At the entrance of the Underground Labyrinth, a wave of curious gazes turned toward one particular figure—jir.
After all, an SS-rank talent was no small matter.
It had been several years since anyone had awakened such a monstrous gift.
jir could feel the attention being directed his way.
Imdiately, he raised his chin in pride, basking in what he assud was admiration.
"Headmaster Owen," he declared confidently, "don't worry. This ti, I'll definitely break the Academy's record in the Underground Labyrinth!"
Headmaster Owen's mouth twitched slightly at that bold proclamation.
The surrounding students, however, weren't nearly as restrained—they stared at jir like he had completely lost his mind.
But jir, misreading the atmosphere entirely, thought the looks were ones of awe and reverence.
Clearing his throat dramatically, he straightened up and continued his speech.
"I know very well that for the past few years, everyone's been focused on Daniel," he said with a tinge of disdain.
"But so what? In the end, didn't he awaken a worthless F-rank talent?"
"In contrast, I, jir, am the real deal—a man of true strength. I'll prove it with my actions!"
With his chin tilted even higher and a smug expression on his face, jir closed his eyes and imagined the thunderous applause that was surely coming.
Yes. Applaud . Cheer for .
I know you all envy —you must be jealous of how powerful my talent is.
But thirty seconds passed.
And the crowd remained utterly silent.
Not even a polite clap.
jir awkwardly opened one eye, then both.
To his horror, the only response from the crowd was blank stares and the occasional raised eyebrow.
Everyone was staring at him like he was so kind of clown.
For a brief mont, jir's faith in reality began to crumble.
Owen, standing a short distance away, frowned slightly.
He had, of course, heard about the SS-rank talent that had erged at the Tin-Silver Royal Academy.
How could he not?
There were eight such awakenings across the entire Tin-Silver Kingdom this year, and even among them, an SS-rank still represented the absolute peak of talent.
It was no exaggeration to call these individuals future legends.
But what left Headmaster Owen dissatisfied was jir's unbearable arrogance.
After a mont's thought, Owen decided to rain on the boy's parade.
"I don't think breaking the Labyrinth record will be as easy as you think," Owen said calmly.
"I just received word—soone already broke the previous record."
jir, already in a sour mood from the silence, perked up at the news.
"It's fine, Headmaster Owen," he said nonchalantly. "So soone broke the old record—so what?"
"I'm confident I can break it again and set a new one!"
Owen raised an eyebrow at the youth's persistent confidence and offered a strange, unreadable smile.
"Student jir... perhaps you should reconsider."
Reconsider?
Was this a joke?
jir shook his head furiously, eyes burning with determination.
"No need to persuade further, Headmaster. I've made up my mind—I'm going to break the record!"
"I rember the previous record was 3 minutes and 40 seconds. I'm going to go a step further and shave off 5 seconds!"
The tone of his voice was so dramatic, so filled with conviction, one would think he was announcing a world-changing invention.
And yes, under normal circumstances, breaking a speed record by 5 seconds was a comndable improvent.
But just a few minutes earlier, Daniel had rewritten the leaderboard.
And not by five seconds—but by several minutes.
When compared to that feat, jir's proud "5-second" goal suddenly seed pathetic.
Tragically so.
Once again, jir found himself in an incredibly awkward situation.
The last ti he'd felt this humiliated had been—ironically—just a few minutes earlier.
The entire courtyard fell into an eerie silence once more.
jir's triumphant speech, intended to rouse the crowd, sank like a pebble tossed into the ocean—causing barely a ripple.
"Why don't you check the record for yourself?"
Owen said after a brief pause, his voice laced with both pity and amusent.
jir, not completely stupid, had already started to sense sothing was wrong.
He cautiously approached the Dragon Glass Stele, the device that recorded all dungeon clearance tis, and began scanning the leaderboard.
The mont his eyes landed on the top entry, his brain short-circuited.
Wait, what...?
First place... 1 minute and 6 seconds?!
WHAT?!
Was that even physically possible!?
He rubbed his eyes and checked the na again.
Daniel.
Daniel??
Wasn't that the so-called waste of space who'd awakened an F-rank talent—Furniture Craftsman!?
How... how could this be possible!?
For a mont, jir genuinely wondered if the Dragon Glass Stele was malfunctioning.
There was just no way a Tier-1 adventurer could complete the dungeon that fast.
Even with the rarest scrolls, or divine buffs, it still seed impossible.
"O-Owen Headmaster... could it be the Dragon Glass Stele is... damaged or sothing?"
Owen frowned.
What kind of ridiculous question was that?
The Dragon Glass Stele had appeared alongside the teleportation gate itself, forged by Supre Power—a force above mortal comprehension.
Even demigod-ranked warriors couldn't alter or tamper with its structure.
"How little you understand of Supre Power, Student jir," Owen said with mild annoyance.
"And even if—hypothetically—the Stele had been damaged... would you care to explain why the other two Steles nearby are displaying the exact sa results?"
jir, startled, followed Owen's gaze and looked toward the other two Dragon Glass Steles.
[Clearance Ti: 6 seconds]
[Clearance Ti: 1 second]
"...?!"
His worldview collapsed on the spot.
He had been trying to guess what kind of ultra-rare scroll Daniel might've used to achieve a 1-minute ti.
But after seeing soone complete the dungeon in 1 second...
That was when he realized the truth:
Daniel was operating on an entirely different level.
A level that jir couldn't even begin to comprehend.
So the rumors were true—Owen had co to the Labyrinth entrance not for jir...
...but to et Daniel in person.
"Headmaster Owen..." jir said, his voice hollow. "How... how did Daniel pull it off?"
Owen's face showed a flicker of curiosity as well.
"To be honest... I don't know either," he admitted.
"When I saw the record displayed on the Dragon Glass Stele, I was just as stunned as you."
jir stood there blankly, mouth opening and closing, but no words ca out.
His spirit had been utterly crushed.
All these years, he had worked so hard, all in the hopes of earning the admiration of Saintess Marina.
But no matter how much he struggled, everyone's eyes had always been drawn to Daniel.
Even when Daniel was bullied, people still ca to his defense.
And what about jir?
He had always existed in the background, in a corner no one cared about.
Now, finally, he had awakened an SS-rank talent.
He thought the mont had co—his long-awaited rise to glory.
But it was only now, faced with undeniable truth, that he realized the bitter reality:
He had never been Daniel's rival.
Not even close.
Just being Daniel's classmate... was enough to make him a joke.
There was no point comparing anymore.
But still...
How the hell did Daniel do it!?
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