Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 398 - Dungeon Conquest Exchange (2)

“Hmm, I’m concerned about the difficulty level of the dungeon. It’s natural to set it high, but have we ever set it this high before?”

“Yes, we’ve set it quite high. However, Director, any lower difficulty would be meaningless. Moreover, given the excellent lineup of teachers this time, even if an accident occurs, we should be able to handle it well if we respond properly.”

“Setting the intermediate difficulty is quite tricky. It can’t be helped.”

The Director worried about the possibility of a major incident.

Teachers are role models for students.

Through teachers, students could find tremendous potential and grow significantly, or have their potential crushed and lead a miserable life.

As role models, showcasing their capabilities was crucial.

“It’s difficult to clearly demonstrate a teacher’s capabilities with just the academy curriculum.”

Teachers are also reluctant to show 100% of their abilities to students.

They think of themselves as evaluators, not the ones being evaluated.

That’s why it was truly important for students to grasp their teachers’ capabilities in this way and recognize that they were being educated by specialists in their fields.

As soon as the fifteen teachers entered, the students fell silent. The Director also closed his mouth.

The first to move were, of course, the teachers from Goode and Covington Academies, who specialized in dungeon conquests.

The two teachers quickly assessed the situation and began to enter the dungeon step by step.

Following them was Wigen, the representative teacher from Vogue Academy.

Wigen was a bit bolder but much more stable. Wigen closed his eyes and spread his mana, quickly advancing while checking for traps or monsters ahead.

“I see what they’re trying to show.”

The three leading teachers were trying to demonstrate the standard approach.

How to advance through a dungeon, how to conquer it.

The Director watched them with satisfaction.

“That’s exactly it. Students can learn by observing such examples.”

And then.

Ethan, who was expected to move right from the start, was only now taking careful steps.

Seeing this, students and teachers from other academies thought that Ethan indeed lacked dungeon conquest experience.

“He’s finally moving.”

But Ethan didn’t recklessly push forward. Instead, he stopped again at the entrance, placing his hand on the ground and pressing his ear to the wall, seemingly preparing for something.

As Ethan began to move in earnest, those watching other videos instinctively turned to Ethan’s feed.

But as Ethan lingered at the entrance, they again switched to watching the other teachers.

“He’s being cautious.”

“It’s an exchange where teachers need to set an example for students. The teacher must have his own thoughts.”

Ethan was quite behind compared to the teachers who rushed in instantly.

At that moment, the other teachers encountered their first monsters.

“!”

“Monsters.”

By the time Ethan started moving, the teachers who moved ahead were already facing monsters.

Although the dungeons had different internal structures, the timing and types of monsters appearing were similar.

Kuung-!

The teachers quickly responded as soon as they encountered the monsters.

“Ooh…”

“As expected of professionals.”

The teachers from Covington and Goode blocked the monsters’ attacks and counterattacked. Meanwhile, Wigen had already taken down his monster.

“No joke? Look at Teacher Wigen.”

“He dealt with it in an instant.”

Wigen’s speed in handling monsters was faster than the professional teachers from Goode and Covington.

Having gained momentum, Wigen quickly advanced and soon encountered a second monster.

“It’s a one-horned ogre…”

“He can’t even bypass it. He ran into it in an alley.”

The one-horned ogre was one of the powerful monsters.

And to encounter such an ogre in a narrow space.

“I heard its skin is even thicker than a regular ogre’s.”

Grrrr-!

Tremendous power gathered in the one-horned ogre’s hands. These ogres store mana in their horn and use it when attacking enemies.

Kwang-!

The one-horned ogre swung its fist down, intending to crush Wigen.

However, Wigen easily dodged the attack as if toying with it, then instantly pierced the ogre’s shoulder joint with his sword.

Everyone marveled as the ogre’s tough hide, usually difficult to cut or penetrate, was pierced in a single strike.

“It seems he knows the weak points?”

“No wonder he’s a meister teacher.”

The teachers, in particular, admired and saw Wigen in a new light.

Like Draxler of Freya, Wigen also held the title of meister bestowed by the Demon Empire.

In terms of rank alone, Wigen was as excellent a teacher as Draxler.

“Maybe… if Teacher Wigen had met Teacher Ethan yesterday, the result might have been different…?”

Seeing Wigen swiftly deal with monsters and advance, the Vogue Academy students folded their arms in satisfaction.

With this exchange, Vogue would gain proper recognition.

Kwak-!

Wigen had already taken down the third monster and reached the center of the dungeon.

