Inside a giant classroom resembling an arena in the Inferno Corridor Academy, dazzling spotlights illuminated the four walls.
This classroom wasn't a typical square design, but rather an oval-shaped indoor arena structure. The circular seats rose tier by tier like spectator stands, with the last row almost touching the ceiling.
Now, more than half of the fourth class period had passed.
In the center of the arena, demons were engaged in intense combat.
In the back row of the spectator seats, a pair of siblings sat quietly waiting.
[Time Remaining: 3 hours 30 minutes]
[Mission Objective 1: Academy Exploration Rate over 60%, Current Progress 748%]
[...]
They were silver-level challengers from the Holy Research Association. They had previously suspected that demons might have infiltrated among the challengers, and now they were silently observing the changes in the Shadow World mission objectives.
The numbers seemed to be malfunctioning.
At the beginning of the fourth class, the progress was only 40%, but then it started to increase in a straight line at an extremely absurd rate.
Although after exploring the school, they had roughly discovered that given the school's size, if the teaching area was fully explored, the exploration rate would definitely exceed 100%.
Correspondingly, 100% should be the exploration limit that the Shadow World calculated all challengers could achieve within 12 hours under normal circumstances.
But obviously, it now exceeded normal logic.
Currently, this number was still jumping every now and then, continuously increasing!
The siblings couldn't understand at all what had happened!
Everything was still normal at the end of the third class. From the changes in the exploration rate, it was easy to see that all three teams had cleared level 3 classrooms, adding a total of 18% progress.
Through the investigation of the previous classes, the siblings had also learned some intelligence—an uninvited guest would come to inspect the academy tonight, and this visitor seemed to be someone even the senior teachers feared.
[Mission Objective 2: The source of danger tonight] must be referring to this "inspector."
The specific identity, purpose, and connection to the humans infiltrating the demon academy would require the three groups of challengers to meet and exchange information to piece together the key to solving the puzzle.
This was the correct mechanism of this Shadow World.
However.
No matter how the siblings tried to leave clues and coded messages during class breaks to contact the other four challengers, the other challengers seemed to have no intention of meeting with them!
In a Shadow World where challengers start scattered and with hidden identities, if they don't find a way to make contact, they can't know who is who.
In this situation, the correct challenge strategy would definitely be to give up entering the classroom for the fourth period and make every effort to find other challengers to seek cooperation.
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But just now, the school promulgated an urgent new rule—
[All students must return from the functional area to the teaching area and must enter classrooms for the fourth period, not allowed to leave. A large number of teachers will begin patrolling the corridors. If any student is found, they will first be driven into classrooms. If they still resist, they will be killed without mercy. At the same time, all level 3 classrooms will be closed during the fourth period.]
This joke-like regulation was as if the Shadow World had suddenly accelerated into a runaway mode!
The siblings had no choice but to enter a level 2 classroom for the time being to survive another class period.
"Brother, could it be that someone made a wrong operation, causing the danger mechanism to start early..." the girl's voice trembled, her hollow eyes seemingly searching for some hope to grasp, but she couldn't find any.
"..."
The young man bit his lip, not knowing how to respond.
His heart was also filled with endless fear and anxiety, almost consuming him, but he knew that as a brother, he couldn't increase his sister's panic further.
"...Don't worry," the young man murmured softly, comforting her.
Since after the first class, he had been observing the changes in the exploration rate to deduce what level of classroom the other teams had entered at what time...
Two challengers, although consistently tackling classrooms in the teaching area with progress similar to theirs, showed no intention of meeting up, which was very strange, as if they didn't care at all whether the Shadow World could be cleared.
And there were two slackers who, despite having the ability to clear level 3, hadn't entered a classroom for two whole periods from the second to the fourth class! It seemed they had been running around in the functional area, completely untraceable!
"Goddess... we haven't done anything bad, why did we come to such a demon academy... If you're still willing to protect us, please send someone to save us..."
The girl lowered her head, her hands trembling as she clasped them in prayer.
When a person can only pray to the gods, it's almost complete despair.
At this moment, the classroom door was pushed open.
The sound of the lock opening echoed in the classroom, sounding particularly harsh.
Then, a large group of demon teachers walked quickly into the classroom, their steps steady, as if making way for someone waiting behind the door.
This sudden intrusion immediately caught the attention of all the demon students present, as if time had been paused.
Next, behind the door, like a leader, a Light Demon with black hair and green eyes walked in.
His footsteps paused slightly.
He scanned the classroom.
"Come, send all the students in this classroom to the principal's office."
The Light Demon immediately ordered the termination of the teaching task in the classroom and the escort of all students to the principal's office.
It felt very much like sending prisoners to a concentration camp.
The young man and girl in the back row felt all hope was lost in an instant.
What was bound to come had finally arrived.
But they didn't understand how the entire Shadow World mechanism had become so chaotic that it would provoke the principal to personally erase them!!
The Light Demon seemed to sense the uneasy atmosphere in the entire classroom and frowned slightly.
"Students, don't worry. The principal's office is not dangerous, and it's quite spacious. The school is facing a surprise inspection now, and there's a risk that the curriculum in this classroom is non-compliant. I need you to temporarily avoid it. After the fourth period ends, you will return to the campus, and the school will compensate each of you with 3 credit coins. I, as the principal, guarantee this to you."
The Light Demon raised his hand, gesturing for all the demon students to calm down, and spoke quickly.
Immediately, all the demon students quieted down, and their expressions even showed surprise at this unexpected good fortune.
They naturally didn't doubt the principal's words much.
Because for this principal, accompanied by numerous senior professors, there was no need to be so complicated if he wanted to harm them.
The siblings in the back row, holding their breath, exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with unease that was hard to dispel, mixed with confusion.
How did it feel like this principal was helping them?
Even trying to protect them?
But no matter how they thought about it.
The principal of the demon academy, this Light Demon, was impossible to be helping the challengers!
His profound demeanor, the supreme authority that made even the mightiest demon teachers respectful to him, was undoubtedly the most evil and terrifying leading demon in this Shadow World!
The school must have encountered some trouble too, making the progress of the Shadow World go wrong just right, giving them a bit of a turning point.
Although the mechanism of the Shadow World seemed increasingly puzzling.
But now, for the siblings, it seemed there was a bit of hope for survival again!
(End of Chapter)