Class Awakening: Working Hard Can Evolve My Classes

An hour had passed since Zeke parted ways with Seralune, making the exam already halfway over. The dungeon had shrunk down massively since the start, catching everyone off guard.

People only realized that there was a hidden rule when one person tried to run as far away as possible, only to be deflected by an invisible barrier. This also made them realize the sinister nature of this treasure hunt, showing them once more that nothing in the academy was ever simple.

As a direct result of the dungeon shrinking, encounters with other students happened more frequently over the past hour, not just for Zeke, but for everyone else who was still in the exam as well.

During this time, more than a quarter of the students had resigned prematurely, all for a variety of reasons.

At present, only 92 students remain in the exam.

The bright, yellow sky stretched over the horizon like a blanket of gold. From above, an endless forest with five distinct domains came into view. The forest was silent and still, giving no impression that an intense exam was occurring underneath it.

...

Inside the forest, Zeke was surrounded by dark blue trees. He activated his Herta ID and scanned his surroundings for a treasure. Unfortunately, his streak of bad luck was destined to continue.

[No treasures found.]

[Scanning area: 80-meter radius.]

He lowered his wrist and surveyed his surroundings. It was the fourth time since the color of the trees changed. At the beginning, it was just green. When he parted ways with Seralune, it was red. Over the past hour, he saw an area of gray colored trees, and now it was blue.

Zeke couldn’t tell what they represented, but so far, he hadn’t seen anything special about each of them. The monsters in each area were roughly the same as well, showing no significant difference. It seemed as if they just differed in color.

Since he had been walking nonstop for a while, he decided to take a few minutes off.

He was in a pretty good position, anyway.

Zeke met a lot of students during this time. Most were cautious types and kept a safe distance when talking with him. Every time he met one of them, he and the other party instantly formed a tacit understanding to just ignore each other.

But there were a few who were too arrogant for their own good.

Unfortunately for them, Zeke wasn’t an easy target.

He robbed them of all their treasures and forced them to resign.

Even when they begged him for mercy, Zeke didn’t relent. Letting them stay when they already harbored hostile thoughts against him could backfire on him at the end of the exam.

If they teamed up with their friends or classmates, even Zeke wasn’t sure of his chances of surviving. As much as possible, he wanted to avoid any group fights or class conflicts.

"Should I slow down a little?"

Zeke turned on his Herta ID and checked his current treasure value.

[Treasures: Sea God Amulet, Redplume Ring, Kotara Earrings, Crown of Opulence...]

[Treasure Value: 5,700.]

The bulk of these treasures came from those who attempted to rob him.

When he saw how much his treasure value increased just from one person, he was briefly tempted to just rob other students instead of painstakingly looking for treasures.

But Zeke quickly forced that thought away. Setting aside the fact that he’d accumulate grudges against different people at the same time, he was already doing well anyway, and he wasn’t too keen on getting the highest rewards for this exam.

Without matching strength, trying to reach for the top would just cause him to fall over.

’Stability is the most important.’

Zeke concluded in his mind. When he was in the mood to travel again, he stood up and continued his treasure hunt. He made sure to check his surroundings every time he stopped while making as little noise as possible.

...

Half an hour later, a fateful, coincidental meeting with a ’classmate’ suddenly stopped his treasure hunt.

"I finally found you, Crimson."

A tall, brown-haired man stood before him with a wide grin. Zeke recognized him as the boy who always stood beside Franz. But he couldn’t recall this dog’s name exactly, only the fact that he chose to be Franz’s dog of all people.

’Just in time. I was getting bored with just walking around.’

Zeke raised his head and stared at the brown-haired man coldly. When the brown-haired man saw his gaze, a chill crawled down his spine, causing him to stutter over his words.

"... Y-you... Franz..."

"Where is Franz?"

Zeke asked calmly, cutting him off.

The brown-haired man snapped out of his dazed state. Regaining his composure, he haughtily replied.

"Franz is looking for you, Crimson. Come on!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He walked towards Zeke and reached out his hand, seemingly intending to drag Zeke away.

Zeke looked at the man’s eyes and saw arrogance that didn’t consider him in the slightest. He glanced at the hand in front of him, deep in thought.

"What are you looking at?" Franz’s dog shouted, annoyed. "Let’s—"

Bang!

Zeke grabbed the brown-haired man’s hand and pulled him forward. He raised his knee and thrusted it to the man’s stomach, causing the latter’s face to turn pale from the pain.

He put his hand over the man’s hair and threw him to the tree.

Bam!

The brown-haired man landed against the tree’s trunk, feeling dizzy. Zeke walked up to him calmly. Before the man could say anything, a barrage of kicks landed on his face, hitting him from all angles.

Bam, bam, bam...

Throughout this process, Zeke was utterly silent.

He gave his answer with his actions.

After a while, the brown-haired man’s face was utterly messed up. Multiple bumps emerged on his face, and blood trickled down his cheeks. It was a gruesome sight. Fear had taken root in his heart, and it showed itself in his eyes.

"Gugk... I-I’m... sor... sorry..."

"Come on, stand up and bring me to Franz."

Zeke stared down at him calmly. Hearing that, the brown-haired man was at a loss before quickly obliging. He stood up despite his injuries and hurriedly walked in a certain direction, wanting to find Franz as soon as possible.

"It’s time to settle a grudge."

Zeke’s words entered the man’s ears, his tone seemingly indifferent.