<408 - Student Dormitory Zone>
[Successfully slipped away from the professor’s exam location during the test.]
[Dodging Experience +30]
[Swift Maneuver Experience +10]
[Psychological Prediction Experience +10]
[Survived safely without the professor’s shield from the chaos caused by the Giant Monster Kraken in the deep sea.]
[Dodging Experience +30]
[Crying Experience +10]
[Action Prediction Experience +10]
[Not only did I calmly overcome the seniors’ ambush, but I also instilled an unforgettable nightmare in them.]
[Dodging Experience +30]
[Fear Induction Experience +10]
[Perfect Experience +3]
Hehe. To outsmart the watchful eyes of the professors during the exam, I shouldn’t receive protection from the shield, but being a veteran player, that’s not too hard for me.
I just need to deactivate the professor’s shield and deploy my own, right?
To survive, I need to gain enough defense to match the professor’s shield, but even if I’m lacking in the amount of mana, I’m not one to fall behind in output!
‘Thanks to Mama Kraken being furious about Goo Kraken, I was able to dodge easily!’
Hehe. The operation was a grand success.
The Kraken focused all the professors’ and instructors’ attention and power, allowing me to slip through all obstacles and swiftly cross the coastline.
Even if I get caught later, I’ll have an excellent excuse saying I was shipwrecked by the Kraken and got lost!
For some reason, the 2nd and 3rd years roaming nearby and the 1st year friends huddled at the coastline got swept away, but the professors will surely protect them!
[Student Dormitory Zone]
The magical defenses keeping watch have long been destroyed by the Kraken’s deep-sea waves.
Barrier spells are being redeployed here and there, but I easily bypass them using [Mana Technique] and [Acrobatics]!
The moment I crossed the transparent barrier, I reached the interior of the protected expansion area.
━━━
A refuge for those who couldn’t fulfill their dreams
━━━
Hmm.
The concept of this round’s Student Dormitory Zone seems to be a refuge.
Like the Random Papa event, the Student Dormitory Zone is one of the elements decided randomly, and it has quite a few different concepts.
[Point Refugees' Arena]
[Entrance of the Lonely Jar]
[Maze of Wanderers]
Each concept is very distinct.
You cannot escape the Lonely Jar unless you defeat a set number of living beings.
In the Arena where points are at stake, if you become the champion, you can earn a fortune.
To use the shortcuts that dodge the dangers scattered throughout the maze, you have to pay points, but conversely, if you break through the dangers, you can obtain treasure chests filled with points.
It’s the most notorious environment, but without points, you can’t leave the Safe Zone!
In short, it’s the refuge with the highest difficulty!
“Aah. At this rate, I might die soon.”
I feel sorry for the 2nd Hat, Alice, but Charlotte is likely to be found as a corpse.
If she were weaker, she could afford to stay low, but Charlotte is a key talent that the Foundation has been pushing hard.
At the point where that talent fails to advance, the Foundation will start lowering Charlotte’s value and will soon issue [Orders] to recoup their losses.
If Papa saw it with his own eyes during Summer Vacation, he would surely think the same!
Therefore, it’s highly likely that Charlotte is attempting a very dangerous order and is suffering a tough ordeal.
[Green Zone]
[10 Points – 10 Days of Rest Available, Facilities Usable]
[Size: 100 Pyeong, Dormitory, Restroom, Drink Bar, etc. Present]
[Usable Count: 100 Times (13 Times Left)]
[Capacity: 100 People]
[Additional Entry Condition Setting Authority: Changes according to the settings of the earliest user currently using it.]
[Additional Entry Conditions: Only allowed to enter with the invitation of existing users.]
[Yellow Zone]
[25 Points – 25 Hours of Rest Available, Facilities Usable at Additional Cost]
[Size: 25 Pyeong, Dormitory, Restroom, Mana Recovery Room, etc. Present]
[Usable Count: 25 Times (7 Times Left)]
[Additional Entry Condition Setting Authority: Changes according to majority vote of users.]
[Additional Entry Conditions: Must pay an additional fee to existing users and get their majority approval to enter. If approval is denied, the points paid will not be refunded.]
[Red Zone]
[50 Points – 5 Minutes of Rest Available, Facilities Usable Once]
[Size: 5 Pyeong, Emergency Recovery Room Present]
[Usable Count: 5 Times (4 Times Left)]
[Additional Entry Condition Setting Authority: Last User]
[Additional Entry Conditions: Must pay the last user 50,000 Points as an additional fee.]
The notice board of the Mana Panel near the entrance indicating the dormitory is also pretty fierce.
It seems that they failed to reach a democratic consensus for students to peacefully use the facilities, as strict additional entry conditions are attached to the facilities that can be used with just the designated points.
The cheapest Green Zone can only be entered with the invitations of existing users.
The well-conditioned Yellow Zone can’t be entered without the agreement of existing users, meaning you’ll just lose points.
The harshly conditioned Red Zone requires a huge amount of points to even utilize in emergencies.
If you can’t exert your political influence to join the Green or Yellow Zones, it means you can’t even rest peacefully.
“Hey kid. This is the Green Zone occupied by the Knight Department. Those without the sword insignia get lost.”
“If you want to enter the Yellow Zone, show some sincerity. It won’t be easy to satisfy our Production Department’s students. Hohoho.”
The well-dressed senior students glare from inside the secured building in the safe zone, sending greedy looks as if they were looking for a new target for exploitation.
“Oh, it’s fine. I won’t be staying long; I just came to meet someone briefly.”
