Chapter 58: A Small Loophole

Max directly ran toward the Third-year section of the building. He guessed that they must have knocked on his door in the morning. Although he had ignored one of them, he did not worry. After all, the Academy possessed very capable Healers, especially to take care of second and third-year students who constantly got injured on Dungeon raids.

Furthermore, the Academy had its own Potion brewing department where rare Elixirs were brewed and kept ready for students in emergency situations. As long as the seniors were alive, the Academy should have been able to stabilize and treat them.

At the main gate of the premise, Max was stopped by the Guard. Even though he explained his intention, he was not let in. However, when he insisted that this visit was about the recent incident regarding the attack on the seniors, one of the Guards went inside to see whether to allow him in.

While Max waited, his thoughts went back to what his uncle had told him.

"The Academy Head Teacher beat down his own students to get something they painstakingly earned."

Max simply could not comprehend the situation. Could it just be a rumor? Considering the reputation of the Academy, which people called the number one academy in the Capital, it was hard to believe its Head Teacher had done this heinous thing just to poach a pass. Thinking about it from every angle, it seemed like an unrealistic and impossible thing to even consider.

This incident is going to make a bad impression on the Academy's name; it will take decades of time to recover, Max thought.

However, he was a little relieved. Because of this incident, people would mostly focus on this news and put less thought into the incident he had caused. Since his uncle had told him that the new Academy Head Teacher would take care of it, he felt somewhat relieved that the full focus would not be on himself.

Moreover, he was glad those people had immediately taken him away from that spot as soon as he came out of the Dungeon. If he had stayed behind and the Head Teacher had targeted him, he would certainly have died, taking his Level into account. Even the seniors were severely injured. Therefore, overall, this incident had brought some favorable things for him.

But the question still remained. Who were those lunatics from yesterday, and was a princess really injured?

While he was going through these details, the Guard returned, bringing a Teacher who wore a Third-year Teacher identification uniform.

"Who are you?" the Teacher asked.

"Greetings, Teacher. My name is Maximus Bransford from First-year Class 1A," Max greeted. "I am here to meet Senior Adrien and his party, as I heard a bad incident transpired for them."

"How do you know those people?" the Teacher asked.

"I recently went on a Dungeon raid with them," Max replied.

"Oh, so you are the rumored Healer from the first year." Suddenly, the Teacher recognized Max. However, Max did not react to that comment.

"I am not sure first-years are allowed to enter the premises of the Third-year yet. Therefore, you will have to meet them when they have recovered and come out," the Teacher stated.

"I mean, are they okay? Are they in a walkable condition?" Although Max had expected this restriction, what he could not expect was that they were yet to recover.

"A few of them have recovered, but a few were heavily injured. It will take a few days," the Teacher explained.

Hearing this, Max felt great awe and shock. Just how much damage had they taken that even the number one Academy Healers could not heal the injured to a walkable condition?

"Could you please let them know I am waiting outside? If they want, I could heal them," Max requested.

For a while, the Teacher simply looked at Max without any expression. Afterward, he turned around and walked away. Max could only hope that the Teacher would convey the message to the seniors.

Max could only do this much and pity them. When they had asked him to come to the Dungeon, they had genuinely held a hope that they could achieve the impossible and obtain what they wanted for their future plans and ambitions. But now, the pass had been stolen.

He doubted they would get the opportunity to visit the kingdom treasury again. At the very least, he could heal them so they could work toward their goal. This incident had also caused his own desire to visit the treasury to fail. However, he guessed he would get plenty of opportunities to visit it in the future.

After waiting for a while, Max saw a group of people walking toward the gate. Among the group, a few were hopping on one leg, while others were supported by someone else. Seeing this, Max waved his hand. In response, a few waved back at him with small smiles on their faces.

"Max, I heard you got dragged into some incident yesterday. I hope it was nothing serious?" Adrien asked. He was hopping on one leg, as his other leg was mutilated from the knee up. Two students held him by the shoulders for support.

Meanwhile, Leon had multiple cuts and wounds on his face. Ewan was missing both of his wrists. Katerina was missing an arm from the shoulder, Harold's right hand was wrapped in bandages, and Candice bore a scar across her face.

Looking at this, it did not seem like a fight. Instead, these people had been tortured without mercy. Max did not know what to say in this situation.

Should I offer some hopeful words? Max thought. But would that really help them?

"I am okay, guys. Thanks. Now, who wants to get healed first?" Max asked.

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Soon after, the group moved to the second-year infirmary building, and Max healed them one by one. As usual, Salvation healed everyone. Even the mutilated body parts were healed. However, he did not know why they had not been healed earlier.

Did the Academy lack Healers? He was not sure. But at the very least, he had the means to help them.

Afterward, Max spoke to them for a while, asking about the incident.

According to Adrien, the Kingdom's official who would handle the pass did not reach the location. The officials who were already present were there for some other work, and only later did they come to know about the emergency regarding the Princess.

Since no one showed up after waiting for a while, the group had tried to leave the mountain. They wanted to travel to the city and inform the royal officials. However, they were ambushed in the middle of the mountain path when the sun had set.

All of these people had been abducted and taken somewhere in the middle of a mountain cave. There, they were tortured by the Head Teacher for the Tier-2 Pass. At first, they had refused to hand it over. However, they eventually could not bear the torture and finally gave up.

Fortunately, the former Head Teacher had left them alive after the pass was taken. With Candice stabilizing their wounds, they were stuck in the mountain until the Teachers finally found and rescued them.

