Chapter 10: SSS Rating!!! A Feat Never Before Seen in History!!!

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: SSS Rating!!! A Feat Never Before Seen in History!!!

The moment Nathaniel saw the updated skill description, a flash of excitement appeared in his eyes.

"The inheritance ratio increased?"

Previously, his Shadow Soldiers inherited 100% of his primary attributes.

Now, the ratio had increased to 150%.

That meant his Shadow Soldiers could possess attributes fifty percent higher than his own.

And this was only a Level 2 upgrade.

Nathaniel couldn’t help wondering how powerful his army would become when he unlocked higher skill levels.

He stood on the shattered ancient battlefield, surrounded by blood-red mist that was slowly dissipating.

The dungeon settlement was complete.

It was time to leave.

Nathaniel glanced at the ten Shadow Soldiers standing loyally beside him.

"Return."

His thoughts stirred.

The ten armored figures immediately dissolved into streams of darkness, sinking into his shadow without resistance.

This was one of the advantages of Shadow Summoning. As long as his Shadow Soldiers remained intact, he could recall them at any time and summon them again without paying the original summoning cost.

He wouldn’t need to waste Shadow Energy repeatedly resummoning soldiers he already possessed.

They were his army.

And they would remain at his command.

With the Shadow Soldiers recalled, a pillar of white light descended from above, enveloping Nathaniel’s body.

In the next instant, he disappeared from the blood-soaked battlefield.

...

Westmere No. 1 Academy, Gymnasium

The gymnasium had fallen into an eerie silence.

The principal, vice principal, dean, class teachers, and other staff members were all staring at the teleportation platform in the center of the venue.

Only moments earlier, Nathaniel Beaumont’s progress on the enormous leaderboard had been advancing at a speed that defied common sense.

Wave after wave.

Level after level.

Finally, the number had stopped at 15.

And now, two words appeared beside it.

CLEARED.

The teleportation platform began to hum.

Brilliant light shot upward.

Hum!

As the radiance faded, Nathaniel’s figure slowly appeared.

His hands were tucked casually into the pockets of his school uniform trousers. His expression was calm, and his deep eyes showed no trace of excitement.

Most astonishingly, there wasn’t a speck of dust on his clothes.

His uniform remained neat, without a single visible tear or wrinkle.

He looked nothing like someone who had just survived a dungeon filled with hundreds of dangerous monsters and a Level 50 final boss.

He looked as though he’d merely stepped out for a short walk.

The entire gymnasium fell silent.

It was so quiet that the faint hum of the teleportation platform sounded unusually loud.

Dozens of people stared at Nathaniel as though they were looking at an unknown creature from another world.

Confusion.

Disbelief.

Shock.

And a deep, uncomfortable feeling that everything they knew about newly awakened students had just been turned upside down.

The dean responsible for recording the results clutched the special timer in his hand.

His grip was so tight that his knuckles had turned white.

He lowered his head and checked the time displayed on the device.

His pupils contracted.

For several seconds, he remained frozen.

Then he raised his head toward the principal, his throat working as he struggled to speak.

"P-Principal..."

"Th-this time..."

The principal didn’t bother maintaining his usual dignified expression.

He snatched the timer from the dean’s trembling hand.

One glance was enough.

His eyes widened, and he drew in a sharp breath.

"Hiss!"

He looked from the timer to Nathaniel.

For the first time in years, the principal couldn’t find a single word to say.

At that moment, the enormous leaderboard above the gymnasium trembled.

Golden letters emerged at the very top of the screen, glowing as though they had been cast from molten gold.

[1st Place: Nathaniel Beaumont]

[Dungeon Progress: 15 Waves]

[Result: Cleared]

The previously silent gymnasium erupted.

"Fifteen waves?! He cleared all fifteen?!"

"My god! Wasn’t the previous school record twelve waves? He just broke it outright!"

"How much time has even passed? Even if he ran through the dungeon without fighting, it shouldn’t be possible to finish that quickly!"

A teacher from another class clutched his head, staring at the screen in disbelief.

"This is insane... Has the dungeon malfunctioned? Did it teleport him straight to the end?"

"Are you out of your mind?" another teacher immediately retorted. "The Initial Dungeon operates according to established rules. You think it would just hand someone a free victory?"

Mr. Ellis stood among the crowd, his glasses slipping slightly down his nose.

His palms were covered in cold sweat.

He barely noticed.

His eyes remained fixed on Nathaniel.

He had taught this young man for three years.

He knew Nathaniel came from a powerful family. He knew the boy had awakened an extraordinary Class.

But he had never imagined anything like this.

The student standing before him seemed both familiar and completely different.

Yet the shock wasn’t over.

Not even close.

Just as everyone was beginning to process the fact that Nathaniel had cleared all fifteen waves, the leaderboard changed again.

Hum!

Hum!

Hum!

The enormous screen shuddered.

In the previously blank column labeled Final Rating, a brilliant purple-gold radiance suddenly erupted.

The light overwhelmed the gymnasium’s overhead lamps, forcing several people to shield their eyes.

Within that dazzling glow, three enormous letters slowly materialized.

Each letter carried an ancient, noble presence that seemed to press down upon everyone watching.

[S... S... S...]

Then the letters settled into place.

[FINAL RATING: SSS]

BOOM!

If the announcement of fifteen cleared waves had been an explosion, this was a nuclear detonation inside everyone’s mind.

The gymnasium lost its voice.

SSS Rank.

The highest possible rating.

What did that even mean?

In Westmere, an A-Rank dungeon evaluation was already rare enough to make a student famous.

An S-Rank result was something people associated with extraordinary geniuses who appeared only once in many years.

But SSS Rank?

That was the theoretical pinnacle.

A perfect result.

Something most people had only heard about in discussions of dungeon evaluation systems, never expecting to witness it themselves.

Nathaniel hadn’t merely cleared the Initial Dungeon.

He had completed every wave, defeated its hidden challenge, and obtained the highest possible rating.

A flawless result.

A result that nobody at Westmere No. 1 Academy had ever seen before.

"Am... am I seeing things?"

"SSS Rank? The highest rating? Westmere actually produced an SSS-Rank student?"

"Is he even human? This is unbelievable!"

The vice principal’s lips trembled.

He leaned heavily against the back of his chair, looking as though his legs might give way.

"Westmere No. 1 Academy has been standing for a hundred years..."

His voice grew quieter.

"In all that time... never before..."

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

Because the proof was right there on the screen.

Nathaniel Beaumont.

Dungeon Clear: Fifteen Waves.

Final Rating: SSS.

A record that might stand for generations had just been written before their eyes.

And Nathaniel, the person responsible, simply stood beneath the leaderboard with his hands in his pockets.

He glanced at the glowing letters.

Then he looked away.

For him, the result wasn’t particularly surprising.

After all, he’d spent the dungeon watching his Shadow Soldiers erase monsters in seconds.

What else had the system expected?

Nathaniel quietly waited for the next announcement.

He had a feeling that the rewards for an SSS-Rank clear would be worth hearing about.