Chapter 76: The All-Rounder.

Isabelle suddenly left after Max agreed to join the party, leaving him dumbfounded. If he had known she would leave after his answer, Max would have stalled for a while and made some conversation, at the very least. But they were going to meet again tomorrow anyway, So he also left the canteen hall soon.

Max guessed that those people must have consulted seniors like Adrien before deciding to ask him to join their party. Otherwise, given his current reputation in the academy, they wouldn't even have considered approaching him. As for the role he would be assigned, it would either be a Healer or an extra member who carried the luggage and other supplies. This was a legitimate position in a party. In the real world, a high-level party raiding a dungeon would bring someone along to carry the loot and other items.

Well, it doesn't matter what role I'm assigned. Being represented at the kingdom level is worth trying, Max thought, since it would help his family and land.

He reached his room, where Marlak was still lying flat, fast asleep. Although Max had rested for a few hours earlier, he still felt fatigued, and with the selection taking place tomorrow, he decided to go to bed instead of studying anything. His regular reading habit had been disrupted over the last week, but he intended to make it a habit again. With those thoughts in mind, Max lay down and went to sleep.

---

Max woke up earlier than usual the next morning, which also showed that his regular sleep schedule had been disrupted. Since he had woken up early, he began reading the Basic Healing Magic Book. Although he had already read everything in it, he didn't have another book to read so he reread. He might have to visit the library, as he wanted to find some books on Mana Techniques. His lack of knowledge on the subject had caused him considerable trouble over the last two days, and he expected to face similar difficulties in the future. Hence, the sooner he learned more about Mana Techniques, the better he would fare in a fight.

Initially, Max had started reading the Basic Healing Magic Book to see whether the world was missing anything regarding unawakened healing and diagnostics. At the time, he had expected to discover something that others had overlooked. However, after reading the book, he found nothing wrong with the existing findings, nor did he discover any way to use Basic Healing Magic for diagnosing children.

However, that was merely his perception after reading the book. If he truly wanted to determine whether anything was missing, he would have to study the subject in depth, conduct his own research, and collect data.

Simply reading other people's books wouldn't help him much, but he couldn't conduct any research on the subject at present. This led him to conclude that he would put the matter on hold. Once he had the means to pursue it, he would conduct his own research and uncover the truth. For now, the only benefit he had gained from reading the book was discovering that Basic Healing Magic could be used offensively, so at least he had learned something useful.

While Max was taking a shower and getting ready to meet his new party, Marlak stirred from its sleep, and its stomach had finally returned to normal. It had slept like a dead frog throughout the night. Max had even kicked it just to confirm that it was still alive. He wondered whether the sweetness had knocked the frog out, but he wasn't sure.

“Are you okay?” Max asked as he strapped on his sword.

“I'm okay. Why are you suddenly asking that question?” Marlak asked.

Hearing this, Max could only shake his head.

“I'll be going out for the day. Stay in the room. I may come back in the evening,” Max informed it vaguely, since he didn't know the exact schedule for the selection.

“Hey, don't leave me here. I'll come with you. Where are you going?” Marlak sprang up from its flat position and sat upright after hearing that Max was leaving it behind.

“I'm not sure. You won't be allowed where I'm going,” Max said.

“Don't worry. I'll erase my presence, so no one will detect me,” Marlak said.

“How do you do that?” Max stared at Marlak. First, it could detect hidden enemies, and now it claimed that it could erase its presence. It seemed that Marlak had awakened its own Class as soon as it arrived in this world.

“Tell me the truth. Did you awaken your own Class?” Max asked.

“What Class? I didn't awaken anything. I just have a feeling that I could erase my presence easily. So, is that a big issue for you?” Marlak replied.

“I don't like your tone or the way you're talking. You seem to be hiding something. Once we get back, you'd better bond with me,” Max demanded. The damn frog was definitely hiding something, and Max wasn't going to let it slide easily. After all, that could create a serious issue for him, especially if it involved breaking a Kingdom's Law. “Now, get ready. We're leaving in five minutes.”

---

Max reached the canteen at exactly eight o'clock. Since Isabelle had only said they would meet in the morning without specifying a time, he had arrived early so that he could have breakfast before meeting the second-years.

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“Max!”

As soon as he entered the first-year dining hall, someone called his name. Following the voice, he saw Isabelle waving at him. Max waved back, quickly picked up his food, and walked towards the table where she was sitting with her friends.

“Good morning!” Max greeted them as he sat down. “When are we gathering?”

“We'll leave as soon as you finish your breakfast,” Isabelle said enthusiastically.

“Oh, okay,” Max muttered before starting to eat. “Did you inform the party leader?”

“Yes, I did. She was happy that you're going to join us!” Isabelle said.

Max nodded as he continued eating. The party leader was a girl. That explained why they had chosen him. If the party leader had been a male, the decision might have been different.

Maybe the party is trying its luck in this selection, Max thought. Otherwise, who in their right mind would invite a first-year student with a reputation for below-average talent to join a party competing in the inter-kingdom competition? Max inwardly shook his head. However, since these people had been kind enough to consider him worthy, he would give it his all.