News of the Head Teacher's actions and betrayal spread quickly. Consequently, many higher royal officials visited and investigated the matter. Max was also approached for the investigation, but he did not open his dorm. By now, an order from the kingdom had already been released to search for the Head Teacher. However, the group speculated that he might have already used the Pass and entered the Astral Realm.

Everything had happened in the span of one night and half a day, and their lives had changed along the way. Furthermore, the kingdom's officials denied them the chance to enter the treasury since they no longer held the Pass.

In response, Max offered a few comforting words, assuring them that they would soon conquer some other Dungeon and obtain a similar pass. After all, that was all he could do right now. Afterward, Max left the infirmary and walked toward the first-year section.

In this world, one cannot believe blindly, Max thought to himself. I was genuinely scammed by this old man's nice behavior, but in his heart, he was an evil man.

He had to be prepared for any kind of situation. One could never guess what situations life would throw at them. He had already witnessed this firsthand when people had suddenly stopped talking to him.

After reaching the junction of the first-year building's premises, Max pondered over which way to go. He could either go to the training ground and train, or he could go to his dorm and take the rest of the day off. Alternatively, he could go and register his name for some Dungeon tomorrow to conduct a raid and Level up.

One of his fastest ways to grow stronger was to Level up and improve his Attribute Points.

In the end, Max decided to do a Dungeon raid. He walked to the right side of the path and headed toward the Student Administration building. This was a separate building specifically designated for student leaders.

Suddenly, Max remembered he had yet to see the results of the competition, as well as who had won each position. Entering the building, he searched for the Student Council room. That was where he had to register his name for a specific Dungeon. Currently, he was Level 4, meaning he could choose a Dungeon one Level above his current Level.

The good part was that he would have a lot of Dungeon options. Since most people had already leveled up to at least Level 8 or 10, most of the low-level Dungeons would be free. Therefore, he could choose anything he wanted.

Because the building was small and only a few rooms existed, he easily found the room and entered. Inside, a few students sat with their chests bearing a new sigil. The sigil identified them as the heads of their respective departments.

"Greetings to the Vice Student Council Head." After recognizing the sigil, Max offered his greeting. After all, this was the appropriate respect one needed to give to a chosen student.

"What is it?" the guy asked.

Max did not recognize this person. When it came to most of the people from the first Dungeon Expedition Ranking, he only knew their names and not their faces.

"I would like to register for a Dungeon to Level up," Max stated his purpose.

"Here, fill out this form and submit it. You will receive the details tomorrow," the guy replied.

Taking the form, Max walked away from these people and sat down near the seating area. Following that, he started to fill in the details. For the Dungeon details, Max had to select an option from a list of Dungeons located inside a binding that sat on the table. It was a big bundle containing details regarding Dungeon Levels, monster information, and other things.

Max quickly flipped through the pages. He searched for a Level 5 Dungeon that could offer him a lot of challenge. He did not care about the danger, as he had powerful weapons with him. Moreover, he was currently strong enough to clear a Dungeon.

Soon after, Max selected a Dungeon and filled that in on the form as well.

Once that was done, he walked to the front and handed the filled form over to the Vice-head. Taking the form, the Vice-head read through the details. Suddenly, his eyes widened at one section, and shock permeated his face.

"Where are your Party members' details? Only your name is written," the Vice-head asked, looking at Max.

"I do not need a Party, Vice-head. I hold all the necessary Classes. I am a three-class Awakener," Max stated.

Max had already expected this question; he was not unaware of it. The rule dictated that if one were to raid a Dungeon, they had to form a Party with multiple Classes that could guarantee their own and others' safety. Furthermore, if one did not want to form a full Party with every Class, they had to at least possess the major Classes.

The first was a Tanker. This could be a Class that used a Shield, Sword, Spear, or Mace.

The second was a Ranger. These Classes included Ranger, Hunter, Archer, or Marksman.

Finally, there had to be a Healer of any kind.

Therefore, a Dungeon Party needed access to these three Classes to enter a Dungeon. However, with his current mood, Max was not ready to Party up with anyone. Fortunately, he could exploit a loophole regarding his three Classes to enter the Dungeon alone.

Hearing Max, the guy was shocked and bewildered, not knowing what to say to this. Although his argument was logically correct, the Vice-head still refused to accept it.

"I do not think that is how it works. We need real Party members. Even if you have three Classes, you would not be available in three places at once to give support like a regular Party, right? Please form a proper Party and come back again," the guy said as he handed the form back to Max.

“No, Vice-head, the rule says, ‘A Dungeon Party must possess the required Classes, not Members,’ so I am within the rules. You can check and decide,” Max insisted.

Hearing this, The guy turned sharply toward Max with an expression of disbelief and irritation. He could not believe someone had spoken against his decision. After all, he was the Vice-head of the Student Council. As the Vice-head of the Student Council, he believed his decision was final.

However, he did not react. Instead, he calmed down and let go of the form he had been extending toward Max. As the form fell to the ground, Max did not pick it up. Instead, he simply turned around and took a step to walk out.

"Hey, stop! What are you doing?" the guy asked.

"What do you mean, what am I doing?" Max asked, acting as if he were unaware.

"Take that form, form a Party, and come back," the guy stated.

"I explained everything that was in the rulebook. I will come tomorrow for my Dungeon confirmation," Max said. Following that, he walked away from the room.

Ultimately, Max knew the Vice-head could reject the request, but he could not simply destroy or hide it. The decision would have to be reviewed under the Academy's rules. Therefore, the guy had to take it and make a decision. Even if he went and asked others, the request would at least have to be reviewed according to the Academy's rules.