novelraw Chapter 76: The Butcher’s Rule
Chapter 76: The Butcher’s Rule
"Only five points? I thought you idiots would have managed at least ten in all that sweet time." Moon said, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
Their entire team now stood on the open colosseum grounds where all the candidates had gathered before the exam had begun.
As the exam had wrapped up the crowd of candidates around them had thinned out significantly.
Most had already left super early after realizing they could not kill a single Elite creature, while others simply could not stomach the atmosphere of the dungeon.
After giving the exam it had became clear to Verso that the Summoner Academy Exam had several high barriers to entry, such as having flying mounts to move around, having strong weapons to deal damage to the elite beasts and even having the wits to fight other humans.
"You really are ruthless..." Verso mumbled lowly, looking at Moon.
"Huh? What was that, scum?" Moon snapped, catching the muffled words.
He turned his head, his red eyes narrowing with a look that suggested he was ready to start a fight right then and there.
’He really is something else.’ Verso thought, shifting his gaze away from the bloodthirsty battle maniac.
According to Moon, once Verso and Xavier had left to rescue the others, he had grown bored. Which was why he decided to re enter the portal and camp the gate for any late comers trying to submit points before the timer expired.
As luck would have it, two teams had actually delayed their submission of points until the final minutes.
And without a second thought, Moon had engaged them both.
He destroyed both groups completely alone, stole their points, submitted them and went back to watching stupid animal videos on his phone.
’There is no way he does not have an elite summon of his own.’ Verso realized.
It did not make any sense to him how Moon could be such a battle fanatic and win a fight against five people simultaneously while remaining completely unscathed.
This only left Verso with only one possibility in his head, which was that just like Han, Moon also had a secret Elite summon up his sleeve.
"I actually feel bad for them..."
From a distance, Verso could see several candidates collapsed on the ground, bawling their eyes out.
For them, this exam must have meant everything. Maybe with those three or four points, they could have squeezed into the bottom of the top 100 rankings. It was a sliver of hope that Moon had completely snuffed out.
But secretly, Verso was beginning to come to terms with the reality of this world.
Even after adding their hard earned five points, they were still sitting at Rank 2 nationally, trailing behind the first place team by a massive seven point difference.
Before he could dwell on the placements any longer, a familiar suited figure wearing a suit and a top hat walked onto the stage. A small, high pitched chuckle echoing across the colosseum.
"Oh, so many broken dreams around me right now! This is such a beautiful sight!"
The Jester laughed, spreading his arms wide as he addressed the remaining crowd. His eyes darted around before locking onto Verso’s group, specifically at Han who was their nominated leader.
"We do have some great news today! We have the second ranking team in the entire nation right here in the venue with us!"
The Jester clapped his hands loudly, laughing but he was met with a wave of low groans and glares from the crowd.
Sensing the displeasure of the candidates that had their points stolen by Moon, the man froze. His eyes narrowed and suddenly a dangerous, threatening aura exploded from his body.
It was a suffocating pressure that made it hard for anyone to breathe.
"If you people are upset about having your points stolen, let me tell you... you were the lucky ones."
He turned back and gestured toward the massive monitor behind him as a video began to play on the big screen.
It showed a group of five people exiting a portal, covered in blood from head to toe. It was one of the team that had gave the examination in a different part of the country.
In the center of the group of five stood a girl with pale skin and long, flowy white hair that was heavily splattered with crimson blood.
"This, my dear students, is Team Alice," The Jester continued, his tone turning chillingly serious.
"And let me tell you something funny about the venue that they gave their exam in..."
He turned back to the gasping crowd, his voice dropping to a weird, haunting whisper.
"Half of the candidates at their venue died."
As the bomb dropped.
The colosseum went deathly silent.
’They killed half of their venue just so they could rank first?’ Verso’s eyes went wide.
Although the Jester had not directly said that Team Alice was responsible for the death of half of the people in their venue, it was something that he had implied.
For a second, Moon did not look so bad anymore.
Verso realized that unlike their team, which had focused quite a lot on objective of killing elite monsters, most of the top teams in the country had gone straight for the other candidates, monopolizing the entirety of the dungeon for themselves.
Everyone in the venue had understood what the Jester meant by showing them this video. It was a reminder to be grateful they had at least come out of the dungeon alive.
With a sudden smile and a light chuckle, the Jester resumed his theatrical speech.
"It’s almost time for my evening tea, so let me wrap this up fast! I would like to congratulate the teams that made it into the top 100 from this venue! You will all receive your academy placement notifications on your phones by tonight!"
He waved dramatically at the crowd, adjusting his top hat with his other hand before walking away from the stage in a good mood.
As he walked away all the survivors just stood there in a heavy silence. Before a bored voice cut in.
"So I can leave now?" Moon said, yawning as he turned around, walking straight towards the exit.