Chapter 441: Dak Demon瞭望 Stage (4k)
In the castle corridors, both students and professors moved about hurriedly.
First-year students were preparing for their final exams, while second to sixth years were not only preparing for their final exams but also for the House Competition. The sixth years were additionally busy with graduation matters.
The once relatively relaxed atmosphere of the academy had become increasingly tense.
Even Dak found himself having to postpone his research on “Capital Sins” until next month.
For this month, he decided to extract and store any “Capital Sins” that exceeded the 90-point standard as much as possible, saving them for later use.
Additionally, he had a partially completed “Transfiguration Spell,” but he lacked the time to delve into its spellwriting, and Professor Kazel seemed increasingly busy, making him hesitant to disturb him.
However, thinking about the three-month holiday ahead, he could easily continue these studies after returning home.
He wasn’t planning to go out much anyway, so he might as well find something productive to do.
With his decision made, Dak focused on his final exams, especially the astronomy project—an assignment he found completely daunting!
If he could see fewer constellations in the Zodiac Labyrinth, he might still manage to analyze the differences and identify the most suitable constellation for him.
Even if it wasn’t precise, there was at least a starting point for his analysis.
But who could have imagined that he would see all eighty-eight constellations in the Zodiac Labyrinth?
This seemingly unsolvable problem plagued him for an entire week.
It wasn’t until the second Wednesday of May that he reluctantly gave up and sought help from Professor Metia.
Professor Metia’s gaze left a deep impression on him.
After learning the answer, he couldn’t help but ask, “Could there be multiple inner constellations?”
Professor Metia simply replied, “Ordinarily, no, but some people are born extraordinary, like you.”
Dak felt a bit embarrassed.
No one knew better than he did how extraordinary he was, but was his uniqueness really appropriate?
What good were eighty-eight inner constellations? Were they meant for writing eighty-eight papers?
“That’s your own problem,” Professor Metia stifled a laugh. “Regardless, the assignment has been set. How you approach it is up to you; I’m only responsible for grading.”
Dak: “…”
…
Thus, Dak was forced to compile information on all eighty-eight constellations, write a lengthy analysis, and attempt a “prophecy interpretation” based on the last scene he witnessed in the Zodiac Labyrinth.
Regarding “prophecy interpretation,” it was essentially a vague prediction of recent experiences.
The flames spouting from beneath him symbolized entering danger, with the fire representing a disaster related to fire.
This was the extent of the “prophecy interpretation.”
Naturally, after the interpretation, he needed to seek a countermeasure.
Generally, water overcomes fire.
So, to counteract a fire hazard, one should seek water-related items.
Dak indeed wrote this in his assignment.
But his true thoughts were: “Isn’t staying indoors enough?”
After all, he wasn’t planning on going out anyway.
So, he didn’t pay too much attention.
By the third week of May, he finally completed the final exam for astronomy.
In the first two weeks, he had extracted 5 drops of “Pride” and 5 drops of “Greed,” leaving him with 6.5 points of “Pride” and 6.5 points of “Greed,” all stored in the worm tree.
Then, on Thursday afternoon of the third week, the final assignment for History of Magic was finally assigned!
History of Magic, being a core subject, had traditionally used a combination of theoretical exams and classroom debates for assessment.
But each professor had their own ideas.
Professor Ryan Hux believed that theoretical exams in History of Magic weren’t very meaningful and changed it to an open-book essay format, similar to astronomy.
He listed eight topics, allowing students to choose freely.
However, each topic was quite challenging and dull, causing the young magi to groan.
Unlike astronomy, which was an elective, History of Magic was a core subject.
Failing this course meant facing retakes, remedial classes, or even repeating a year—truly disastrous!
Thus, despite their inner protests, first-year students continued to diligently gather information and complete their assignments.
Dak was no different. His spare time was spent shuttling between the library and dormitory, becoming increasingly busy.
Apart from History of Magic, other courses gradually announced their assessment methods.
Summoning Spell, Mana Theory, Potions, and Duel Class combined theory exams with practical assessments.
Only Arithmetic Class and Beast Mastery had only theory exams.
Beast Mastery had lower requirements and was temporarily classified as an elective.
All practical assessments were scheduled for the fourth week of May, with theory exams beginning on the 28th.
In short, essays, experiments, and reviews filled the students’ entire month of May.
As a result, interest in the Academy Cup competition waned significantly.
Many students only realized the House Competition was starting when they looked up from their intense studying.
Although first-year students couldn’t participate, the collective honor ingrained by centuries of tradition still deeply affected them.
The atmosphere between students from different houses deteriorated considerably.
“The competition lasts from Friday night at 8 PM to Sunday night at 8 PM, totaling 48 hours.”
“Second to sixth-year students from each house will select three students per grade to form teams, enter the dungeon for adventure, and calculate scores based on their group’s behavior.”
“Before the competition starts, the school will release high-scoring tasks. Completing these tasks early earns high scores.”
“Additionally, defeating boss monsters and exploring unknown areas earn extra points.”
“Lower grades receive a weighted coefficient compared to higher grades.”
“Therefore, in the dungeon adventure competition, the scores of higher grades aren’t necessarily guaranteed to surpass those of lower grades.”
“Unfortunately, the dungeon adventure competition isn’t live-streamed; we can only estimate the situation through changes in house scores.”
Dak put down the rulebook and returned to his studies.
He wasn’t particularly interested in others’ dungeon adventures.
Next year would be his stage.
…
Not until seven o’clock on Sunday night did he finally put down his pen and leave the dormitory for the common room.
The common room was already crowded.
Students from the Noble Academy gathered here, intensely discussing score changes.
