Chapter 29: Astonishing Achievement!

Eric had never truly given up on the idea of becoming a Physical Cultivation Practitioner. After all, he had always worked towards mastering both Magic and Physical Cultivation, practicing tirelessly every day.

However, up until now, although Eric had thought about it, he hadn't had the resolve to actually pursue it. But in the recent battles, he had come perilously close to death several times.

At the heart of it, his body was simply too weak a weakness that was the greatest vulnerability for Magic users.

Magic users wield immense and destructive power, but their defense is notoriously poor. If a Physical Cultivation Practitioner gets close, even one at a low level, they could easily kill a Magic user whose realm is higher than their own.

Take my conflict with Black Serpent, for example, Eric thought to himself. When it came down to survival, my only means of escape was Phantom Step, but my physical strength was useless.

He looked at his hand, feeling the weakness in his body.

And that sense of weakness was something Eric despised more than anything!

Hardly anyone ever manages to become both a Physical Cultivation Practitioner and a Magic user, because both require a lifetime of dedication. But Eric was different.

He had the power of a panel and critical hits extraordinary abilities that allowed him to pursue both paths at the same time, just as he had relentlessly done for years.

"Bloodflowers… I'll take them," Eric said to himself. He bent down, plucking the three Bloodflowers and placing them in his storage bracelet. He had made up his mind he would become a Physical Cultivation Practitioner!

As the underdog who had been mocked for years, Eric had a twisted obsession with becoming strong.

He couldn't tolerate the weaknesses of being a Magic user, so he would use Physical Cultivation to fill that gap!

A moment later...

"Eric, you're out!" After the battlefield had been cleared, Eric exited the hollow, and Alicia immediately approached him.

"Mm." Eric nodded briefly, not mentioning what had happened inside the hollow. "It's about done. Let's head back."

Once Eric's team left the Exotic Beasts area, the results for the four teams in the class were announced. The rankings were based on the quality of the Exotic Beasts killed.

For example, a level 1 Raccoon was worth 1 point, while stronger creatures like the Furious Boar or Steel-armored Bear could give 5 or even 8 points.

Almost all students brought back level 1 Exotic Beasts, and the teachers had never expected anyone to return with creatures of a higher level. After all, even the weakest level 1 was already a significant challenge.

But right now, in the review office, two teachers in charge of the grading process were staring in shock as they examined one team's spoils.

"This team… what's going on here?" A male teacher with glasses exclaimed, his face turning pale. "Where did all these Bluewood Monkeys come from? Did someone enter the Inner Area?"

More than twenty Bluewood Monkeys, with level 1 being the lowest, and even level 2, 3, and 4 among them! Such astonishing levels and such an incredible number left the two teachers utterly stunned.

It wasn't that they hadn't seen anything before it was just that this kind of result had never happened.

The female teacher swallowed hard. "Could it be... a mistake?"

The two teachers immediately began cross-referencing all the information. After thorough and serious comparisons, they confirmed the result was accurate.

"This is the actual test result, from Mr. Lester's class, and it's from a student named Eric!" the male teacher with glasses said, struggling to grasp the situation.

The female teacher stood still for a long time, trying to process the reality. "I can't believe this... What do we do now? There's never been a result with Exotic Beasts above level 1 before."

The male teacher adjusted his glasses and replied, "Since it's been submitted, we have to grade it according to the rules. It's our duty."

With no other choice, they calmed themselves and proceeded to grade Eric's team's results. After some time, the scores for all four teams in Lester's class were finalized.

Nick's team: 19 points, 4th place

Jim's team: 21 points, 3rd place

Kevin's team: 35 points, 2nd place

Eric's team: 201 points, 1st place!

The massive point gap left both teachers dumbfounded. The female teacher gasped in disbelief. "Do you think Lester knows about this result?"

The male teacher pushed up his glasses, his eyes wide. "God only knows. Either way, we need to report this to him, ASAP!"

...

One hour later, in a private office.

Mr. Lester slammed his Magic tome down onto the desk, his brown eyes wide in shock.

"How can Eric's team have such an absurd result? This... this can't be real! How is this possible?!" Lester was at a loss for words.

At first, he hadn't cared about Eric, the so-called "failure" who had joined the class. When he had seen the group assignments, he assumed that Eric's team would probably place third or fourth at best.

But now, this result…

"Lester, the footage has been retrieved. Wait, you're..." At that moment, another teacher entered, holding a videotape.

He was Brandon, the Physical Cultivation teacher from Eric's class. As he entered the room, he immediately noticed Lester's strange expression and grew curious. "Why do you look so worked up?"

Lester, upon seeing him, snatched the tape from his hands. "Finally! The Magic footage is here!"

His breath was ragged, and his hands were trembling. "I... I need to know what the hell happened during the competition!"

Brandon, the muscular Physical Cultivation teacher, looked perplexed. "Heh, you Magic users sure are quick with your hands. I didn't even react as fast as you did. And... wait, did you just swear? What's going on?"

Lester was too focused on the Magic video tape to even acknowledge Brandon. Indeed, the school had secretly recorded the event.

This was a special Magic technique that required a particular kind of Magic optical dust. Before the trip, Lester had sprinkled this dust on one member of each team.

After that, they could record everything that person saw through their perspective.

For Eric's team, Lester had chosen to put the dust on Alicia. At this moment, he was extremely curious: "With such an absurd score, did Alicia explode with power? Or did something extraordinary happen?"

Meanwhile, Brandon kept asking, "What happened? Lester, why aren't you talking to me?"

Lester didn't respond but continued to focus on the Magic tape in his hands. "The answer is in the score sheet. You can figure it out yourself."

Brandon, hearing this, reached for the score sheet and grabbed it, chuckling, "Alright, alright, I'll see what's got you so worked up. By the way, how did Kevin do? Did he win first place?"

As the Martial Arts instructor, Brandon's favorite student was, of course, Kevin, who was expected to take first place just like Lester favored Alicia.

But in the next moment, when Brandon saw the numbers on the score sheet, especially Eric's outrageous 201 points, he couldn't stay calm.

"What... what is this?!?" Brandon, the muscular teacher, now stood dumbfounded, his hands almost shaking with disbelief.

Lester remained silent, but took out a crystal ball from somewhere and set it up on his desk.

Then, holding the Magic tape in his hand, he activated it with a burst of light, chanting something under his breath. As the magic flowed, the Magic book began to work, and a large screen was projected onto the wall.

Lester ensured that both he and Brandon could see it by making the projection cover the entire wall, similar to the size of a movie theater screen.

Lester stood up. "Now, I want to see exactly what happened."

Brandon leaned in as well, and the two teachers were like children, their eyes glued to the screen with intense curiosity.

The video began with Alicia and her team entering the Exotic Beasts area. In the beginning, everything seemed perfectly normal.

Brandon stroked his chin. "They're acting so normal here? This doesn't make sense. At this point, they would be struggling even against the weakest Exotic Beasts. How could they have gotten two hundred points?"

"Quiet," Lester said, his expression serious as he focused intently. Soon, he saw Alicia's team split up.

He nodded. "Splitting up is the right choice. If they stayed together and had to protect Eric, how could they compete with others? Wait a second... did something happen after they split up? Did Alicia encounter some kind of opportunity?"