Chapter 50: Results

The interface bloomed in a green color that made him squint his eyes for a bit.

When his vision adjusted, he read through the contents...

```

[Name: Ethan Shaw]

[Age: 19]

[Awakened Class: Necromancer]

[Rank: E]

[Level: 5]

[EXP: 12 / 700]

[Death Energy: 312/700]

[Control Capacity: 54]

[Undead Storage: Available]

[Stored Undead:]

- Basic Undead (Beowolf) — Rank E [Bef]

- Basic Undead (Beowolf) — Rank E [X2]

- Rank C Undead (Blood Raven)

[Skills:]

- Raise Undead

- Death Sense

- Command Undead

- Death Link

[Undead Legion: 4/54]

```

He hummed. No new passive skills, no increase in Control Capacity. The legion limit remained fifty four; the same hard number he had carried in the last level.

What had changed was the Death Energy pool which sat at seven hundred points. He had already recovered well enough by now except for the faint but bearable ache in his chest.

His EXP reset into a wider track, and he could tell that he was close to ranking up if his calculations were correct.

He processed it for a moment, and nodded once in satisfaction.

The Iron Golem was gone. That absence still sat in the list like a missing limb.

The Blood Raven and the remaining wolves were intact though. He decided to treat it like a worthy sacrifice.

Death Link may had evolved, it didn’t feel much like he had accomplished much if you take the Alpha fight into account.

He sighed. There was no miracle. He had to put in the effort.

Behind him, Lila shifted.

She made a low sound against the pillow, then pushed herself before moving over and leaning against him. She hooked her hand in his and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Good morning," she muttered, her voice light and thick with sleep.

Ethan glanced at her and immediately turned away. The way she looked right now— disheveled hair, tired face still recovering from sleep and a broken voice that still somehow sounded angelic made his heart rate quicken.

Fuck. He’s been living with a beauty...

"You’re up early," she said.

"Well, I was mostly asleep yesterday, and still fell asleep early. It’s only natural."

She hummed and pressed herself more into him. She had guessed that he was reviewing his system again: "Don’t you think it’s a bit too early to be focusing on those numbers? You’re acting like they’ll sprout legs and run off or something."

"It’s important though."

She scoffed, and pushed herself away from him before standing. "We got class. Don’t even think of skipping. I heard that Professor Crane’s going to say something about the evaluation scores. It seems they were able to get the rest of the groups to participate yesterday."

Ethan closed the system and sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I’ll be out in like an hour."

With that, she stood up and left for her room to get ready...

***

When they reached the lecture hall, they noticed that it was louder than usual.

Students packed the corridors in tight clusters, their voices overlapping with rumors and speculations about chamber counts, Aetherite totals, and which groups had come back with the best scores.

Marcus’s name surfaced more than once, always attached with a tinge of confidence. Aria’s name surfaced with a different kind of certainty. The kind that assumed first place was already settled.

Ethan walked in with Lila and found Nora already in the row they had been seating. She had recovered enough color to look merely tired instead of bloodless and pale. When they sat, she turned her head and smiled.

"You’re alive," she said.

"Mostly," Ethan replied with a shrug.

Lila dropped into the seat beside him and placed herself close enough that Ethan noticed.

The noise in the hall went on for some time and cut off the moment Professor Crane entered.

She did not waste time on attendance or any form of openings. The tablet hit the podium and she stepped forward.

"Dungeon Evaluation results for you all are finalized," Crane said, her voice carried resonating across the hall. "Before anyone asks, scoring is based on chamber clears and recovered Aetherite volume. Secondary parameters for coordination and casualty avoidance were applied, and individual contribution notes remain internal for now."

A low current of anxiety and excitement moved through the rows.

"I will now announce the top three groups."

Every student tensed.

Marcus sat forward, Aria didn’t move at all and around them, students leaned as they were all dying to know...

Crane’s eyes moved across the room.

"Third place." she said that with a pause long enough that it had to be deliberate. "Marcus Hale’s group. Two chambers cleared. Three full recovery sacs of standard Aetherite."

Marcus’s jaw flexed, and a sly grin slowly formed on his face. Someone in his group muttered something too low to hear but no one cared.

Third was still on the podium. Third was something he could at least brag about since he knew that the people who would be placed about him were in a different league of their own.

Crane continued without acknowledging the reaction.

"Second place. Aria Reed’s group. Three chambers cleared. Five recovery sacs of standard Aetherite."

The reaction was not something you’d expect...

Aria’s three-chamber clear had been one of the most talked about gossips. Five sacs was serious volume. There was no way anyone could possibly top that.

Students turned toward her seat as if looking at her for a reaction.

Aria leaned forward propping her hands on the desk. It seemed that she too wanted to know who had beaten her.

When they saw how serious she was looking, one question sat on the minds of everyone present. For a few seconds the assumption sat unchallenged: if Aria was second, with three chambers cleared and five sacs, who had beaten both chamber count and recovery hard enough to take the top spot?

They needed to know. Aria was the strongest in their grade. They needed to know who could possibly top that...

Crane let the noise run long enough before she spoke again.

"And first place," she said.

"Ethan Shaw’s group."