Conquering The Novel

Yayyyyy!!!

As soon as the first team emerged from the dungeon with the crystal in hand, the entire crowd erupted into ecstatic cheers, their excitement, and anticipation apparent.

The final showdown, where academies joined forces in a ferocious battle against the Boss monster, was riveting to watch.

But what truly set it apart was the awe-inspiring teamwork displayed by the Soreh Academy team in the end of the match.

The way Diana and Livia banded together to protect their teammates and prevent others from landing the final blow on the boss monster left the audience in awe.

Ares' flawless execution in clearing out the group of students just before their attacks land on the Boss monster, giving Claude the perfect opportunity to deal the final blow, was nothing short of genius.

And to cap it off, the way the crystal was stolen right under Cherry Blossom Academy's nose left the audience roaring with excitement and disbelief.

The emotions in the air were electric, as the audience jumped up and down, cheering and applauding the victorious Soreh Academy team.

***

As soon as Ares and his team emerged from the dungeon's portal, they were instantly transported back to the real world. With a flicker, the VR simulation ended, and they began to remove their gear, feeling the weight of the experience lifting off of them.

Ares and the team stretched their arms and legs, trying to shake off the stiffness that came with sitting in one place for so long.

"That was intense," Ares said with a grin.

Livia's face was filled with satisfaction. "We really came together as a team and got the job done."

Eric chimed in, "And we did it without any casualties."

Diana grinned widely and raised her hand in the air. "That's what I'm talking about! Great job, everyone! We killed the boss monster and secured the crystal, making us the victors of the dungeon crawl match! This is just the beginning, we're gonna crush the competition in the next matches too!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm and moved her right hand for a high-five with Ares.

But before Ares could react, Livia stepped in and slammed her hand hard against hers, giving her a high-five instead. They both stared at each other, a spark appearing in their eyes.

The sound of their so-called high five reverberated in the room.

Ares, Eric, and Claude exchanged blank expressions as they wondered, 'Was that really a high five?'

"...."

"Yeah...good job," Ares decided to ignore their staring contest and exited the room.

...

As they exited the VR room, the white-haired professor was waiting for them, clapping with a sadistic smile. Her applause echoed through the hallway.

Clap—Clap—Clap

"That is how a Dungeon Crawl match should be played! You have to be bold and brave to get a victory," she said, disappearing from her original spot and reappearing beside Ares.

She reached out to touch his face, but he quickly held her hand, giving her a stern look. Diana and Livia watched on, confused by the professor's demeanor.

The professor's eyes glowed with excitement, and her grin grew even wider as she noticed Ares keeping up with her speed.

Suddenly, dejected students from other academies began emerging from their respective VR rooms, having failed to secure a crystal or defeat the boss monster.

The professor moved away from Ares and he let go of her hand, his team exchanging confused glances as her expression returned to normal.

"I am impressed," the professor spoke up, capturing the attention of all the students. "You could have exited the dungeon with a crystal without defeating the boss monster, but you chose not to."

A collective gasp went up from the students, and one from the Royal Knight Academy spoke up, "W-What does that mean? Wasn't there a spell cast on the crystal that prevented anyone from taking it until the boss monster was killed?"

"Pfttt, heheheheh—"

The professor burst out laughing, causing the students to stare at her in confusion.

"Spell? Is that what he told you?" she said, still chuckling. Ares gave her a blank stare, his team looking equally perplexed.

The professor finally stopped laughing and explained as she rubbed her laughter tears from her eyes, "There was no such thing as a spell cast on the Crystal," she said and paused for a moment before continuing.

"The A-Rank monster with that massive health bar was never meant to be defeated. The whopping 5 points were also because it was impossible to kill the boss monster by students with restricted strength.

The teams were just supposed to distract the monster away from the pedestal and steal the crystal away, and with that, they could have exited the dungeon, getting a victory," the professor explained.

"So in conclusion, you all have been had by him!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her amusement.

As soon as the professor revealed the truth, the student's expressions turned grim. They had believed Ares's earlier claim that the crystal was protected by a spell, since Ares was standing right beside the crystal and could have easily taken it if he wanted to.

