Chapter 568: Dark Demon’s Harvest Season (4K)
“Is it that fast?”
Dark’s heart stirred, and he looked around before heading towards the task wall.
The task wall located on the side of the hall was a projection device capable of real-time updates on task data.
Compared to the club cards that refreshed only at six and twelve o’clock, the content on this task board was clearly more precise.
He shifted his gaze and quickly found the “Secret of Intelligence” mission.
“Let me see, the one who accepted the task is… Maly Bond?”
“Hey, did you call me?”
The sudden voice from behind startled Dark. Adjusting his expression, he turned around and indeed saw Maly, now a third-year student.
“Did you post this task?” Maly asked, shaking the copied paper in her hand with a sly smile.
Dark raised his head and said, “Good afternoon, Maly Senpai, what a coincidence.”
Maly smiled, “It’s not a coincidence. I went to accept your task because I saw you posted it. I was planning to go to the dungeon tomorrow afternoon, so I thought I might as well help you out. By the way, do you have a guide yet?”
Dark said regretfully, “I want to go to the dungeon alone.”
“It seems we lack some chemistry,” Maly pretended to sigh. “Then can you tell me why you posted this task? You also noted to be careful of traps, right?”
Dark shrugged and said, “Someone deliberately sent that information to me, and I want to see what he’s made of.”
Maly’s eyes flickered, realizing there must be more to it, but she didn’t press further. Instead, she patted Dark’s shoulder and said, “If you need any help, don’t hesitate to find me.”
“Mal—”
A senpai called from afar.
“I’m coming!” Maly replied, waving at Dark, “I’ll go first, bye.”
Then she hurried off.
Dark nodded slightly and left the task hall.
…
In recent days, many second-year students frequently visited the task hall. Simple non-official tasks were often snatched up immediately once released.
As a result, Dark’s golem spirits rarely received tasks, and they meowed angrily in the clubroom.
However, “special talents” like these had no worries about finding tasks.
When Dark returned to the clubroom, he noticed that Little Cubone had not returned since morning, presumably enjoying a feast somewhere.
He shook his head, sat down, and carefully reviewed the content of the “Alchemy Class.”
Professor Kazel’s teachings were very profound, and those with slightly weaker comprehension abilities couldn’t follow at all.
Only the thirty students in the “Alchemy Class” were carefully selected by Professor Kazel, allowing them to understand some of the content.
Even so, most people, including Dark, needed to review after class to fully grasp the material.
Similar situations occurred in Professor Metia’s “Astrology Class.”
These elective courses were far more challenging than the main courses for second-year students.
To excel in these courses, Dark spent a lot of extra time studying.
And if Dark struggled, it was even harder for Lil’Eevee.
To help Lil’Eevee better understand the “Astrology Class,” Dark had to teach her personally, occasionally evolving her into a “Sun Elemental” to aid learning.
But even with this effort, Lil’Eevee’s progress remained unsatisfactory.
“Hard work can make up for shortcomings,” but there were limits.
She read almost every night, then fell asleep on her notebook.
Facing this situation, Dark could only encourage her more.
He hoped that once Lil’Eevee mastered the lessons, she could assist in crafting “Flower Cards” to prepare for the sudden surge of “Bliss.”
…
On Friday afternoon.
As soon as the hub connecting to Traveler’s Street opened, students rushed in.
Following the principle of “buy early, finish early,” Dark entered Traveler’s Street right away, spending two or three hours selecting materials for his first “Directed Formulation.”
The target of this “Directed Formulation” wasn’t hard to guess.
The most critical material on the list was the “Adler Worm’s eyeball.”
One list required ten Adler Worm eyeballs, resulting in a golem spirit with characteristics similar to its eyes.
The easiest association for beginners in “Directed Formulation” was the “Illusionary Worm.”
The “Illusionary Worm” was a standard two-star golem spirit card. Using this to create a golem spirit usually resulted in a purple card with two ultimate skills.
