Da! Da! Da! As the whispers continued to echo in the classroom, Professor Eleanor walked into the classroom. She deliberately made noises with her high heels, attracting everyone's attention, and gradually, the gossip in the classroom began to fade away. "Good morning," she greeted in a stern tone, "Today marks the beginning of a critical week for all of you. We will be conducting a joint dungeon expedition." Upon hearing the news, the classroom was immediately filled with whispers, and the students' eyes immediately turned to their friends. Joint dungeon exploration is a rare opportunity, an opportunity to work together with students from different classes, to demonstrate their skills and knowledge, and also an opportunity to curry favor with some senior students by flattering them. 'Joint dungeon exploration?' This is a big event for Ethan in the game, as he will be ridiculed and looked down upon by the other senior students. Although the Hartley family is a high-ranking family with a good image, they also have many enemies, and many heirs of rival families are also in this academy. One of the heirs from a rival family will be in the same group as Ethan, and he will be the leader of that group. This was the first time Ethan had to face off against someone who was hostile to him. It's not just about Ethan though, there's another character involved.
'Sylvie and Mason are in the same group.' Because he also joined the History and Art Club, and he was the one who would target Sylvie in the academy. He would try to sabotage Sylvie's performance, but he never succeeded. 'However, he almost succeeded every time he tried. 'With this in mind, even a small butterfly effect could change the course of things, so it is best to be careful from the beginning. “We have arranged groups of students from different classes to provide an opportunity for collaborative learning. Remember, diversity fosters resilience and teamwork,” Professor Eleanor stressed. She projects the group list onto the screen at the podium, and I glance at it briefly. Our copy group remains unchanged, and I can see which class we will be paired with. ———— HA213 Class: Irina Phoenix Group HA21 Ward Group ———— This was a class I didn't know much about, and except for Byron Ward's name, the names of the other students seemed unfamiliar. He is a supporting character in the game, with almost no screen time, and only appears briefly as a background character. Just as I was checking the list, suddenly, I felt a sharp gaze. 'Um?' This look was full of sharpness, obviously coming from a person with strong emotions. I turned around and I ran into Irina. Her eyes were filled with strong emotions and it was obvious that she was angry. I didn't understand why she was angry because for me, a month had passed, while for others, it was only a day. After a moment's thought, I understood why she was looking at me like that. "It must be because of the last simulation." Considering what I said, it’s understandable that proud Irina would react this way.
'But I don't care.' I turned my head back again, focusing on the class that was about to begin, ignoring her gaze. “Make sure you understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” she continued, her eyes scanning the room. “You will be forming a new group, and collaboration will continue to be vital.” The purpose of joint exploration is to simulate real-world cooperation and collaboration. Students from different classes brought unique abilities, and this collaboration taught us how to complement each other effectively. This is also a good way to test each team leader's ability to cooperate, but I doubt Irina's ability to cooperate. "Your expedition will begin this afternoon," Eleanor concluded. "Please be prepared and good luck. Remember, this is as much an opportunity to learn as it is to explore." With these words, the class returned to normal, and Eleanor began to explain the combat theory as usual... ...... "Okay, everyone," Eleanor said, "Now please go to the entrance of the dungeon. Your team members from Class HA219 will be waiting there." As Eleanor finished the class, the students immediately began to pack up. Since Arcadia Hunter Academy likes to surprise students and catch them off guard, we were immediately taken to the dungeon entrance after the class. To be honest, I am really looking forward to testing my new skills in real combat. I have already tried it on the dummy this morning, but I am not very familiar with this skill yet. As I walked towards the dungeon, I still felt a lot of stares, especially from my classmates, but now, due to the upcoming dungeon exploration, the stares were less. When I arrived, everyone was already there. Byron Ward, a man with neatly combed hair and a fawning smile, is doing his best to attract Irina's attention. He is a well-known sycophant in the gaming community, always trying to curry favor with high-ranking students. This is also his role setting in the game, just to make other characters more prominent. "You must be Irina Phoenix...nice to meet you." He immediately started to talk, scratching his head. "We've heard a lot about you." The first thing he did was to praise Irina. "I see." However, Irina didn't seem interested in him, which was predictable. After all, this was the Irina I knew, a girl with a hot temper. "You are indeed someone worthy of the name of the Phoenix family. I heard that you defeated the final boss alone in your first dungeon exploration." Byron continued excitedly, obviously trying to win her favor. However, his flattering words only irritated Irina further. "right." She nodded briefly, frowned, and remained silent, her eyes fixed firmly on me, which made Byron very uneasy. In fact, she had been looking at me with obvious hostility since a while ago, but I didn't understand why. I turned and looked at Nora and George, wanting to ask them if they knew anything, but just as I was about to approach them, they turned their heads away. 'Um?' This makes me feel strange.
