Killing the Slimes had become easy, but finding their locations proved slightly difficult. When only two minutes remained on their time limit, Anne discovered a Mutated Toxic Slime.
Without any hesitation, Max charged toward it. He needed to kill this Slime in order to increase their count of Mutated Cores to two.
However, before he could reach the proper distance to attack, the Slime noticed its aggressor and spewed something at Max. Max had already expected this attack. From his experience earlier that day, he knew that Mutated Slimes could actively fight back, rather than simply dropping onto someone's legs or passively emitting toxic gas.
Max quickly slid across the ground, avoiding the attack. The bubble-like projectile landed on a nearby tree and the ground, exploding instantly. From it, a blue substance and toxic gas emerged.
Before Max could assess the situation, the Slime attacked again, spewing a few more bubbles of toxic gas directly at Max. Utilizing his increased Agility, into which he had specifically allocated most of his Free Attribute Points, Max blurred from his current spot and rushed toward the Slime.
The Slime did not give up easily. It perfectly tracked Max's location; his current Agility was simply not high enough to evade the eyes of the Slime. Thus, he utilized the trees and bushes to take cover as he closed the distance.
The Slime continued its attacks like a cannon, sending blasts into the enemy's range. Max took cover behind a large tree that stopped all of the bubbles. However, the toxic gas began to spread all around him.
Max regripped the sword in both hands and took a few quick breaths. Only thirty seconds remained before the Expedition concluded.
All he needed was a single attack. Max moved to his left, dashing toward the next big tree to take cover. Upon spotting the enemy, the Slime followed, launching its attack toward him. However, Max suddenly changed his direction. Instead of running toward the tree to take cover, he moved directly toward the Slime.
Noticing this change, the monster altered its attack direction. Yet, it required a few seconds to adjust to the sudden change of direction. Those few seconds were all Max needed; he was already within attacking range.
[Sword Tempest]!
He executed the Skill, pulling all of his Mana into that attack. A gust of wind appeared around the Mutated Toxic Slime as the moon blades landed everywhere, destroying the Living Core and turning the Slime into nothingness. Once everything was done, everyone noticed a neon color countdown appearing in the sky, visible everywhere.
Max quickly collected the Core and the materials, pocketing them.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
When the timer finished, they were all teleported from the Dungeon, starting to appear on the outside. Once Max came to his senses, he noticed a lot of bright light appearing around him as his fellow students started to appear everywhere.
The first Academy Dungeon Expedition had successfully ended. However, looking back now, they had never met any other students within the Dungeon. Was the Dungeon truly that big? Max wondered about the odds of never meeting anyone inside, something he had expected before entering.
"Everyone, please gather and line up by your registration numbers. While doing so, prepare to reveal how many Cores each individual gained, as well as the total number for the party," the head instructor announced.
"Everyone, let us split the Cores individually," Max called out as they gathered in a circle.
"We collected a total of 478 ordinary Slime Cores." Anne brought out the Cores from her dimensional pocket and placed them down upon the ground.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"I suggest we divide the Cores equally," Max stated. Since they had all worked together, dividing them equally was a good idea, rather than meddling over exactly how much each person had killed.
"No problem."
"I am okay with it."
"No problem on my side as well."
Everyone agreed to the suggestion. Going with that plan, each member would obtain around 80 Cores; some might receive a few less or a few more.
Once that was divided, Anne brought out the Cores of the Boss monsters.
"We possess 42 Boss monster Cores. Should we divide them equally?" Anne asked as she swept her gaze across everyone.
"Yes, let us divide them equally," Max stated.
Everyone nodded at that decision without uttering any words. They were slightly reluctant, because most of the Boss Cores had been collected by Max, particularly the Titan Boss Slimes. Ultimately, each member received 7 Boss Cores individually.
"I possess one Mutated Boss Core." Anne placed down a relatively large Mutated monster Core.
Everyone remained silent; no one spoke anything.
"Currently, we only possess two Mutated monster Cores. I will take the Mutated Core I hunted, and I suggest the other Mutated Core goes to Anne, since she suffered a lot while hunting that particular monster." Max did not hesitate to state that he would take the Mutated Core he had hunted at the very end, suggesting the other Mutated Core go to Anne.
"If you guys think this is unfair, you all will have priority to pick the materials that we have collected," Max suggested, allowing the others to choose the materials first.
"I have no objection, since I have already gained one Skill Book. I consider that to be equal to one Mutated Core," Peter stated, since he had already gained a skill.
"I am okay with that suggestion," Shaun stated.
"No problem," Michael, the other Elementalist, stated.
"I am happy with it." Jeannie also agreed to the plan.
They had all worked hard, and they had all seen the raw materials drop and be collected. They all came from ordinary families, which placed a heavy financial burden upon them. Even though they felt regret over not obtaining a Mutated Boss Core, they were happy since they got to choose the raw materials, which equaled the gain for them.
With that, they quickly stood in line. The results would not be announced then and there. The results would be announced tomorrow morning. Thus, once the students submitted their gains, they quickly boarded the vehicles.
"Next," the Head Teacher called out.
"79 ordinary Cores," Max stated as he stepped up close to the counter.
The Head Teacher looked up to see exactly who the student was, and his eyes somewhat narrowed. After a quick look, he wrote down the total and gestured for him to place the Cores on the spot beside him. Max placed all of the Cores into a bowl, and it immediately counted exactly 79 Cores. The assistant quickly cleared the Cores from the bowl.
"Next," the Head Teacher called out again.
"Seven Boss Cores," Max stated once more.
The Head Teacher, who was still writing, suddenly snapped his head toward Max with a bewildered look on his face. The Head Teacher had expected that the 79 ordinary Cores were all Max had obtained. However, now seeing that he had also obtained Boss monster Cores, the Head Teacher felt slightly surprised.
He suppressed his shock and gestured for him to place the Cores into the bowl. Max did so, and it displayed exactly seven. The assistant cleared the bowl while the Head Teacher wrote the details down within his notebook.
"Next," he called out again.
"One Mutated Boss Core," Max stated without moving from his spot.
The pen in the Head Teacher's hand hovered above the notebook as he slowly tilted his head to see exactly who it was. To his surprise, it was still the exact same guy.
"Your party hunted a Mutated Boss monster?" the Head Teacher asked.
"Yes," Max answered, completely unaware as to why he would ask such a question.
"Show me the Core," the Head Teacher instructed.
Max picked up the Core from his pocket and placed it directly into the bowl. The Head Teacher's eyes suddenly widened. It was indeed a Mutated monster Core. The Head Teacher looked behind Max to observe the other party members.
"I must say, this is the very first Mutated monster Core. I am highly impressed," the Head Teacher stated as he searched through the document for the party's details.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Maximus Bransford," Max stated.
The Head Teacher checked the list containing the party details. The name indeed existed, and it was present at the very bottom of the list.
"Very well, I have noted everything. Please leave the line," the Head Teacher stated.
Max stepped to the side and waited for the rest of his party to submit.
"Please place the Cores into the bowl," he stated directly, as the sun was just about to set.
Anne placed her share of ordinary Cores into the bowl. Suddenly, a look of surprise appeared upon the Head Teacher's face, since the Core count was entirely identical.
Without any delay, Anne placed her seven Boss Cores into the bowl once the assistant had cleared it. Another wave of shock violently assaulted the Head Teacher.
Finally, she placed her own Mutated Boss Core into the bowl. This once again caused the Head Teacher's eyes to widen. He did not speak anything after that; he simply wrote down the count and called out for another student.