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nWhen Howard returned to the Holy Abyss Academy, the demeanor of every student had drastically changed from their usual attitudes, all now wearing expressions of grave seriousness.

nInevitably, among the students, various cliques and groups had formed.

nAs some relayed Wales and Tana’s speculations, a sense of crisis pervaded the atmosphere among all students.

nSome even shared the news with their family members.

nUpon receiving this information, Daniel immediately set new rules – for the time being, students of all grades were prohibited from venturing outside for their usual field experiences.

nIn an instant, the entire atmosphere within the Holy Abyss Academy tightened.

nCountless students, apart from participating in the Mystic Realm, spent their time in classes.

nWith the absence of field experiences, students appeared in greater numbers within the academy’s premises, frequently encountering each other.

nHoward, too, came across those students who ranked at the top in the Mystic Realm.

nIn essence, Howard wasn’t looking to stir trouble.

nHis focus was on spending time in the Mystic Realm to accumulate experience points, enhancing his level and attributes as swiftly as possible.

nAfter selecting the special hidden class, Solitary Stellar Marksman, Howard found that each point he added to his attributes brought a substantial increase to his basic stats.

nThus, leveling up became increasingly important for Howard.

nFortunately, under the looming threat of the extraplanar beings, the students maintained their composure.

nAfter competing with Howard in acquiring points in the Mystic Realm and being convincingly outperformed, they all gracefully accepted their defeat.

nAs Howard surpassed the older students in various rankings, his fame spread throughout the Holy Abyss Academy.

nEven without a direct confrontation, the senior students became aware that a formidable new talent had emerged among the freshmen, possessing strength comparable to the academy’s top-tier veterans.

nTime slowly passed within the academy.

nAfter nearly half a year, Howard and his companions finally received a message from Rick.

nDuring these six months, their progress had been remarkable.

nEven without the opportunity to frequently farm monsters, Howard managed to covertly team up with Caitlin, Glyn, and others, including Abby, Ying Chan, and his two roommates, for a leveling session in the Castle of Vampires.

nOf course, since Daniel was reluctant to let them go, they had to seek Wales’ protection for their safety.

nThrough dozens of Mystic Realm runs and a venture into the Ruins, Howard, in just half a year, had impressively advanced to level 47, rapidly closing in on Caitlin and the others.

nYing Chan, who had already been at a higher level, now reached level 43, making him the strongest in their freshman year, aside from Howard.

nAs for Abby, Judy, and the rest, they had only managed to reach around level 37, still a bit away from level 40.

nThe system, even within a team, distributed experience based on the proportion of damage inflicted by each member or their specific contributions to the battle.

nAs a result, Howard, Ying Chan, Caitlin, and a few others, naturally received higher rewards than other awakened.

nEven so, the progress made by Howard and his team profoundly astonished the entire academy.

nInitially, only senior students were slated to participate in the grand competition of the Alliance academies, but Howard managed to secure a spot for himself.

nUltimately, Howard, Ying Chan, Abby, and Judy became the substitutes representing Holy Abyss Academy in the competition.

nThe primary team members were exclusively awakened individuals above level 50.

nCaitlin, Glyn, Aisha, along with higher-grade students like Keno and the previously top-ranked Mystic Realm genius Hadman, were all part of the team.

nExcluding Howard’s group, the team was a formidable assembly of ten members!

nIn fact, if it weren’t for Howard’s presence, solely relying on the capabilities of

nYing Chan, Abby, and Judy, they wouldn’t match up to the likes of Caitlin, Keno, and Hadman.

nHowever, including only Howard would have seemed overly preferential.

nHence, Daniel made this decision.

nAs for the other lower-grade students who weren’t chosen, they were quite convinced of the fairness.

nAfter all, Howard had already outperformed them in various aspects, dominating them thoroughly!

nOne could say that these six months had been incredibly eventful and fulfilling for them.

nEven Howard, during this period, managed to maintain an especially harmonious relationship with Ying Chan, Abby, and Margaret.

nCaitlin once tried to join their circle, but unfortunately, Howard firmly kept her at bay.

nAfter all, Howard was not the type to fall for every woman he saw!

