Chapter 633 “Subscribe Request” Halloween Hunting (9k)
The second-year students, who had experienced the “simulated exploration assessment” of the duel class, had a much deeper understanding of this mode.
Therefore, most of the second-year students, like Dark, immediately began to conquer resource points as soon as they entered the castle—otherwise, they would be taken by others!
The number of resource points within the castle was limited, and unlike the “simulated exploration assessment,” where each point could be harvested ten times for mana, these resource points would vanish after being conquered once.
Once someone seized a point, it meant that the available resource points would decrease by one.
As the later stages approached, the possibility of gathering twenty resource points became smaller.
Thus, in the early stages, it was best to conquer as many resource points as possible.
…
However, this experience wasn’t hard to deduce.
So, quite a few upperclassmen also began their actions immediately upon entering the castle.
Fortunately, Dark’s luck was still decent.
When he found his first resource point, no one else was around.
“Is this it?”
He looked up, saw the imp spirits flying overhead, patted the shoulder of the imp beast, and ordered it to enter the classroom where the resource point was located.
This year’s masquerade ball was clearly more dangerous than last year; even the appearance of ghosts seemed to have “evolved,” making them harder to guard against.
He heard screams frequently on his way, indicating that many students had been startled by the unpredictable ghosts.
Although the ghosts might not be very strong, they were truly disgusting!
“Huff—”
The imp beast flew back after circling the classroom.
Dark confirmed that the small dream spirit didn’t sense anything unusual before following the map’s instructions and entering the classroom—just as his right foot stepped inside, fresh blood suddenly dripped down.
“Drip!”
A crisp sound echoed in his ears.
That drop of blood, unknown in origin, landed on the ground.
Then, a bubbling blood spring emerged from under Dark’s foot.
He quickly withdrew his foot, but something seemed to stick it firmly to the ground, immobile.
“Dream spirit!”
Dark called out immediately, but no response came.
Immediately afterward, his vision turned completely red with blood.
…
“(o゜゜)o【BINGO!】”
Professor Lily, who had been staring at the mirror in the professor’s lounge, clenched her fist tightly.
Several arithmetic professors also cheered.
“Is this the ‘Blood Chamber’?” asked Professor Bacon, who was now in charge of third-year arithmetic classes.
Professor Bacon, in her forties, was the only other female among the arithmetic professors besides Lily.
She had shoulder-length flaxen hair, brown eyes slightly darker, pale skin, faint wrinkles on her forehead, deep-set eyes, and heavy dark circles, often looking tired.
But Professor Bacon was actually a very reliable and diligent professor.
Lily and she had always gotten along well.
Two meters away, Professor Heldred Bode, who taught second-year mana language, suddenly raised his head and said, “It’s my ‘Blood Chamber.’ What’s wrong?”
Professor Bode had naturally curly dark brown hair, slightly dry skin, a prominent nose like a hawk’s beak, and slightly sinister eyes.
Despite his poor reputation among students, his knowledge was genuine.
“Nothing,” Professor Bacon replied with a smile to Professor Bode.
Then, she turned her head and whispered to the other arithmetic professors, “Minutes?”
The professors rapidly extended their fingers.
Three, four, five, all of them.
Professor Yorkes, who taught elective arithmetic classes, pondered for a moment before extending both hands, “Nine minutes!”
Professor Lily blinked and said, “Then I guess… it will be cracked within a minute from now.”
“Heh.” A sudden cold laugh came from two meters away.
Although Professor Bode had high hopes for Dark, he did not think his “Blood Chamber” would be cracked within a minute.
After laughing, he quickly tapped the mirror, connecting it to the imp spirit at the entrance of the “Blood Chamber.”
Immediately, the image of the entrance to the “Blood Chamber” appeared in the mirror.
…
At the door of that classroom.
The “Mana Book” floated in the air, the incantation of the usual summoning spell was nearing its conclusion.
In front of it, Dark Demon maintained the posture of stepping into the room without moving.
But Dark’s consciousness had already entered the “Blood Chamber.”
As the name suggested, the “Blood Chamber” was a room drenched in blood.
The blood oozing from the corners of the walls emitted a foul odor, flowing rapidly to his feet, soaking his ankles in an instant.
