The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Dark understood: "It seems the 'Silver Cup' and 'Gold Cup' are regular competitions used by the academy to supplement teaching. Knowing Professor Jones's personality, he'll most likely include the 'Silver Cup' results as part of the second-year assessment."

　……

　Dark's guess was entirely correct.

　During the second "Duel Class" on Thursday morning, Professor Pava Jones gave a detailed introduction to the "Silver Cup" and announced that it would be used as part of the practical assessment.

　The dueling course consists of a theoretical assessment and a practical assessment.

　The first-year students' dueling practice assessment is determined by scoring two random rounds of duels.

　But Professor Jones clearly has no intention of continuing to use the assessment model from the first year.

　The experimental assessment results for the second year will be based on the results of the "Silver Cup" and "Gold Cup" competitions, and the final score will be determined accordingly.

　“Witt Gold, do you have any questions?” Professor Jones asked when he saw Witt raise his hand.

　Witt immediately asked, "Professor, are we also participating in the 'Golden Cup'?"

　Professor Jones, with an air of self-evident certainty, said, "The 'Silver Cup' only lasts one semester, but an academic year has two semesters. 1+1=2, don't you understand?"

　Witt paused, then said, "But the 'Golden Cup'..."

　Professor Jones chuckled, resting his hand on his chest. "Competing against upperclassmen, isn't this what you've always wanted? What, are you scared?"

　“No.” Witt immediately withdrew his hand.

　Other students who wanted to argue also immediately shut up and did not raise any further questions.

　Professor Jones smiled and said, "The Silver Cup and Gold Cup competitions won't overlap. Although winning the championship is unlikely, I still hope you can go far in the Gold Cup. Alright, any other questions?"

　At this moment, a student from the House of Fools raised his hand and said helplessly, "Professor, what if we can't join the Duel Club?"

　Professor Jones said slowly, "I have a different set of evaluation criteria for you."

　Some of the students in the room secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

　As long as it's not a direct score of 0, it's fine.

　……

　The afternoon after the dueling lesson ended.

　Dark obtained the information he wanted from Eve.

　He returned to his dormitory and looked through the documents.

　The photo attached to the document was of Cole Osis, a third-year student from the Fools' House.

　Cole Osis's grades at the academy were very average, consistently ranking in the lower middle range.

　His resume is also very clear: he came from a commoner background, was discovered by the academy by chance, and received an invitation to enroll, which led him to study at St. Marian Academy.

　After successfully enrolling in the university, his life trajectory changed dramatically.

　Even his village benefited from this, transforming from a village into a town in just two years, and the living standards of the town's residents have been steadily improving.

　In addition, Cole Osis also made contact with barons in nearby territories.

　The records indicate that the baron intended to adopt him as his godson.

　This was not a bad thing for Cole Osis, who came from a poor background.

　However, Cole Osis did not immediately agree.

　Is this a case of waiting for a higher bidder?

　Dak tapped the table, knowing exactly what was going on.

　Cole Osis doesn't openly have any connections with any particular power. However, his records suggest he's someone who's relatively easy to bribe.

　Money, resources, and power can easily cloud his judgment.

　"In other words, he is likely just a mouthpiece."

　Any organization with a modicum of intelligence would never expose its identity to such a person.

　The difficulty naturally increases when trying to find the person behind Cole Osis by using him as a starting point.

　"So, should I accept the boss of the tenth level of this dungeon, or should I accept it?"

　Dak was somewhat unsure.

　The tenth floor boss is related to the "Gate of Advancement" quest.

　If you capture it, you will obtain the key to the eleventh floor, which will greatly help your future adventures.

　But what if it's a trap...?

　But in the end, who would set up such a stupid trap?

　Dak's doubts deepened.

　Moreover, it is only Wednesday of the third week, and he will not be able to enter the dungeon until Thursday of the fourth week.

　If it's a trap, isn't this intelligence coming a bit too early?

　Although most elite monsters in dungeons are not included in the dungeon's spawn mechanism, what if someone kills them first this weekend?

　Wouldn't this intelligence become invalid on the spot?

　After careful consideration, Dak went to the clubroom and asked senior Britney to pass on a message to Cole Osis.

　……

　At 7:30 p.m., Dak set out tea and pastries in a cubicle in the clubroom to welcome Cole Osis.

　He wasn't aggressive, nor did he expose Cole's background; he simply asked calmly about the source of the intelligence.

　After much hesitation, Cole Osis finally revealed it.

　Just as Dark had guessed, he was merely an insignificant messenger.

