Na: Eli Montrose
Age: 37
Height: 6 feet
Weight: 110 kg
Personality: Inquisitive, enjoys toxic substances, holds misogynistic views, and is smart when necessary.
Evaluation: Iron-Rank Hunter
Probability: There's a 1% chance of reaching Gold-Rank by the age of 50.
***
I was stunned.
How could this happen?
It didn't fit the academy's rules.
It wasn't his personality that caught off guardit was his rank.
An Iron-ranked professor...
This was the first ti I'd seen a professor with such a low rank.
According to Michael's mories, the academy had a strict rule that only professors ranked Gold or higherup to Acecould work here.
The only exception was if soone had special permission from the principal.
As I processed this, my initial shock wore off, and I regained my composure.
It was clear that this professor must have a close connection with the principal to be working here despite his low rank.
The man stepped forward, his gaze scanning the room with a calm authority.
"Good morning, everyone," he began, his voice firm yet welcoming. "I am Professor Eli Montrose, and I'll be overseeing your virtual match today."
His eyes lingered on each of us, as if assessing our readiness.
"My role is simple," he continued, "I'll be monitoring your progress in the virtual world and ensuring a fair competition. Once you're in the pods, you'll be under my supervision."
The room remained silent as we listened.
"Now, follow . The pods are set up in the academy's simulation wing."
With a quick gesture, he turned and led us through the hall.
The air buzzed with anticipation as we followed him, our footsteps echoing softly in the long corridor ahead.
As I walked down the hallway with the others, following the professor, I overheard so murmurs behind .
"Hey, want to team up?"
"No chance. I'd rather go solo. For all I know, you might stab in the back."
"Co on, man, we've been friends for ages. How could you think that?"
"Sorry, but you know how it is. I'm not risking my shot at that reward."
Honestly, he had a point.
With the rules Marcus laid out, teaming up seed like more of a risk than a benefit.
There were four rules in total.
First, each monster you killed earned you 10 points.
Second, eliminating another player would give you 30 points.
Third, there were three hidden Easter eggs in the arena, each worth a staggering 1,000 points.
If you found even one of those Easter eggs, you'd be almost guaranteed to win, given how valuable they were.
The final rule, which didn't surprise anyone, was that there would only be one winner.
It was unrealistic to think Marcus would give out multiple skill books, considering how incredibly rare they were.
There were only around 100 skill books known to exist in the entire human domain, and my family owned two of them.
With such high stakes, going solo seed like the smartest move.
Since I'm alone, I need to stay alert around others.
The main people to watch are Solos, Mira, Jas, and especially Eoin, who is far more powerful than his master.
Aside from them, I'm confident I can handle anyone else without using my skills.
If I used my dash, I'd easily defeat anyone, even Eoin.
Anyway...
The lights mounted on the hallway ceiling flickered intensely...
At the end of the hall, we reached a large door, which slid open with a push by the Professor, revealing a huge room filled with hundreds of VR capsules.
Hmm...
The space was enormous, with high ceilings and sleek, tallic walls covered with screens displaying various stats.
The capsules had a futuristic lookeach one big enough for soone to lie inside comfortably.
They were jet-black with a glass cover that slid closed over the top.
Blue and green lights pulsed around the edges, signaling they were ready.
Inside, there was soft padding and advanced connectors that linked to the brain for a fully imrsive virtual reality experience.
I couldn't help but be impressed by the high-tech design.
The capsules looked like they were straight out of a science fiction movie.
Florence Academy certainly lives up to its reputation for providing top-notch resources when needed.
Professor Eli then addressed us, paying particular attention to the male group. "These are the capsules you'll be using. We don't have much ti, so listen carefully: get into the pod and keep your eyes closed the entire ti. Do you all understand?"
He looked at both the female and male groups, and we all nodded in agreent imdiately.
***
Ten minutes later, everyone, including , got into our pods.
We lowered and, closed the glass covers and closed our eyes.
***
A few minutes later, in the dark and echoing silence, I finally heard the robotic voice I had been waiting for:
[Welco to the Virtual World, Michael!]
***
"Ugh, what's going on?"
So warm...
I opened my eyes and realized I was standing in the middle of a vast jungle, with the sun blazing down on .
No wonder I felt so hot.
I wiped the sweat from my face and, after a brief pause, chose a random direction to start searching for monsters to hunt.
As I walked, sothing massive flying in the sky caught my eye.
