“Well, it seems some of the students have already cleared their dungeons and finished the exams.” One of the VIPs, a man with a clean suit and impeccable aura surrounding him, exclaimed.
As the practical test continued in the dungeons, some students had already cleared the trials and finished their exams.
“Check, the names of the first finishing students for each dungeon and record them.” The VIPs commanded their assistants to make sure everything they wished was ready. “I don’t want any mistakes.”
All the students who finished emerged victorious, showcasing their talents and abilities.
The observers and VIPs, watching the live feeds and discussing the students’ performances, couldn’t help but express their thoughts on those named characters.
“Victor Blackthorn…..was as expected….He dominated the higher-ranked dungeons with his strategic raw power alone. He’s a prodigy, that’s for sure.”
“Indeed, Victor is a force to be reckoned with. Blackthorns never disappoint.”
“Though the Middleton twins didn’t fall short either. Lucas and Julia proved their worth with exceptional teamwork and adaptability. They complement each other perfectly.”
However, even between the VIPs, there was a clear difference. Some of them had a different special room that no other had.
“What do you think, patriarch?”
Inside the room filled with luxury services, a man was sitting watching the screen.
“It is decent.” The man’s chestnut hair fell to his shoulders, and his cold eyes were targeted on the screen where a student was walking alone.
Behind him were corpses forming a mountain.
“…..” The butler behind him didn’t say anything, but he knew even the word ‘decent’ was a compliment coming out of this man. The position he held and his temperament…
All of this made him into such a person that he no longer expressed extravagant emotions. Sitting on the peak of the world,
“Is there any progress related to the investigation of Kaiser?” The man opened his mouth again as the words continued to spill.
“We are utilizing everything we can, but we have yet to reach anywhere.”
TAP! TAP! With his eyes still on the screen, the man tapped on the chair’s arm.
SWOOSH!
And then he immediately stood up.
“Survey that woman. Make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“Understood, master.” The butler bowed as he prepared the man’s coat and suit.
“And increase the security around Victor and Jane. There is a possibility that they will also target them.”
With those words, the man started walking out of the room, his expression nonchanging.
But, the butler who had been following this man for years knew.
The fact that he was showing special treatment to Victor was already a sign of him making his decision.
And that meant the road ahead of this young man meant to be thorny.
Turning his head to the screen once again, his eyes locked into the walking young man.
“Young master…Hope you don’t break.”
Those were his last words.
**********
For most guilds and cooperations with high standings in the social structure of the Valerian Federation, the mid-term exams were the place for scouting talents.
They would fight for high-ranking students who performed well and came from relatively amicable backgrounds.
However, not every VIP here had such a standing.
There were some who barely qualified to enter here and didn’t have the necessary power to compete with big shots.
That was the case for the young entrepreneurs in the VIP room watching the low-ranking students.
“Lark Whitehorse, huh?” Contact him after the mid-terms end.
“Check the name of this swordsman. If possible, offer him a contract immediately.”
Conversations buzzed, and phones continued to ring as the young entrepreneurs tried to acquire personnel for their businesses.
But, there were also some who trusted their eyes to find hidden gems.
They were the ones who would find the gems that would go unnoticed between the shiny success of high-ranking students. Even though the possibility was low, if such a thing happened, they would be able to save a lot of money and manpower.
That was the case for the young woman as she continued to watch monitors displaying students’ progress.
In her hand was a simple notebook that wasn’t electronic, and there were some names written there.
And on the top was a name [Astron Natusalune] written.
She was eager to see how he would perform in the lower-ranked dungeon.
However, just as Astron was about to confront a group of monsters, the footage abruptly cut to a black screen.
Furrowing her brows in confusion, she quickly glanced at her assistant. “What just happened? Why did the footage go dark?”
The assistant scrambled to check the technical equipment, pressing buttons and trying to restore the image. However, nothing had changed, and the assistant made sure that the equipment was working just fine.
“I am not sure, ma’am. It seems to be an issue from the broadcasting room and something related to signal.”
“Signal?”
Hearing the assistant’s words, the woman pondered for a second, and she looked around for other cameras.
