Trapped as an NPC in a Dating Sim-Chapter 44: E-rank Dungeons Challenge!

"Whoa, are they really going to compete?"

"Seems so... it seems those so-called elites’ pride was hurt badly when a normal team managed to get ahead of them."

"But their team also has someone like Aurelia on their side."

"Well, it is what it is."

Just as Soren and Aria returned to their classroom, they were immediately greeted with a large crowd around them. Surprisingly, this crowd included students from the other two sections, too.

Everyone was gathered here; no wonder the corridor was totally empty.

"What happened?"

Aria spoke, a bit surprised.

"I don’t know. Let’s go to our seats. It seems everyone is also looking there."

Soren had a guess but didn’t say much. After navigating through the crowd, he quickly returned to the corner when he could already see Sylvia, Evan, and Aurelia.

But besides them, he also saw a few notable figures he had seen yesterday. The twin sisters, Elara and Elise Vans, the burly guy Magnus, and the son of the Defence Minister, Darius Blackthorne.

"So, what do you think? Let’s compete with each other, shall we? Besides, you already conquered an E-rank dungeon before anyway."

Darius Blackthorne spoke with a faint smile, his eyes mostly focused on Aurelia and Evan.

"Why the heck would we agree to such a stupid proposal?"

But the one who answered was Sylvia, who directly rolled her eyes at them.

"In the first place, a dungeon is dangerous and not something to compete about. Didn’t you hear Professor Lyra’s lecture?"

Sylvia was truly surprised that they would even try to compete and see who could clear an E-rank dungeon the fastest.

Were they idiots?

"Sylvia Everhart, right?"

Darius didn’t seem offended by her sharp words. Instead, he met her gaze with dark eyes and smiled lightly. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"For an S-rank Healer, you’re surprisingly wary of challenges. As a hunter, that’s not exactly a good trait. Didn’t Professor Lyra mention that to you as well?"

"You..."

"Okay, enough chitchat. Mr. Darius, we have no intention of participating in any competition right now. It hasn’t even been two days since we started attending the academy, and the earlier incidents were only due to Principal Logan."

Evan finally spoke, noticing that Aurelia had been silently standing to the side.

To be honest, he didn’t want to offend anyone if he could avoid it. But as Sylvia said, their proposal was far too dangerous.

Why risk the lives of his team members just for a challenge? Even though he was confident that their team could clear any E-rank dungeon now, that wasn’t a reason to become complacent.

Especially when the other party clearly seemed to have a motive.

"Hey, hey, don’t be so quick to reject our proposal. We just want to prove that we aren’t that bad to the Principal, you see."

Darius smiled, and the others nodded in agreement.

As they had implied yesterday, they wanted another chance, and it didn’t seem like the Academy was willing to give them one.

So, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

"Of course, we know the dungeon is dangerous, especially since we are just rookie hunters. But don’t worry, I’ve used my connections to secure a few academy-controlled dungeons for this competition."

Darius said proudly, displaying his influence even within the academy. Such a feat would be impossible for any other student except someone of his status.

"So, you can back out if it becomes too dangerous. Though with a team of your caliber, I don’t think that will be the case."

Darius said, putting pressure on them.

Then, seeing that the moment was right, he finally waved his hand and pulled out a faint golden card from his inventory, holding it up for them to see.

"And this challenge isn’t just for fun. Whoever clears the E-rank dungeon the fastest will receive this D-Rank Clearance Token from me as a reward."

The D-Rank Clearance Token was issued by the Central Hunter Bureau and allowed a hunter team to select and clear any D-rank dungeon of their choice.

In the country of Arden, dungeons weren’t ownerless. Not every hunter could enter any dungeon simply because they wanted to.

Access was strictly regulated by the government, and some dungeons were even sold to guilds at auction.

So, if a hunter wanted entry, they either had to join a guild or obtain permission from the Hunter Bureau. Other methods also existed, but they were rare and risky.

This made the D-Rank Clearance Token an extremely tempting offer.

Only someone like the son of the Defense Minister could afford to offer it for a competition.

"What do you think? That should be enough, right? There’s no real danger, and you’ll even get a reward for nothing. I don’t see any reason to back out now."

Darius spoke, making Evan and Sylvia look awkward. Now, if they opposed him, it would really seem like they were afraid of challenges.

Aurelia, on the other hand, remained as silent as ever, letting them make the decision.

"Haha... of course, that’s enough. Okay, we accept this challenge."

Just as Evan was about to refuse again, even under pressure, a loud laugh echoed through the classroom, followed by the appearance of two figures.

"Soren?"

"Hey, Evan, don’t overthink it. It’s just a challenge inside the academy. Besides, if it gets dangerous, we’ll just leave immediately. There’s no pressure."

Soren smiled meaningfully and lightly rested a hand on Evan’s shoulder before looking at the figures in front of him.

"Mr. Darius, right? Don’t worry, we accept your challenge. And I must say, I like your generous reward. So, when shall we compete?"

He was very straightforward. After all, this was also one of the plots in Game Lover’s Labyrinth.

Although it had been dragged out too early due to his meddling, he was still happy to accept it.

Especially when the stake was that D-Rank Clearance Token. Soren would never pass up such a lucrative reward.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Darius was quite surprised that a B-rank archer like Soren could make such a decision. But seeing that no one opposed him, not even Aurelia, he nodded slightly with a smile.

"Then that’s great. Okay, let’s hold the competition tomorrow at noon. Including me, a total of four teams will participate."

He signaled to the twin sisters and the burly guy, Magnus, who was grinning from ear to ear.

That meant he would have to use his channels to allocate four Academy-controlled E-rank dungeons for them tomorrow, which he could manage.

"As for the type of dungeon, it will be kept secret and randomly assigned by the professor so that no one has any prior information or preparation advantage over the others."

It seemed they had already discussed the challenge beforehand, as Darius meticulously explained everything.

"So, what do you think? If you have any concerns, we can adjust it the way you want."

He asked, and Soren shook his head.

"No need. This is fine. Let’s just compete tomorrow at noon, then."

He should be able to finish the dungeon and complete his class ascension by noon. Although he had to keep his level below 30, he could manage it for that token.

"Haha... okay, I like your confidence. Then, let’s meet tomorrow."

"Yeah... let’s meet tomorrow."

"Umm..."

As soon as Soren agreed, Magnus, who had been standing quietly, finally spoke up with a loud laugh.

Darius also wore a satisfied smile while the twin sisters nodded in sync before leaving with the other students. Class was about to start, and they couldn’t just loiter any longer.

With Soren’s agreement, they finally secured the chance they had wanted. Naturally, all of them were happy.

Soren looked at the noisy students from other sections leaving in droves, a similar smile on his face.

’With this Clearance Token, I won’t have to worry about gaining access to the Howling Chasm anymore,’ he thought with glee.

Just as he made a deal with Isolde, someone gave him a pass to the dungeon. Of course, he was thrilled.

"Ouch..."

But it seemed someone wasn’t pleased with his grin, as a sharp pinch to his waist made him yelp in pain.

"Sylvia, what the heck are you doing?"

And sure enough, it was Sylvia, her eyes blazing with anger.