More than two thousand students were lined up in a large grassy field according to their ID numbers. A group was standing in a line separated from other students; there were fifty of them.
The other students constantly looked at them with furious glares, as if trying to remember their faces. Most students were intimidated when they saw so much hate pointed at them, while some were not intimidated at all.
These were two bodies clad in long black robes with a white mask on their faces. They looked like twins while standing close to each other. These two got particular attention from others due to their weird dressing sense.
The crowd started chattering; most of them were criticizing the system. "Why do we need to pass three rounds to qualify while some people can enter the fourth round directly?"
"It's unfair for the hard workers; hundreds more people would have gotten a chance if it were not for them. I could not qualify last year. If it were not for them, I would have qualified," complained a girl.
This continued before a middle-aged man appeared before the "Everyone, first of all, congratulations on making the last round of the admissions test. You all have worked hard; even if you are not selected, you can enter many good universities by showing your rank."
"You should all now be prepared for the final round. It will be divided into many trials. All of you will need to move inside a dungeon for the first trial. He added that many students became nervous about the name of the Dungeon.
"Each student will need to submit their storage ring. You will only be allowed to enter with your equipment. We will give all of you one badge each; you need to survive till only half of the participants are left."
"You have to make sure not to kill other participants intently. We will be keeping a watch on all of you. Those who want to give up can surrender; you will be able to return safely. Any doubts?" He said.
"Will we be teleported to a random place in the Dungeon or the same place?" asked one student.
"You all will be given a map; you can decide which place you want to be teleported to," answered the man.
"Sir, I want to ask if the monsters inside the Dungeon are dangerous. How strong are they?" Asked one student.
"They are relatively weak, with only a low-level Elite Stage at the center, but as you move to the border area, you will face many Epic Stage Beasts," replied the professor.
This information sent a chill through everyone's spine. This test was like a big trap that was making participants forcefully fight against each other.
"I have a question." A boy standing in a separate line asked; he was wearing a white skull mask with blue-colored patterns.
A surprised expression appeared on the face of the man. He looked at the source of the noise and saw a boy clad in a loose black robe raising his hand. "Ask,"
"Is there any benefit to collecting badges? Is there some reward?" asked the boy, his eyes sparkling in a purple light.
'Interesting.' A smile appeared on the man's face. He found out that he couldn't see through the disguise of this boy, nor could he sense his presence. With a smile, he said, "Yes, you will get contribution points, which can be used for everything inside the university."
"Usually, students need to earn them by doing missions. This exam is an opportunity to collect a lot of them. Each badge gives you five points; this will also help in deciding the final rank."
"The students will be rewarded with more contribution points based on their final score. So make sure not to let this opportunity slip," he added.
Multiple students looked at the masked boy and wondered why he asked such a question that everyone already knew. Due to him, they could not ask an important question; they wrote his name at the top of their hit list.
He answered two more questions after that, and then they were all sent to the Dungeon. The masked duo got a lot of attention but ignored each other as if they were friends; they were more focused on looking at the map.
They could enter a circular area marked by a blue circle on the map. After thinking for a while, they decided to choose the center location. No rules stated that they couldn't move together or group up; similar to them, multiple teams were forming.
Students were not given much time before they were asked to submit their storage rings and move through the scanner. This made even the biggest group only have ten other students.
Students who had complete confidence in their capabilities decided to play solo. Not many had such guts; however, they were forced to do so as not everyone could trust others.
Rishi and Vinay were among the students at the end; the only good part was that they would all be transported together. Soon, the last student stepped inside the dungeon gate.
*
The sky was dark, and the clouds appeared painted in light scarlet clouds. The ground was filled with dark soil. Even the trees here were different from usual; they appeared rotten and dry.
The cries and roars of the monsters were more common than one might expect; strange, bright lights lit up all over the place. The next moment, countless figures emerged, and Rishi found himself in the open area.
He could see multiple figures around him; most were monsters, but there were also some humans. A masked figure appeared next to him in the next moment, and he scanned the area with his shadow sense.
"There are fifty of them. All of them seemed to be in some sort of group," commented Rishi.
"They would not have dared to spawn here without confidence. Look, they are forming an alliance to group up against us." Vinay pointed in a direction where twenty students had gathered.
"It's better this way. It would have been hard to catch them one by one. Summon your beasts; do not let even one of them escape." said Rishi.
"Roger that. It appears as if they think we are easy targets. How unfortunate of them to meet us! Let's show them why we are famous in our region," said Vinay as he took out his 'Book of Contracts.'
The symbol on Rihsi's hand shone in a bright light before a black book appeared on his hand. The moment it opened, a purple light was released. Vakar and Hansi appeared in the sky.
Vinay also summoned his contracted Beasts; the Death Knight, Skelton Lich, and a Bone Wyvern appeared.
'Vakar uses 'Land of Mist' to cover the area around us and uses 'Cloudy Zone' to assist Vinay.' He commanded Vakar through the soul link.
'Hansi, if you also work with Vakar and stop opponents from targeting him, I will charge at their backlines and eliminate the squishy ones.'
The next moment, multiple opponents started charging at them with their countless Contract Beasts. However, before they could surprise them, they discovered that the area around five hundred meters was covered in mist.
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