Chapter 202: Endless Horizon’s Prestige [Part 2] [Scatterburst Drill Challenge] Objective: Shoot or destroy as many clay discs as possible in a confined chamber. Discs are released in explosive clusters at a 5-10 feet range. Mechanics: Reflex-based. Discs shoot out like shrapnel from random directions at high speed. Some of them might hit you, so be very careful! Goal: Shoot and dodge the flying discs without letting yourself get hit once. The trial will end once a disc hits your body. Alex smirked as Dim Dim read the mechanics of the second challenge it would try out next. During its first try, Dim Dim didn’t even get to the top 3, but that was fine. The Dim Sum God wasn’t competing just yet. It was only sizing things up, trying to grasp how the challenge played out. After the first try, Dim Dim had grasped the basics, so it prepared itself for the challenge. As with the first challenge, an announcement rang out in the second training room. Dim Dim had broken yet another record. ———— [Scatterburst Drill Ranking Challenge] [First Place: Dim Dim] [Affiliation: Mascot of Endless Horizon Club] [Score: 14,225 Points] ——— After that, Alex allowed the Dim Sum God to take eight more ranking challenges, which ultimately made those in the training room look at the little white bun on Alex’s head in disbelief. Echo Shot Chamber, Reflex Ring, Phantom Flicker, Chain Trigger Challenge, Ricochet Blitz, Panic Pressure Mode, and Mirror Strike Challenge. All in all, the Dim Sum God had beaten ten records in the archery room, which caused a commotion among everyone currently present in the second training room. Curiosity spread like wildfire. One by one, the students watched the replay of the Dim Sum God taking the challenges, eager to see exactly how each record had been shattered. "Wow..." a young elf with long silver hair and blue eyes looked at Dim Dim as it bounced around the room, throwing steel pellets left and right while dodging the clay discs flying around it. She watched everything from start to finish, including the first challenge that the Dim Sum God had taken. "To think that someone so little is able to do these things." The young elf sighed. "So its name is Dim Dim, and it’s the mascot of the Endless Horizon Club? This is the first time I’ve heard about such a club." The young lady then accessed the magical database of Frieden Academy to check what the Club, Endless Horizon, specialized in. She wasn’t the only one. Most of the people who witnessed the spectacle in the second training room did the same. Curious about the little white bun’s origins, they began digging for more information about the Endless Horizon Club. As the students shared the news of what happened in the second training room, the record-breaking bun was currently with Alex in the academy’s Exchange Center. "Kukuku..." "Kukuku." "Kukuku!" Dim Dim chuckled as it rubbed its cheek on an alchemy bomb it had exchanged using its newly gained academy points. It was planning to buy more steel pellets at first, but Alex told it that there were many items that it could exchange for. The young man even helped Dim Dim view the catalog for throwing weapons, including Alchemical Bombs that would explode upon impact. Other throwable potions were for sale as well, such as Alchemical Fire, contained in glass vials that burst on impact and doused the target in volatile alchemical flames. Dim Dim even purchased Stink Bombs, which contained skunk essence. "Kukuku!" Dim Dim chuckled evilly as it placed another potion inside its dimensional storage, making the clerk giggle. Although the little bun chuckled like it was up to no good, that only made it cuter. Alex was very happy about this outcome as well. After all, he and Dim Dim were partners. The first arc of the story was fast approaching, and the little bun’s stash of throwing weapons was bound to come in handy for the problems about to come. Dim Dim could solely focus on offense, while Alex could focus on defense. This was the perfect combination, and the two of them would definitely be able to overcome most obstacles with this strategy. While Dim Dim didn’t exchange all of its academy points, the little bun still spent a whopping 5,000 points on its purchases. That was only a tenth of its academy points, yet it allowed Dim Dim to stockpile hundreds of exploding potions, making it a one-bun army! After leaving the exchange center, Alex went to the first training room to check on Renard’s progress. Just as he expected, many people were checking the ranking boards, which prompted Alex to raise his head and look at them as well. ——— [Colossus Punch Challenge] Objective: Deliver the strongest punch possible to a reinforced dummy. [First Place: Fran Terra] [Affiliation: Farmville Club] [Score: 13,666] [Second Place: Renard Vale] [Affiliation: Endless Horizon Club] [Score: 11,123] ——— (A/N: It’s over 10,000! Kekeke!) ’As expected of my Fran,’ Alex muttered as he looked at the leader board rankings, not caring one bit that Renard only managed to take second place. After they had their fish buffet yesterday, Dim Dim visited the Farm to play with Daisy and the other beasts being cared for by the dwarven twins, Fran and Finn. Fran then told Alex about the situation of the farm, wishing that she had more academy points to buy seeds, fertilizers, and tools for farming. Because of this, Alex shared the information to the young lady, who thanked Alex profusely because he managed to solve her problems. ’Sorry, Renard,’ Alex thought. ’You know what they say. No waifu, no laifu.’ At this point in time, Fran was indeed stronger than Renard since she was already a Rank 4 Dwarven Berserker. She was one of the hidden prodigies of Frieden Academy—one personally invited by the Headmaster to come to the learning institution. Alex didn’t mind that Renard only took second place, knowing that the latter’s character growth would happen in a few months. After that, one of the main Heroes of ELO would have an explosive growth, which would allow him to become the strongest First Year, when it came to physical might. ’I’m sure Renard will break Fran’s record before this school year ends,’ Alex mused. ’But until then, Fran will dominate the strength rankings of the academy.’ Just as Alex expected, ten of the rankings had Fran’s name in it, with Renard only on the second place. ’He must really feel bad about failing to get first place,’ Alex thought as he scanned the training room to see if Renard was still around. And he did find the teenage boy. But instead of feeling depressed, Renard seemed very happy as he chatted with Fran, whose face was now beet red from embarrassment. "... I changed my mind," Alex muttered. "This guy needs no pity. Time to kill!" "Kukuku!" Dim Dim had already taken out a stink bomb from its dimensional storage. Renard was happily chatting with Fran when he suddenly sensed a cold tingling sensation run down his spine. It was as if a monster had locked onto his body. He turned around to look in the direction from which the chill had come, and there, he saw Alex approaching him with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Dim Dim was also holding a vial with a brownish gray color that made Renard sense danger. The moment Fran saw Alex and Dim Dim, she greeted them with a smile as radiant as a flower in full bloom. "Alex, thank you for your advice!" Fran said. "You have no idea how happy I am thanks to you." Faced with a smile that had to be protected at all costs, all of Alex’s murderous thoughts— including tossing Renard’s corpse into the Arowana River as fish food—disappeared completely. "I saw the rankings," Alex replied. "Congratulations. You did well." The young man gave the young lady a thumbs up, making Fran’s smile widen. Seeing this, Renard glared at Alex, and the latter looked back at him as if he had already won in life. Since he had played Renard’s story quest as well, Alex had of course added Fran to his team lineup, creating two berserkers as front liners. This was an epic combination that allowed them to decimate almost every monster in their path. ’Not this time though.’ Alex sneered internally. ’Even if you are the protagonist, you should find other heroines to romance!’ The cute dwarf, who had no idea what Alex was thinking, asked him if he had eaten lunch yet. Naturally, he said no, accepting Fran’s invitation to go to her farm to have lunch together. "Well, then. I’ll see you around, Fran," Renard said with a smile, which he rarely showed to anyone. "See you," Fran replied, returning a shy smile at the teenage boy who had suddenly asked her to be his friend in the academy. Alex watched the young man leave in a good mood because he had met someone that was stronger than him. This inspired Renard to work harder and focus more on his training, with the goal of surpassing Fran’s records in the rankings.