'I thought I had reconciled with them.' At first, I thought about the last dungeon exploration, but then the reason emerged. 'rumor.' It was a rumor. Given that my abilities and my actions were shrouded in mystery, it was easy for even my teammates to believe them. Knowing this, I also understood why Irina looked at me this way. If it was Irina, it would be understandable that she believed these rumors. Byron seemed to realize that he could not gain any favor by just flattering others, so he decided to change his strategy. He introduced his team members and tried to show their abilities. "These are my teammates," he said, pointing at each of them. "This is Erica, our proficient mage; Leon, a skilled archer; and Jack, a powerful tank." Erica gave a small wave and a friendly smile, Leon nodded his approval, and Jack reached out and shook my hand, showing a genuine interest in establishing a good partnership. It looked like they had a fairly balanced team, but this was the first time I had heard these names today. Even though Irina was a little annoyed, she remained professional and began to introduce her team. "This is Nora, our swordsman; George, our tank. This is our archer." "It seems that our conversation at that time was somewhat effective, right?" Although she would have denied it, Irina's attitude had begun to change, and for the better. However, when she pointed at me, she didn't mention my name at all. This was clearly a sign of displeasure, and Byron didn't miss it. "What's your name?" He immediately walked up to me and asked with a calm look in his eyes. "Morse." When they heard my name, all four seemed to recognize me immediately. "Are you the guy who ranked last in the academy?" Byron said with obvious sarcasm in his tone. His eyes seemed to say, how dare you steal her attention from me. It seems that Irina looking at me makes him uncomfortable. "right." He was telling the truth. I didn't intend to bother with worthless people, so I just brushed him off. “I didn’t expect someone to be last,” the man introduced as the archer interjected, looking at him as if he were a pig. "If I wasn't, someone else would have been last. Are you a pig? You don't even understand such a simple truth?" "ha?" "Ignore him, Leon. He's not worth your attention." Byron, as a typical flatterer of the powerful and bully the weak, immediately interrupted again. He obviously enjoyed the opportunity to belittle others and continued his taunts. He had seen Irina's hostility towards me and he immediately changed his strategy. "You are just a burden. You should thank Irina. If it weren't for her, who would be able to share this burden with you?" Irina remained silent and did not refute Byron's words. Nora and George also did not care, as if it had nothing to do with them. The reason was probably related to the rumors, but even so, hearing some bad rumors and easily changing others' opinions also reminded me again of how the world works. The atmosphere became increasingly tense, and I could feel the heavy pressure of their scrutinizing gazes. "Morse," Byron continued, trying to provoke a reaction from me. "If I were you, I would have dropped out a long time ago."
I kept my composure, refusing to let his words get to me. "I'm here to get the job done, not to get involved in meaningless arguments." "Hahaha," Byron sneered, "Playing the victim and trying to escape your own problems?" Just as I was about to respond, Irina spoke up, her annoyance evident in her tone. "That's enough. Now is not the time to discuss this nonsense. We should focus on the task at hand." She glanced at Byron and me, clearly displeased with both of us. "You may enter." Just when the situation threatened to escalate further, the instructor's voice reached our ears and our team entered the dungeon.