Once Max finished his breakfast, they left the canteen and headed towards the meeting spot, which was the second-year Mage training ground.

When they reached the area, Max noticed an enormous crowd gathered there, with students standing in groups according to their parties. Judging by the numbers, Max felt that everyone in the second year was participating in this selection dungeon raid. Isabelle quickly navigated through the crowd, led Max into the training ground, and brought him to a group of five people.

“Senior Paula, I brought Maximus,” Isabelle said, introducing him to a tall girl with braided hair and a bow hanging from her shoulder.

“Oh, Maximus, we finally meet. I'm Paula Melles. It's nice to meet you,” she said, introducing herself.

“Nice to meet you, Senior Paula. Thank you for letting me join your party. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and I'll try to live up to your expectations,” Max said.

“Hahaha, of course. I've heard a lot about you, and thank you for joining my party. Now, let me introduce you to our party members. You already know Isabelle. She'll be our secondary damage dealer,” Paula said, pointing towards Isabelle.

“Next, this is Barbara Stolze, our Tank. Helene Porretta is our Healer. This is Butterfly Mendler, a Mage and our primary damage dealer. Finally, this is Elaine Hershey, our Scout and Assassin.”

Paula quickly introduced the party members. All of them were female, making Max the only male in the party. Why had they chosen him instead of another girl from the first year, considering that there were so many prodigies in every class?

“You'll be our all-rounder,” Paula finally announced, assigning Max his role in the party.

Max quickly greeted everyone. He also noticed that no one seemed uncomfortable with his arrival. At least he wouldn't have to deal with a cold shoulder, since everyone had accepted him as a member of the party.

“So, what's the plan? If you give me the basics, I can prepare myself mentally,” Max asked.

“No problem. The selection process will be based on which party clears the dungeon first. Although that's the primary criterion, the academy teachers will also evaluate based on team coordination, individual contributions, decision-making, and resource management. If we complete a flawless run, our party's ranking will skyrocket,” Paula explained, her tone filled with determination.

“We have to clear a Level 50 Dungeons” Paula said.

After hearing the Dungeon’s Level, Max felt dejected. Currently, Max was Level 5, and in order to earn EXP, the level difference had to be less than 25. However, the difference this time was 45 levels. Once again, he would not be able to gain any EXP to level up.

Thinking about it now, these people had definitely invited him because of his [Salvation] skill and not for his combat skill. After all, it was impossible for him to kill a Level 50 monster, unless he used Basic Healing Magic Reversal, which these people did not know about. However, he could use that skill only once, and it was meant for emergency situations.

Max talked with everyone to mingle and get to know them better. To his surprise, everyone was quite relaxed around him. When it was nearly nine o'clock, the academy teachers instructed every party to gather and issued tokens for the carriages that would take them to the dungeon. Max hoped no one would attack him during the journey.

“Every party will be dropped into a single large dungeon, so fights may break out. Lethal combat is allowed, so you must stay alert and protect yourself. Monsters aren't the only enemies you'll face.” Paula instructed Max.

“Okay,” Max replied with a nod.

So, other than coordination, individual contributions, decision making, and resource management, the battles between the Students were also one of the conditions the Teachers would check. This selection closely replicated the original competition.

It was understandable. Even though the competition was held to maintain diplomatic relations between the two kingdoms, politics always found its way into competition and pride. People needed entertainment, and watching humans fight monsters alone could become boring. Therefore, the competition involved both humans fighting monsters and humans fighting each other. That made it more entertaining for the spectators.

Max could probably survive attacks from second-year students. The only real issue would be if they ganged up on him with the intention of killing him, which could create a problem. However, since this was a selection competition held by Academy, he didn't think anyone would go so far as to kill another student. That was merely Max's own assumption, though, and he couldn't predict everything. Therefore, he had to prepare for every possibility.

After travelling for an hour, the vehicle finally stopped, and everyone stepped out. They were now standing inside a large walled area surrounded by a jungle. A huge, storehouse-like building stood in front of them. While everyone gathered to discuss their last-minute plans, a group suddenly approached Max's party.

Looking at the people standing before him, Max noticed a familiar face. He had seen this guy in the stands when he had Dueled Harry in the indoor Arena.

Max immediately remembered that the guy was Noel, who had joined one of the other teams. Being second on the Duel leaderboard had given him the opportunity to join the second years.

“Hello, Paula. I see you've put together a party,” a tall, burly guy said with a smug look on his face.

“Of course I have. What, do you think I'm not capable enough?” Paula replied casually.

“Hahaha, i know you're capable, but what about your party members? Are they capable?” the guy asked, looking at each member.

“You'll see,” Paula said.

She wasn't provoked by his remarks. Instead, she simply turned around and walked into the storehouse-like building.

Max gave one last look at the Noel, who had been staring at him with a grim face throughout the conversation. What had Max done to him? Max was bewildered by the Noel's reaction.

These guys are going to be a problem if they meet inside the dungeon, Max thought as he followed the party.