Chapter 295: The Headmaster’s Announcement A day after Alex invited Lapiz into Endless Horizon... "I gathered all of you today for an important announcement," Professor Rowan declared to the entire student body of Frieden Academy. "As you may already know, the annual Dungeon Expedition for the First to Third Years will commence in a month." The Headmaster then glanced at the Professors who would personally lead the students to their respective dungeons. After the incident during the Battle Royale, Professor Rowan decided to play it safe. Even he would accompany the students, specifically the Fourth Years, who would be exploring a Rank 5 Dungeon. It had twenty-five floors, and the strongest Monster within was a Rank 5 Boss Monster. Alex was also not a stranger to this upcoming event. Recalling a certain plotline, he glanced at the grumpy Renard, who was listening to the Headmaster with his arms crossed over his chest. ’She will finally be here,’ Alex thought. ’Should I play matchmaker?’ Alex had already cleared the Story Mode of all three Main Heroes and three Main Heroines of ELO. Although Renard wasn’t someone who really liked romance, all the ladies in ELO could still potentially become his romance partner. While his severe trust issues remain, the young man could still open his heart a little, especially to those whom he deemed as true friends. The idea of the stubborn Renard falling in love was also rather novel, so Alex decided he’d extend a helping hand during the upcoming event the Headmaster was about to elaborate. "In a few days, the representatives of the Kingdom of Solara and the Kingdom of Faelarun will arrive," Professor Rowan announced. "They will stay here for a month as exchange students, and I hope that everyone will treat them well. "These exchange students are the elites among the First Years in their respective academies, and we old folks understand that there will be a sense of competition and rivalry. So, while unofficial duels will result in punishment, I will approve any and all duel requests." The Headmaster then grinned fearlessly and raised his hand. "I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this—if there’s a duel, make sure to crush them silly," the Headmaster said. "Bonus academy points will be given to the students who win the duels against our guests!" """Yeah!""" The students all cheered, while the Professors shook their heads helplessly. Headmaster Rowan was already so old yet still as hot-blooded as the young ones, even encouraging them to fight against the exchange students in duels. But it was understandable. Duels were one way to let them get closer to each other. After all, a good duel can sometimes lead to lasting friendships that would be tested through time. Alex glanced at Renard, who was now grinning fearlessly. Clearly, Mr. I-Have-Trust-Issues was looking forward to smacking some of the elite students of Solara and Faelarun Academies. "Hah... things will become troublesome in a few days," Vaan, who was standing beside Alex, muttered. "Are you also going to participate in the duels, Alex?" "No," Alex replied. "I’m a pacifist." Vaan giggled. In his eyes, Alex was never a pacifist. ’You’re not a pacifist, but an opportunist,’ Vaan mused. ’But that’s what I like about you!’ The Headmaster then continued his announcement, telling everyone that the exchange students would also join the Dungeon Expedition. "There will be a Ranking System based on points gained from the dungeon expedition," Professor Rowan stated. "I’d better see a group from Frieden Academy in the top spot. If not... well... I’ll toss all the First Years in the Chrono Maze for a week. Let’s see how you like being trapped in that maze. Kukuku!" The Headmaster’s threat made the First Years, with the exception of Alex, turn pale from fright. They already heard how dangerous the Forbidden Dungeon was, and staying a week there wasn’t something they would like to experience. Alex’s eyes sparkled because he had run out of magic crystals. A week-long stay inside the Chrono Maze was something he welcomed with open arms! Lotte, who was hovering above Latifa, glanced at Alex and saw the grin on the young man’s face. She had been there when he had saved Lucius from the dungeon, and she believed that Alex would be more than happy to be sent there for failing to take first spot in the dungeon expedition. The Headmaster said a few more reminders before dismissing everyone. As Alex and his classmates headed for their classroom, Chuck approached him from the side. "This is the perfect opportunity to earn academy points!" Chuck smirked. "I’m going to farm them by beating those exchange students to a pulp!" "Don’t let your guard down against them, Chuck," Alex replied. "They are elite students, so fight them seriously, or you will lose badly against them." "Relax." Chuck patted his chest with confidence. "I’m so handsome, so suave, and so charismatic. My charms alone will make me win any battles." "Wow..." Vaan, who was walking beside Alex, couldn’t help but praise