Chapter 478: We've struck gold
Chapter 478: We've struck gold
After figuring out the key to the situation, Mike was in a great mood.
New York Superpower Universities was dishing out a ton of credits, and students were spending them on courses taught by instructors who owed Thor a mountain of debt...
It was a perfect cycle. A world where only Thor made money had emerged!
Mike glanced at the learning platform and noticed that many courses were already booked. For instance, Ace's endurance course had nearly thirty reservations within twenty minutes of opening!
This learning platform wasn't just for early batch students; it was open to the entire school, faculty included! If it weren't for the crowd around him, Mike would have been grinning from ear to ear. If he'd known university life was this fun, he would've enrolled sooner!
"Alright, you've all had a chance to look over the documents," Joseph clapped his hands and said, "I'm pretty busy, so I can't be with you all the time..."
As the deputy commander of the Nightmare Corps, Joseph was indeed busy!
"I'll coordinate your daily learning tasks with Libra," Joseph continued, "Your collective credits will be distributed evenly. Points from battlefield simulations, abyss missions, and other activities will be allocated based on contribution after the fact..."
No one objected to what Joseph said. When it came to teaching students, Joseph preferred to treat everyone equally. Of course, Joseph suspected that Mike might surprise him.
After a brief introduction to daily operations, Joseph shifted gears, "Your main task today is to complete various ability tests. They're similar to the Soldier tests you've done before, just more advanced."
With that, Joseph handed out a scoring sheet to everyone:
- A score of [Nine-star Soldier] in any ability is considered passing.
- A score of [Six-star General] is considered excellent.
- A score of [Any-star Chief] is considered outstanding.
In other words, anything below a nine-star Soldier was failing! For new students, this standard was a bit harsh! Additionally, the Star classes had extra requirements!
Joseph announced, "The requirements for Star Class Three are as follows: Each person must have all abilities above [passing] and at least one [excellent]. If any ability reaches [outstanding], the test is considered perfect."
If these requirements were met, each of the five students would receive an additional 100 credits. Conversely, if anyone failed to meet the requirements, the extra reward would be canceled.
After the evaluation criteria were announced, the atmosphere grew tense. No one looked directly at Mike, but they all silently worried about his test results.
Libra sighed inwardly, comforting himself, "It's okay, it's just 100 credits at most."
100 credits, equivalent to 100 Lord merits! Saying it didn't hurt would be a lie.
Sophie spoke up to reassure Mike, "We'll go test first, and then we can tell you what challenges to avoid."
Candy nodded in agreement, "That's right."
Blackdragon also nodded slightly, approving the plan.
According to the test rules, each person had three attempts per test, with the highest score being recorded. Although the test content might vary slightly, the core remained the same. With the other four testing the waters first, Mike could achieve a better overall score during his test.
"Alright," Mike agreed readily, "Once we get the bonus credits, I'll have someone treat everyone to a meal!"
Everyone: ???
At first glance, that sounded fine. But on closer thought, something seemed off.
"Mike means it's more fun to eat with a group," Joseph laughed, waving his hand, "If you earn the bonus credits, I'll treat everyone to barbecue."
Mike: ???
Joseph, just how much stuff did you take from Thor?
With the task set, everyone headed to the testing venue. As planned, the other four went first, returning to share their insights with Mike. Once they finished, Mike was ready and went for his solo test.
The test items were nothing new: output, evasion, reconnaissance... Entering the test, Mike kept a low profile.
"Output test? Passing is enough; I'm just a wind mage. Who expects me to output?"
"Reconnaissance test? A D-level talent being a bit off in reconnaissance is reasonable, right? Let's keep it at eight-tier General!"
"Evasion test? Use just 1% of my power..."
Inside the venue, Mike acted very casually.
He had easily defeated Joseph on the battlefield. In the abyss, he had slain two 1000-level demon creatures. In truth, Mike no longer needed these tests to gauge his strength.
...
With the others done testing, there was no need to wait around, so they went about their own business.
Only Libra stayed outside the venue, waiting for Mike's results. He was responsible for communicating with the instructor, compiling everyone's scores, and sending them to
Joseph.
"Thankfully, all four of us met the bonus criteria," Libra calculated, "Sophie got three excellents, Blackdragon got four, and Candy got two! Unfortunately, I couldn't get an
[outstanding] rating..."
Libra was just shy of an outstanding score in the output test! Despite using all three attempts, his best output score was only nine-star General, just short of Chief!
"Now we just need Mike's results!" Libra couldn't help but sweat nervously, "Come on,
Mike!"
While Libra waited for Mike's results, cheers erupted from Star Class One nearby. Someone among them had achieved an [outstanding] score! "Ah, as expected of Star Class One..."
Just as Libra felt a bit down, his tablet chimed with a notification. "Mike's results are ready, downloading now..." Libra quickly opened the report, praying silently for a pass, a pass... Opening the report, a series of passing scores appeared before Libra.
In many areas, Mike had just scraped by. Just as Libra was about to give up hope, a splash of
red caught his eye on the last score:
"Mike, Evasion Test Rating: Outstanding!"
"Specific Score: Classified!"
...
"Classified?!" Libra's mind went blank for a moment before he snapped back to reality. "How
can it be classified?"
Libra put Mike's report away and sought out his training camp peers for answers. "What does
classified mean?"
