Chapter 105: Where Did This Freak Come From?

A flash of white light vanished in an instant, and suddenly Sikong Xu found himself back in the rear garden where the stone sculpture of Ye Fei stood.

Just as his feet touched the ground, Sikong Xu stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face.

"Damn it, my head feels so dizzy..."

After dying or failing a trial in the fantasy world, all injuries on the trainee’s body would be fully healed, but at a cost—their spirit would become weakened.

Thus, it was only natural that Sikong Xu felt dizzy.

At that moment, a voice from the imprint echoed, delivering the overall evaluation of the trial.

“Trainee Sikong Xu has successfully returned. Commencing overall trial evaluation now.”

“Fantasy World: The Moon of Qin”

“Difficulty Level: Three and a Half Stars”

“Main Quest One: Escort Gai Nie and Tian Ming safely to Mirror Lake Medical Manor. Reward: 150 credits and subsequent quests unlocked.”

“Main Quest Two: Incomplete”

“Main Quest Three: Incomplete”

“Side Quest: Nightmare of the Quicksand (Completed)”

“Quest Difficulty: Four and a Half Stars”

“Quest Details: Gathering and dispersing quicksand, life and death vanish without a trace... Defeat the Four Kings of Quicksand and their leader Wei Zhuang.”

“Trial Evaluation: S-”

Another S-! Sikong Xu licked his slightly dry lips.

He had somehow earned an S- rating once again. This surprise was truly unexpected.

Sikong Xu pondered deeply but could not understand how he was given an S- evaluation when he hadn’t even completed any of the three main quests.

He guessed it must have been the side quest, “Nightmare of the Quicksand,” that greatly boosted his overall evaluation.

Sikong Xu had no idea what a three-and-a-half-star difficulty in "The Moon of Qin" actually meant, nor the significance of a four-and-a-half-star side quest.

Meanwhile, in the principal’s office, a commotion was already underway regarding this matter.

“Principal, isn’t this nonsense!” Li Yang dragged Jiang Hong into the principal’s office, seemingly arguing heatedly with him.

“Heh, Li, don’t be so anxious,” the principal said calmly, smiling.

“Principal, I’m not anxious,” Li Yang frowned. “I’m being factual here. Do you realize what it means for a freshman who just joined the school a month ago to participate in a trial with a three-and-a-half-star difficulty?”

Li Yang added, “And that foolish kid even accepted a four-and-a-half-star side quest! Such high-level side quests aren’t even guaranteed to be completed by senior students.”

The principal still smiled amiably at Li Yang. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Even if he fails the trial, it’s no big deal.”

“Failing a trial isn’t a big deal, but when the dimensional academy’s annual evaluation comes around, low-level trial ratings will drag down our school’s ranking.”

As he spoke, Li Yang shot a glance at the drowsy Jiang Hong beside him. “He’s your classmate. Why don’t you say something?”

“Zzzz... What’s there to say? He’s the only student in our class. We have to cherish him like a treasure. How could we dare to discipline him?” Jiang Hong said weakly.

“That’s just your laziness!” Li Yang snapped, then turned his gaze back to the principal.

“Alright, this is Lord Ye Fei’s decision. There’s nothing we can do,” the principal said helplessly, invoking Ye Fei’s name.

Ye Fei’s existence was a secret within Dawn Academy. Apart from Sikong Xu and the principal, only Li Yang and Jiang Hong were aware of it.

“Lord Ye Fei... well...” Li Yang, who greatly admired the hero Ye Fei from years past, had no objections to the decision.

“Hmm? Just received a prompt from the smart brain. That kid is back,” Jiang Hong suddenly said with surprise.

“Hmph, he’s back so soon. Based on the time calculation, he didn’t even stay a week in the fantasy world. A three-and-a-half-star difficulty trial— even a student at the Canhuang level might struggle to complete that,” Li Yang grew increasingly furious. “Low-level trial evaluations are recorded by the dimensional academy headquarters. We can’t afford to drop from the top five schools worldwide.”

“Dawn Academy has maintained a top-five position for years. We won’t be easily pushed down,” Jiang Hong shook his head, unusually talkative, then turned and left.

“Principal, I’ll go check on him too,” Li Yang said to the principal, following Jiang Hong out.

Though strict, Li Yang genuinely cared about the school and its students; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to the principal demanding answers.

When Jiang Hong and Li Yang returned to Classroom E, they found Sikong Xu already using the Dawn Smart Brain to review his trial information.

“Sikong Xu, don’t worry. It was the school’s mistake to let a first-year student participate in such a high-difficulty trial. Even if your results are poor, you shouldn’t feel burdened. We...” Li Yang began to speak at length upon seeing Sikong Xu.

“Stop, stop!” Listening to Li Yang’s endless chatter, Sikong Xu’s face darkened. He immediately interrupted, “After all that, what exactly are you trying to say?”

“I...”

Before Li Yang could finish, Jiang Hong shoved him aside and walked directly to the smart brain’s projection screen.

As he absorbed the information, even his heavy-lidded eyes widened.

“Our school might have a remarkable freak on its hands!”

Li Yang instinctively furrowed his brows at Jiang Hong’s words, then walked over to the screen as well.

“Another S-!”

“Where the hell did you come from, freak!” Li Yang glanced at Sikong Xu, who wore a helpless smile. He was at a loss for any term better than “freak” to describe this boy.

To receive an S- rating on a standard two-star difficulty trial might qualify as genius, but to get an S- on a three-and-a-half-star difficulty trial was extraordinary.

Although trial evaluations are precisely calibrated to the participant’s strength—if a weaker trainee enters a high-difficulty fantasy world, their evaluation might be slightly lowered—in general, achieving an S- rating in a high-difficulty fantasy world was much harder than in a low-difficulty one.

“Can’t be helped. Some people are just born gifted...” Sikong Xu waved his hand with a cheeky expression in response to their amazement.

“I wonder if the school has any substantial rewards for an outstanding elite student like me?”

“No.” At Sikong Xu’s words, Li Yang’s face immediately fell. This kid was so full of himself; a little praise and he thought he could float in the clouds.

“Since your exams are over, get back to your dormitory quickly, or attend class!” Li Yang waved his hand and turned to leave. To a student like Sikong Xu, there was no need to show any kindness.

“Tch, boring. I’m going back to sleep big,” Sikong Xu said as he greeted Jiang Hong and left the classroom, heading toward the dormitory.