Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey

Raising two of his fingers, the professor's tone became stern

"Time is taken for you to reach the end of the dungeon, and how many monsters you kill throughout the raid. For each extra monster you kill, you will be given an extra point and so on."

"Also this will be an individual exam, which means you will be working alone in this dungeon. You will not get any help from your teammates. This was done to see how stronger you are when fighting alone the monster."

He paused for a moment and looked towards the rest of the students.

"Shit bro, what am I going to do?" Sunny cursed under his breath as he looked at me nervously.

I, however just sigh at the expression of sunny.

Well, what can we do? We have to follow the rules. That means team 7 which contains me, Sunny, Isabella and Evelyn have to fight alone in this dungeon.

And that rules apply to all first-year students.

Shortly after professor continues.

"There will be third and second years hidden inside of the dungeon. This is so that in case you find yourself in trouble, they can quickly come to your aid. This is a safety precaution that the school has done to make sure none of you die."

Looking at the students before him, the professor's voice turned grave

"However, be warned..."

"There will be a security camera inside the dungeon and we all profecer will be watching all of you, So If you are caught getting help from other students or teammates your point will ll cut down.

"...So don't think that you can fool us. This an individual exam, not a team one."

-Gulp!

Finished with what he wanted to say, the professor noticed a lot of students swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

The tension in the air was palpable as the professor's words sank in, and I could feel the weight of the upcoming challenge bearing down on me. The prospect of navigating the treacherous depths of the Cave of Doom alone was daunting enough, but knowing that every decision I made could impact my grade added an extra layer of pressure.

Glancing around, I could see the determination etched on the faces of my classmates, each of us steeling ourselves for the task ahead. Despite the nerves and uncertainty, there was a sense of camaraderie among us, a shared understanding that we were all in this together.

As the professor outlined the rules once more, I took a deep breath and focused my thoughts, mentally preparing myself for what lay ahead. With the clock ticking and the weight of my goals driving me forward, there was no room for hesitation or doubt.

After moments professor stepped up away from the rest of the students and Miss Lillian appeared in front of all of us.

She gazes at the rest of the students with a calm expression on her face. There wasn't any hint of emotions showing on her face.

The unbreakable silence was broken when Lillian opened her mouth.

"Before we were allowed to enter, we had to check what rank you are at. After doing that we will allow them to student go into the dungeon." Saying Lillian taking out a transparent orb from his dimensional space.

"This orb here will measure your current rank, so once I call your name please put your hand on the sphere. Soon after the sphere measures your rank you will be assigned to your respective dungeon difficulty.."

The artefact orb Lillian held in her hand shimmered with a faint blue light as she addressed the students, its surface smooth and translucent.

My gaze was drawn toward the shimmering orb instantly. This an artefact that can have the current rank of whoever touches it, it can also tell the potential of someone.

But that orb is different, the one that Lillian is holding is only capable tell the rank is C, Anything above that needs a different orb.

Also, when a person touches it shows the colour rank of the person.

I won't go into detail but here are a few examples.

— G : Blue

— F: Yellow

— E: Green

— D : Red

— C: Pink

Those were the respective colors that represented a person's rank.

Holding onto a black tablet, Lillian's stern voice resounded across the space.

"Student Rank 1, Adrian Blackthorn, please step up"

Called up, Adrian slowly walked in the direction of the professor. Arriving before the orb, Adrian looked at Professor Lillian and asked

"Do I put my hand on the orb?"

"Yes"

Nodding his head, under every student's anticipated gaze, Adrian placed his hand on the orb.

-Vuuuuuam!

Unsurprisingly, as soon as Adrian placed his hand on the orb, a tremendous red hue enveloped the surroundings.

D rank.

That's what the red color symbolized.

A rank that no first-year should ever come close to. At least not until the end of the first year.

Looking around I could see that many students were shocked at Adrian's rank. Well, it can't be helped no one ever achieved a D rank before in the first year.

Few students would break through to a D rank from an E rank.

And those students are Aric and Isabella. But even if they few more months to do that.

Also, I'm on the list but unlike them, I don't need months, in a week or two I would also be in the same rank as Adrian.

Finally, with this, I caught up to him and I will surpass him too.

I also took a look at Aric face and I was surprised that he didn't even care about Adrian's rank.

Before he would be glaring a dagger at him.

It should be noted that Aric's gone is a large change in his personality, and I think it good thing.

"B-Bro...I-I know that Adrian was strong but not this strong," Sunny said to me as he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, he is strong," I said as I gazed at Adrian's figure in the distance.

He has to be strong, after all, he is the protagonist of this novel.