Chuck’s confidence. "You can do it, Chuck. I believe in you!" "Thanks, Vaan!" Chuck flashed the pretty lady—err, boy a winning smile. Alex no longer said anything, but he also looked forward to Chuck getting humbled by the exchange students who would stay at their academy for a month. As an ELO player, he already had an idea about the roster of students coming to the academy, especially the delegation from the Solara Kingdom. Truth be told, he was more worried about things that wouldn’t follow the progression of Story Mode, especially after he had changed the destiny of many people. Alex knew about the butterfly effect, which was something that couldn’t be avoided as he tried to navigate the delicate balance between what must happen and what he believed was the right thing to do. He had no regrets about saving Charles and Vaan. But he was still trying to understand which character’s Story Mode was in effect. Renard, Cassian (Astrea’s Brother), and Prince Edward were the three Main Heroes. Astrea, Nessia, and Aeries were the three Main Heroines. Each of them had a different story progression, but some events intertwined with each other, especially for Nessia and Astrea, who were both First Years. The same could be said for Renard and Prince Edward, who were also First Years. ’The worst-case scenario is if all of their story arcs are active at the same time,’ Alex thought. ’It will be so chaotic in the future.’ Earlier, Alex had glanced at a young lady with unkempt blonde hair, wearing glasses. She looked very timid and probably treated like a pushover, but the young man knew that this lady was hiding her true identity in her miserable form. As if sensing his gaze, the young lady glanced back at him. Her blue eyes met his, as if appraising the reason why he was staring at her. Alex averted his gaze and shifted his attention back to the Headmaster as naturally as possible, so she wouldn’t suspect him of anything. That young lady was none other than Eleanora. A vampire hiding her true identity among the Second Years of Class A. Right now, her eyes were blue, but the moment she activated her vampiric powers, they would turn red, making her one of the Mini Bosses in Cassian’s Story Arc. She wasn’t a very powerful antagonist, but she’s a very annoying one. As long as she had drank someone’s blood, Eleanora could manipulate them. Her ability caused a lot of trouble for the protagonist, as well as the Student Council. The damnable part of it all was that she had managed to keep her identity hidden until the end and kept a low profile when her Story Arc was over. She remained ‌an agent of the Demon Worshipers, but no longer played any major role in the following arcs. Alex was very tempted to crush her now. But without her, Cassian would have no catalyst for his character growth, so he had to let the story progress as intended. Also, he was afraid that changing too many things would result in an unknown future that even he couldn’t predict despite playing the game for nearly six years. ’Well, it’s not that bad, I guess,’ Alex thought. After all, there was already one thing that never happened in the game—Lapiz joining the Endless Horizon Club. Alex’s main goal for inviting Lapiz into his club was to prevent her from falling into the hands of the Demon Worshipers, who would use her as a sacrifice to summon The Devil. If it succeeded, it wouldn’t be a normal devil that would come but the Major Arcana itself, one of the twenty-two deities of the world. Some interchanged Devils and Demons, but there was one clear difference between them. Demons were chaotic creatures, not caring about the method they used to do whatever they wanted to do. Devils, on the other hand, were lawful and followed rules and order. The Devil in the game of ELO wasn’t purely evil. However, it thought of everyone in the world as actors and actresses meant to entertain it. It schemed in the shadows, using demons, humans, elves, dwarves, and the other races alike as chess pieces to sow discord, leading to war and chaos. The Devil was also the leader of all demons, so all of them worshiped it fervently. Alex had no intention of letting them use Lapiz as a sacrifice, which would lead to her bad ending. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶 The young lady had lived a life of suffering, so an ending filled with suffering was something that Alex didn’t want her to experience. ’But for now, I need to confirm if the delegations are the same personalities in the game,’ Alex thought. ’If things changed, that would be a clear indication that the story is going off-course, which is a bad thing.’ The young man was feeling anxious and excited at the same time. After all, the month-long stay of the exchange students was an important time in the academy. If he could form alliances with the elite students of the Solara and Faelarun Kingdom, some future events would be easier to deal with, which would also guarantee a higher chance of success in saving his friends, who were now part of Endless Horizon.