Dark held his breath and observed calmly.
Thanks to the experience of the “simulated exploration assessment,” he remained calm despite the sudden entry into the “Blood Chamber.”
This blood-filled room was clearly an illusion.
Breaking the illusion would activate the resource point and summon elite-level ghosts.
The question was whether he would be attacked by “spirits” and “imps” while trapped in the illusion?
“Spirits” could steal credits.
“Imps” could seize resource points.
If already tracked by a “spirit,” he needed to break the illusion within three minutes to avoid losing credits.
Of course, since he hadn’t gained many credits during the activity, he didn’t need to worry too much.
What he truly needed to worry about was whether an “imp” would forcefully interfere.
If an “imp” caused trouble, he must break the illusion before the “imp.”
In short, it was a race.
Only faster, never slower!
Dark glanced around and slapped one of the walls.
Though the thick blood dripping from the wall was repulsive, if he didn’t touch it, he would be stuck there until failure was determined and he was kicked out of the “Blood Chamber.”
The magical reaction on the wall was obvious, and the key to breaking the illusion was undoubtedly on the wall.
“Bang!”
Sure enough, the blood on the wall suddenly changed, quickly coalescing into a complex sequence of mana language.
With his superior knowledge of mana language beyond second-year level, Dark immediately understood the intricacies of the mana language.
He immediately gathered mana in his fingertips, attempting to modify the characters and re-edit the sequence.
After modifying the first character, no more blood gushed from the cracks in the “Blood Chamber.”
After modifying the second character, the blood at his ankles receded.
After modifying the third character, the entire space was free of blood.
After modifying the fourth character, the entire sequence of mana language suddenly glowed, illuminating the entire “Blood Chamber,” gradually engulfing his vision.
When he regained his senses, Dark had already left the “Blood Chamber.”
He stood steadily at the door, noticing a blood-red flower blooming on the podium, and an elite ghost emerging from the bud with a fierce face.
In that instant, a snow-white figure flashed past him.
The “Deoxys” summoned by the “Mana Book” instantly leaped onto the podium, punching with white light bursting from its claw gauntlets.
“Kitty Punch!”
A shout.
The elite ghost was instantly shattered the moment it appeared!
“Mew.”
Deoxys snorted coldly, stomping down and crushing the blood-red flower into a pulp.
Immediately afterward, it picked up a seed from the pulp and casually threw it to Dark.
“A seed?”
Dark caught the seed and examined it closely.
This seed was about the size of a bean, with patterns resembling blood vessels on its surface, and a faint smell of blood when close.
He pondered briefly, muttering, “Could it be the seed of the ‘Vampire Carnivorous Flower’?”
Since he had only seen it in books, he couldn’t confirm it yet and decided to store it temporarily.
But if it really was the seed of the “Vampire Carnivorous Flower,” he could cultivate one in his dormitory.
After placing the “Vampire Carnivorous Flower” indoors, he could use a magic potion to remove its “bite” characteristic, feed it with blood, and produce “Bloodfruit.”
If the blood fed was of a single species, the “Bloodfruit” produced would possess some characteristics of that blood-related creature.
Dark had read about someone cultivating “Dragonblood Fruit” in books…
After leaving the classroom, Dark confirmed that no one was following him before taking out the selection card to check.
As the resource map unfolded again, he noticed a circle drawn on the marker of this resource point.
“This should be the mark of a completed conquest.”
Dark couldn’t help but smile.
“If all points are this difficult, finding and conquering twenty should be quick.”
“Little demon beast, Deoxys, let’s go!”
The exploration continued.
…
In the professor’s lounge, Professor Lily’s face was filled with a smile.
Dark had cracked the “Blood Chamber” within a minute and successfully conquered the first resource point.
She won the bet because Dark cracked the “Blood Chamber” within a minute.
It was a win-win situation!
“That kid, I underestimated him.”
Professor Melnor shook his head; he had thought Dark would take at least two minutes to crack it, but the “Blood Chamber” puzzle was surprisingly simple.
Who did they look down upon with just four character modifications to solve the puzzle?
Melnor turned his head and glanced at Professor Bode.
