Chapter 62: Lances Bright Future in the Demon Kingdom

Chapter 62: Lance's Bright Future in the Demon Kingdom

After the performance, the theater lights dimmed, and the stage lighting slowly receded, leaving only lingering halos of light swirling across the stage. It was an atmosphere that was mysterious, boisterous, and intoxicating at the same time.

After a moment's thought, Lance decided to seize the opportunity to ask the head of the Music Department a few more questions. However, he couldn't simply interrogate this demon the way he had Bakar by asking point-blank if something had happened at the school.

He had no desire to rashly arouse this demon's suspicions, so he chose a perfectly reasonable approach. "By the way, sir, when is the headmaster coming back?"

The department head shook his head as he answered, "It's hard to say. After a high-level meeting a few days ago, the headmaster headed over to the Demon Kingdom's Department of Education. But rest assured, the school is running normally. Aside from matters requiring the headmaster's personal signature and seal, the deputy headmaster can handle everything else."

"A high-level meeting? Is something going to happen to the school?" Lance murmured, appearing merely curious rather than prying.

"Whenever a high-level meeting involving only the headmaster, the deputy headmaster, and a few senior faculty members takes place, it invariably means there's some trouble afoot. But don't dwell on it, it's not our concern, and there's no need to worry. This is a prestigious school with alumni who are Great Demons of high standing. As long as we follow the rules, even the Department of Education wouldn't dare act recklessly."

In the Demon Kingdom, a powerful figure designated as a Great Demon was at least at Rank 8 or higher. Any one of them held a position of immense influence. The department head couldn't help but wonder if the Radiant Demon standing before him might one day grow into a Great Demon, one who would eventually bear a unique, legendary title.

"Oh, I see." Lance nodded quickly. He felt that the danger mentioned in the details for Mission Objective 2 was almost certainly linked to the subject of that high-level meeting.

However, to obtain more crucial clues, he would likely have to venture into a Difficulty 3 classroom, one staffed by even higher-ranking instructors.

Moreover, it was unlikely that Lance and Hyperion alone could investigate everything. They needed to exchange and share intelligence with the other four challengers to uncover the truth behind Mission Objective 2. This was a high difficulty mission, which was precisely where the challenge of this Level 4 Shadow Realm dimension lay.

Of course, an unexpected alternative path to clearing the mission had just appeared before him. If he could manage to infiltrate the school's upper management, he might be able to bypass all the tedious puzzle-solving steps entirely.

Unfortunately, he would only be staying at the academy for another ten hours. Pursuing such an unconventional strategy would be rather difficult.

***

After conversing a little bit more with the head of the Music Department, Lance turned to look at Hyperion in the audience. He waved his hand, inviting her to step into this musical sanctuary and begin her performance. "Hyperion, it's your turn to perform!"

Hyperion lowered her voice. "Coming."

She rose slowly from her seat, back straight, and strode resolutely through the musical hellscape Lance had created. Even though the music in the classroom remained terrifying, constantly battering at her eardrums and tearing at her nerves, Hyperion found herself discovering a strange sense of balance within the endless agony.

She was even surprised to realize that Lance's hell-style training in this classroom had actually built up a certain resistance to sonic magic within her! Meanwhile, back on stage, the head of the Music Department resumed his role of presiding over the performance assessment.

He no longer had the patience to play along with Lance's antics; he just wanted to get rid of this pest as quickly as possible. However, given the drastic changes in the classroom environment and the fact that there were now five music instructors, he had to explain the new situation to Hyperion before she could perform.

The entire classroom had now entered an automated loop mode. Slumbering Spirit was constantly cycling between unconsciousness and wakefulness, so he would deem any student's performance acceptable, simply because he was bound to fall asleep at some point during the act.

As for Lance, he had already declared that his musical philosophy was one of universal love and inclusivity. He respected art in any form. In other words, as long as the student could make a sound on stage, he would approve.

That meant she was guaranteed approval from at least two music instructors. And so a new phase began. Hyperion stepped onto the stage, enveloped by the hellish screams of the audience. She stood there, braving the immense pressure radiating from the crowd, and sang, gritting her teeth as she did so.

Lance exclaimed, "Your singing is truly beautiful—simply heavenly!"

After a barrage of his insincere, exaggerated praise, Hyperion successfully passed the assessment.

She couldn't fathom how Lance could say such things with a straight face. Wearing a look of utter deadpan resignation, she returned to the audience seats. Then she hauled Bakar onto the stage and let him howl incoherently for two minutes, thrashing about as if in the throes of a seizure.

"Perfect! Simply perfect!"

With the approval of Lance, the only judge who was actually lucid, Bakar passed the audition. Even Bakar himself had no idea how he had managed to succeed.

***

The remaining ten or so minutes had finally ticked away. The theater bestowed by the Demon King was now a venue shrouded in hellish music, and it at last concluded its first assessment.

The tolling of an ancient bell, signaling the start of the break, rang out. The sound pierced through the walls of Purgatory Corridor Academy, echoing across the vast hallways and into every classroom. This marked the first thirty-minute recess.

Yet, strangely, the moment class ended, the spacious corridor remained completely deserted. Not a single student was in sight. A short while later, three students finally emerged from the main entrance, and they were the only ones who had survived the session in the theater that was located along the G24 corridor.

Of note, one of them had to be dragged out, looking for all the world like a corpse...

***

Meanwhile, in the F13 corridor...

[Time remaining: 9 hours, 59 minutes]

[Mission Objective 1: Achieve over 60% exploration of the academy. (Current progress: 10%)]

A young man frowned as he stared at that 10% progress figure. He muttered to himself, utterly baffled, "Logically speaking, entering a classroom marked with a single seal should add 1% to the total, and we gained another 1% the moment we cleared one. That means we've contributed 2% to the exploration rate. So why is it already at 10%?"

Could it be that the other two teams contributed 4% each, while we are the only ones lagging behind? Or... did a single team contribute a full 6%?

The young woman beside him, who had been looking down as if in prayer or penance, finally raised her head to speak to him, "Brother, could it be that some powerhouse has been matched with us?"

The young man pursed his lips and shook his head. "A twisted, evil theme like this ranks among the most dangerous types of Level 4 Shadow Realm challenges. Normal humans simply cannot adapt to the ethics and rules of this ancient Demon Kingdom. Even among Gold Licensed Challengers, there are hardly any who specialize in demonic Shadow Realm dungeons."

As Silver Licensed Challengers who worshipped deities of Order and Goodness, the very idea of associating with demons was abhorrent to them. Having to disguise themselves as demons and mimic demonic behavior was a form of psychological and spiritual torture.

As she listened, the young woman took a deep breath as fear began to set in. "Could it be... that a real demon has infiltrated and become a challenger?"