35-First Out, Top Score!
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"Student, can you tell us what exactly you encountered in the dungeon?"
"Hello, student, was this year's exam difficulty so high that you all chose to quit?"
"Do you regret giving up on the exam?"
"To all the viewers at home, this year's first eliminees from the school exam have appeared. They entered the testing ground less than 10 minutes ago and already chose to abandon the exam.
Next, let's interview them to see if this year's exam difficulty spiked so much that students opted out after just 10 minutes.
Hello, student, I'm a reporter from CVTT. Could you answer a few questions for us?"
The freshly awakened female student, witnessing this scene, was utterly dumbfounded.
What was going on? She'd entered the dungeon just two minutes ago, got dragged off by someone, passed out, and now she was back out?
Had she really quit the dungeon?
Was her exam over?
Her face, already pale, turned to stone the moment she realized she'd exited the dungeon.
She turned to Su Mo, still standing there with his usual cold expression, and burst into tears:
"It's all your fault! All your fault! If it weren't for you, how could we have exited the dungeon so fast? Now my life's ruined! Waaah~~~"
Watching from the TV, Su Yu's heart clenched when she saw Su Mo as the first to "quit."
Even though Su Mo had told her before heading off that he'd definitely be this year's top scorer,
Su Yu had always thought it was just him trying to impress her, so she'd brushed it off with a smile.
But now, seeing him abandon the exam so quickly, he must be devastated.
Amid the clamor around him, Su Mo stomped his foot with a loud boom, sending a tremor through the plaza.
"Shut up!"
In that instant, everyone froze, their eyes locking onto Su Mo. The plaza fell deathly silent.
"Who said I abandoned the exam? Couldn't it be that I cleared it?"
Su Mo's words rang out with authority, and in a flash, the plaza erupted into chaos again.
"No way! It's only been 10 minutes since the exam started—how could anyone clear the dungeon?!"
"Exactly, this kid's not honest at all. If you failed, just say you failed. Claiming you cleared it? When the scores come out, he'll get slapped in the face."
"But you know, it's not a bad idea. If I awaken next year and don't think I can pass, I'll just be the first to quit.
Scores don't matter—stealing the spotlight's enough. Can't pass anyway, so why not make a splash? Maybe I'll even get into livestreaming and selling stuff later."
"Damn, genius plan!"
Su Mo's brows furrowed again at the surrounding noise. Without wasting words, he pulled up his exam results for all to see.
[Su Mo: Dungeon exploration 70%, +70 points. Boss damage output 100%, +100 points. Teammate assembly +40 points. Cleared within one hour, +300 points. Total: 510 points]
Whoosh!
The moment the info appeared, everyone's breath caught in their throats.
510 points—a sky-high score! 100% solo boss damage, 70% dungeon exploration, cleared in under half an hour!
What kind of prodigy was this?!
Clearing in an hour was the dungeon's max bonus, but Su Mo had emerged in less than 10 minutes.
At that moment, not just the students and reporters went wild—even the teammate standing beside him was slack-jawed.
They'd actually cleared it???
She'd entered the dungeon for two minutes, took a nap, and passed?
She hurriedly opened her own info to check.
[Xia Yuhe: Dungeon exploration 1%, +1 point. Boss damage output 0%, +1 point. Assembled one teammate +10 points. Cleared within one hour +300 points. Total: 312 points]
As her results popped up too, the crowd's mouths twitched.
Exploration 1%, boss damage 0%, one teammate assembled—with stats like that, she'd have been dead last in any other year.
But that 300-point "cleared within an hour" bonus would've landed her in the top 30 last year.
Seeing the data, anyone with a brain could piece it together.
The guy standing there had dealt 100% of the boss damage—meaning everyone else's output was 0%.
This wasn't the first quitter—it was one god carrying four deadweights, clearing the dungeon in 10 minutes!
In an instant, the looks directed at Su Mo shifted.
The earlier mockery and disdain morphed into awe and reverence, paired with deep envy toward his four teammates.
They wanted a big shot like that in their exam too—carrying them to victory!
Do nothing, lie down, and boom—300 points.
"Hahaha! Good, good, good! I knew you'd be the first out, kid, but I didn't expect you'd be this fast. I step out for a bathroom break, and you've already cleared it!"
With those words, balding Old Man Wang appeared beside Su Mo.
Su Mo's pupils shrank slightly as he glanced at him. Even with 400 speed points, he still couldn't catch how the old man had moved.
Gold-rank really was something else!
"Alright, Little Mo, you must be tired from the exam. Go rest somewhere—or head home if you want. The district exam's tomorrow. I'll handle things here."
Su Mo nodded without saying much. He knew Old Man Wang would stay behind, loudly touting the school's teaching philosophy and his own educational triumphs.
But Su Mo didn't care about that.
The throng of reporters still wanted to interview him, but at Old Man Wang's gesture, they parted to let him through.
Before he'd even left the plaza, Su Mo heard Old Man Wang's wild laughter ring out.
"Let me tell you all—this year's top scorer will absolutely come from our school! With Su Mo's strength, no one can match him!
Of course, he couldn't have gotten this strong without my tireless guidance.
Here, I officially declare to the nation: this year's top scorer is only Level 9—and that's our Su Mo!"
Whoosh!
The plaza fell eerily silent once more.
They couldn't believe the student who'd cleared the dungeon first was just Level 9.
Nor could they fathom Principal Wang boasting so boldly that this year's top scorer would undoubtedly be Su Mo—a mere Level 9.
…
Su Mo shook his head, left the plaza, and headed home.
In the short time it took him to get back, news of a Level 9 Tianfu High student declaring himself this year's top scorer had already spread like wildfire across the nation.
Countless news outlets, social media, and ads picked up the story.
In no time, students, parents, and noble family heirs nationwide were buzzing about it, taking note of this guy named Su Mo.
"Hmph, just grandstanding! The southwest's gone downhill."
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