572 Chapter 572: Beyond a Hundred (2/2)
”Please wait.”
Turning around, I looked up and saw that it was Dean Xiao. He was smiling as he stroked his beard.
”Yes, sir?” I asked, blinking in confusion. What was this? Was the match not over? Why did he want me to wait?
”Did you never wonder about this?” he asked, watching me. I stared at him, confused.
”Wonder about what, sir?”
The bald dean sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
”Seriously? You didn't question the situation? If you summoning students don't meet the target of defeating a hundred people, your resources for the semester will be distributed to the student from the other elemental departments.”
”Yeah, you told us that,” I agreed with a nod.
”Indeed. But hasn't it occurred to you that if you succeed, you don't really win anything? All you achieved is to keep what was already entitled to you.”
”Well, yes, I guess?” I still didn't see where this was going.
”Don't you find this unfair for you summoning students? Why are you participating in a match that has no benefits for you at all, where you risk losing everything for nothing in return?”
”Eh…the dean kind of has a point, right?” one of the other students murmured. His friend glared at him.
”Shut up! Whose side are you on?! You're not a summoning student, right? Why should you care?”
I didn't say anything and merely held Dean Xiao's gaze for a moment, waiting for him to get to his point. He narrowed his eyes and then I sighed.
”If that's how the school system is, then who am I to oppose it? Are you expecting us to question your authority or something?”
”Ha ha ha! Not at all!” Dean Xiao burst out laughing. ”But I thought you would at least object to this unfair challenge.”
”Even if we object, would you have cancelled the whole thing?” I asked dryly.
”No, but we do have a prize for you summoning students. After all, if the students from other element departments stand to win something from challenging you, then it's only a fair wager if you get to win something in return from this challenge, right?”
”Isn't that the purpose of the spirit enhancement elixir?” I asked, confused. ”I thought that was the prize for reaching the target.”
”No, the spirit enhancement elixirs were originally the summoning department's to begin with, part of the resources allocated to train you. You were going to get them regardless…unless, of course, you had lost to the students from the other element departments. Then they get your share of the elixirs instead.”
”So we get an extra prize?” I asked. Dean Xiao grinned.
”Not yet. Actually, after the 100-person target, there is a higher target.” He pointed at the holographic screen, which displayed my achievement of 103 students. He spread his hands dramatically. ”If the summoning students are able to defeat 200 people, then all the training resources of the other departments will go to the summoning students!”
There was a long, stunned silence as everyone stopped talking to digest what they had just heard. Of course, that included me. Even Theodore was quiet as he listened, his brow raised. Zhao Zi Jun smirked, as if he knew about this all along. Apparently, as the information gatherer for the Hei clan, he actually did hear about it before.
Then there was an uproar.
”All our resources go to the summoning students?! What nonsense is that?!”
”Yeah, that's ridiculous! There are 4,000 of us and only seven of them! How is it that all of our resources go to them? What's next? Should we start worshipping them and addressing them as gods from now on?”
Dean Xiao ignored them and continued with a smile.
”The reason why we never mentioned this particular condition was because there hasn't been a single batch of summoning students who were able to achieve it. Not for the last few decades, at least. So we didn't think we needed to announce it because it wouldn't have made any difference.”
”So why mention it now?” I asked dryly. Dean Xiao grinned at me and I suddenly felt a chilling premonition.
”Because…you might just have a chance of achieving it, Richard Huang.” His grin grew wider and wider. ”Why don't you give this so-called impossible target a shot?”
”Because I don't want to?” I retorted.
”Oh, come on! You know you want to! Just give it a shot!” Dean Xiao was goading me for some inane reason. ”I know you need more resources than the average mage, after all.”
”No, I don't.”
While I was arguing with the dean, the other students were exchanging wary and skeptical glances.
”I mean, I know the guy is strong, but does the dean really think he's capable of defeating over 150 students by himself?”
”That's insane!”
”No way that's happening!”
”He doesn't even seem that interested.”
They were right. I was tired, and as powerful as my Celestial Guardians were, there was no way in hell I could maintain their materialization in the physical world for so long. Two hundred students? That meant I had to defeat ninety-seven more students by myself? Like hell I would do something so tedious. I already proved myself superior to my pathetic classmates – all of whom looked down on me, mocked me and called me useless or trash, only for them to fall short of the target and get their asses kicked. And as it turned out, I had to carry them myself.
Fuck this. I wasn't going to carry them through for this.
At least that was what I thought, but…
”That trash just got lucky. No way is he defeating 150 students on his own. He probably can't maintain those Soul Beasts for much longer.”
”Just look at him. He's a coward. He's so ready to give up.”
”Good for us! Heh!”
”Sh! Are you guys idiots?! Why are you provoking him?”
”Because he's a spineless wimp, he won't do anything even if we…”
”Now you've done it,” I interrupted their taunts and insults, feeling something snap inside me. ”All right, bring it on. Let's see if I can really hit that 200 people target.”