nJust as the academy finalized the list of participants for the grand Alliance competition and prepared for departure, Daisy Delilah, the dean of Holy Abyss Academy, finally returned.

nThe dean was a woman whose strength did not seem as formidable as Rick’s.

nWith a face marked by wrinkles, she looked like an ordinary person from a distance.

nIt’s worth noting that Rick and his friends, even without paying special attention to their appearance, seemed to be in their thirties or forties.

nParticularly striking was Ice Ghost, who, despite being in his seventies or eighties, looked no different from a thirty-year-old.

nHowever, Howard noticed that the dean gave him a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

nBut Howard’s memory was sharp, and he distinctly remembered never having any contact with a female warrior of her age.

nThus, Howard could only suppress his curiosity and doubts.

nJust as Rick had previously mentioned, the councilors of the Alliance decided to adopt a counter-strategy.

nOver the past six months, they had taken no action, allowing the extraplanar spaces to continuously open space rifts and descend upon the human realm.

nEven upon hearing news of many people’s deaths, they remained indifferent.

nDaniel’s decision to prevent the students from venturing out was largely due to his concern that Howard and other students, in a moment of recklessness, might seek out the space rifts and confront the extraplanar beings directly.

nAlthough many of their mentors had done so, they would not let their students fall into such peril.

nAfter all, nobody knew the extent of power that the extraplanar beings would bring upon their arrival.

nOver the past six months, the Alliance suffered heavy casualties, but the conspiracy of the extraplanar beings also came to light.

nThe Alliance’s inaction did not mean that information could not be conveyed.

nPeople soon discovered that those descending upon the human realm were primarily from four groups: the Murderer tribe, the Voracious Ant tribe, the Frost Giant tribe, and a peculiar race resembling humans with mimicry abilities.

nClearly, these four groups had formed an alliance.

nInternally, the Alliance discreetly reached out to these groups, informing them about the grand competition of the Alliance academies.

nEven though the extraplanar beings might not be as intellectually adept as humans, they were not foolish.

nThey understood the importance of the younger generation to the survival and prosperity of their species.

nThus, these four tribes immediately set their sights on the grand competition.

nThey believed that if they could eliminate the young individuals with exceptional talents within the Alliance, the hopes of humanity would be shattered.

nIn a few decades, as the older generation of human warriors perished, and no young champions rose to take their place, the entire human race would weaken.

nConsequently, they promptly adjusted their spatial coordinates, planning to strike during the chaos of the grand competition, exploiting the opportunity for a surprise attack. .

nIn essence, the Alliance was engaging in a colossal gamble.

nIf successful, they could annihilate all the extraplanar beings that had descended post-alliance and even launch a counteroffensive.

nHowever, should they fail, the entire younger generation of the Alliance academies would fall, marking a catastrophic loss for human race.

nWhen Howard, along with Wales, Daniel, and Daisy, received the news from Rick, they all exchanged looks of disbelief.

nThe councilors were indeed ruthless!

n“You must be prepared in advance. A great battle is inevitable, and if possible, we might even attempt a counterattack. If we do, you need to be ready to prevent the students from scattering,” they were advised.

nOwing to Howard’s presence, Rick, this time, spared no detail in sharing everything he knew with the folks at Holy Abyss Academy.

nHad the participants not been already finalized, Daniel and the others would have considered withdrawing their students from the competition.

nThe risk was too high, and they were reluctant to expose their students to constant mortal danger.

n“Howard, I will be joining the battle this time and won’t be able to stay by your side to protect you. I hope you can take care of yourself and remember my advice!”

n“Prepare for battle!”

n“One more thing, the other academies are not aware of this situation. We’re also unsure if there are any spies for the extraplanar beings within the Alliance, so please keep this information to yourselves. Until the extraplanar beings arrive, you must maintain your disguise!”

nAfter issuing this reminder, Rick left reluctantly.

nWith no family left, Howard was practically his only successor.

nHow could he not be concerned?

nThe only consolation for Rick was Howard’s remarkable strength.

nCoupled with the support of Holy Abyss Academy, this battle might very well be the turning point for Howard’s rise.

n𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮

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