The Name on the Stone Tablet Was a Nightmare!

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn over.

The Principal and Shi Wei, the Silver Professional, also had their eyes light up.

The Principal glanced at the timer, unable to hide the delight on his face. He said to Shi Wei, "Sir Shi Wei, look, not even half an hour! Qing Xue got out in less than half an hour!"

He clearly remembered that Third High School's previous fastest Dungeon-clear record had been thirty-five minutes.

This time had undoubtedly broken the record!

And by a huge margin!

Shi Wei nodded approvingly. "Not bad. An A-rank Professioner, plus that refusal to admit defeat—she's a promising prospect."

The teachers and students were even more stunned.

"My god! Less than thirty minutes! A solo clear!"

"An A-rank Professioner really is different! She's too strong!"

"Is Third High School going to produce a candidate for a top university this year?"

Amid the congratulations and praise, Jiang Shuyue stood like a proud peacock, basking in everyone's attention.

Yang Yu stood outside the crowd, silently mocking her in his heart.

An A-rank Professioner is impressive?

Her dad's the impressive one, okay?

Without that set of luxurious equipment, she'd probably still be getting chased around by the boss.

Jiang Shuyue excitedly walked toward the huge Stone Tablet at the Dungeon entrance.

It was the Ranking Board that recorded Dungeon-clear times.

She wanted to watch her own name be engraved in the first row with her own eyes!

Full of anticipation, she raised her head and looked at the Stone Tablet.

The next second, the smile on her face froze completely.

At the very top of the Stone Tablet, the first row did indeed bear a brand-new name.

But that name was not Jiang Shuyue.

It was Yang Yu.

First Place: Yang Yu

Professioner: Warrior

Clear Time: 19 minutes 21 seconds

Jiang Shuyue's pupils shrank to pinpoints in an instant.

She stared fixedly at that name, as though she could see through it.

Yang Yu?

How could it be Yang Yu?

Nineteen minutes?

How was that possible?!

Unable to believe her eyes, she blinked hard and looked again.

That was right.

It was written there in black and white, crystal clear.

Yang Yu.

The very same Yang Yu who had awakened as a D-rank Warrior and received everyone's sympathy and regret.

Not only had he cleared it, he had done so in just nineteen minutes!

A full ten minutes faster than her!

An icy chill shot from the soles of Jiang Shuyue's feet straight to the top of her head.

She felt as if an invisible hand had seized her heart in a vicious grip, the pain making it nearly impossible for her to breathe.

Why?

Why had this happened?

Her mind went blank, buzzing loudly.

She could not understand it.

She was an A-rank Frost Mage, one of heaven's chosen!

She wore a full set of excellent equipment her father had bought at great expense!

In pursuit of speed, she had taken so many potions. She had even used an item to forcibly withstand the boss's ultimate move, nearly dying inside!

Why?

Why had she given so much, only to lose to him in the end?

Lose to a D-rank Warrior?

That familiar name and that calm, indifferent face surfaced in her mind again.

It was like a replay of the countless nightmares from the past three years.

Every time, no matter how hard she worked or desperately struggled, all she ever saw in the end was Yang Yu's unreachable back.

It had been like that in cultural classes.

And now, even after Class Change, it was still like that!

She had thought that after awakening an A-rank Professioner, she could finally hold her head high. She could leave him far behind and make him chase after her back.

She had even given him a weapon out of a trace of pity, telling him to take it easy.

Looking back now, it was all utterly ridiculous!

She was the real clown!

A huge sense of grievance and unwillingness drowned her like a tidal wave.

Three years.

A whole three years. How had she endured them?

That despair of giving everything she had, yet only ever seeing the back of the other person's head, engulfed her once more.

She was about to cry.

Her eyes instantly reddened, moisture swirling within them as her vision blurred.

The surrounding noise and praise now sounded unbearably harsh.

The Principal and teachers also noticed that something was wrong.

"Student Shuyue, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, didn't you break the record? Why do you look like that?"

"Could it be... happiness?" the Principal secretly guessed.

Was that really necessary?

It was just a low-level Dungeon. Had clearing it once made her so happy that she cried?

Shi Wei frowned as well.

Had that man really raised his daughter to be like this?

Was that truly a good thing?

Jiang Shuyue did not answer them.

She turned around and walked through the crowd in a daze, step by step, until she stood before Yang Yu.

Under everyone's shocked, bewildered, and confused gazes.

The tears that had long gathered in her beautiful eyes finally burst through the dam.

"Yang Yu..."

Her voice trembled with tears as she said,

"Next time... next time, I'll definitely surpass you!"

"I'll definitely surpass you next time."

Yang Yu had heard those words so often that his ears were practically callused.

Ever since their first midterm exam in their first year of high school, whenever he came first and Jiang Shuyue came second, she would run over with reddened eyes and clenched fists to say those words to him.

Three years had passed. She had said it more than a dozen times.

And the result?

She had never surpassed him even once.

Who would have thought that after Class Change, this familiar scene and familiar line would return again?

Looking at the School Beauty crying so pitifully before him, Yang Yu even found her a little pitiful.

Big sis, could you at least come up with a different line?

Everyone was dumbfounded upon hearing Jiang Shuyue's words.

Especially Yang Yu's best friend, Zhang Wei. He approached with a face full of question marks and quietly asked Yang Yu,

"Bro Yu, what's going on? Didn't Jiang Shuyue surpass you? She's A-rank and you're D-rank, so why is she still saying that to you?"

"Did something upset her?"

The surrounding students were equally confused.

"Yeah, why is the School Beauty crying?"

"Didn't she break the record? Why is she saying she wants to surpass Yang Yu?"

"I don't understand this plot at all."

They were still immersed in the dazzling aura of Jiang Shuyue's A-rank Professioner and the shock of her record-breaking result, completely failing to realize what had happened.

But the homeroom teacher was different.

She was a thoughtful and perceptive woman. The moment she heard Jiang Shuyue's words and recalled the stiff expression on her face earlier, she immediately realized something.

Could it be...

An absurd guess formed in her heart.

She rushed to the Ranking Board Stone Tablet at the Dungeon entrance and looked up.

She instantly turned to stone.

First Place: Yang Yu, Professioner: Warrior, Clear Time: 19 minutes 21 seconds

Second Place: Jiang Shuyue, Professioner: Frost Mage, Clear Time: 29 minutes 05 seconds

Third Place: ...

Yang Yu!

Yang Yu was actually in first place!

And he had taken only nineteen minutes!

A full ten minutes faster than Jiang Shuyue!

The homeroom teacher felt her mind buzz as though it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer.

How was this possible?

A D-rank Warrior, with no equipment and no teammates, clearing it solo in only nineteen minutes?

What kind of concept was that?

This was no longer mere talent. This was a monster!

Seeing the homeroom teacher's shocked and discomposed reaction, the Principal and Shi Wei, the Silver Professional, also sensed that something was off.

The two exchanged a glance. Their figures flashed, and they instantly appeared before the Stone Tablet.

When they saw the glaring words in the first row, even Shi Wei, a knowledgeable Silver Rank powerhouse, could not help but suck in a sharp breath.