it, but... that method is kind of difficult right now.

Rather than relying on the slight chance of finding the root coincidentally, he decided that diligently searching for it would be the better approach. Deciding to use the Eyes of Clairvoyance, he prepared himself, but at that moment, a voice sounded.

—Ah, ah. This is an emergency announcement.

Kasar’s voice emanated from the emblem on their cloaks.

“Emergency announcement...?”

“Let’s stop here for a moment.”

Halting their run, the two paid close attention to the announcement flowing from the emblem.

—Currently, throughout the Black Lotus Seas, there are multiple signs of a possible appearance of an area boss. And although this is quite unexpected, we believe the situation is manageable, so we’re going to be adding a few new rules.

Whoosh!

The emblem pulsated with mana and a blue window appeared before them—it was a map of the Black Lotus Seas with blue, white, and red dots marked on it.

—As you can probably tell, on the map, the blue dot represents your current location, the white dots are where the Mist Forests have emerged, and the red dots are the potential locations of the area boss.

Alongside Kasar’s explanation, each mentioned dot lightly glowed. Then, the white dots began to twinkle.

—Those who enter a Mist Forest and destroy the Lotus Tree within will receive a reward of three thousand points each.

“Three thousand points...?”

Jake’s eyes widened at the announcement. An additional three thousand points on top of the points earned from normal combat was a pretty substantial amount, significant enough to shuffle the rankings of even the current top-ranking students, let alone those in the middle tier.

—And if the area boss, the Lotus Hive, is encountered, there will be no limit on the number of participants. Each participant in the subjugation of the Lotus Hive will receive a reward of one thousand points. Furthermore, the total points allocated to the battle will be...

Pausing briefly, he let the anticipation grow before he continued with a hint of amusement in his voice.

—A total of fifty thousand points, distributed based on contribution.

“...”

—Based on the data, the Lotus Hive is expected to appear within the hour, so it would be best to move quickly. That is all.

Digesting the information, Jake quickly came up with a strategy.

Fifty thousand points distributed based on contribution.... It sounds like it’ll be split thin, but it definitely won’t be.

The Lotus Hive, while less formidable in combat, possessed robust durability and regenerative capabilities. Hence, only those who could leave a significant scratch would be rewarded with points, likely concentrating the contribution scores among the top-ranking students.

A single person might even receive tens of thousands of points...

For the students in the lower ranks, it might simply be a daunting challenge, but for those at the top, participation was essential.

Fully understanding the situation, Jake looked directly at Se-Hoon.

“I think we should head towards the area boss right now to prepare in advance. What do you say?”

“...”

Instead of responding, Se-Hoon examined the map.

The Graveyard of Lotuses, the location where the area boss would probably appear, was only a ten-minute run away. They could easily reach it now, but his focus was elsewhere.

It seems today’s my lucky day.

His gaze settled on a white dot near them, a marker of a Mist Forest. Within it would be a Lotus Tree, the core of the Mist Forest, which was unbeknownst to most as a root of the Divine Tree. Now, when everyone was focused on the area boss, was the perfect opportunity to approach the root unnoticed and awaken the Divine Tree.

I can just wake it up and make it seem like I just somehow stumbled upon it. Then, I can call the professors to come subjugate it.

Even if he wasn’t directly responsible for the subjugation, discovering the hidden threat could earn him far more points than defeating the area boss. Plus, if he negotiated it well with Ludwig, Ludwig could secure a significant amount of by-products from the Divine Tree for him. It was flawless.

Trying his best not to grin, he pointed toward the white dot.

“Let’s make a detour to this Mist Forest before we go.”

“What? We could easily secure first place just by taking down the area boss. Why bother—”

Cutting off Jake’s grumbling, Se-Hoon quelled him with a simple reply: “So you’re saying that you don’t want me to forge you a spare sword?”

“You look a bit tired. Should I slow down the pace? Or do you want me to carry you?” Like he had never been reluctant, Jake became extremely polite.

And seeing this—Jake’s eagerness to reclaim the hostage—Se-Hoon smiled slyly.

“Great. Carry me then.”

“...”

Now tasked with carrying Se-Hoon, who was heavier than him, Jake ran toward the Mist Forest with a mix of emotions playing across his face.