【The warriors of the ten races have been completely wiped out, and the imperial capital has fallen. Detecting no remaining resistance, the initial dungeon has concluded.】
【Congratulations to Professional Chen Xu for completing the dungeon. You have received the following rewards.】
【Reward 1: Dungeon Space Fragment. Fragment Attributes (Ancient Battlefield, Abundance).】
【Reward 2: Level increased by 4.】
【Reward 3: Destiny Points.】
"Hm? Is the dungeon already cleared?" Chen Xu was still in the rear, continuously casting Raise Skeleton to replenish Bone Guard One's forces, not expecting the battle to end so quickly.
In the next instant, the scene before his eyes changed rapidly.
Chen Xu shook his head and found himself back in the Dungeon Hall.
【Hero unit Bone Guard One has completed the ascension mission.】
【Level restriction removed.】
【Obtained Hero Name: Beastman Reaper.】
【Ascension Reward: Headhunter's Glory.】
【Headhunter's Glory】
【Equipment Type: Shield.】
【Owner: Bone Guard One (Exclusive).】
【Equipment Traits: Gain different attributes based on the heads embedded in the shield. Current heads: Tiger, Bear, Pig, Bull, Snake, Hawk, Dog, Cat, Rat, Elephant.】
"So this is Bone Guard One's ascension reward?"
Before Chen Xu could study it closely, Mo Zijiang's voice came from beside him.
"Student Chen Xu, congratulations! You are this year's pride, the fastest to clear the initial dungeon!" Mo Zijiang walked forward quickly to congratulate Chen Xu.
He then extended his hand and introduced himself, "I am the City Lord of Linghai City, Mo Zijiang."
Chen Xu instinctively shook Mo Zijiang's hand and replied, "Hello, City Lord."
"Hahaha, Student Chen Xu, no need to be so formal. By taking the top spot, you've done a huge favor for Linghai, for me, and for Principal Huang!"
Unfortunately, Chen Xu didn't know the inside story behind this, so he could only manage an awkward smile.
"City Lord Mo, may I borrow Student Chen Xu for a moment?" Xia Qiming interrupted the conversation.
"Of course, Teacher Xia, your business is more important. Student Chen Xu, this is Teacher Xia Qiming, the recruitment teacher from Daxia Military Academy." After the introduction, Mo Zijiang returned to his seat, leaving the space to Xia Qiming and Chen Xu.
"Hello, Teacher Xia," Chen Xu greeted him proactively.
"Yes, wait a moment," Xia Qiming replied simply. He pulled a medallion-like object from his robe, broke it in half, and gave one half to Chen Xu.
"This is a Soul-Inducing Token. You can activate it by permeating it with your mental energy."
"A Soul-Inducing Token? What is it used for?" Chen Xu was curious and poured his mental energy into it exactly as Xia Qiming instructed.
The half-token instantly restored itself into a full one, then began to glow wildly and tremble.
"That is enough, you can stop the mental energy input. Your mental energy is far too massive," Xia Qiming warned him.
Although he already knew Chen Xu's mental energy was enormous from the number of skeleton soldiers, seeing him restore the Soul-Inducing Token in an instant—and nearly blow it up—still sent a shock through Xia Qiming.
Chen Xu quickly withdrew his mental energy and said sheepishly, "Ha, well, I didn't expect this thing would explode. By the way, Teacher Xia, what is this Soul-Inducing Token used for?"
"It is a credential. A credential for the military academy. With this token, you are a member of the academy. You will need this token to access the academy's resources and facilities."
"Ah! Teacher Xia, you mean I'm already part of the academy? Don't I need to wait for everyone else to finish the initial dungeon, tally the scores, and rank everyone first?"
"I am the recruitment teacher. If I say you are in, you are in. However, if you enjoy that sort of thing, I can have the school help with some publicity. Based on the rankings, you could be considered the top scholar."
His thoughts having been seen through, Chen Xu waved his hands awkwardly and said, "No, no, I just didn't want people to say it was unfair. I'm not that vain!"
For some reason, Chen Xu thought he could faintly hear Bone Guard One's "jie jie jie" laughter echoing from the Necrotic Space.
"The Soul-Inducing Token has another function: communication and mental meetings."
"Huh? A mental meeting? What's that?"
"Follow me." Xia Qiming turned and walked toward a lounge in the Dungeon Hall. Chen Xu followed closely behind him.
After entering the lounge, Xia Qiming took out a sphere and activated it with mental energy.
The sphere instantly expanded, enveloping both Xia Qiming and Chen Xu.
"A tool created by the academies and Heavenly Crafts Academy, a rechargeable high-grade energy shield," Xia Qiming introduced casually. "I have already sent a meeting invitation. Use the Soul-Inducing Token to accept it."
Chen Xu was shocked. Sensing the mental energy information on the token, it translated into: "You have a meeting invitation, please attend on time."
"That damn meeting is still haunting me!"
Instantly, his hair stood on end and his face tensed up, looking like he was having a stress response.
"What is it? With your level of mental energy, you shouldn't have such a reaction," Xia Qiming said, confused. Using the token required reaching a certain mental energy threshold, so it was usually only distributed after enrollment.