Everyone looked puzzled, clearly hearing it for the first time.
At this point, a student ranked second in the training camp spoke up, "Classified, I know a bit
about that."
This person was from the Starwind family, named Orion.
Orion Starwind wasn't tall, only about 5'8", with an ordinary appearance. But his arms were unusually long, with his palms reaching past his knees when standing normally. When Orion Starwind spoke, everyone fell silent, turning to him, waiting for more.
Officially, Orion Starwind was the second in the training camp. However, the first was Bad Woman, whose real identity was Shadow Two. This meant that among the Supreme Being seeds of the same era, Orion Starwind was the undisputed first!
His words carried significant weight among the many SS-level talent geniuses in the training
camp.
"Everyone knows that reaching Chief tier in the test is considered outstanding." Orion Starwind explained slowly, "If the score reaches Chief three-star or above, it's classified."
With that, Orion Starwind opened his report, showing it to everyone:
"Output Ability: Chief six-star."
"Burst Damage: Chief nine-star!"
Wow- Everyone present couldn't help but gasp.
In such a short time, Orion Starwind's burst damage had reached Chief nine-star! Libra felt
his scalp tingle, muttering in disbelief, "That's too strong..."
He had given his all and still couldn't reach that level, while others had easily surpassed a
major milestone!
Someone nearby remarked, "Orion's score is Chief nine-star because the cap is Chief nine- star. It just shows that even among classified scores, there's a difference, right?" "By the way, Libra, why are you asking about this?" Everyone in the training camp was
familiar with each other, having trained together for a month, knowing each other's backgrounds. Libra asking about the 'classified' category meant something significant. Libra maintained a calm demeanor, nodding, "Yes, Blackdragon's endurance reached the classified category, and I was curious, so I asked."
His response was smooth, clearly not his first time doing this.
Blackdragon, Star Class Three's designated all-guy role!
"That strong?" Orion Starwind nodded slightly, saying seriously, "If his endurance reached
classified, it shows he's improved. I'll train with him later."
Libra chatted a bit more before finding an excuse to slip away. Once away from the crowd,
Libra exhaled deeply, still reeling from the shock!
"Mike's evasion ability is above Chief three-star?!"
What did this mean? Star Class Three had the strongest scout, the best vision, and the most
agile force!
Mike's high mobility compensated for his weaknesses elsewhere. Even without output ability, his impact on the battlefield was significant!
In other words, Mike not only filled the team's only gap but turned it into a strength! Just thinking about it made Libra excited! "We've struck gold!"
Libra took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "I must keep Mike's secret!" A trump card is only a trump card when hidden! This matter was known only to him, Mike, and instructor Joseph, and that was enough!
Originally, Libra thought their chances of maintaining Star Class Three's position were nearly zero. This ability test report boosted his confidence! "At least a 30% chance!"
Libra quickly compiled all the reports and sent them to instructor Joseph. "It's getting late; time to pack up and prepare for tonight's Tower of Truth!" With this unexpected surprise, Libra resolved, "Tonight, I'll definitely clear the twenty-second floor!"
...
Outside the Forest of Truth, Mike stretched, feeling the day had passed quickly. After the test, he naturally received his report. Everything else was fine, but in the evasion
test, Mike had held back too little, accidentally scoring a nine-star Chief rating. He couldn't help it; he was just too good at dodging!
Even without the Eye of Truth's guidance, Mike could easily achieve Lord tier evasion. Moreover, the Eye of Truth was a genuine SSS-level talent in maneuvering.
The test report didn't concern Mike. On one hand, his official record now noted his second
talent awakening. This was enough to explain Mike's exceptional performance in certain areas. On the other hand, in circles of true powerhouses, many knew part of Mike's
background! Rumor had it that Mike was a student favored by Shadow Four, who valued him highly andn/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
taught him extensively. Many powerful individuals were aware of this background. In their eyes, no display of strength from Mike was surprising!
Seeing the time was about right, Mike returned to his private space to prepare for the
challenge of the thirty-second floor.
In his private space, 0.5 seconds before Thor's arrival, the green light alarm was still active. Vladimir thought this hat was really useful!
Thor descended! After surveying his territory, Mike found nothing amiss.
"Fool, today I'm going to reclaim the thirty-second floor." Mike said confidently, "What do
you think I should extort from the Tower Spirit?"
Fool Master: ???
Is he being this straightforward now?
"What you want has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want." Fool Master snorted,
dismissively saying, "Anyway, once you get it, you'll give Apollo seventy percent, and you probably won't give me the remaining thirty..."
Fool was experienced in dealing with Thor. "Come on, this time I'm sincere," Mike said
earnestly, "I want this deal to be a win-win..."
Here we go again! Another win-win! Sometimes Fool Master really wanted to throw a dictionary at Thor's face and make him look up what win-win actually meant.
Mike could see that Fool Master didn't believe him. He had to pull out his trump card, "I swear on Thor's honor, every word I say is true!"
"Oh?" Fool Master was genuinely interested this time! If Thor swore like that, it had to be
true!
"What's your condition?" Fool Master emphasized, "As long as it's not excessive, I might consider making this deal with you."
"It won't be excessive!" Mike patted his chest in assurance, then tentatively asked, "How about transferring your Mystic Market shares to me?"