“Meeting someone…? Wait a minute! Why don’t you have a badge on your collar? Don’t tell me… you’re a Freshman?!”
“Hohoho! Now that’s a laugh. How did a Freshman even get into the Student Dormitory Zone? Advancing to 2nd Year is usually possible with just a points loan. Let me give you some friendly advice, kid. Get out of here right now.”
The seniors who were hostile or greedy towards the same students showed a rather gentle side to a Freshman.
What gives?
They’re probably weak and lingering near the entrance, yet seeing a feeble Freshman makes them feel empathetic and guilty, so they’re not such bad people after all, huh?
In the days of [All-Out Power Training] piggybacking on each other, didn’t they usually storm out brandishing swords or staffs?
Anyway, it’s a good thing the seniors are friendly.
“What is it?”
“Haa, you don’t know anything, do you? Long ago, a senior concealed an incredible piece of news in the Student Dormitory Zone. A fierce battle broke out over that, leading to casualties, and since then, a Mana Disaster has been circulating throughout this entire area.”
“I don’t want to align with the gorillas from the Knight Department, but it’s all true. If you don’t use the Safe Zone, you’ll be directly exposed to the disasters and your stamina, mana, food, and equipment will rapidly deplete. Weaklings and oddballs may scrimp on dormitory fees, enduring the disasters for training or living off weeds, but that’s too harsh of a life for someone so young, isn’t it?”
“Who are you calling a gorilla, you miser?”
“Hohoho. Isn’t it funny that the Knight Department, which can only rely on their strength to prevent entry into the Green Zone, talks trash about others? How childish.”
“Do you want a fight?!”
“Do you think I’m scared of that? Hohoho.”
They’re puffing their chests and drawing lines, but the fact that they’re not throwing the first punch shows that these seniors are indeed quite docile for people lingering at the entrance.
More like non-aggressive herbivore monsters?
It’s a delightful sight, like watching the territory tussle between a squirrel and a hedgehog.
Still, I shouldn’t dawdle too much.
I need to quickly wrap up the business at hand since I’m in a hurry.
“By the way, do you know where I can find a senior named Charlotte?”
It was just a simple inquiry, but the seniors who had been growling at each other stopped and turned their serious faces towards me.
“Is it that Charlotte from the 978th Upper Class?”
“Kid. What’s your relation to Flashing Charlotte?”
Well. What is my relation to her?
“She’s my older sister with the same guardian!”
After putting some thought into it, the seniors’ expressions hardened even more.
“If you share the same guardian… does that mean you’re descendants of the same lineage?”
“Wow. A dangerously reckless kid just entered the spot.”
“I don’t want to get entangled any further. You handle it.”
The male senior from the Knight Department grimaced and closed the window.
The female senior from the Production Department reluctantly pointed towards a huge dust cloud forming in the distance.
“Charlotte has entered the center of the Mana disaster. She claims she’ll find the news no matter what. And that she’ll prove her worth again.”
“Aha. She’s delving into the Bivo route, huh!”
“If you share the same guardian, does that mean you came for the same reason? To find the news?”
“Hmm, it’d be nice to have, but it’s not a necessity. I have plenty of points, so I can use the treasure vault!”
“Well, that’s a relief, but… you should give up finding Charlotte. In the end, it’ll be the same danger for you. If you push too hard, all that’ll result is more [Lost Items]. There are plenty of lost items left behind by students who went in to find the news, only to end up dead or barely escaping with their lives. I, for one, survive by selling supplies to those fools. Hohoho.”
“Still, I have to go in. I have so many questions I want to ask Charlotte!”
The female senior looked at me as if she felt sorry for my plight.
“Oh, was she a close older sister? You’re so foolish! To risk yourself blinded by emotions. But still, I don’t dislike such fools. Here, take this.”
The senior handed me supplies containing a compass, map, food, and water.
“With this, you should be able to last a week even amidst the Mana disaster. You can check the disaster’s movement path on the map. The nearest safe zone should be indicated by the compass, so keep that in mind. Originally, this would be sold, but I’m specially being generous since you look so pitiful.”
“Thanks? But I don’t really need this. Look! I’ve packed all my preparation items!”
When I pulled out the fully-made map I crafted from my backpack and showed it, the magic compass that malfunctions or breaks down when the Mana disaster intensifies can’t compete against the flawlessly crafted magic compass, causing the seniors to panic greatly.
“Wait, where in the world did you, a Freshman, get such an item…? No matter how you look at it, it’s beyond the level that upperclassmen could prepare without prior knowledge.”
“Um, well, about that…”
“Don’t tell me you’re not here to save Charlotte, but rather you have other motives with a dispatched guardian?”
[The senior thinks you are an assassin dispatched by the ‘Organization.’]
[Fear Induction Experience +1]
With a function that activated on its own, the senior stepped back in fear and sharply closed the window.
“?”
I didn’t want to cause concern, but accidentally, I just instilled fear.
The detection spell filled with vigilance emanating from beyond the window clearly conveyed the intent to attack if I approached the safe zone even slightly.
As if they feared the approach of a monster like farmers in panic.
…Well, as long as I eased their worries, I guess it’s a good thing!
Packing up the supplies I had spread out, I hoisted my backpack onto my back.
Ignoring the cold gaze transmitted through the tightly shut window, I moved forward.
The goal is the center of the disaster.
I passed through the entrance of the Student Dormitory Zone and headed into the depths of the disaster, towards the thick clouds of sand!
