Chapter 26 - A Huge Gamble
Han Wu scrolled through the mission list, noticing that 60 out of the 500 missions were already greyed out. Those were exclusive missions, which meant they could only be cleared once.
He soon found a mission he could complete.
[Mission 64: Destroy the camp of the Abyss Demons. Reward: 80 points; Rank 2 Skill Gem, a Chain Fireball.]
The Abyss Demons, demonic beasts indigenous to the Demonic Civilization, were notorious for their cunning nature yet possessed only average physical strength. They were also known to be the eighth most abundant cannon fodder by the Divine Civilization.
Why does eradicating the supposedly weak Abyss Demons offer so many points? Han Wu thought confusedly.
After thoroughly reading through the mission description, however, he learned that it wasn’t an error. The camp of the Abyss Demons was massive, and according to preliminary scouting, there were 1 million Abyss Demons in the camp.
They had established a complete Evolution Path for themselves, progressing from Common Abyss Demons to Elite Abyss Magic Knights and Wizards, and finally Unique Abyss Priests capable of reviving other Abyss Demons, one of which was present in the camp.
Though it would be difficult for others to clear the mission, Han Wu wasn't really worried. After all, all he needed was a lot of corpses in order to obtain a huge skeleton army.
With his objective clearly in mind, he headed back to the skeleton army base.
***
As time wore on, the 80th day of the examination soon arrived.
Approximately 300 students—those that didn’t have enough time and resources to establish their forces in the Demonic Civilization—had chosen to surrender and withdraw from the examination.
The homeroom teachers were carefully examining the data on their screens, with some once again betting on who would be ranked first.
“Huang Fei from my class has established an army of Demonic Gnomes. I think he has 100,000 of them or so. He’s also currently placed first with 3,200 points, so I’m definitely sure he’ll obtain the Divine Essence this time.”
“Liu Mo is also doing quite well too, being ranked second with 3,010 points. I heard that he successfully found an Evolution Path for his Demonic Goblins. With just a little more effort, he might just be able to win first place instead.”
“Tian Wen, you're awfully quiet today. Is something the matter? Is your top student’s performance not living up to your expectations? I thought your class placed first, haha.”
Some of the homeroom teachers, secretly envious, couldn't resist mocking Tian Wen, as his class had indeed placed first in the previous exam and earned substantial resources from the school.
Tian Wen shrugged. “Do we really need to discuss my class? Fine then. As it stands, Zhang Xiaolong currently has 2,890 points, Xu Sun follows with 2,870, and Qin Shuang trails with 2,830 points. They are all well within the top 10.”
“Who cares about the top 10? We want to know who will be placed first. The Divine Essence is the real reward here. Isn’t Han Wu, the one who was in first place, your student? Why isn’t he doing anything right now?”
“Hold on, let me check Han Wu’s position… He’s at the 140th position, the bottom of the rankings! Hahaha! Tian Wen, is this your so-called genius student?”
“I heard that he sold off the Divine Essence he received last time. Isn’t that a bit too shortsighted? How could he sell off such a rare resource?”
Liu Letian, thrilled to be presented a chance to humiliate his rival, Tian Wen, added, “That’s what I’ve been telling you guys. That boy used trickery to place first during the previous exam. He used to be dead last in my class, but it appears that someone foolishly thought Han Wu was a genius instead.”
“In the end, locusts are frail. It’s a miracle that Han Wu could even survive in the Demonic Civilization for this long.”
Liu Letian scoffed, “Hmph! Only the winner has the right to brag. The Divine Civilization cares only about the results, not the process. Your top student is dead last, and he most likely won’t have the chance to turn his situation around. It’s a waste of time for him to struggle in the Demonic Civilization. Maybe he’s trying his best to survive just so that he might have the chance to squeeze into the top 100 to get something at least.”
Tian Wen, not one to stay silent after hearing someone insulting his student so much, immediately warned, “Mr. Liu, watch your mouth! You are a teacher, so show some courtesy to the students, at least!”
“Mr. Tian, am I wrong? Let me tell you the truth—your precious student, Han Wu, is utterly hopeless, and that fact isn’t going to change no matter how many resources you give him.”
Liu Letian utterly despised Han Wu and would never let go of a chance to insult him. After all, the boy had made him lose so much.
Tian Wen growled in response. “Let’s have a bet then. I bet you that Han Wu will come out first again!”
Liu Letian smiled. “Han Wu? First? With his pathetic number of points? Tian Wen, are you kidding right now? Huang Fei has way more 0’s than him right now.”
Tian Wen, however, still had faith in Han Wu. “Do you really think so? Why don’t you take a gamble?”
Liu Letian had no reason to refuse. “Fine. I will wager 10 Divine Essence this time around. What about you?”
“Of course I will. However, I’m worried for you. Can you even take out 10 Divine Essence?” Tian Wen taunted.
Liu Letian paused momentarily. He didn’t have that many Divine Essence Cards after previously losing 5 Divine Essence. If he lost once more, he would have to take out his own Divine Essence. He only had 14 Divine Essence on him at the moment. If he took 10 of them out, he would fall from the rank of the Demigod. He didn’t want to risk it, and yet a good chance to humiliate Tian Wen was right before him! He didn’t want to give up yet.
“You’re right, I don’t have 10 Divine Essence. However, I will wager a Divine Aspect instead!”
At that declaration, all the other homeroom teachers turned to stare at Liu Letian in shock. That was borderline insane! It was just a bet. Was there any reason to risk so much? A Divine Aspect, the root of a Demigod, was even more precious than a Divine Essence, and even the lowest ranking Divine Aspect would be worth at least 2 Divine Essence. Of course, the higher ranking Divine Aspects were worth many times more than that.
“Don’t bother taking out a Rank 1 or 2 Divine Aspect to fool me. Only a Rank 3 Divine Aspect will be worth at least 10 Divine Essence,” Tian Wen sneered.
“Fine. I have the Rank 3 Divine Aspect: Healing. Does that work for you?”
Tian Wen nodded with satisfaction. “That’s good. So I take it that our wager is now official?”
“Yes, and I will make sure to win back what I’ve lost last time!” Liu Letian shot back.
Hearing that, Tian Wen laughed. “Mr. Liu, as a Demigod, don't allow yourself to be misled by the immediate situation. You should know that relying solely on present observations can be deceptive. I'll let you in on something interesting—my student is preparing to clear a mission worth 80 points, and I think he will be successful soon.”
The other homeroom teachers, knowing how the reward system worked, were astonished by his bold declaration. After all, the greater the points, the harder the mission would be.
A mission worth 80 points was usually classified as too difficult for a normal student to clear. Should Han Wu succeed in clearing such a mission, however, he would undoubtedly secure the attention of recruiters from prestigious colleges. Even if, in the end, he failed to get a good rank in the exam, he would still have made a significant impression on the top-ranking colleges.
Secretly envious, Liu Letian retorted, “So what? Clearing that mission isn’t the point. Our wager is on whether he'll manage to secure first place again or not!”
The narrow-minded teacher wished one of his students could also clear a mission worth 80 points. Even Liu Mo, one of his brightest students, had managed to complete a mission worth 60 points just once.
Smirking, Tian Wen continued, “Do you think other missions worth even less will be an obstacle to him if he manages to clear a mission worth 80 points?”
The other homeroom teachers realized that something interesting was about to happen and grew curious as to what Han Wu had been doing so far. To protect his student’s privacy, however, Tian Wen did not display Han Wu’s interface, only hinting for them to wait for the end of the examinations.
Chacha's ThoughtsAbyss Demons
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