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

　The gears floating in the air also stopped rotating.

　He instinctively reached out to explore, only to find that the "membrane" protecting the gears had completely disappeared, and his outstretched hand could directly touch the gears.

　This made a question arise in his mind: "What about the assessment?"

　He had thought this was also a test within the illusion, but in the end, apart from watching a scene of an ancient city as if riding a train, there was nothing else.

　While the scene was indeed breathtaking, it contained absolutely no element of mystery.

　With a hint of doubt, Dark took out the "Magic Collector" to collect magic energy.

　When he fills up a slot, the "10" on the gear changes to "9".

　With this, his "simulated adventure assessment" was officially completed.

　……

　About two minutes later.

　A membrane was regenerated around the gear.

　After repeated attempts, Dak finally waited until his finger was covered by a "membrane".

　His eyes flashed, and he once again had the little dream demon extend its tentacles through the "membrane" to touch the gears.

　The gears begin to rotate at high speed the instant they make contact.

　Dark's lips couldn't help but curl into a slight smile.

　"It's done!"

　As expected, this magical marker was not advanced enough to be able to recognize itself autonomously.

　The little dream demon triggered the gear mechanism again.

　In the blink of an eye, Dak was back in that ancient city.

　This time, he was prepared and quickly memorized the architectural style of the ancient city.

　It wasn't until he re-entered the church-like building that he squinted at the center of the building and finally saw the peculiar decoration hanging on the central wall.

　It was a strange design with a wing on each side of the giant gear.

　【???】

　Like... a gear taking flight!

　……

　The light vanished in an instant.

　The darkness flashed by in an instant.

　Dark returned to the ruins once again.

　Then he summoned the "Magic Book" and used a magic pen to draw and record within it.

　Once the "membrane" around the gears regenerated, he instructed the little dream demon to once again extend its greedy hand...

　So the third time, the fourth time...

　Dark Dimon idly plundered the sheep.

　It wasn't until his tenth entry into the ancient city and subsequent exit that he suddenly realized something was wrong with the gears.

　Even though the number above the gear is still "9", why does it feel unstable and wobbly?

　"Did they fleece us too much?"

　Dak couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

　……

　The top of the castle.

　Professor Pava Jones had somehow appeared on this side, gazing into the distance with a blank expression.

　The gears in the "Ancient Ruins" were actually a surprise she had prepared on purpose.

　By summoning a ghost-type magical spirit to touch the gears, the mechanism of the gears can be activated, leading the mage into a dreamlike realm to experience the splendor of an ancient city.

　As for the original appearance of that city... it was actually reconstructed by the professors based on the broken walls and ruins left behind in the ruins.

　Exploring the history of that city has been a long-standing research topic for one of the professors.

　When Professor Jones set up this magical marker, he never imagined that someone would keep taking advantage of it...

　"That's all."

　But in the end, she shook her head.

　"Anyway, it's just a city illusion."

　……

　On top of the ruins.

　After waiting for five minutes, Dark found that although the gear still had some magic, the outer "membrane" showed no signs of regeneration.

　He immediately realized he had gone too far!

　Even someone as thick-skinned as him couldn't withstand it at this point.

　"How to do?"

　As his mind wandered, Dak took a step back and noticed someone approaching.

　Hey, Dark.

　Little Pistan came running over excitedly, staring at the gear and asking, "I've seen you sitting here for quite a while, have you already cracked it?"

　Dark shook his head: "No."

　There are no levels or puzzles at all, so how can we solve them?

　But Pistan, rubbing his hands together, stubbornly bent down to touch the gears.

　Of course, he encountered the gear without any hindrance and felt the magic within it.

　"Isn't this broken?"

　He was overjoyed and quickly took out his "magic collector".

　……

　"Forget it, I'll just turn myself in."

　Watching Pistan leave happily, Dark couldn't help but smile wryly. He then put away his magical Pokémon and headed towards Battle Arena 1.

　He didn't know where Professor Jones had gone, so he could only go back to the venue to check.

