After about half an hour, the students who had been staying on campus headed to the playground as one; that was the location for today’s academy assessment.
Long before they arrived, a rune stone that constantly emitted ripples of magical light had already been placed on the playground.
This rune stone was crafted by the nation’s specialized experts and contained a large number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 dungeons, provided annually to various academies for their assessments.
The upcoming battle would begin in the form of a base defense, where the primary rules were to ensure the base was not occupied by magical beasts and to clear waves of their attacks.
The number of magical creatures killed and the higher their rank, the more points one would earn.
The total points would directly determine the final ranking.
Reasonably speaking, the average student team in the academy assessment wouldn’t last until the Tier 2 magical beast invasion; they would essentially collapse the moment they faced Tier 1 Nightmare Level creatures.
Max understood this perfectly well, and his purpose in coming here from the start was to see exactly where his limits lay.
Furthermore, he intended to use the souls generated by killing a large number of magical creatures to create the Hell Path!
As for whether he would encounter a creature he couldn’t handle, Max didn’t give it a second thought; after all, if even he couldn’t handle it, it was even more impossible for anyone else to do so.
“I hope there are enough magical creatures in the upcoming assessment so I don’t have to make multiple trips.”
“I’ll create the Hell Path right here this time.”
Max’s eyes flickered.
Being able to create even one Pain would bring an exponential boost to his strength and serve as the most direct source of his future power.
Without lingering long, Max and the others saw that the academy assessment had begun and walked directly toward the rune stone in front of them.
Soon, a notification box popped up before them.
[Do you choose to enter the academy assessment? This assessment dungeon contains Tier 1-2 dungeon creatures.]
[Participating team size: 2–4 people]
…
[Ding! Team size requirement met. Entering the Forest Secret Realm dungeon. Please be prepared.]
Without any unnecessary words, once the rune stone confirmed the team size, it projected a large number of energy beams.
The light shone upon the two of them, followed quickly by a dizzying sensation of intense glare, and then the scene before them changed.
Inside the Forest Secret Realm dungeon, Max and Seraphina, who had been successfully teleported via the rune stone, both opened their eyes to see dense shrubs and a canopy that blotted out the sky.
There was also a faint green mist in the air, likely emitted by some kind of plant.
For now, it seemed to be non-toxic.
Just as they entered the dungeon, Seraphina turned to look at Max behind her and spoke somewhat apologetically.
“Brother, I didn’t expect that because of me… you’d be put in this kind of situation.”
…
But before Seraphina could finish, Max interrupted her.
“This matter isn’t your fault at all. Since I awakened the Puppet Master class template, there will surely be many people with prejudices in the future.”
“People like Gideon Thorne are not uncommon.”
“As time passes, I’ll definitely get used to it.”
“If anyone dares to talk about you, I’ll definitely beat them up.”
“Alright… alright.”
…
Listening to Seraphina’s constant “nagging,” Max waved his hand helplessly, indicating that this had nothing to do with her.
All they needed to do now was quietly pass the academy assessment.
While they were talking, a small blue screen suddenly appeared in front of them, displaying all the teams participating in this academy assessment.
Beside each team name, their current points were marked. Get faster updates on g.com.
It seemed every magical beast killed in the dungeon would be presented as points, and the ranking would be decided directly by the total.
To obtain the Tier 5 dungeon materials sponsored by the academy, one would certainly have to reach first place; however, if one only wanted to pass the academy assessment’s level test…
They only needed to repel the first wave of dungeon creatures.
It could be said to be extremely simple; as long as there was a support class in the team, they could pass.
“A two-person team is different from a four-person team.”
“The points we earn are equivalent to twice that of a four-person team. In other words, for the same kill, we get double the points.”
“…It seems we aren’t at a disadvantage just because our team is small!”
“Everyone is competing fairly.”
Max looked at the rules on the points leaderboard and began to calculate in his mind how to acquire points faster.
“Brother, don’t think about that. We only need to pass the first wave of creatures.”
“Once we’re out, let’s just go straight home.”
“Don’t come back to school until the College Entrance Examination.”