There, everything was fine, aside from the one she was watching. action
“Contact the academy and make sure they fix this issue.”
“Understood, ma’am. I’ll get on it right away.”
********
Inside the control room of the Arcadia Hunter Academy, the staff were monitoring the live feeds from various cameras placed throughout the dungeon. It was essential to ensure the safety and performance of the students during their practical tests.
As they focused on their screens, one of the staff members received a notification on their computer. It was a notification coming from the VIPs. Those problematic privileged ones.
“What do they want, again?” The staff mumbled.
“VIP’s again?”
“Yeah.”
“Nah…..They will probably complain about the quality of the videos again…..Do they think this is a movie or something?” His friend sighed as he remembered the certain time when a young rich kid caused a scene here.
However, brows furrowed as they read the message: “Camera feed failure reported in Dungeon {B-3}, code {D-LR37}.”
Quickly, the staff members checked the connection, and as it showed on the screen, they could see the camera was down.
He turned to their colleague. “We’ve got a camera issue in code D-LR37. The feed is down.”
The colleague responsible for camera maintenance sighed and immediately began troubleshooting the problem. “Alright, let’s check the connection and see if we can bring it back up.”
The control room staff knew that the camera issues needed to be addressed promptly to maintain the smooth flow of the practical tests and ensure the safety of the students. The woman in charge was already losing her mind after the recent incident, and now all eyes were on them.
The Valerian Government was already trying to pressure the academy using the recent incidents as a shackle.
“Something is wrong.”
As the camera maintenance expert and their colleagues began to investigate the issue with the camera feed in Dungeon B-3, it became evident that something was blocking the signal.
“The signal is getting interfered.”
It was a situation they had encountered before, during the recent joint dungeon training. Something that almost caused the academy to close.
“What?”
The room buzzed with concern as the realization sunk in. The joint dungeon training event had been plagued by mysterious signal disruptions, and now it seemed to be happening again during the mid-term practical exams.
One of the control room staff members spoke up, his voice tinged with unease. “This is starting to feel like déjà vu. We had these signal disruptions during the joint training event in Dungeon B-3, and there was an attack. Is there a possibility of it being a technical problem?”
“Sir. This can’t happen. We checked every piece of equipment before the test started, and we were sure that everything was working.
“Then, it is most likely that someone is intentionally interfering with the broadcasts.”
The concern in the control room was palpable as they considered the implications, and the leader of the team immediately took action.
“Check if someone is in the area, and contact the dungeon guardian. Send a healer and instructor immediately. We can’t afford to wait.”
Deliberate interference with the camera feeds was a serious issue, as it could jeopardize the safety of the students and the integrity of the exams.
He knew there was a possibility that only something related to technical issues was happening, but he knew his career was at risk.
When everyone’s eyes on the academy, if such a mistake was made and one of the students lost his life, things would no longer be as easy to cover as before.
“Understood, sir.”
Immediately, one of the workers contacted the healer team.
“Sir! One student’s watch stopped working, and we can’t get any data from them.”
“Who is the name?”
“Astron Natusalune sir.”
The leader of the control room team turned to the staff member who had reported Astron’s watch malfunction. “When was the last data received from his watch?”
The staff knew that they needed to act swiftly to identify and resolve the interference, as well as to ensure the safety of the students participating in the practical tests.
The staff member checked the records and replied, “It was approximately two minutes ago, sir.”
‘Two minutes.’
The man thought. It was enough time to endanger the life of the student, especially if the said student was one of the weakest ones. He could see the profile of the student on the screen, and he could see the implications.
‘It was the right choice to send the team.’
The leader then inquired, “Has any other student reported watch issues or malfunctions?”
The staff member shook his head. “No, sir, as of now, Astron Natusalune is the only student whose watch is not working.”
The leader nodded, deep in thought. The situation was becoming increasingly peculiar, and they needed to figure out what was happening with Astron’s equipment and the interference with the camera feed in Dungeon B-3.
‘I really hope nothing does happen…..’
The man silently prayed for the safety of the student as he looked at the black screen…..