Professor Bode frowned, but his face was always so sinister, so no change was noticeable.
The other arithmetic professors also looked sad.
Yorkes, the middle-aged balding professor in his forties, sighed helplessly, “The difficulty of cracking the ‘Blood Chamber’ isn’t simple, but he found the optimal solution in the first instance. This should be due to good mathematical thinking.”
“True,” Professor Eric from the fourth year agreed.
Third-year Professor Bacon proposed,
Separate them for now? We can settle everything once the event ends.”
Lily raised her hand and smiled, “No problem, I agree.”
“Then we all agree.” The professors echoed.
Professor Bacon then suggested, “But we can’t just keep an eye on Dark Demon. Let’s switch to someone else.”
As she spoke, she extended her hand across the mirror surface, causing the view of numerous imps to rapidly switch.
Finally, she paused and fixed the image.
“What are these two… doing?”
…
In the castle’s first floor.
Anna and Angie were hiding in a small classroom.
The two looked at each other and each took out a mana card, quickly summoning their spirits.
With two giant summoning circles appearing underfoot, a black and a white ghost-type mana spirit materialized amidst the light.
“‘Possession Spirit: Black’.”
“‘Possession Spirit: White’.”
Seeing the two floating ghosts, Anna and Angie couldn’t help but smile.
Then they both reached out, with the black and white ghosts flying towards them. Upon touching their fingers, they simultaneously cast the ultimate skill “Possession”!
In the next second…
Two princesses dressed in bear and tiger costumes were suddenly engulfed by black and white ghostly mists.
When the storm calmed, they had transformed into two-meter-tall “ghosts.”
“Hehehe—”
“Kukuku—”
The two little princesses floated in the air, mimicking ghostly cries before excitedly darting out of the classroom and drifting toward nearby students.
They had participated in Saint Maryann Academy’s Halloween event last year and knew that the ghosts on the first floor were very weak.
Essentially, it was a hunting ground exclusive to first-year students, where senior students wouldn’t compete with them.
In other words, the first floor of the castle was their hunting ground!
…
From the mirror, Professor Bacon couldn’t help but ask, “Professor Melnor, do you know what identities these two princesses have?”
Professor Melnor taught arithmetic to first-years and had some understanding of the first-year students’ identities.
After thinking, he said with a pained expression, “If I remember correctly, Anna is a ‘Ghost’, and Angie is a ‘Fairy’…”
“Two troublemakers…” Professor Bacon said speechless.
She could already imagine Anna and Angie, disguised as ghosts, chasing their classmates around and making them scream and flee.
Worse still, Anna could steal the first-years’ credits during this process, while Angie could seize their resource points!
…
The development that followed matched Professor Bacon’s prediction.
It wasn’t until the two little princesses became overconfident and climbed to the third floor that they hit a snag.
…
On the second floor of the castle.
Aurora walked alone down the corridor.
Although she was easily shy in front of others, she wasn’t actually timid.
Those elusive ghosts couldn’t scare her.
If it weren’t for the fact that using her giant powers in the academy wasn’t suitable, she could tear apart ghosts with her hands and kick zombies with her feet.
If she could also command the sun and moon spirits, even second-tier ghosts wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
However, she had no intention of doing so.
Since she was in Mana Academia, she naturally used mana powers to solve problems.
She summoned two three-star mana spirits and used her familiar—a “Fire-Ice Dog”—to scout and search for enemies, hunting ordinary ghosts and seeking resource points at the same time.
Everything went smoothly.
Her identity was that of a “Jack-o’-lantern”.
By activating the selection card and lighting the fire, she could receive an additional 5% credit reward during the hunt.
Aurora steadily harvested credits and resources.
…
On the other side…
Dressed as a princess, Joie and forced to dress as a prince, Jon, gathered together only five minutes after the masquerade began.
The siblings had long agreed to act together, and despite the rule changes, they ultimately decided to meet up because they were both locked in the tower and unable to communicate.
Based on their mutual trust, they shared their identities upon meeting.
Joie’s identity was “Fairy”.
While Jon’s identity was “Werewolf”!
The two siblings looked at each other and immediately agreed!
Most first-year students knew each other well.