Hearing Max’s words, Seraphina didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Although she hated people like Gao Yang, she had no hope of taking first place in this assessment.
She was still too weak and had no way to exert the full power of the Goddess of Light class template.
Otherwise, today’s situation wouldn’t have happened.
…
“Alright then.”
Max didn’t rush to argue with her.
Since they were already in the dungeon, exposing his strength was only a matter of time; what was the harm in waiting a bit longer?
Thinking of this, he silently clicked to start the assessment.
As his intent was conveyed, a large number of green-skinned, short creatures suddenly emerged in the clearing ahead.
They had sharp features, long noses, and held various crude weapons in their hands.
They looked very primitive and low-class.
Unsurprisingly, these were low-level creatures that only appeared in Tier 1 dungeons.
The information returned by Max’s Detection Technique confirmed this; their four basic attributes were pitifully low.
[Race: Goblin]
[Grade: 5]
[Strength: 7]
[Stamina: 5]
[Agility: 8]
[Intelligence: 3]
[Skills: Bite, Strike…]
…
They were a world apart from the Cat Demons he had encountered in the Nightmare dungeon.
Back then, Asura Path Pain could kill those instantly.
Facing these weaklings…
…was completely trivial.
A total one-sided massacre.
At the same time, just as Max and Seraphina spotted the Goblins, the creatures also sensed the human aura, and their eyes were quickly replaced by a crimson glow. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
What followed was utter frenzy.
Although their individual strength was weak, they were obnoxious because once they tackled a prey, all nearby Goblins would pounce together.
They wouldn’t let go until the prey was devoured.
Soon, as the Goblin in the lead began to charge, all the Goblins lying in ambush in the grass rushed toward Max and Seraphina like arrows from a bow.
Their ugly, small figures darted through the grass, making it difficult to tell from which direction they would launch their final assault.
There were quite a few of them, about seven or eight.
Max didn’t intend to act this time; he wanted to see what kind of power Seraphina, with her Goddess of Light template, possessed.
He wanted to see how she compared to him.
“Holy Light!”
Before Max could react, Seraphina, standing before him, immediately began chanting an incantation.
A large number of runes then began to surface on her body.
Her entire being was enveloped in light elements, making her look incredibly dignified and beautiful.
Like an angel stepping out of myth, she seemed to be someone to be admired from afar but not trifled with.
A moment later, the ten-meter area in front of her was struck by a massive amount of light elemental damage.
The charging Goblin squad was instantly decimated.
“Judgment!”
Seeing that her attack was effective, Seraphina wasn’t distracted by joy.
Instead, she made a cross gesture at her chest, and the Goblins pouncing from the side suddenly found their limbs unable to move.
Looking at their movements and expressions, it was as if they were nailed to a cross.
At that moment, Seraphina quickly pulled a weapon from her waist to finish off the controlled Goblins on the ground.
Blood stained her clothes…
but her movements did not stop.
She threw a dagger fiercely to the side, hitting a Goblin hidden behind them that was preparing to ambush with unerring precision.
At this time, a rest reminder appeared before the two of them again.
[Rest time: 2 minutes]
[After the rest, the second wave of magical creatures will spawn.]
[You may choose to skip or leave!]
…
“I didn’t expect you to be quite impressive.”
Seeing Seraphina easily deal with seven or eight Goblins, Max gained a new understanding of her strength.
She should be able to solo a Tier 1 Easy dungeon, but facing Difficult or higher dungeons, she would need a combat class for support.
After all, she was a support class…
her skills and abilities leaned toward utility, with few direct killing skills.
But that was fine; in the future when they entered dungeons together, she would only need to stay behind and buff him.
A girl didn’t need to do all the fighting.
“Of course! Otherwise, how could I have the confidence to lead you through the academy assessment!?”
“Alright, now that the first wave of creatures has been cleared by me, let’s leave.”
Seraphina’s face was full of smiles, and she seemed to be in a very good mood.
But just as she was about to choose to leave the dungeon, Max, standing behind her, chose to skip the rest time.
Entering the second wave of creatures.
As his intent was conveyed, the countdown before them instantly hit zero, and dozens of magical creature figures appeared once more.