Conquering The Novel

As Ares and Erina were discussing the team's strategy for the upcoming match, they heard a knock on the door.

Knock—knock—

Ares glanced at Ayla, who nodded and went to open the door. A bald man in a management uniform stood outside, holding an envelope.

"Team Soreh Academy, I'm here to give you the match instructions for the upcoming Dungeon Crawl," he announced.

Ayla took the envelope from him and handed it to Ares. He opened it and glanced through the instructions briefly before passing it to Erina.

"...You want me to read it?" Erina asked, looking puzzled.

"Yes, I think you're more suitable for this task," Ares said that with a smile, but he just didn't want to be bothered explaining it to them.

Erina looked a bit surprised, but she took the envelope from Ares and began to read the instructions aloud. As she went through it, she highlighted the key points and explained any confusing terminology.

[Welcome to the ultimate test of skill, intelligence, and teamwork - the Dungeon Crawl match! In this virtual world, teams of five members each are transported to a perilous dungeon filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles.

The objective is simple - navigate through the dungeon, defeat monsters, and claim the final crystal at the end of the dungeon.

The dungeon is designed to test the team's skills, intelligence, and teamwork. Teams must work together to solve puzzles, overcome obstacles and strategize to progress through different paths, each of which is of varying difficulty but leads to a crystal.

The monsters encountered in the dungeon range in difficulty and strength, with some being easy to defeat, and others being formidable opponents that require careful planning and execution to overcome.

To win the match, teams must not only claim the crystal, but also safely exit the dungeon with it in their possession.

However, claiming the crystal is no easy feat, as the final chamber is guarded by a powerful boss monster that requires the full strength of the team to defeat.

Points are awarded based on the following criteria:

•First Place: 8 points

•Second Place: 5 points

•Third Place: 3 points

•Fourth Place: 1 point

Bonus points for achieving certain milestones or objectives within the match, such as being the first team to reach a milestone, having the most kills, and claiming the most crystals.

Point system for defeating monsters based on their grade:

•E-grade monster: 20 kills = 1 point

•D-grade monster: 17 kills = 1 point

•C-grade monster: 15 kills = 1 point

•B-grade monster: 1 kill = 1 point

•A-grade monster: 1 kill = 5 points

Note that each crystal claimed adds one additional point to the team's score. However, only the team that exits the dungeon first with a crystal will receive time points, giving them an advantage in the final rankings.

With eight teams competing and only four crystals to claim, you'll need to use all your skills, intelligence, and teamwork to emerge victorious. Good luck, and may the best team win!]

After Erina finished reading the instructions, there was a moment of silence as the team members processed the information.

Suddenly, a student raised their hand and posed a question, "I'm still unclear about the concept of time points. Doesn't the team that comes in first place naturally have the shortest time? Can you clarify how the time points come into play?"

Erina acknowledged the question and began explaining, "Yes, You're correct. The team in first place will have the shortest time, but there are other factors that can affect their overall score. For instance, the team that exits the dungeon first may not have collected as many crystals or defeated as many monsters as the team that comes in second. This is where the time points can make a difference."

Despite Erina's explanation, some students still appeared perplexed. To illustrate the point further, Diana stepped in and offered a clearer scenario.

"...Consider it this way," she began. "Suppose the first-place team completed the dungeon in 30 minutes, while the second-place team finished in 25 minutes.

The first-place team would still get 8 points for exiting the dungeon first, plus additional time points.

However, if the second-place team managed to accomplish other objectives, such as collecting more crystals or defeating more monsters than the first-place team, their overall score could be higher.

They would get 5 points for second place, plus points for monsters killed and total crystals collected, but no time points.

Only the first-place team, which finished the dungeon in the shortest time, would receive time points as part of their overall score."

She paused briefly before adding, "In the end, the final winner of the match will be determined by tallying up all the points, not just by which team exited the dungeon with a crystal first.

The time point system provides an additional incentive for teams to complete the dungeon as quickly as possible, even if they know they cannot collect more crystals or kill more monsters," Diana concluded.

"...."

As Diana finished her explanation, which was even better and clearer than Erina's, everyone stared at her with widened eyes in shock. They never expected that Diana, who was known for being obtuse, to explain something so clearly and concisely.

Even Ares and Ayla, who thought they knew everyone in the academy like the back of their hand, were stunned. They couldn't help but wonder if they had misjudged Diana all along.

Suddenly, under the weight of everyone's gaze, Diana jumped in surprise.

!?

"I-I played a video game with the same settings once. Was my explanation wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a confused expression, as if question marks were hovering above her head.

Erina shook her head and smiled. "No, you explained it even better than me. As expected of the future Elven Empress, I am impressed," she praised.

Diana puffed out her chest, a smug grin on her face as if waiting for more praise.

"...."

Ayla raised an eyebrow, wondering if Diana had just lucked out with her explanation. 'I'll reserve my judgment until I see more,' she thought silently.