Legendary Soul Art

When the word 'Dungeon' came out of Darius' mouth, everyone on the floor looked up with full focus. This mode could only mean one thing and their thoughts soon came to a reality.

The door closed shut and a huge red sign appeared on the wall.

[50 Soul Beasts Remaining]

"The Soul Training Room aims to prepare you for the real encounters you will have in the Dungeon," Darius spoke clearly while his fists covered with purple gauntlets. "Level 5 will simulate the difficulty of the fifth floor in the Dungeon. You need to be careful what level you pick as you can get severely wounded."

Everyone was taken aback but they soon understood what Darius meant. The number on the wall went down to forty-five and five flames lit up around him. They grew rapidly as Soul Energy filled them and they soon formed into a meter tall creatures.

Their limbs and features were defined in a blink of an eye and Darius was suddenly surrounded by five, horned boars. They didn't look any different from the pictures in the books and actually behaved like real Soul Beasts.

"The only way to stop the training is by killing all fifty Soul Beasts or by suffering a deadly wound," Darius pointed out as he launched himself at the closer boar.

Darius swung casually and popped it like a bubble with a single punch in the head. "You don't need to be worried about death as the system will stop itself in time, but you will be timed out by the Academy if you keep injuring yourself."

Despite having a massive body himself, Darius' movement was admirable. Not only did he dodge every boar charging at him, but he also talked and counter-attacked at the same time.

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"You don't need to worry about your Soul Energy either as the training room is constantly replenishing it for you," Darius continued explaining as the boars kept spawning. "That won't be the case inside the Dungeon so keep that in mind."

The number has quickly dropped down to twenty-five and Darius finally displayed a bit of his true strength. Instead of boxing his way to the win, he jumped away from the boars and summoned his Soul Weapon.

The Purple Soul Energy shaped from his hand and Darius grasped a hilt of a giant battle hammer. Each time he struck a target, the Soul Beasts were ripped apart by a massive shockwave. They stood no chance and the number of beasts hit zero.

[Level 5 completed. Time: 00:23.93]

"Whoa… That's more than two boars killed every second…" the students admired but Darius walked back to them as if it was nothing.

"It's only a Level 5 difficulty. My personal best is around nineteen seconds if I remember correctly. I didn't try too hard since I wanted to teach you," Darius informed as he gazed at Number One and Luna. "I'm sure some of you can beat it with a single try."

Luna glanced at Number One whose arms were still occupied and stepped forward with a cold expression, "I will do it."

Darius nodded in approval and activated the same level when Luna was ready. She didn't take it easy like Darius and went hard with her Soul Weapon drawn from the start. As soon as the first boar spawned, she blinked to it and sliced its body in half with a graceful jump.

Luna's feet didn't even touch the floor for a second before already dashing towards another target. Her sword dance was so beautiful that no one in the room dared to look away. If they stopped paying attention for even a split second, they would quickly lose track of her movements.

"What a marvelous technique," Darius complimented in awe. "Her Shadow Steps Art requires a lot of Soul Energy but Luna can unleash her full potential inside the Soul Training Room. Once she increases her rank, there would be few who can challenge her."

Number One was also staring at Luna, but not for the same reasons as others. Even though the training room regenerated Soul Energy at a rapid pace, his Legendary Soul Art consumed his whole capacity. He wouldn't be able to efficiently spam his Soul Art like Luna.

The only solution was to simply train without the use of the Dungeon Mode but that would be hard to explain as well.

Ding!

Just as Number One spaced out, he was alerted by a bell ring and he realized that Luna was already done.

[Level 5 completed. New personal best! Time: 00:18.55]

"Hu… This is really fun," Luna commented and looked at Number One with a challenging gaze. "Do you think you can do better?"

Darius was left speechless at her words and immediately stepped in, "I think that's enough. Let's not ruin my personal score further."

It was embarrassing for a teacher to be worse than a student, so Darius couldn't let Number One make it even worse.

"Alright people, get up from the floor. Your bodies should already be used to the gravity," Darius announced to change the topic. "We still have the Soul Art Library to visit so let's get going."

The whole group groaned lazily at the command, but Darius hurried them up with only one sentence. "I wonder what other classes will think when they see a top class on the floor."

Darius didn't even finish speaking when everyone scrambled to stand up. They would rather feel the pain in their muscles than lose the respect of other students. The girls who were stuck to Number One weren't different and pulled away with their cheeks still flushed.

"Don't worry about it. You will get stronger in no time," Number One assured them with a soft smile and turned to Darius with a casual question. "I wonder, is there any additional incentive to beat the levels? Do we get rewards for having the best time?"

If there was none, Number One could always use it as an excuse to just train the mastery of his Soul Art but Darius surprised him with a twist. They left the training room and Darius pointed at the empty Leaderboard right in front of the cafeteria tables.

"Every week, the person with the best time in each level will receive a hundred contribution points. They will be recorded on your student badge and you can exchange it for various benefits," Darius explained while gazing directly at Number One. "If you really think an hour of practice every day is not enough for you, the contribution points can be used to buy more time."

Number One's eyes lit up at that news. "Does the difficulty of the room matter then?"

"It actually does matter. The time is converted to the score while the higher difficulty gives you a better multiplier. You will get the highest score by setting records in the fiftieth room but I understand how difficult it is," Darius replied with a shrug. "Since there are fifty Levels, there can be many winners so I want everyone to fight for the top."

Those words could maybe work in a normal class, but they failed to motivate the students of the top class. They all looked at Number One and Luna who would definitely claim all the rewards for themselves. How could they even compete with those two monsters?

The rest of the class consisted of visiting the Training Grounds, Soul Art Library, and the small arena where students could duel. Number One had no interest in all three but he still followed to execute his plan.

The moment Darius announced their free time and left them alone in the Soul Art Library, Number One approached the ladies and offered them a trade. When they heard he could lend them a high-ranked Soul Art in exchange for their one hour, they didn't hesitate to agree.

"How do you want us to transfer it to you?" Luna questioned curiously but Number One remained mysterious.

"All of you can give me your Student Badges and I will handle the rest. I have my ways," Number One replied quietly. "You can pick the Soul Art you want and I will unlock it for you. Since you can't bring the Soul Arts outside, you can stay here to study them. I will return the Student Badges to you before you even leave."

All five ladies nodded in understanding and only Luna gazed at him suspiciously. She decided to keep the questions to herself and left to pick the high-ranked Soul Art she wanted. The ladies followed suit and Number One unlocked whatever they wanted.

That didn't escape the male part of their top class and they couldn't help but stare with jealousy. They naturally thought Number One was using his privileges to win over the girls but he didn't try to explain. It would be too suspicious if he traded with everyone so he chose to keep a low profile with the girls.

The Soul Adepts received only one hour every week while Soul Masters got four hours. If his plan was successful, Number One could have a total of ten hours for this week. All he had left was finding an Academy Official who could help him and he happened to have one person in mind.