Inside the grand throne room of the Citadel Of The Golden Crown,

 

The king sat on his throne with a smile on his face.

 

In front of him was the Dean and they were talking about the upcoming dungeon competition for the first-year students.

 

"Has the dungeon been chosen for the competition?", The king asked.

 

The Dean replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The dungeon has been selected. It will test the very boundaries of patience and fortitude of the students."

 

The king stroked his beard as he murmured, "Hmm... patience and willpower are indeed important traits for soldiers on the battlefield."

 

He remembered Darell and his group and asked, "And what about Darell and the rest?"

 

A smile formed on the Dean's face as he responded, "They are progressing as we expected them to be, Your Majesty. Their dedication and training surpasses that of an average student."

 

The king smiled in response, clearly pleased with the news.

 

He stroked his beard and nodded approvingly as he said, "Good! Very good!"

 

He stopped smiling and began thinking deeply.

 

Seeing that the king was in deep thought, the Dean chose to remain silent.

 

After a moment of contemplation, the king issued a command, "Since the competition's aim is to test the students' patience and willpower, then... don't provide any clues or external assistance whatsoever to Darell and his group. They must persevere and triumph through their own hard work."

 

The Dean was taken aback by the sudden and unusual command and he tried to speak, "But, Your Majesty, th-"

 

But, the king interrupted him as he declared, "I understand what you're concerned about but I won't change my decision. Both of us know that some participants have obtained information about the dungeon beforehand and they would resort to cheating. But, their efforts are useless because their lack of patience would lead them to quit easily."

 

He continued with a serious expression on his face, "It is through facing difficult battles and hardships that one is able to reap the greatest benefits. Also... increase the rewards for the top five winners to rank 04 beast cores. This would increase the difficulty of the competition."

 

The Dean rubbed his chin as he understood the meaning behind the king's command and thought, 'He really is fit for his position! His thinking hasn't changed at all. He's the same... just like the old days.'

 

The next day, within the assembly hall,

 

The students were talking to each other about the recent competition.

 

"Hey! Have you heard which dungeon they've chosen?"

 

"No! It's so frustrating. I couldn't get enough equipment and potions for this test."

 

"Forget about that. Did you hear?! Adam asked Zara out on a date!!"

 

"WHAT?! That jerk! H-H-He told me he wasn't interested in her."

 

Suddenly, Walter's voice boomed through the hall, "QUIET DOWN, ALL OF YOU!!!"

 

The students instantly shut their mouths and straightened their postures in their seats.

 

He nodded approvingly, upon noticing the silence.

 

He cleared his throat and began, "Good morning, everyone! I'm aware that most of you are already aware of the reason we've gathered here. So, I'll skip the boring history lesson and get straight to the point."

 

The students cheered in response and Walter continued, "This competition would test your knowledge and training. To prevent cheating, a different dungeon is chosen each year. The dungeon's terrain changes unpredictably, so you must be prepared for the unexpected."

 

He glared at the students and ordered, "You must adhere to all the rules stated on the tablet provided to you. Breaking any of these rules will result in expulsion, and your family members won't be permitted to join the academy for three years."

 

The students gulped nervously and meekly received the stone tablet which was inscribed with different types of runes.

 

They read the rules on it and they were shocked by the strict guidelines, causing them to murmur among themselves.

 

Walter noticed them murmuring and mocked them as he remarked, "If any of you find these rules harsh, just wait until you see the rules for the second and third-year competitions."

 

The students quieted down and Walter continued, "These rules are in place for your benefit. If you can't adhere to these reasonable rules, then you have no right to study in this academy. Take the time to read and understand the rules, and do your best to follow them."

 

He paused for a moment and asked, "Now, I'm sure many of you believe that to achieve rank 01 in the competition, you must conquer the dungeon, am I right?"

 

The students simply nodded.

 

Walter looked at the students with a disdainful gaze before speaking, "You are all fools! Most of you will die in your attempts to conquer the dungeon. To win this competition, all you need to do is collect as many beast cores as possible. Simple enough, right? Your points will be based on the number of beast cores you gather."

 

Beast cores were concentrated orbs of mana that were commonly found in a beast's body.

 

They were found beside it's heart.

 

These beast cores allowed the beasts to empower themselves.

 

Humans didn't have beast cores.

 

If an animal possessed a beast core from birth, they were considered a beast.

 

Also, some humans were born with mana-empowered bodies while others were not.

 

Walter continued, "This competition will be conducted for one month. Ensure you have the necessary equipment, potions, food, and so on for the challenge. Now, listen carefully as I announce the rewards for this competition."

 

He paused briefly before revealing the rewards,

 

- Rank 01: 5 rank 04 cores and 100,000 academy points

 

- Rank 02: 4 rank 04 cores and 85,000 academy points

 

- Rank 03: 3 rank 04 cores and 65,000 academy points

 

- Rank 04: 2 rank 04 cores and 50,000 academy points

 

- Rank 05: 1 rank 04 core and 25,000 academy points

 

"The top 5 participants will receive rank 04 equipment, while the remaining top 10 will be awarded rank 03 cores and 10,000 academy points. Tomorrow, you will enter the dungeon, so prepare yourselves and give it your all."

 

Meanwhile, in the training hall,

 

Three individuals were fighting against different beasts of various shapes and sizes.

 

Among the three, there was a boy who gritted his teeth and his eyes glowed red as they spit fire from it.

 

His hair transformed into flames and they danced on his head.

 

Suddenly, he noticed a huge fireball conjured by the FireFalcon coming at him and he quickly dodged it as he leaped backward.

 

* KA-BOOM *

 

The fireball hit the ground and caused a massive explosion.

 

He gripped his fire sword tightly and looked up only to see several fire arrows hurtling toward him.

 

He grabbed a nearby tree branch and jumped on it.

 

He jumped on another tree branch and launched himself into the air, above the beast.

 

He swirled his sword in his hand and drove it into the falcon's head.

 

* SPLURT *

 

Orange-red blood sprayed out from the falcon and it died.

 

* THUD *

 

The boy used the falcon's body as a cushion and landed on the ground safely.

 

The other two were female twins, with one wielding a spear and the other skillfully wielding dual axes.

 

* SPLURT *

 

The spear-wielding girl pierced the head of the rock golem and murmured, "Trash!"

 

She kicked it's body backward.

 

* BOOM *

 

* THUD *

 

The golem flew back and landed on the ground with a resounding impact.

 

She abruptly ducked and barely managed to dodge.

 

She turned around and saw a fire golem snarling at her.

 

She glared at the golem and pointed her spear at it and said, "A surprise attack? You got on my nerves, silly golem."

 

She charged at it and shouted, "I hate surprise attacks!!"

 

The other girl, on the other hand, threw her axe at a rock golem.

 

It flew in the air and hit the golem in it's chest.

 

* BANG *

 

Seeing the golem stagger and try to regain it's balance, the girl smirked and threw her other axe at it.

 

* BOOM *

 

* SPLURT *

 

* THUD *

 

The axe flew in the air and cleanly it's head.

 

The head flew off and the rest of it's dead body slumped on the ground.

 

After a few minutes, both of them were breathing heavily as they glanced around and saw all of the golems dead on the ground.

 

Suddenly, they heard a voice calling out to them.

 

"Alfith! Alfen!"