They understood that there weren’t many stronger students than them among the first-years.
With their cooperation, Joie could seize resource points from her classmates, and Jon could snatch their credits through duels!
They instantly became like a pair of male and female bandits, planning to strip their peers clean.
“BOOM!”
But while they were discussing strategies, a huge explosion suddenly sounded nearby.
Their faces changed abruptly, and they quickly left, turning their backs on the explosion.
…
A pure-blood dark elf—Viviene Alvende—whose foot was grabbed by a zombie that suddenly crawled out from under the floor, lost control of her mana due to excessive fright.
The terrifying explosion tore the zombie into pieces.
She quickly squatted down, grabbing the necklace given to her by the mana theory professor, finally calming her out-of-control mana.
“Let’s find a place with fewer people…”
Viviene’s face turned pale.
If the necklace sensed nearby people when her mana was out of control, it would forcibly activate to prevent the mana from bursting.
However, this function greatly consumed the necklace’s durability, causing it to deteriorate quickly.
Therefore, she had to rely on herself.
Her efforts over the past two months had indeed improved her mana control, but it wasn’t enough yet.
This masquerade might help her take another step forward.
Viviene Alvende’s identity was “Witch”, but she clearly had no interest in “Divination”.
…
Not far from Viviene.
The orc prince Spike Leon was also rapidly harvesting credits from the ghosts.
Spike gave up on capturing resource points right from the start.
Although he didn’t want to admit it, after repeatedly experiencing setbacks in math class, he realized his brain capacity was limited.
Challenging unsolvable riddles was less productive than simply hunting ghosts.
His identity was “Monster”.
But it was difficult for him to find leader-level ghosts in the first three floors.
…
Similar to Joie and Jon.
Victoria and Phoenix had made prior arrangements.
After separating from their respective classmates, they met at the designated location.
Victoria and Phoenix were both mana spirits.
But Victoria was a seven-star “Vampire Noble,” while Phoenix had only two stars when in her “Phoenix Girl” form.
However, Phoenix relied on her “Eternal Flame” ultimate skill, which provided continuous mana, giving her more power than Victoria when commanding mana spirits in battle.
The two girls soon ascended to the third floor of the castle after meeting.
First and second floors were too easy for them.
Together, they could hunt on the third floor without issue.
The problem was that many second-year students also chose the third floor…
Victoria’s identity was “Vampire.”
Phoenix’s identity was “Phoenix.”
…
This year’s first-year competition was likely fiercer than ever.
There were countless students with the potential to vie for the “Crimson Star.”
…
Among the second-year students, although Dark Demon was undoubtedly the strongest,
the new resource point rules gave other students a chance to compete for the top spot.
Whether it was Emma or Sarah, they were determined to reach the top.
In the first half hour,
the competition for the top spot among second-year students was intense, with several prominent names constantly changing positions at the top, causing the students watching the rankings to blink continuously.
In those half hours, Dark Demon had already captured five resource points.
If he continued at this rate, he could complete twenty points in just two hours.
But that was obviously impossible.
Half an hour later, on the fourth floor of the castle, when Dark finally found the sixth resource point, he encountered an opponent.
It was a student wearing a werewolf… no, a dog-headed man costume.
Originally, the face was completely obscured by the costume, making it impossible for Dark to identify the person.
But his vampire costume was very conspicuous, and the person recognized him at a glance.
“Second-year Dark Demon?”
The dog-headed man senior deliberately affected a hoarse voice.
Dark slightly frowned but politely asked, “Which senior is it?”
“Haha.”
The dog-headed man senior chuckled and suddenly pulled out a selection card, showing his identity to Dark.
“I’m sorry, I am a ‘Vampire’!”
“A ‘Vampire’? A ‘Vampire’ hidden beneath a dog-man’s skin? Interesting.”
Dark lightly tapped his mana card but did not show his selection card.
He had witnessed a duel between two classmates ten minutes ago.
When a “Werewolf” or “Vampire” activated their selection card and showed their identity to the selected target, a “Competitors’ Platform” would be formed at the location of the selection card, creating a battlefield similar to a simulated duel.
Although so, there was no actual restriction on the battlefield.
