Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess

"UGHOOO!

"The giant roared as a lightning axe buried itself deep into its chest, followed by a dagger that plunged straight into its skull.

It barely had time to react before its massive body collapsed, lifeless.

Austin didn't stop.

With a sharp command, Wisp unleashed judgment upon the next monster, followed by a blinding bolt of lightning struck from the sky, frying the creature as it lunged forward.

The giant's charred body stiffened, then crashed to the ground, unmoving.

THWANG!

A loud impact rang out as another monster tried to ambush Austin from behind.

But his barrier flared to life, sending the giant's wooden club flying.

Austin spun around, eyes locking onto his attacker.

Without hesitation, he reeled back his fist—BOOOOM!

His punch tore straight through the monster's stomach, leaving a gaping hole.

The creature gasped before crumpling to the ground.

Austin exhaled, summoning his Shard back to his hand.

With a thought, he reshaped it into a long spear.

Another monster charged from afar, too slow to reach him in time.

He smirked, then used a nearby kneeling giant as a springboard, launching himself into the air.

With all his strength, he hurled the spear—BOOOOM!

The impact shattered the monster's skull in a violent explosion.

Austin landed smoothly, his breath steady despite the relentless battle.

He glanced around, surveying the battlefield.

Fifty giants.

All dead.

And he wasn't done yet.

These giants were of rank 'C' at best, which explains why they were easy to defeat and why they provided so few points.

Austin glanced in the direction of the next section of the dungeon.

The monsters there looked stronger and taller and the points they offered were more as well.

That means the system tracked his ranking and has elevated the difficulty, huh?

'System, you said it was a B rank dungeon…then…'[The system is only helping the host to elevate his stats rather than having mundane battles.

]Austin's brows twitched.

Why is it that, he wasn't allowed to farm some EXP in peace?

Does he need to struggle for every single point?

'Not fair…'With those thoughts, Austin decided to leave.

He was slightly disturbed about the match he watched today.

Rudolph's strange behavior was unsettling, and coincidentally, his opponent was the one person who constantly troubled Austin's mind.

'Until I don't ask him, I won't know what exactly happened back then…' Austin decided to meet Rudolph tomorrow as he returned to his room and decided to have a bath first.

Sheldon was not in his room, even though it was way over dinner time.

Austin and Valerie also decided to call it a day early since Austin told her that he would go train.

Valerie had to attend the meeting with the President so they went their respective ways.

Dipping inside the warm water, Austin called out, 'Show me my stats, system.

'[Combat: 63->72/100]{Next reward at 80}[Romance: 63/100]{Next reward at 80}[You have gained a reward!

][Durability: 68->73/100]{Next reward at 80}[Trickery: 31/100]Next reward at 35}[Overall Progression: 53.

5->59/100][Next Reward at 70]…Austin hummed, studying his current stats.

He was still far from crossing the first stage.

However, considering he was, at best, a 'B-' rank now, he knew by the time he reached A, his overall progression would hit a hundred as well.

His current points were:[Total points: 429]Seeing the points and the possible points he could earn in the second dungeon, Austin asked, "How many points do I need to unlock the next dungeon?

"[A thousand, host.

]Austin hummed.

Pretty reasonable.

At this rate, he can earn points for the next stage if he enters the dungeon once more.

And then, those points he further earns would be used on Shop.

What Austin needs to do right now is to farm points as many as he can within this week since next week would be the squad matches, and for that, he would be required to train as a team.

After that would come the duo matches…however, more than the matches, what troubled Austin was the Beast King Zevarath—the same demon general who attacked Drenovar and against whom Valerie fought.

Canonically, by now, Zevarath should have started recruiting students who lost their first round or those who were feeling bitter about not having the opportunity to participate.

Demons like Kalwar were filled in Zevarath's army, who could change their appearance and mask their demonic presence, so Austin couldn't trust anyone other than those whom he knew closely…or more like, just one person.

'Assumably, if they haven't entered the tournament then what could be their plan?

' Austin doesn't have any idea, and the only person who can get any lead about it is the protagonist.

That's why Austin was going to observe Rhea—naturally, only to the point where his lover doesn't get jealous—and see if he could get some clues about what the Demon General is planning.

Attacking a venue near the Union Council headquarters would be quite a bold move, but considering they could take innocent students as their hostages, Austin knew he couldn't rely on the authorities for his own and Valerie's security.

'Need to keep my eyes and ears open all the time.

'…After having a bath which continued longer than usual, Austin exited the bathroom and found Sheldon removing his tie.

He seemed tired as he didn't even notice Austin until he called out, "Hey, everything good?

"The silver head turned toward the blond Prince, before he nodded, "Yeah, more or less.

"Austin knew that the boy was tired, but since he was curious about something, he didn't hold himself from asking, "What did you discuss during the meeting?

'Only Valerie and Sheldon were called by the President that's why Austin wanted to know what decisions were taken.

He surely would have heard about it from Valerie tomorrow, but he couldn't wait for that long.

Sheldon exhaled a sigh before informing him, "In the squad matches, there usually arrives a need for someone who can do the duty of guarding and defending.

Rudolph was our best choice…and now him gone, we need to think of our other options.

"They were confident that he would pass the first round that's why they didn't think of a second option…until now, that is.

Things have changed and the best option they have now is, "Either you or me.

But I tell you, I am not good at guarding places.

"Austin frowned, "What about Valerie.

What's her position in the team?

"Sheldon raised his brows, "You don't know?

"Austin wryly smiled, "I never participated in raids with her and our conversation never led that way…well, forget about that and tell me.

""She is on the tactician.

She supports both defense and offense.

"Austin hummed.

She has the ability to do both.

"What about the President, Elara, and Ryan?

"Sheldon bluntly said, "I am not too hopeful for the latter two.

"Austin raised his brows, "Ryan was challenging even for Valerie, you know?

""But do you think she would have struggled if she had gone all out from the get-go?

"Austin realized his mistake.

They weren't here to show their strength but to dominate their opponent.

So there was a high chance that Ryan might never get the chance to use the ability of his Shard.

As for Elara...

then she might be the weakest Elite from the Valorian, even though everyone considered Austin to be the weakest.

Sheldon got up, preparing to take a bath, as he said, "If things come between us, know that you would be participating.

"Austin was taken aback as he saw the guy nonchalantly declaring his potential drop out from this tournament.

Seeing him casually entering the bathroom, Austin could only shake his head,'I really can't understand this guy...

'°°°°°°°°°A/N:- Thanks for reading.

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