Theodore’s voice boomed over the hall.
“Congratulations on surviving,” he began, his eyes scanning the room, “All of those currently in this room are truly the one deserving of being called Rift Conqueror Students!”
The holographic screen lit up.
[837 students remain out 1763!]
“Holy shit!” one voice echoed from somewhere in the back.
“Less than a thousand…”
“Well, we survived, didn’t we?” another student answer, trying to sound cheerful, though the undertone of anxiety was unmistakable.
Stark glanced around the room, taking it all in.
The chatter around him was incessant, but to him, all of these people were just coping.
Despite the noise, the weight of those numbers wasn’t anything special to him.
Nearly 4000 students had fallen between the first and second trials.
And there was still one more trial to go.
“Calm down, people,” Theodore’s voice cut through the noise like a blade, his aura spiking to silence the room, “I know it’s scary, but as said before, only the strongest shall survive this academy.”
“…” no one dared to say anything.
But Stark clenched his jaw, biting back a curse.
‘Fuck off,’ he thought.
He didn’t care about the death’s either as Lana and Sora were alive, but Theodore’s indifferent attitude toward all of this infuriated him.
It was as though the deaths and failures were nothing more than a side effect of the academy’s grand plan to create the ultimate fighters for the second year.
The silence deepened as the holographic screen behind Theodore flickered to life again, displaying a massive leaderboard.
Stark’s group, unsurprisingly, was ranked first.
The names of the Punkz Brothers appeared second, their obnoxious grins from a few months back playing on his mind.
And third place belonged to Karl Spikeford’s group, also expected.
The rest of the rankings blurred out in Stark’s mind, irrelevant to him.
Theodore’s grin widened as he watched the students absorb the information.
“Well… just as before, I guess it’s time to introduce your next and final trial for this first year,” he said, practically buzzing with excitement, more excited than the students themselves for what was about to come.
The screen began to change.
“But before any of that…” Theodore’s smile twisted into something more devious, “We shall introduce a transfer student!”
And just like that, the room erupted.
“WHAT?!”
“TRANSFER STUDENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR?”
“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!”
Outrage spread like wildfire across the hall.
Students began shouting over each other, disbelief evident on their faces.
It was unheard of for someone to be brought in this late, after the trials had already claimed so many lives.
How was that even fair?
Theodore, however, seemed completely unbothered by the uproar, “Calm down, my fellow students, you will understand why once you see him,” the chairman smiled, not caring about any of their opinions, after all he ruled this place.
“Never!”
“Let’s beat up that guy!”
“He must think sooo highly of himself.”
Theodore turned to the screen, and with a wide grin, he finally spoke the name that silenced the room completely.
“Welcome… Daniel Pridel!”
The exact moment his name was uttered, the moment the last syllab escaped Theodore’s mouth,, the entire room went quiet, all of them, even the Punkz Brother, turning cold and fearful.
“???” Stark was confused.
Of course, Stark remembered Daniel vividly.
He was the first real opponent Stark had faced after reincarnating into this world, a memory etched into his mind.
Daniel was the one who pushed Stark to spin the [Class Wheel] to unlock his [Domination] class, setting off everything that had happened since.
But as far as Stark knew, Daniel had been nothing more than a minor nuisance at best.
Yet the atmosphere in the room told a different story now.
“Holy shit…”
“Don’t piss him off…”
“Fuck, I didn’t think it would be him…”
The whispers of fear spread like wildfire through the remaining students.
Stark was puzzled, turning to Lana for clarification.
“Is he that famous?” he asked, genuinely confused.
The Daniel he remembered had been a stepping stone, nothing more.
Lana’s expression was serious, her eyes flicking toward the screen, “Are you serious? Daniel Pridel is… different now. You need to see what he’s been doing the past year or so since you beat him,” she said, her voice low.
“What’s he been up to?” Stark asked.
Before Lana could explain, the lights in the room dimmed, and the stage was illuminated.
Daniel stepped into the light, and Stark’s eyes widened in shock, his aura almost instinctively making him take his fighting stance.
The Daniel standing before them was unrecognizable from the boy Stark had once fought.
Daniel was muscular before, but now he was a legitimate beast, standing at around 190cm tall.
His chest was bare, littered with scars, and his aura was suffocating, while wearing pants that clearly didn’t fit his size.
Stark noted the dried blood still clinging to his torso, his unkempt appearance making him look more like a savage beast than a person.
His gaze was murderous, and his aura was overwhelming.
“Heh.” Stark couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, though he hid it better than back at the first announcement.
How the hell did he transform this much? No one really knew.
“D-Don’t laugh,” Lana pleaded Stark, “I’ve seen articles and even the news refering him as the ‘warrior prodigy of today’s society’!!”
“And why is that?”
“Well… its just rumors since we aren’t sure… but from what I heard all this guy did was fight over and over in rifts, risking his life, yet always coming back stronger, and experts have guessed that he is… at least level 500,” she sighed, “At this level, I don’t even know if you can take him Stark…”
“Nah, I’d win,” Stark smiled, confident, though this guy indeed looked strong.
Lana shot him a skeptical look but said nothing. She knew better than to argue with Stark when he got like this.
On stage, Theodore continued, “No need for further introductions. Daniel, take your place on a square and prepare for the third trial.”
Daniel nodded once, his eyes cold and focused as he moved to the front of the room, his presence commanding.
No one dared speak as he walked past, his very aura sending waves of unease through the crowd.
“Well, then let’s get to the reall good part!” Theodore clapped his hands.
The screen flickered once more, and the image of a massive dark and crimson hole in the ground appeared
“!!!” Stark’s eyes widened in shock, could this be…
[The academy has worked hard.]
[They have found this rift called the ‘Devil’s Abyss,’ an extremely dangerous rift they’ve been trying to unlock for over a year. And now, they’ve found one of the only two keys in the world to open it.]
The screen zoomed in, showing the colossal entrance to the rift, an ominous black wall with a glowing keyhole.
[Third Trial: The Devil’s Abyss.]
[The Devil’s Abyss is a level 250-400 rift from the ‘DETERMINATION’ difficulty, and yes that might sound crazy, but do not fret, we will NOT be asking you to clear it.]
[Your mission is simple: retrieve three ‘Devil Flowers’ located in the second zone of the rift. Retrieve them, and you will successfully graduate your first year.]
[That is all, couldn’t be easier!]
But Stark didn’t believe them: this seemed… WAY too easy.
And the other students knew it
“What’s the catch?!”
“Not falling for that, old man!”
[The catch is that the rift is difficult and filled with demons to brim, it was detected as one of the rifts with the highest demonic energy ever.]
[The ‘opening’ of the rift will happen right after these announcements, you will be teleported to the location where it will happen before your eyes!]
[Of course, you can choose to leave now, as you will be granted a ‘Devil Abyss’ token to be able to teleport to the location whenever you want, but you won’t be able to witness the opening!]
[Have fun!]
And then the holographic screen disappeared, leaving the students baffled.
Especially Stark though, who’s jaw almost dropped to the ground.
“That is all,” Theodore smiled, “And as our little holo-friend said, we will begin the opening in exactly twenty minutes from now,” he snapped his fingers, and suddenly the entrance of the school opened, “Those who want to leave may do so to prepare.”
And just like that… the third trial could now start