The duelers could move freely and did not need to be confined to the summoning area to summon mana spirits.
Additionally…
At the beginning of the duel, the selection card would release a spherical barrier, completely surrounding the duelers.
This spherical barrier was actually supported by a large barrier outside the castle, with extremely high energy limits.
However, the barrier had a damage count.
Once the damage exceeded 2000 points, the dueler would be judged as defeated.
Only 2000 points!
Under normal circumstances, in high-grade duels, a 2000-point energy barrier could not withstand a single hit from the opponent.
That means, you cannot be hit!
Under the current rules, duelists have no room for error; once hit, they are basically considered defeated.
In addition to this rule adjustment, there would also be a countdown floating above the dueling arena, lasting three hundred seconds.
This meant that a duel could last up to five minutes.
After three hundred seconds, victory or defeat would be determined by the amount of damage taken.
If both sides took the same amount of damage, the duel would end in a draw.
…
Of course, these rules only apply if the duel between the two parties can actually take place.
Dark walked forward as if nothing had happened when the other party was still in shock. According to the map, the sixth resource point was located in a washroom.
The entrance to the washroom was right between them.
Whoever entered first would gain the upper hand!
A student who was not an “Imp” could only act after the other party failed to conquer the resource point.
When Dark started moving, the orc senior finally understood: “Are you a ‘Werewolf’, ‘Vampire’, or ‘Phoenix’?”
“What do you think?” Dark narrowed his eyes.
Then, just three meters away from the door, he gathered his mana, instantly increasing his speed.
But at this moment, the orc senior suddenly raised his Mana Card, which had been activated beforehand.
A cyan ice wave radiated along the walls, freezing the entire wall in an instant.
While the academy forbade physical attacks outside of duels, it did not prohibit the use of other methods.
The orc senior sneered and slowly walked toward the door: “Younger Brother Dark Diemon, you’re too naive.”
But then, he saw Dark Diemon run to the door and punch the ice wall blocking the entrance, shattering it instantly!
“BOOM!”
The thick ice wall was shattered by his punch!
The orc senior’s jaw nearly dropped.
Dark waved at the senior and smiled, “I’m going in first, Senior.”
Then he stepped into the washroom.
…
“What kind of monster is this?”
The orc senior stared wide-eyed at the washroom entrance for a while before turning around and walking away.
Since Dark had entered the resource point, there was no point in staying any longer.
He didn’t believe Dark would fail.
…
Five minutes later.
Dark walked out of the washroom.
In his hand was a blue shell.
It was the “Ocean Ice Shell.” Injecting mana into it would allow it to shoot out an ice beam.
Though its power was not great, it was enough to chill drinks.
Dark put away the shell and opened his Selection Card, continuing to search for the seventh resource point.
But after taking two steps, he suddenly turned around and shouted, “Who’s there?”
Running footsteps sounded behind him, gradually fading away.
“Is it a ‘Ghost’?” Dark whispered.
Once students enter a resource point, they are no longer counted in the “Ghost” tracking time.
To complete a tracking task, a “Ghost” would most easily approach during a “Werewolf” or “Vampire” duel.
During intense duels, duelists rarely notice others tailing them.
This made it easy for “Ghosts” to steal 5% of a student’s credits during duels.
Therefore, one must always be vigilant against “Ghosts” during duels.
Dark continued on.
…
He did not carry many Mana Golems with him.
Apart from the “Mana Book,” “Imp Beast,” “Mana Spirit,” and “Deoxys” summoned initially, he only had the “Eevee” and “Solo Sword Sheath.”
The “Deoxys” holding the “Holy Sword” could handle most ordinary ghosts.
The Holy Sword’s attribute against dark elements began to show.
…
“Let’s see, the nearest resource point is… never mind, let’s go up one more floor!”
After searching for some time, Dark clearly noticed that resource points also had tiers.
The higher the floor, the harder the puzzles to solve, and the stronger the summoned ghosts.
Similarly, the more credits and resources gained after defeating a ghost!
He went from the second floor to the fourth, now preparing to head to the fifth floor.
The ghosts on the fifth floor were around five to six stars, occasionally stronger ones appeared but were very rare.
