"Good morning, Professor."
"Good morning, Rey."
Greeting the students on his way, Philius walked towards his office early in the morning to prepare for the day.
It was the second day of selection trials, and Philius needed to be there before it began.
He spends most of his time with the two Council members who came to assess the students and list the names of those whom they deem worthy of participating in the tournament.
'It was really a surprise for Austin to get his name so quickly registered.' Philius smiled warmly as he remembered how the councilmen wrote Austin's name even before the battle concluded.
Reason? They were really impressed by the tactics Austin used to track Elara.
While others might not have perceived it, the sharp eyes of the council member named Curt clearly noticed Austin putting his Shard in the hood of his opponent.
And tracking one's Shard is way easier than tracking a person.
Austin kept a firm control over his Shard since traveling through space, even for a split second, could force one to retreat their soul component.
And on top of that, Austin even summoned another piece of Shroud, and that was absolutely astounding.
'One cannot show such great command over their Shard unless they have at least evolved to the Second stage ...' And here, Austin hasn't gone through a single evolution.
That discovery got the interest of the two Council members that's why it was highly likely that they would call Austin for some questioning. Or if they don't, they surely would keep a close eye on the anomalous student.
*Click*
Opening the door of his office, Philius stepped inside before closing the door behind his back.
Heading towards his desk, he sat down and was about to start organizing his data sheet, when suddenly he found a letter resting on the table.
"Hmm?" Philius's brows raised; this letter surely wasn't here yesterday.
He looked around and found the security parameters were at their place, and the trap set under his chair was also armed.
'Someone quite familiar with my office, and possessing quite an experience....' Philius slowly lifted the letter and assessed it for any trap.
However, he found nothing suspicious, so he tore the small seal and took out the letter.
The moment his eyes landed on the sender, Philius heaved a sigh,
"Surely, for you infiltrating my office should be nothing, Sebastian."
----------**----------
They have been traveling continuously since last night,
Sebastian purposely chose the mutated horses, since they could travel for three days without needing to rest.
Through towns and forests, their journey continued. Austin was thankful that his beloved wasn't a fragile woman. At any moment, he glanced at Valerie he found her unfazed by the tiresome journey.
....however, mentally, he wasn't that used to riding a horse for this long that's why Austin was feeling quite dull in his back and wanted to take some rest.
However, he couldn't stop the journey, considering he needed to reach the capital as soon as he could.
Under such a situation, 'System, open dungeon for me.'
[Ding!]
[Does the host want to exchange 300 points to summon an instant dungeon?]
[Y/N]
'Yes.'
[Command accepted.]
[Assessing the host's stats...]
[Generating dungeon...]
[Ding!]
[Dungeon Name: Colossus Abyss]
[Level: B]
[Time Limit: 10 hours]
[Reward: ???]
Austin heaved a sigh as the world came to a pause before him and a few meters ahead of him was the shining door.
Austin dismounted the horse and walked towards the dungeon.
*ZIIIP*
After a moment of hypermotion, Austin was standing in a completely different world.
The dungeon was an endless expanse of frozen lava; its surface cracked and uneven, stretching as far as the eye could see. Jagged rock formations, once molten, now stand like twisted monuments of a forgotten era.
The air is cold and still, yet the ground holds a lingering warmth as if the fire beneath never fully died.
Austin narrowed his eyes as he saw the seven-foot-tall giants standing in groups, waiting for him.
On their heads, [5] was floating, which signified each giant would grant him five points.
'They look sturdy....' The blackened skin and tight muscles of the giants seemed quite tough to break using his Shard. And not to talk about that number could easily overwhelm him if he allows himself to get surrounded.
'How many points do I need to retreat?' Austin asked as he began stratching his sore limbs.
[Ding!]
[Hundred points, host.]
That means he has to defeat twenty of those giants to return, eh?
Austin glanced at the timer, and there were seven minutes left before the preparation space would disappear and he would be sent to fight.
Austin was running his eyes around, making a plan on how he could defeat the giants without breaking something, when suddenly,
[Ding!]
[An exciting offer has arrived!]
[The host can purchase an A-rank weapon at a lower price:]
[Name: Raijin Wrath]
[Rank: A]
[Attribute: Lightning]
[Price: 1800 pts-> 200 pts]
[Buy?]
[Y/N]
....
Reading the description, Austin couldn't help but utter, "You are straying away from being a system, and becoming more like a salesman."
[Ding!]
[Command accepted! The flash sale would be disposed of-]
"Okay, I accept. Geez, you have quite the temper." Austin heaved a weary sigh, as he found an illumination before his hand.
He extended his hand and held the weapon materializing before his eyes.
He only has about seventy points left, which he could use to upgrade his stats. After defeating the dungeon boss, he hopes he can get enough points to summon the next dungeon and unlock the shop.
The battle axe looked majestic with a gleaming white handle, smooth as polished ivory yet unyielding as steel. Its double-edged blade, forged from sky metal, shimmers with a faint blue glow, crackling with caged lightning.
Austin swung it casually, and the spark flew here and there, showing how useful it would be against the giant monsters.
Looking at the time, he took a deep breath,
[4....3....2...1...*BIZ*]
"It's time to grind."
----------**----------
A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment.