Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32.3 - Mid-terms

-WROOM!

Walking in front of the place filled with a bunch of gates, I was looking for my dungeon.

'This is similar to Black Market dungeons.'

Even though the academy didn't have access to that many gates, there were still sufficient gates to test the students.

Today was the day of the practical exam, where we would be left alone inside a dungeon and be expected to explore it on our own.

[B-3]

As I stood in front of the dungeon, the professor in charge made his appearance. He wasn't someone I knew, probably someone who was lecturing in another class. Considering the academy had 2400 students each freshman year, the number of lecturers was also high.

"Kuhm."

The professor cleared his throat, gathering our attention.

"Good morning, cadets. Today, you will be taking the practical exam in this dungeon. The academy has carefully selected dungeons of varying difficulty levels to match your skills and ranks."

He gestured to the gates behind him, each one representing a unique challenge. "Your task is simple: navigate through the dungeon, overcome any obstacles, and retrieve the artifact that was assigned to your name at the end. You will be assessed on your problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and your capacity to work independently."

'Yeah, there was such a thing.'

Most of the time, when thinking about dungeons, the condition for dungeons to be cleared would be killing the boss monster.

However, in this exam, we would be without a party, and cooperating with others to kill the boss monster wasn't what we expected from us.

In the case when the dungeon wasn't related to the boss monster, the trigger was reaching the end and taking the artifact that was linked to it.

This exam was the parallel of that in a sense. By reaching the end and taking the assigned artifact, we were basically completing the dungeon's linked quest.

While I was thinking to myself, the professor's gaze scanned the crowd, his voice firm and commanding. "Remember, the practical exam is not just about survival; it's about demonstrating your ability to thrive in unpredictable situations. You will face unknown creatures, traps, and puzzles within. Some of you may even encounter your fellow students. In such cases, alliances are permitted, but competition is inevitable."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Once you enter the gate, the timer begins. You will have four hours to complete the assigned task and return. Failure to do so will result in an automatic fail and presumably taking the note of NA."

"You will be able to request help from the faculty members, but note that doing so will also result in NA, and your exam will be negated. Therefore, I would suggest you hold it as much as possible."

Knowing what kind of things were waiting for us inside the dungeon, I knew why he said that. Most of the time, working with a team would be a lot different than working without one, and the students were about to experience this firsthand.

The professor's expression was still scrutinized. "Stay vigilant, trust your training, and rely on your instincts that you have developed after entering this academy. You have been polishing your skills with sweat and blood, and now this exam is your chance to prove your worth."

As he said those words, his eyes wandered around.

"Best of luck, and may you return victorious."

With those words, he stepped to the side, leaving all the students in the line, and went to inform the other students.

"Everyone entering the B-3 dungeon, get ready," a faculty member responsible for dungeon [B-3] announced, calling our attention.

The line of students quickly began readying themselves, ensuring they had their equipment, identifying bracelets, and other essential items for the exam.

One by one, students stepped forward, offering our identification bracelets for inspection by the faculty member.

"Alex Rodriguez, Rank 1800."

Of course, with each student coming forward, the faculty member read their name loudly to make sure every student could hear it with their ranks attached to it.

"Emily Sullivan, Rank 1950."

And this was actually a very cruel method. Because I could clearly see each name coming up, the students' eyes started forming targets.

'Targets to take their possessions.'

After all, humans were greedy creatures, and Hunter Academy knew how hard the real dungeon environment was.

"Tom Anderson. Rank 2100."

.

.

As the instructor called me with his eyes as the last one, I stood up and made my way there.

"Here."

Grabbing my card, the instructor loudly announced my name and my rank.

"Astron Natusalune. Rank 2450."

The moment my name and my rank were announced, I could feel everyone's gazes turning to me.

At that exact second, I knew I became the target they would think easy. My name was known thanks to rumors, and my low rank would make it pretty easy for others to target me.

However, that didn't mean much. After all, they would probably just pursue me while gathering together all those people; therefore, I would highly be pursued by those who were left behind.

"Everyone's ID is confirmed. Get ready, you are entering."

Before anyone could form a strategy in their minds, the member gestured for us to follow as everyone made their way to the dungeon entrance.

However, while I was waking, I felt something was amiss. Between the gazes directed at me, there was a feeling.

The feeling that I got when I was in the dungeon.