　Someone suddenly approached him, asking him to find a way to pass this intelligence to Dak Dimon, and to do so as discreetly as possible so as not to arouse suspicion.

　Cole did come up with a solution, but his acting was just too bad.

　As for who approached him, Cole didn't know.

　"He must have used a Transfiguration Charm or similar magic card; I've never seen that face before at the academy. At first, I thought it was a relatively unfamiliar first-year student. But the materials he used to pay the fee made me doubt that."

　Having already spoken, Cole Osis had no more reservations and poured out everything he knew, like spilling beans.

　"Anyway, that person didn't ask me to keep it a secret, did they?"

　Cole Osis grinned.

　……

　After seeing Cole off, Dark continued to ponder.

　Around 8:30, he made his decision.

　Desire could not cloud his mind.

　Greed could not control him.

　He decided to release this intelligence as part of the mission.

　[Mission Name: The Secret of Intelligence]

　[Mission Description: Confirm whether a tiered boss exists at the coordinates indicated in the intelligence. If so, defeat it, report the process, and disclose the loot. (Beware of traps)]

　[Task Restriction: Grade 3 and above]

　【Eligibility: 500 minutes】

　The mission rewards are meager, but the key is the intelligence that comes with the mission.

　If the intelligence is true, then the intelligence itself is the reward.

　All Dark wanted was to confirm the authenticity of the intelligence and the information related to the tier boss mentioned in the intelligence.

　It is not difficult.

　For top students in the third grade, it's something they can easily accomplish.

　Dark put down his pen, preparing to go to the quest hall to post a quest after finishing his "Alchemy Class" the next morning.

　Since the start of the second grade, something unexpected has finally happened.

　But for some reason, he not only didn't feel any danger, but was also very interested and even a little impatient.

　"A peaceful life always needs a few petals to embellish it."

　Dark whispered, and then the vampire flower appeared.

　Victoria and Phoenix, hand in hand, knocked on the door of the clubroom.

　Tonight, Wednesday, the first-graders finished their first astronomy lesson at the top of the Spiral Clock Tower.

　As soon as get out of class ended, Victoria and Phoenix couldn't wait to go to the tenth floor.

　They entered the clubroom and quickly became friends with the magical elves.

　Dak asked them about their astronomy class and was surprised to find that their astronomy professor was a recent graduate!

　Joseph Bruno was a sixth-year student at the Magic Academy.

　At the Easter Duel Festival on April 1st, he stood on the Duel Festival's podium alongside Dark.

　Dak was deeply impressed that the senior student had smashed a bunch of little pigs during the egg-smashing activity.

　"So he successfully stayed on at the university?"

　"Dark couldn't help but think."

　Staying on as a student at St. Marian College is not easy.

　But that senior's ability to win the Easter Duel Festival is truly remarkable.

　However, "astronomy" in the first year is only an extracurricular activity, so Bruno is probably not a formal professor yet.

　"Speaking of which, Ophelia Brad's secret passage key card must have come from him..."

　Dark lowered his head and let out a soft chuckle.

　……

　During Thursday morning's "Alchemy Class," Professor Kazel provided an in-depth explanation of the composition of the "Eye of Truth."

　The assignment for this "alchemy class" is to absorb as much of the content taught in class as possible.

　Professor Kazel will teach students how to open the "Eye of Truth" in his "Alchemy Class" next Thursday!

　"Eye of Truth" is an extremely rare secret technique that can only be mastered after establishing a connection with "Gate of Truth".

　Once the "Eye of Truth" is opened, the alchemist can measure the value of things from the perspective of the "Gate of Truth".

　The value of anything cannot escape the judgment of the "eye of truth".

　This was a secret technique that alchemy masters could only master after reaching the pinnacle of their skills, yet Professor Kazel was able to enable his students to master it at the very beginning of their alchemy studies…

　If alchemists of the past knew this, they would probably be green with envy.

　……

　After the "Alchemy Class," Dark went to the Mission Hall and released the "Secret of Intelligence."

　He then also accepted the official quests "Safety First" and "Gate of Advancement" at window number 9.

　In addition to these two tasks, novice adventurers will usually also accept some official tasks involving material gathering.

　However, considering that he did not have a "Dungeon Storage Box", Dark did not accept the offer for the time being.

　He had plenty of credits, didn't need club points, and wasn't particularly interested in the task itself.

　As he was about to leave, he discovered that the "Secret of Intelligence" mission had already been taken by someone else!

　……

Chapter 568 Darkdemon's Harvest Season (4K)

　"So fast?"

　Dark had an idea, so he looked around and walked toward the mission wall.