However, since Chen Xu had already demonstrated incredible mental energy in the dungeon, Xia Qiming wasn't one to stick to old-fashioned rules and had given it to him directly.
"Uh, it's nothing. I'm just too shocked. I didn't expect this thing could transmit mental energy. Was this also made by the academies and Heavenly Crafts Academy?" Chen Xu made up a random excuse.
He didn't want to fall back into the agony of being surrounded by endless meetings from his past life.
Before Xia Qiming could answer, Chen Xu accepted the meeting request. In the next instant, a feeling similar to entering a dungeon washed over him.
When Chen Xu came to his senses, he found himself sitting at an oval table. At the other end sat an old man, though his face was somewhat blurry.
"You must be Student Chen Xu. Your mental energy is indeed extraordinary."
A second later, Xia Qiming's figure appeared and sat next to the old man, though Xia Qiming's face was also blurry.
"The Soul-Inducing Token wasn't made by the academies or Heavenly Crafts Academy; it is a product of an important dungeon. Also, in the future, you don't need to bring all your mental energy into the meeting. Just a little bit will do."
Chen Xu finally understood why Xia Qiming and the old man's faces were so blurry; only a portion of their mental energy was present.
"In these meetings, unless you are the host or need to speak, you can just listen. You don't need much mental energy for analysis. The Soul-Inducing Token will also record the meeting, allowing others to review it based on their permissions."
Chen Xu was speechless once again. This was basically just joining a meeting in the background while slacking off and having meeting recordings...
"This is Mr. Le, the vice-director of recruitment for the military academy. He is also an evaluator for Daxia's Dragon Seed Program. This meeting is part of the Dragon Seed evaluation process."
"The Dragon Seed Program? What is that?"
"Student Chen Xu, you should have studied the history of the dungeon era in class," Mr. Le asked.
"Uh, I did."
"Then do you remember the population of Daxia a century ago, the year the dungeons first appeared?"
"I remember it was 1.8 billion."
"Exactly, 1.8 billion. But today, a hundred years after the dungeons appeared, that number is 900 million. It has been cut exactly in half. Sigh," Mr. Le sighed.
"In the early days, our understanding of dungeons was incomplete. Due to the pressure of dungeon invasions, we could only recklessly throw lives at them."
"But we have now passed the most difficult period. Thanks to the research from the academies, we have a new understanding of dungeon clears."
"The Dragon Seed Program was born from this."
Mr. Le reached into the air, and a stack of documents appeared out of nowhere. He placed them on the table and pushed them toward Chen Xu.
Chen Xu picked them up and saw the title on the cover: 《Dungeon Clear Classification: Conquest and Assimilation》.
"We now categorize dungeons into two types."
"The first type is conquest-type dungeons, such as the Decagon Hegemony. The inhabitants are alien races that cannot be reasoned with; they can only be physically conquered."
"The second type is assimilation-type dungeons. These dungeons are inhabited by humans who can be communicated with, and their knowledge and supernatural paths have extremely high value."
"We discovered these dungeons by chance. As long as a Daxia Professional takes a dominant position in the dungeon—for example, by leading a rebellion and ascending the throne—it is considered a successful clear."
"Based on this classification, the high-level officials of Daxia proposed the Dragon Seed Program, divided into two paths: 【War】 and 【Hero】. "
"Dragon Seeds on the 【War】 path specialize in clearing conquest-type dungeons."
"Dragon Seeds on the 【Hero】 path deal with assimilation-type dungeons."
"Daxia will pour resources into these Dragon Seeds to accelerate their growth."
Chen Xu finally understood what the Dragon Seed Program was all about.
"Then shouldn't you just look at the class? A Necromancer is a perfect candidate for the 【War】 path!"
"If resources were infinite, Daxia would want everyone to become a dragon," Mr. Le said helplessly. "But the reality is that resources are limited. Everyone can be a Necromancer, but while someone else's Necromancer has only a few hundred skeletons at level 1, you have 150,000. That gap is enough for Daxia to prioritize resources for you."
"What kind of resources are we talking about?" Chen Xu was curious about how big of a pie Daxia was trying to feed him.
"As long as you meet the targets, Daxia will provide everything below the Epic rank that you can use, whether it is a dungeon drop or something we manufactured ourselves. Items of the Epic and Legendary ranks can be prioritized for exchange using Dragon Seed points."
"To be more specific, since you are a Necromancer, Daxia will provide you with the skill books for the two level 10 summoning skills: Skeleton Priest and Skeleton Archer. Daxia will also provide level 10 Necromancer equipment. We will even provide the corpses needed for summoning. Anything you can use, we will provide."
"However, Epic-rank skill books like the level 50 【Undead Bone Dragon】 would need to be exchanged with Dragon Seed points. But as long as you clear dungeons normally, by the time you reach level 10, those points might just be a fraction of your total balance."
Chen Xu was stunned by this massive promise. If what Mr. Le said was true, then all his future equipment and skills would be paid for by Daxia.
"Grandpa Le, I didn't go to school for very long, you can't lie to me!" Chen Xu said, throwing away his shame to try and get closer to the man.
"Haha, I speak nothing but the truth."
Rate on N.U.