The twenty teams from the four houses in the dungeon were clearly speeding up in the last hour, with temporary scores rising rapidly.
Dak found the first-year students and sat beside Tudor, asking, “How are things? Who has the advantage?”
Tudor, flushed with excitement, immediately said, “Of course, the Noble Academy has the advantage!”
But the chubby Pistons beside him appeared nervous, “A slight lead, but it could be overtaken at any moment. This year, the Mana Academy is really strong!”
Dak took out his House Selection Card, opened the bar chart, and indeed noticed that the Noble Academy’s temporary credits were slightly higher than the Mana Academy’s. The Knight Academy and Fool’s Academy were also closing in quickly.
The overall strength gap among the four houses wasn’t as significant as imagined. Each grade selected top-tier contestants, making it hard to tell who was ahead.
“Isn’t it still half an hour until the critical period?” Dak thought, then said.
Pistons immediately nodded, “Yes, half an hour later, the strongest task boss in this dungeon competition will appear. Whoever finds and defeats this boss within half an hour is likely to take the lead. Even the currently lowest-scoring Fool’s Academy has a chance to win instantly!”
“The strongest task boss… It’s unlikely that second and third-year students, even if they find it, could defeat it.”
Dak glanced at the House Selection Card again and suddenly exclaimed, “Has the Fool’s Academy completed some high-score task?”
Almost simultaneously, a series of exclamations echoed in the common room.
The bar chart representing the Fool’s Academy surged dramatically, lifting it from the lowest to the highest score!
Dak turned slightly and saw Tudor pounding the table in frustration, looking like someone who had just lost a game.
Pistons hurriedly lifted the gap, consoling, “Don’t panic, Tudor. We still have a chance!”
“Yes, never give up until the end, never give up!” Tudor clenched his fist, muttering repeatedly to calm down.
Dak observed further and found many students were as excited as Tudor.
He couldn’t help but think, “Why do these people seem more invested in the Academy Cup than I am?”
His interest in the Academy Cup stemmed from his need for the Holy Grail.
But these classmates seemed to care solely due to their sense of honor for the Noble Academy?
…
Just as Dak was analyzing the psychology of his classmates, the bar chart on the House Selection Card changed dramatically again.
The Knight Academy, Mana Academy, and even the Noble Academy, which had fallen to second place, seemed to have completed some high-score tasks, causing their temporary scores to skyrocket.
Then, with only half an hour left before the dungeon competition, the growth rate suddenly slowed.
According to senior students, this was likely because the four academies’ senior groups had simultaneously discovered the strongest boss!
“How many points does this task boss offer?” Dak couldn’t help but ask.
Pistons immediately picked up a piece of information and looked at it, then raised his head, “One hundred thousand points.”
“One hundred thousand points?” Dak pondered, “I remember that in the Academy Cup duel matches, winning a match gives ten thousand points, right?”
Pistons nodded, “That’s correct. The duel matches follow a house competition format. First, there are grade-level matches, followed by cross-grade matches. Each grade sends one representative, and each person gets one opportunity to challenge a higher grade.
Winning a duel earns ten thousand base points, and winning against a higher grade earns another ten thousand base points. The academy with the most points receives an additional one hundred thousand bonus points.”
“In other words, these one hundred thousand points can offset the final victory bonus in the duel competition.”
Dak narrowed his eyes.
Since these were temporary points, their massive quantity didn’t matter much; what mattered was the difference.
A difference of one hundred thousand points could determine the outcome.
And if the strongest task boss in the dungeon competition and the duel competition’s winner came from different academies, then determining the final winner would depend on other accumulated factors.
At this point, the actual total points and the temporary points converted from final exam scores would play a significant role.
…
The atmosphere became noticeably tense, with students in the common room closely watching the House Selection Card’s bar charts, waiting for the final results.
With only two minutes left until eight o’clock, the Mana Academy’s temporary score bar suddenly jumped upward!
Instantly, cries of despair filled the room!
“It’s over, this year’s Holy Grail is done for!”
“Why is it the Mana Academy? Why is it the Mana Academy?”
“Quick, calculate the score gap…”
Students’ cries echoed everywhere, accompanied by the sound of tables being pounded.
Beside Tudor, who was pale with worry, Dak calculated the score gap immediately, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
The slight advantage the Noble Academy had initially established played a role, and the score gap between the two academies was still less than one hundred thousand.
This meant that as long as the Noble Academy won the duel match, they had a good chance of winning the Academy Cup.
In other words, there was still hope.
Having hope was better than having none.
The atmosphere gradually eased.
Lower-grade students began to discuss excitedly.
Senior students, however, seemed deflated, lowering their heads and leaving one by one.
Watching their reactions, Dak crossed his fingers and estimated, “Looks like we’ll have to prepare ourselves for not winning the Holy Grail this year.”
Winning the Academy Cup’s duel competition wasn’t easy, especially with the presence of the “Silver Dragon Lady” in the Mana Academy’s fourth-year class.
Last year’s duel competition was similar; the “Silver Dragon Lady” not only won a point in her own grade’s duels but also secured a second point in cross-grade challenges, helping the Mana Academy win the final duel competition.
If the Noble Academy hadn’t gained such a large advantage in the dungeon competition, they wouldn’t have won the Academy Cup last year.
“Well, everything depends on oneself.”
Dak took a deep breath and stood up from his seat.
Fortunately, his current need for the Holy Grail wasn’t as urgent.
With Professor Harvey’s help, the “Soul Curse” had advanced to the beginner level.
Through persistent effort, he had also reached the threshold for a breakthrough in the “Technique of the Shadow God.”
Dak patted Tudor’s shoulder, saying, “Don’t lose heart. Even if we lose this year, there’s always next year.”