Last year, his strength wasn’t enough to explore the fifth floor.
But this year, he was much different.
…
A few minutes later, Dark found the staircase leading to the fifth floor.
As he approached the stairway, he heard people scolding each other nearby, piquing his curiosity.
He signaled his Mana Golems to walk quietly and quickly approached.
As the voices became clearer, he recognized Diana’s unique voice.
“It’s Diana, no wonder I felt uneasy…”
Dark quickened his pace, no longer hiding his footsteps.
He walked out from the corner and saw Diana dueling with a squid!
“Is Diana a ‘Werewolf’ or a ‘Vampire’?”
This thought flashed through Dark’s mind as he noticed Rose standing outside the dueling arena.
“Who?” Rose suddenly turned her head, and her Mana Golem shot out like an arrow.
Deoxys quickly moved forward, blocking the rabbit with horns on its head.
“Return, Sky Rabbit!” Rose hurriedly called out.
The rabbit returned quickly after failing to attack.
Dark watched the scene with interest.
Diana was dueling, and Rose was watching openly—what was Rose’s identity?
“Could she be a ‘Ghost’?”
Dark muttered.
Although Diana was disguised as a ghost, her companion was the true “Ghost”—how dramatic!
But if that were true, how miserable would the person dueling Diana be?
“But come to think of it, why does that squid costume look so familiar?”
Dark’s mind filled with questions, his gaze falling on the unknown person in the squid costume.
Then, he saw the unknown person summon a familiar Mana Golem in anger—the “Three-Eyed Squid”!
“It really is him!”
Dark approached Rose and asked, “What’s going on?”
Rose whispered, “It’s fine, Diana challenged someone to a duel.”
Dark: “Hmm.”
Dark suddenly realized he hadn’t considered the possibility of Diana being the one challenged.
Rose added, “It’s been over half an hour. Diana has been looking for someone to duel… Just now, while exploring a resource point, she failed to solve the puzzle… Then that squid suddenly fell from above!”
“From above?” Dark couldn’t help but look up.
But the ceiling was solid, with no holes.
However, after the incident on the bridge earlier, he knew there was a trap that could cause someone to fall through the floor.
“How unlucky can it get?”
Dark couldn’t help but open his mouth, his image of the cool vampire almost crumbling.
Rose continued, “It doesn’t seem very strong… Diana tried it out, and this is what happened.”
Dark: “…”
Scott Hephaestus.
Third-year male.
Former member of the “Squid” sect.
Current member of the “Marine Biology Research Department.”
By the way, the head of the “Marine Biology Research Department” is Wit Gold.
Dark had some understanding of Scott’s strength.
Seeing that Scott could hold his own against Diana, it showed that Scott had made significant progress.
Of course, it was also possible that Diana was holding back.
After all, the masquerade ball had just begun, and using all his strength now might mean he’d have to lie low later.
As for Scott, there was no room for holding back.
…
In less than two minutes since Dark arrived, Scott’s disadvantage was evident.
Since the life value shield was on the duelist, one could dodge the attacks of the Mana Golem by running.
But this also made Scott appear particularly desperate.
Another half minute passed.
Scott was finally tackled by Diana’s Mana Golem—Dark couldn’t understand why Scott chose such a cumbersome squid costume.
“Lost, lost…”
Scott lay on the ground like a dried squid on the beach, lifeless as he looked at the ceiling.
His energy count exceeded 2000 points, ending the duel.
“Yay!”
Diana revealed an excited expression.
However, she didn’t check the Selection Card, clearly not caring about the credits won from the duel.
Perhaps she hadn’t thought much about it.
But at this moment, Rose picked up her Selection Card and winked at Dark.
Her meaning was clear.
“Sure enough, it’s a ‘Ghost’…”
Dark could almost imagine Scott’s wailing when he checked his credits later.
He expressed his joy honestly and said to Rose, “Since everything’s fine, I’ll leave first. I don’t want to become your next target.”
Rose pursed her lips, her corners slightly lifting as she scratched at Dark and said, “Come find me when it’s almost over.”
Dark’s lips twitched, and he quickly turned around.
But before he could escape, two people came out from another passage.
They were precisely Wit and Robert!