Squinting through the sun's harsh rays, I could barely make it out.
"Is that... a hologram?"
At first, I wasn't sure, but after walking a little further, it beca clear.
It was a hologram displaying the top five hunters with the most points so far:
1) Jas Wilson: 100 points
2) Solos Kamstur: 70 points
3) Anna Parkour: 60 points
4) Mira Lapele: 50 points
5) Adrian Kalson: 30 points
"Damn, They've already started hunting..."
Frustration surged through .
The gap was too bigtaking down one or two monsters wouldn't even get close.
I had to act fast.
Clenching my fists, I focused on one goal: *I need that skill book, no matter what.*
Without wasting another mont, I sprinted off in search of monsters.
After a minute, I ca to a sudden stop, my eyes locked on a large, rustling bush nearby.
Sothing was inside.
The bush in front of was around 8 feet long. In the jungle, it wasn't unusual to co across plants like this.
They tend to thrive in dangerous areas, thanks to harmless worm-like creatures living underneath, supplying them with nutrients.
But that wasn't my main concern right now.
The bush had been shaking wildly just monts ago, but now it was still.
What could be inside?
I started to approach but stopped when sothing erged.
It was smaller than the bush, but still larger than .
A bear.
A regular-looking bear stepped out of the bush and quickly noticed .
I activated my appraisal skill and saw it was an early Common Rank monsterone rank lower than .
While I was busy appraising the bear, it let out a fierce roar and then charged straight at .
The distance between us was only about 20 ters, and it was closing in fast.
The bear was about 7 feet tall, with sharp claws on its limbs and thick skin tough enough to easily resist low-level blunt attacks.
As it rushed towards , the gap between us shrank quickly.
There was no way this bear could defeat .
Just now way...
When it was just 3 ters away, a clicking sound echoed in the air, and for a mont, ti seed to slow down.
"THUD!"
That was the sound of the bear hitting the ground.
I didn't even stop to look back, already moving on to find my next target.
Behind , the massive bear collapsed with a loud crash, its head cleanly sliced off in a single strike.
Uff... That was fast...
And, then with that I practically started running at a unknown to find monsters...
I dont care if any peak gold rank monster cos out of his hive.
I just want to kill.
Oh, by the way, in the party Marcus also inford that there will be three monsters above platinum rank in the jungle, each one will be protecting one easter egg.
This made easier for the hunters to roam and, kill as many as you want.
So, this ga is all about who kills fast and, get points.
For the ti being, I shifted my focus to search for monsters.
***
"Die already!"
A sharp slashing sound echoed, and another monster hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Damn... this is getting tougher.
After running for a few minutes, I finally found a group of mid-rank uncommon monsters. They were easy enough to defeat, but ti was still slipping away.
The ground around was stained with blood from the monsters I'd killed. My daggers were drenched in red, but despite the carnage, I couldn't relax.
I glanced up at the sky and saw the 12-foot hologram hovering above.
1) Jas Wilson: 300 points
2) Solos Kamstur: 200 points
3) Anna Parkour: 150 points
4) Mira Lapele: 120 points
5) Adrian Kalson: 90 points
*Damn...*
I've only managed to kill five monsters, which ans I have just 50 points.
That's... really bad.
The gap between and Jas is enormous. A 250-point lead is nearly impossible to overco by just hunting monsters.
I need to think smarter, not just work harder.
But what's the best strategy?
*Co on, Michael, think...*
Ti was rushing by quickly, like a river flowing downstream.
The clock in the top left corner of the hologram read 10 a.m.
The match would end around 12 p.m., leaving with about two hours.
I needed a planand I needed one fast.
After a mont of thought, I suddenly recalled sothing important that I had overlooked earlier.
"Wait! Isn't that a loophole?"
Yes, I definitely need to try that...
According to the rules, every creature here is classified as a monster...
As the realization hit , a grin spread across my face.
Interesting... very interesting...
Without hesitation, I started searching for what I needed.
It didn't take long before I found what I was looking for.
Here they are...
I said as I spotted a massive bush.
The sa type which I saw a few minutes ago...
I thanked the bush in advance, then leaped onto itmore like pounced on it.
I started digging into the ground with my daggers as fast as I could, excitent growing with every movent.
Where are you?
Co on out...
After a few minutes of intense digging, I finally uncovered the hidden treasures buried beneath the surface.
Yes...
The treasures were gold-colored worms wriggling energetically in the dirt.
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