　Wait until he leaves.

　Perhaps because Pistan was too loose-lipped, one after another people started running towards the ruins.

　As the numbers on the gears shrank, Emma and Sarah couldn't help but run over after hearing the news.

　The two of them didn't steal anything, but they were both puzzled by the mysterious disappearance of the "membrane" around the gear.

　But no matter what they thought, Dak finally met Professor Jones after entering the venue.

　Professor Jones, who had deliberately come down from the top of the castle, then deliberately circled around in front of Dark before luring him into the room.

　Professor Jones crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, looking like he was ready to say whatever he wanted.

　Dak blushed slightly and voluntarily surrendered.

　“It’s nothing.” Professor Jones was pleased with his initiative and honesty. “You don’t need to worry about students using this to cheat. Finding and using shortcuts during exploration is something adventurers need to consider. Besides, the assessment criteria are not just about simulated exploration.”

　Dark: "Huh?"

　Professor Jones smiled and said, "Some people always need more time to mature before they can forge their own path. As professors, we want our students to improve, not to deliberately make things difficult or restrict them. Those who stay in the end are naturally those who need to stay."

　……

　After walking out of the small room, Dak felt a little relieved.

　Instead of sitting down to rest in the venue, he switched to the map and continued searching for the remaining ten magic markers.

　The magic markers are not placed meaninglessly; the levels they are designed for also have their purpose.

　After examining all the magical markers, you're bound to gain something.

　……

　Time passed quickly.

　Some of the students who had completed the twenty data collection tasks gradually returned to the venue.

　But others, like Dark, continue their search.

　The competition among the students was not actually fierce, with only a few minor clashes occurring when vying for the last spot in the magic token competition.

　More often than not, they need physical and mental strength.

　This is also a very important factor in dungeon adventures.

　Sufficient stamina can help adventurers go further.

　Intellectual ability, on the other hand, provides adventurers with greater protection.

　It must be said that this "simulated adventure assessment" was actually quite interesting if the assessment element were removed.

　Many students seemed reluctant to leave after returning.

　Professor Jones noticed all of their reactions.

　With a broad smile, she has essentially decided to continue using this model for this year's Halloween activities.

　An event that has been going on for so many years always needs to be updated with something new.

　However, more rules will likely be added to allow younger students to interact with older students, making the competition more intense, the passion more intense, and the nights more fun.

　"I wonder what Halloween Eve will be like this year?"

　Professor Jones has high hopes for this.

　……

　Dark returned to Battle Arena 1 at 12:56.

　By this time, he had solved more than thirty levels, but since he had not collected any magic power from any of them, it had not affected the other students.

　As he entered the venue, he instinctively began searching for Diana and Rose.

　A moment later, he smiled and walked towards the two of them.

　There are still about ten minutes left until 1:10. Since we've arrived at the venue now, we've probably completed the assessment task.

　Although Dak was worried about them, he didn't try to control them in everything.

　Children need to learn to be independent in order to grow up.

　He quickly reunited with the two, and then listened attentively as Diana chattered on about her experience during the assessment, feeling peaceful and at ease.

　Ten minutes past one.

　The students were starving because they hadn't eaten lunch when the assessment finally came to an end.

　In that instant, all the numbers displayed on the magic markers went to zero, the magic converged inwards, and could no longer be collected.

　About ten minutes later, all the students throughout the college returned to the venue.

　Professor Jones clapped his hands and shouted, "Back to the ranks! Stand at attention!"

　A moment later, the students were divided into four neat squares, each with a different expression.

　Professor Jones scanned the area and said seriously, "Start the inspection now. Bring up the magic collectors in order."

　The magic collector has twenty slots, and each slot records the time it takes to collect enough magic.

　By checking the magic collector, one can easily find out the students' assessment results.

　At this point, those who finished the assessment early naturally had smiles on their faces.

　Those who failed to complete the assessment by the deadline looked grim and extremely frustrated.

　But today's result is the result of yesterday's cause.