Chapter 737: Return from the Dungeon Part V
Chapter 737: Return from the Dungeon Part V
"However," she continued, "I’ll place an additional wager with you. Two thousand gold coins at three to one odds. Emerald finishes with a higher score than any individual team member’s ranking would suggest is possible."
The noble accepted without hesitation, acutely unaware that he was in the presence of someone with superior information.
By the time she had finished her circuit of the observation chamber, she had committed nearly twelve thousand gold coins to wagers on Emerald’s performance. Every single wager was placed with absolute certainty, with eyes that were turning glossy from the amount of coin she was about to make.
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In the Emerald Bay preparation area, where the students had originally equipped themselves, Drakka Gor-Voidgaze stood facing Rhys, her expression revealing to all onlookers that something fundamental had shifted in her understanding of hierarchy.
Her massive Orc body was completely still. Her head was bowed slightly, a gesture of respect from a creature who had spent her entire life understanding only power and dominance.
Behind them, Anya, Lucan, and Bastian were speaking quietly among themselves, their voices carrying the relaxed quality of individuals who had just survived something catastrophic and emerged completely unharmed.
"They’re laughing," Drakka said, her voice carrying the particular quality of someone processing information that contradicted everything she had believed about how the world functioned. "Every single noble in that observation chamber is laughing at you. They believe you wasted the entire trial."
Rhys stood with perfect composure, his expression carrying the absolute certainty of someone who had already understood and accepted that this reaction was inevitable.
"They’re laughing because they don’t understand what actually happened," Rhys replied, his tone calm and measured. "They watched a scrying feed that was delayed by hours. They saw us setting up camp and believed we were inactive. What they didn’t understand is that we had already cleared the dungeon hours before they even saw the footage."
Drakka’s eyes narrowed as she processed this information.
"But you’re certain this was enough?" she asked, her voice carrying both respect and lingering doubt. "You’re certain your plan was foolproof?"
Rhys turned to face her directly, and in his expression was absolute certainty, mixed with gratitude for her willingness to trust him despite every instinct telling her to reject his leadership.
"I reached out to my benefactor before this trial began," Rhys said quietly, his voice pitched low enough that only Drakka could hear. "I asked for information about how to achieve the highest possible score. She told me exactly how the dungeon scoring system functioned."
Rhys paused, allowing the information to sink in. "Knowledge is power. As much as a sword or an arrow is, knowledge can make everything easier unless you have power that the world has never seen before. In this case, I had knowledge. That was enough."
Lucan looked up from his conversation with Anya and Bastian.
"So we actually cleared all seven bosses?" he asked, his tone carrying genuine curiosity. "All of them?"
"All of them," Rhys confirmed. "Starting from the first hour and continuing through the entire twenty-four-hour period. We did everything to maximize our score. The dungeon mechanics worked in our favor once we understood how they functioned."
Bastian’s demeanor transitioned to one of profound admiration.
"That’s why you had us wait," he said, understanding crystallizing in his consciousness. "You knew the scrying feed was delayed. You knew they’d see us doing nothing. You knew they’d mock us. And you didn’t care because you’d already achieved everything the trial was designed to test."
"Exactly," Rhys replied. "Confidence based on information rather than hope."
Anya stepped forward, her anxiety completely gone, replaced by something resembling pride in her captain’s capability.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"Now we wait," Rhys said simply. "The scores will be tallied and displayed. And the observation chamber will be forced to confront the reality that they fundamentally misunderstood what was occurring."
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At the enchanted podium, Headmaster Aldwyn was waiting patiently, his expression carrying the particular quality of someone who had been expecting this outcome all along.
The runic projection above the six colored pillars began to activate.
The first team’s score materialized:
AMBER SQUAD: 25,500
The observation chamber fell into relative silence. The score was middling. Expected for a team that the dungeon’s challenges had annihilated.
Then the second score appeared:
ALABASTER SQUAD: 54,500
Slightly better than Amber. A team that had survived with tactical competence but hadn’t achieved significant victories.
The third score manifested:
CRIMSON SQUAD: -20,000
The negative score hit like a freight train straight into a steel-plated wall.
"Negative?" someone shouted, their voice carrying absolute shock. "How is that possible? They were the strongest team!"
"Environmental destruction penalties," Aldwyn said calmly from the podium, his voice cutting through the chaos with absolute authority. "The Crimson team’s internal dysfunction led to catastrophic collateral damage within the dungeon. The scoring system accounts for such failures."
The fourth score appeared:
VIOLET SQUAD: 84,025
Better than Amber and Alabaster, but still relatively modest.
The fifth score manifested:
SAPPHIRE SQUAD: 100,500
Applause erupted from a section of the observation chamber. The nobles who had placed significant wealth on Asher’s daughter expressed their satisfaction at her performance.
But then the sixth score appeared, and the observation chamber erupted into absolute pandemonium.
EMERALD SQUAD: 250,000
For a moment, absolute silence.
Then the eruption began.
"That’s impossible!" a noble screamed, his voice carrying the particular quality of someone witnessing the complete invalidation of their understanding of the world. "They did nothing! They sat around the entire trial!"
"Cheating!" another voice called out. "That team must have cheated! No honest performance could result in a score that high!"
"It’s outrageous! It’s a travesty! It’s a violation of everything the academy stands for!"
The chaos intensified as nobles began to argue, to accuse, to demand explanations for how a team that had apparently wasted their entire dungeon trial had managed to achieve a score that was two and a half times higher than the second-place finisher.
Headmaster Aldwyn raised his hand.
The observation chamber fell into immediate silence. His presence commanded absolute obedience, and his expression carried the weight of someone about to deliver information that would fundamentally reshape their understanding of what had transpired.
"No one cheated," Aldwyn stated flatly, his voice carrying the ring of absolute certainty. "Rhys simply used the dungeon mechanics more effectively than anyone else in this chamber has ever managed."
He descended from the podium and moved toward the center of the Concourse, his presence commanding the attention of every observer.
"The scoring system functions as follows," he continued, his voice carrying the weight of clinical explanation. "Each monster killed generates points based on its rank. A Pest-rank creature provides five points. A Wretch provides twenty-five points. A Vile provides one hundred points. A Terror provides three hundred twenty-five points. A Dread provides one thousand two hundred fifty points. A Nightmare provides six thousand five hundred points. And a Disaster-rank creature provides twenty-five thousand points."
He paused, allowing the information to settle.
"Environmental destruction penalties reduce score by five thousand points per incident. Friendly fire removes ten thousand points. However, creatures killed while enraged are worth double points. And clearing a dungeon without any incidents grants a bonus of twenty-five thousand points."
A noble raised his hand from the observation section.
"But how did Emerald score that high?" the noble demanded. "Even with perfect execution, the mathematics don’t support that score!"