One of these skills was the fixed “Piercing Illusion Eye,” which primarily served to dispel illusions and invisibility!
For young magi, this was almost their first method of dispelling invisibility.
Whether in “Mana Duel” or real adventures, opponents capable of invisibility were extremely troublesome. A common method of dispelling invisibility was always essential.
Apart from “Piercing Illusion Eye,” the second ultimate skill of the “Illusionary Worm” related to its secondary attribute.
The primary attribute of the “Illusionary Worm” was “Insect,” while the secondary attributes could be “Flying,” “Poison,” “Fairy,” or “Light.”
Depending on the attribute, the types of “Illusionary Worms” varied slightly.
The auxiliary materials on the list were divided into four categories, with prices increasing progressively.
The cheapest “Feather Illusionary Worm” cost five hundred credits.
The most expensive “Spirit Illusionary Worm” cost fifteen hundred credits.
Dark didn’t plan to create two “Illusionary Worms.” He only bought two sets of “Spirit Illusionary Worm” materials, reserving one set for backup.
Although the “Illusionary Worm” was still useful, its combat capabilities were low. One as an auxiliary was sufficient.
Afterwards…
He spent a little over half an hour each at the “Public Dueling Society” and “Kitty Plant Shop,” then left Traveler’s Street.
Most of the time afterward was dedicated to studying.
…
Compared to other classmates, Dark Demon’s weekend life was undoubtedly dull and monotonous.
He could only derive limited joy from the ocean of knowledge, occasionally sunbathing with “Grass Cat Plants,” drinking tea in the evening, and enjoying the sunset.
Other students were either rushing in the task hall or sweating it out on the field of the Novice Tournament, celebrating youth.
At two o’clock on Sunday afternoon, after receiving the notification of completing the task, Dark returned to the task hall to collect the mission data submitted by Maly Senpai.
“Task completed smoothly, successfully defeating the boss, no traps encountered?”
Dark skimmed through the document briefly before putting it away and returning to the clubroom.
He then spread out the document again and read it carefully.
Maly Senpai’s handwriting was quite delicate, contrasting greatly with her outward appearance, easily identifiable as feminine.
Her writing style was also very meticulous, making it easy to feel as if one were present.
This dungeon expedition was a routine trio operation, with the final goal being the exploration of the twenty-third floor.
However, this was their itinerary, and the document did not elaborate on it.
Indeed, as she said, the “Secret of Intelligence” task was just a side job.
When Maly Senpai entered the dungeon on Friday afternoon, she directly used the “Gate Key (11)” to teleport to the eleventh floor’s safe zone.
Of course, the so-called safe zone was simply the entrance to each floor.
Each floor’s entrance had a special mana marker. The mana fluctuations released from these markers repelled monsters, creating a relatively safe environment.
But repelling did not mean banning entry; there was still a possibility of monsters entering.
Therefore, one could not completely relax in the safe zone.
After entering the eleventh floor, Maly and her team immediately retreated to the tenth floor, searching according to the coordinates provided.
They found the tier boss of the tenth floor in less than an hour!
That was the “Armor Swordsman,” a stronger type among the tier bosses that appeared on the tenth floor.
The body of the “Armor Swordsman” had long decayed, even its bones scattered with the wind, leaving only a thin layer of flesh clinging to the inside of the armor — but that was its essence!
The hollow armor was merely a disguise of the “Armor Swordsman.” If its inner flesh was not completely removed, it wouldn’t die.
But under overwhelming power, the “Armor Swordsman” was quickly defeated.
After its death, the residual power condensed into its left gauntlet, making it excellent material for crafting equipment cards.
Inside the grand hall guarded by the “Armor Swordsman,” Maly and her team found an iron treasure chest.
The chest contained several items, and they listed them in the document.
But Dark searched through it thoroughly and found nothing particularly significant.
Clearly, the most valuable item from the boss defeat was the gauntlet dropped by the “Armor Swordsman.”
