There Was Still a Chance
The scores of the top 50 are hidden. Only the rankings are shown, not the specific scores.
The scores only start to appear from the 51st place. The 51st place score is 24,471.
In the square, hundreds of thousands of test takers stared at the ranking list, falling into a long silence.
"Fifty-first place... more than 24,000?" someone said with difficulty. "Doesn't that mean there are at least 25,000 people ahead of fiftieth place?"
"25,000 points, converted to kill count, means you need to reach at least wave 14. And you have to get a perfect clear without damaging any core cards."
"Fourteen waves... that's over eight thousand monsters!"
"I couldn't even survive the eleventh wave, while they made it to the fourteenth."
What kind of monsters are in the top fifty?
"But why can't I see the scores of the top 50?"
The crowd buzzed with discussion, their eyes scanning the leaderboard. They could see the rankings, the names, and the schools, but not the specific scores.
Just as everyone was puzzled, a line of small print appeared below the leaderboard.
[According to the latest policy of the Great Xia Dungeon Master Association, in order to promote "not solely focusing on scores" and reduce the psychological pressure on candidates, the specific scores of the top fifty candidates in the college entrance examination ranking are temporarily hidden. Final results will be based on university admission standards.]
The square fell silent for a moment, then erupted in chaos.
"Blocked? The scores of the top 50 are blocked?"
"What do you mean? Not focusing solely on scores? Isn't the college entrance exam all about scores?"
"This is so strange. I've never heard of hiding scores in the college entrance exam."
"Could it be that someone scored too high and doesn't want their score to be made public?"
"How high can it be? The fifty-first place is only a little over twenty-four thousand. Even if the top fifty doubling that, it'll only be fifty thousand at most."
"Not necessarily. Think about it, the fifty-first place is already an S-rank core card. How much stronger are double S and triple S cards compared to S-rank? Double S cards can probably reach wave 15, and triple S cards can reach wave 16 or 17. The further you go, the more ridiculously large the number of monsters becomes, and the score gap will widen."
"I think the second place winner, Zhao Wuji, might have between 35,000 and 40,000."
"Yes, I also think 40,000 is the maximum. After all, the monster growth is exponential. No matter how fast you kill them in the early stages, by the seventeenth or eighteenth wave, your monster-clearing speed will be dragged down by the sheer number of monsters."
"So the top 50 should all be between 25,000 and 40,000."
Everyone nodded in agreement, finding the hypothesis reasonable.
But amidst these discussions, in the crowd at the edge of the square, a gaze was fixed on the number one name on the leaderboard, disbelief surging in the eyes.
He stood in the crowd, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his knuckles turning white from the force.
His lips were pressed tightly together, and his expression looked as if he had been punched in the face or had swallowed a live fly—indescribably ugly.
Su Mu.
He saw that name.
It's clearly written at the top of the list.
Rongcheng No. 1 High School.
He had seen that name more than once. From the day of the awakening ceremony, that name had been like a thorn stuck in his heart.
He lost to Su Mu in the Trial Nest, was publicly scolded by Ye Qingxue in the Academic Affairs Office, and had his past exposed by Ye Qingxue outside the Goblin Nest. Every single time, it was because of Su Mu.
But that was all in the past.
Wang Hao, with his S-rank core card "Chaotic Hair Cloak Hammer" and a martial spirit theme, had his family invest over a million resources in nurturing him. He spent seven whole days grinding to barely reach level 15.
He thought he could finally outdo Su Mu in the college entrance examination, and that he could finally prove with his strength who the real champion was.
He even achieved a decent result in the first round; although he didn't make it into the top fifty, his ranking wasn't too low. He had hoped to use this opportunity to show off in front of Ye Qingxue and let her see that the person who was once overshadowed by Su Mu in the Academic Affairs Office had now undergone a complete transformation.
But Su Mu's name was prominently listed first.
That's impossible.
Wang Hao's mind was racing.
He knew what Su Mu's core card was.
Grade F stone.
Although it was upgraded later, it was still just a stone.
He had personally witnessed Su Mu's dungeon setup: several mountains, a chaotic terrain, a core card that couldn't move or attack, plus a minor demon card and a skeleton card. How could such a configuration possibly surpass those SSS-level core cards in monster-clearing efficiency?
How could Su Mu possibly get first place?
Wang Hao's gaze swept across the leaderboard repeatedly, as if trying to find some overlooked detail.
Perhaps there's a problem with the core card section for Su Mu, perhaps the system is malfunctioning, or perhaps that Su Mu isn't actually the Su Mu from Rongcheng No. 1 High School, but just someone with the same name.
But when he saw "Rongcheng No. 1 High School" immediately following "Su Mu" on the leaderboard, all his hopes were shattered.
Wang Hao gritted his teeth, his eyes almost overflowing with jealousy.
He had to admit that Su Mu was indeed capable.
He could tolerate being beaten in the Trial Nest and being faster than him in the Goblin Nest.
But what he couldn't tolerate was that Su Mu actually outshone him in the college entrance examination. And not just slightly, but completely.
Despite his desperate efforts, he couldn't even crack the top fifty. Meanwhile, Su Mu's name was prominently displayed at number one.
"Brother Hao, what are you looking at?" A henchman leaned over, following his gaze to the leaderboard, then his expression changed. "Su Mu? Number one?"
Wang Hao remained silent.
The younger brother clearly recognized the name as well. He opened his mouth, then after a long pause, managed to stammer, "He's not... his core card isn't..."
"Enough." Wang Hao abruptly interrupted him, his voice low and suppressed, "Stop talking."
The younger brother glanced at him and wisely shut his mouth.
Wang Hao looked back at the leaderboard, his gaze fixed on that one name.
He knew that Su Mu's points were hidden and the specific numbers were not visible.
But he knew that since he could rank first, ahead of SSS-level awakened individuals, that number must be quite large.
Even if it's not a complete crushing defeat, it's definitely far superior to him.
He was unwilling to accept it.
He spent millions of resources; his family bought him so many soul skill books and cards. He grinded through dungeons day and night, until he was exhausted and mentally exhausted, all in order to make a name for himself in the college entrance examination.
He wanted to prove to everyone that he, Wang Hao, was second to none. He wanted Ye Qingxue to see who the true strongman was.
But Su Mu's name stood like a wall in front of him, completely blocking his way.
Wang Hao took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his surging emotions.
He told himself that this was only the first hurdle. There were three more to come.
The first stage is all about clearing out monsters; Su Mu might have just gotten lucky. He still has a chance. His S-rank core card, with its martial spirit theme, might not be any worse than Su Mu's in a boss battle.
Yes, there's still a chance.
Wang Hao gritted his teeth, turned around, and stopped looking at the leaderboard.
But he knew that the thorn in his heart had sunk even deeper.