The center of the dungeon was a vast space. There were doors here and there, and suddenly, they all opened at once, and monsters poured out.

Jiiiiik-!

Among them, a bat-like monster screeched and lunged at Wigen.

One might be flustered by the sudden situation, but Wigen remained consistently calm.

Maintaining composure in any situation.

That’s exactly what Wigen wanted to demonstrate.

“…”

Everyone focused on Wigen’s movements as if about to be drawn into the video.

And then.

Ethan, who had been motionless at the dungeon entrance, began to move.

Step by step.

“Is he planning to clear it with force?”

“Yeah, that might be better. Basically, Teacher Ethan has the power. No matter what monster appears, he can just cut them down, right?”

Ethan’s strength had already been proven.

No matter how difficult the dungeon, he could easily clear it with that power.

But that wouldn’t earn him a high score. The purpose of this exchange wasn’t just dungeon conquest itself.

The important thing was ‘how to conquer the dungeon’.

The focus of the exchange was to showcase the method of dungeon conquest.

Therefore, clearing it solely with brute force wouldn’t earn a high score.

The process of fifteen teachers clearing the dungeon was being scored in real-time, and quite a bit of scoring had already been done.

The evaluators selected by the Total Management Bureau watched Ethan intently. If he had switched to clearing by force, high scores would be difficult to expect.

“Huh?”

“Something’s odd.”

But something was strange.

Although Ethan started moving late, it was clearly time for monsters to appear.

Yet Ethan continued without encountering any monsters.

“What’s going on?”

Ethan’s speed increased as he moved forward without encountering monsters. He strode as if he had completely mapped out the path.

“No way.”

Captain Kremton of the Iron Mercenary Group, tasked with evaluation, frowned. He had extensive dungeon conquest experience.

Leading the mercenary group, he had conquered many dungeons and often took the vanguard position.

The vanguard was a crucial role in dungeon conquest.

They had to gauge the dungeon’s characteristics and identify monsters. Simultaneously, they needed to adjust the conquest speed.

For instance, they had to quickly and accurately decide whether to fight or avoid monsters based on the mercenary group’s condition.

“Is he possibly avoiding everything right now?”

The evaluators reacted first to Ethan’s strange movements, followed belatedly by the teachers and students in the audience.

“Why isn’t he encountering any monsters?”

“The other teachers met monsters two or three times before reaching the dungeon center, didn’t they?”

“Could it be! Could Teacher Ethan be avoiding them all?”

“Was his careful observation at the beginning about reading the dungeon?”

As the students said, Ethan continued without encountering monsters.

However, it wasn’t that he didn’t meet any monsters at all.

In unavoidable places, he had to face monsters.

Kuung-!

But Ethan lightly stomped his foot and sliced the monster in half. It was a precise strike targeting the weak point.

“Wow.”

While other teachers faced five or more monsters, Ethan had encountered only one.

Avoidance. That seemed to be Ethan’s concept.

“Mr. Kremton.”

Another evaluator approached Kremton, who was writing his evaluation of Ethan without hesitation.

“How should we score Teacher Ethan Whiskers’ dungeon conquest exchange? Since you’re the main evaluator for this assessment, we’ll follow your opinion.”

“Well, to be honest, I’m not sure how to evaluate complete avoidance.”

None of the evaluators had expected Ethan to advance so perfectly while avoiding encounters with monsters.

The evaluation criteria were roughly twofold:

Either carefully conquering the dungeon to reach the end,

Or using only strength to conquer the dungeon.

The correct answer was obviously the first option. This exchange was meant to set an example for students, after all.

But Ethan’s method didn’t fit either category.

He was cautious, but so cautious that he even avoided monsters.

It was truly an ambiguous situation.

That’s why the evaluators decided to put weight on Kremton’s opinion, who could be considered an expert in this dungeon conquest exchange.

“The most important thing in a dungeon is to avoid unnecessary fights and achieve the objective. Whether it’s the dungeon’s core or hidden treasure.”

Generally, dungeon conquest has two goals. Finding treasure hidden by someone in a naturally formed dungeon. And dealing with the dungeon’s monsters to find and process the dungeon’s core, which provides power to the monsters.

The dungeon core is also a valuable item used in creating elixirs or artifacts.

In short, the only reasons to enter a dungeon are treasure and the dungeon core.

“There might be other reasons, but those are the basic objectives. I’ll judge based on that. And if I evaluate the fifteen teachers according to that standard…”

Scribble scribble-

“Teacher Ethan Whiskers ranks first.”