Maly Senpai’s report ended here. The subsequent deepening of the adventure in the dungeon had nothing to do with Dark’s task.
…
After reading the entire document, Dark fell into deep thought.
This was an unexpected development.
The existence of the tenth-floor tier boss, the tangible treasure chest reward, and the non-existent trap all indicated that the intelligence provided by Cole Osiris was entirely accurate.
If not for Cole’s complete lack of secrecy, casually revealing how he obtained the intelligence, this would look like a routine intelligence transaction.
It might even raise doubts about whether Cole Osiris was lying.
For someone without integrity and easily swayed, it was impossible to prove the truthfulness of their words.
Dark scrutinized Maly’s submitted documents again, confirming everything was in order before putting them away.
The trail of investigation ended here.
Unless he personally went to verify the location indicated by the intelligence, it was unlikely he’d uncover more clues.
Dark vaguely sensed that this was probably due to the fact that he hadn’t been the one to defeat the boss, making the situation appear normal.
The dungeon had always been unpredictable.
Everyone’s experience in the dungeon differed.
But Dark didn’t plan to investigate personally.
He had enough patience to wait for the幕后之人 to slip up.
…
The last week of September.
The weather finally cooled down, and St. Maryan迎来了丰收的季节。
Surrounding the academy, the fruits in the thick forest ripened.
Occasionally, Dark heard stories of students secretly picking fruit and getting caught by professors, having to copy textbooks as punishment.
On Monday morning, he put down the “Wise One Daily” and picked up the “Clown Daily” as usual.
In September, the kingdom saw dramatic changes, with the Church of the Saints’ “Holy Judgment” action in full swing.
The faction supporting the eldest prince, leveraging the rising prestige of the saints, gradually gained momentum.
Conversely, the Valkyrie supporting the eldest princess remained relatively quiet during this period, seldom appearing in reports.
Dark snapped his fingers, and gray flames emerged from his fingertips, flickering like candlelight.
He stared at the “Underworld Fire” for a while, then waved his hand, drawing it back into his palm. Afterward, he slung his bag over his shoulder and left.
…
Young magi showed greater interest in “Mana Formulation” than in summoning spells.
Even in Professor Shylph’s class, some students occasionally lost focus. More than one person was caught and deducted points during the lesson.
Despite the cost, they finally welcomed the long-awaited “Mana Theory.”
The efforts of repeatedly completing tasks to earn materials finally paid off with the opportunity to receive equivalent rewards.
Second-year students gathered early in the experimental classroom for “Mana Theory,” each eagerly discussing methods of crafting “Illusionary Worms” and potential errors during the formulation process.
Of course, they were most interested in what kind of “Illusionary Worm” others chose to formulate.
If it was just for dispelling illusions and invisibility, the cheapest “Feather Illusionary Worm” was sufficient.
Though “Spirit Illusionary Worm” was rarer due to its light attribute, as a low-tier, weak two-star mana card, its rarity didn’t hold much practical significance.
Choosing to craft “Spirit Illusionary Worm” was more about showing wealth to some.
In other words…
More credits…
More freedom!
…
Yet, such “freedom” wasn’t exclusive to Dark.
While there weren’t many “rich” second-year students, there were still plenty.
Some managed to accumulate a large number of credits through their own efforts.
Like Diana and Rose, who dominated the Novice Tournament on Saturday morning, even sparing no mercy on the new third-year duelists, earning quite a few credits.
Emma and Sarah seemed to have always been well-off.
Diana and Rose didn’t plan to waste credits on crafting “Spirit Illusionary Worms.” Despite having some extra credits, they opted for the flying-type “Feather Illusionary Worm.”
Emma and Sarah, however, clearly made the same choice as Dark.
“Ding dong.”
With the ringing of the bell, Professor Kazel finally entered the classroom amidst everyone’s anticipation.
“Let’s get straight to the point. Today, we start learning Directed Formulation!”