They didn't have enough time to verify the truth of his claims and ended up rushing to fight the boss monster, only to realize later that it was a trap, and they had fallen right into it.

'So, he used us all to defeat a boss monster that wasn't even meant to be defeated, just to score those 5 points?' they thought, feeling both foolish and angry.

All eyes turned to Ares, including his own team who had been kept in the dark about the situation.

Under the scrutiny of everyone's disbelieving gazes, Ares' smirk widened as he spoke, "I'm grateful for your support in helping us get those 5 points!" he stated .

The students couldn't believe what they were hearing.

As the truth sank in, the expressions on the students' faces ranged from anger to frustration to disappointment.

They had been duped into fighting a boss monster that was not supposed to be defeated, all for the sake of helping Ares and his team get the 5 points for the crystal.

Questions flooded their minds as they struggled to process what had happened.

'Why had Ares risked losing the crystal just to score points that were not guaranteed, as anyone could have landed the final blow on the monster? Did he have that much confidence in his team to land the final blow? And what if they hadn't believed his lies about a spell cast on the crystal and had managed to steal it away while they were battling the boss monster? Wouldn't the other academies have also abandoned the fight leaving Ares' team alone to deal with the monster, and began rushing to the other paths to secure the remaining crystals?'

The realization of their situation left the students feeling disappointed and dejected. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing they had been played for fools.

As they were lost in thought, they heard the loud beep of a Shadow Academy's team exiting their allocated VR room, breaking their trance.

!?

And they heard the announcement:

[MATCH 1: THE DUNGEON CRAWL HAS NOW OFFICIALLY ENDED!]

[YOU CAN NOW CHECK THE POINT TABLE!]

And immediately following the announcement, the points table for the match appeared on the screen in the VR room.

[MATCH 1: POINTS TABLE!]

#1 SOREH ACADEMY — 17 POINTS

#2 SHADOW ACADEMY — 7 POINTS

#3 MARTIAL STAR ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#4 GLACIER PEAK ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#5 CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY — 3 POINTS

#6 THE ROYAL KNIGHT ACADEMY — 3 POINTS

#7 THE BLITZEIRG ACADEMY — 2 POINTS

#8 THE IRON FORTRESS ACADEMY — 1 POINT

***

A hush fell over the room as the points table appeared on the screen in front of them. Soreh Academy had secured the top spot with a staggering 17 points, followed by Shadow Academy with 7 points. Martial Star Academy and Glacier Peak Academy were tied for third place with 4 points each.

Cherry Blossom Academy and The Royal Knight Academy shared the fourth spot with 3 points each, while The Blitzierg Academy trailed behind with 2 points. The Iron Fortress Academy had managed to secure just one point.

...

...

As the points table appeared on the screen, the students were in shock at the massive 10-point difference between the first and second place. One student couldn't help but exclaim, "W-What? How can the difference be so huge?"

Another student from the Martial Star Academy furrowed his brows and asked, "And how did the Shadow Academy place second?"

The professor explained, "Because they managed to seize the crystal."

Confused murmurs erupted from the students.

"There were only two teams that were able to secure the crystal and exit the dungeon. You know of the Soreh Academy, but the team from the Shadow Academy that just arrived a few moments ago, after taking some time, was also able to steal the crystal from the boss monster of another path and exit the dungeon," the professor elaborated.

All eyes turned to the students from the Shadow Academy, who was the last to exit the dungeon but had managed to grab the crystal and earn second-place points.

The leader of the Shadow Academy's team muttered, "Idiots," before leaving with his teammates.

Silence filled the room as everyone stared at them, realizing that they have no words to retort, as they had played right into Ares's hands like idiots.

Yawn~

Ares yawned and began to exit the room, followed by his team, leaving everyone standing there in silent contemplation.

The students exchanged looks of disappointment, depending on how their own academy had fared.

It was clear that the competition was fierce, and each academy would need to bring their A-game to come out on top in the next match.