Chapter 355 - 320: Opening Champagne (2)

Chapter 355: Chapter 320: Opening Champagne (2)

Lloyd was in high spirits, so he didn’t want to spoil the mood. He walked over and took a champagne flute from Instructor Lille’s hand.

He had really hit the jackpot this time, leveling up a full 38 times for 190 Attributes points and even getting nine precious Special Skill fragments.

Every time a student fainted, he would absorb a huge amount of Spiritual Contamination from them and the instructors, allowing him to easily gain 6-7 levels, plus a Special Skill fragment. The feeling was as exhilarating as using Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

’Sixty points to [Rationality], sixty to [Spiritual Power], sixty to [Cognition], and ten to [inspiration]! Add them!’

’I’ve never felt so good allocating points!’

[Ding! Point allocation complete.]

[User: Lloyd]

[Status: Normal]

[Madness Value: 6/10,000 (Limit: 37,500)]

[Rationality: 375]

[Spiritual Power: 375]

[inspiration: 160]

[Cognition: 375]

[System: Twist LV4, Veto LV3, Manifestation System Enlightenment available]

’Don’t call me a water bucket anymore. Call me a water tank!’

In his excellent mood, Lloyd took the rare step of drinking a small glass of champagne in celebration.

If he had any regrets, it was that he hadn’t been able to piece together that Special Skill, nor had he been able to access the knowledge recorded on the book pages.

Fortunately, he had already prepared himself for this possibility, so he wasn’t too disappointed.

And now, with all nine students having fainted, their part of the job was over.

Barring any surprises, the students would likely sleep until the mission was over and it was time to head back.

This explained why the student handbook was filled with glowing reviews for the archaeology trip, all of them emphasizing how easy, safe, and fun it was.

You basically did nothing on the way, just chatting, laughing, and drinking. After the Forbidden Knowledge was collected, you just slept until it was time to go home. Anyone would find that easy.

Although there was, perhaps, a tiny risk of succumbing to madness...

But students who succumbed to madness probably weren’t going to be leaving reviews in the handbook, were they?

’All in all, archaeological digs are a fantastic activity!’

Lloyd praised it sincerely in his heart.

The group’s next task was to wait for news from Professor Fernando’s team. Once they had results, the two groups would rendezvous and head back safely.

The Bounty Hunter Teaching Assistant, likely realizing how smoothly the mission was going, finally began to relax. He joined Lloyd’s group of three, picked up a wine bottle from the ground for the first time, and took a small sip.

Then he murmured with a sigh:

"This is the smoothest mission I’ve ever been on. I was honestly prepared for the worst..."

As he spoke, he turned to Lloyd, nodded, and remarked:

"You’re very impressive. The kind of top student who brings pleasant surprises. You’re worthy of that lapel pin."

"Thank you."

Lloyd smiled.

But the Teaching Assistant lowered his voice and warned:

"Don’t use that ’Holy Artifact’ of yours so casually in the future. A few moments ago, I almost mistook you for a dangerous element and was tempted to act. Or rather, if you weren’t a Space System student recommended by Professor Lawrence, I’m afraid I would have already..."

"Er..."

Lloyd was suddenly at a loss, feeling incredibly awkward.

’So I couldn’t hide it from his sharp eyes after all...’

But thankfully, he didn’t press the issue. Otherwise, the misunderstanding could have become a huge problem.

Seeing the atmosphere grow a little awkward, Instructor Randy quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, let’s not talk about that. Come on, everyone, try some of my wine."

"Thanks."

The Teaching Assistant nodded, letting Lloyd off the hook.

Lloyd, however, didn’t have any more to drink. While his high Rationality meant the alcohol had virtually no intoxicating effect on him, drinking was still bad for his health. He politely declined the instructor’s offer, using the excuse that he needed to monitor for spatial fluctuations.

After a few rounds of drinks, the other three inevitably started talking about the professor’s progress.

"Have you received any communication?"

"No, contact has been lost."

"Lloyd?"

"I can confirm their location. They’re currently in a relatively stable pocket of Space and aren’t moving around much. Maybe they’re setting something up or making preparations?"

"Hmm... Sounds like things are going smoothly on their end, then? I don’t know much about Miracle Magic, but when I was discussing the details with Professor Fernando before we left, he mentioned that retrieving the ’Kernel’ would be an extremely complex process with a completely unknown chance of success."

"Yeah, this mission was always a bit of a gamble. I just never expected our side of it to go so smoothly. I wonder how the professor’s team is doing."

"It probably won’t be an issue."

The Teaching Assistant suddenly interjected, then explained his reasoning:

"Their team is much stronger than ours and far more experienced. Especially Instructor Toledo from the Engineering System. Once the new school year starts, he’s set to become a new professor in the Engineering System, specializing in R&D for archaeological equipment."

The two instructors nodded in agreement, each adding their own thoughts:

"Yes, I know of that Toledo fellow. He’s one of the rare ones from the Engineering System who’s also a top expert in archaeology and history."

"Initially, I thought this mission was too risky and was thinking of an excuse to back out. It was only when the professor said he’d brought in Toledo and those three brutes to help that I accepted. I just didn’t expect them to be on a separate team. Does this mean I got played by the professor?"

"Haha, it’s not a bad thing, though. At least we have Lloyd on our team, which actually made things much easier."