With that, she strode away, the corner of her white skirt lifted by the April wind.

The surrounding people wore expressions of "as expected."

"See? I told you, she just wanted to drag Su Mu in as a support. But Su Mu actually refused. I really don't know what he was thinking."

"Passing up the chance to cling to an SSS-rank thigh—he really is something else."

"Maybe... top students really have their pride. But can pride put food on the table? The College Entrance Examination is in just a week."

"With an F-grade core card, what is he going to take the exam with? His bare head?"

Li Ming turned his head quietly and sighed. "Look, you turned her down, but you can't turn me down. I'm serious, Brother Mu. Come with me, let's do this together."

Su Mu looked at him.

Li Ming had been his best friend since their freshman year of high school.

He wasn't particularly sharp, but he was loyal to a fault. If he said he'd carry you, he'd literally risk his life to do it.

"Li Ming," Su Mu said seriously, "your biochemical warfare is an A-grade technological civilization. Your best path forward is a special recruitment by the military.

Technological themes receive the best treatment from the military and offer the clearest path for advancement. As long as you follow the steps, your future will be better than the vast majority of people. If I drag you down, it will only disrupt your development pace."

Li Ming grew anxious. "Then at worst, I won't join the military!"

"Would your family agree?"

Li Ming opened his mouth, unable to speak. Su Mu knew his family situation; his father was a retired military logistics soldier who had waited his entire life for his son to awaken a good dungeon theme and bring honor to the family.

Su Mu smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I have my own plans. Did you forget my soul power and dungeon design scores?"

Li Ming froze.

Of course he hadn't forgotten.

Su Mu's dungeon design was an undisputed, distant first in the entire school.

While others were still struggling over how to combine three cards without conflict, Su Mu could already design a complete ten-card build loop.

He had seen Su Mu's design drafts; the precision and mastery of the rules were completely unlike those of a high school student.

Even with the garbage-tier themes, Su Mu could design something exceeding all expectations.

This was a fact Su Mu had proven over the past three years through countless assignments and exams.

"Then... I'll trust you for now." Li Ming gritted his teeth. "But it's a deal: if your results later aren't ideal, you must come find me. If you don't, we're not brothers anymore."

"Deal." Su Mu smiled, his gaze earnest.

The people around watched the brotherly bond between the two and found it somewhat amusing.

"What's the damn point of good design scores? If you're given a stone, can you turn it into a masterpiece?"

"The Monster Nest Trial will reveal the real truth."

"There's only one week left until the College Entrance Examination. How can someone who hasn't even designed a dungeon compare to anyone else?"

"Don't worry about them, we should worry about ourselves. My core card is only C-grade, and I haven't even settled on my topic..."

...

After the class advancement concluded, the news of the F-grade core card and the special-type theme brewed briefly in the crowd for a few minutes before sinking like a stone into the sea, stirring no further ripples.

Because for the vast majority of people, the most important matter at hand was something else...

The College Entrance Examination in one week.

According to the procedure, after Awakening, everyone needed to hurry and familiarize themselves with their dungeon themes, design, and construct their initial dungeon. Then, organized by the school, they would head to the north gate for the Monster Nest Trial—opened specifically for students who had just Awakened their copies—to test their dungeon designs through real combat.

The harvest from the trial would directly affect the upcoming College Entrance Examination.

And the College Entrance Examination determined which dungeon creation academy one could ultimately enter and what Level of resource quota one would receive.

A margin of one point eliminates a thousand people.

This slogan was hung in every high school and every classroom across Blue Star.

...

"The Awakening ceremony concludes here."

The principal's voice echoed from the podium, drowning out the surging waves of discussion below. Sweeping his gaze across the more than three thousand students, he said in a deep voice:

"Next, everyone return to your respective classes. Observation equipment and data terminals have already been prepared in the classrooms. The first thing you must do is familiarize yourselves with your dungeon themes and carry out your initial designs."

Pausing for a moment, the principal continued:

"There are homeroom teachers in the classrooms; you may consult them directly if you encounter problems. Once you complete the basic construction and confirm that your dungeon possesses combat power, you may proceed to the North Gate Trial Lair to participate in the real combat test. Remember... the Trial Lair is divided into three Levels: Normal, Hard, and Hell. When entering for the first time, honestly start from Normal. Act within your capabilities, and don't gamble with your lives."

A chorus of responses sounded below the stage.

"Dismissed!"

The crowd surged toward the academic building like a tide.

Su Mu followed the flow of people toward the Senior Three Class 7 classroom, while Li Ming chattered beside him about how he would design his biochemical warfare dungeon later, excited like a child who had just received a new toy.

"I planned it all out long ago: a biochemical mothership as the core, first building a basic barracks area, and then seeing if I can slot in a few biochemical weapon cards. There are plenty of reference models for technological civilizations in the textbooks; copying them step-by-step will take two hours at most." Saying this, Li Ming turned his head. "Brother Mu, what about you? Got any ideas yet?"

Su Mu smiled without a word.

Got any ideas yet?

It was far more than just ideas.

From the moment he saw the words 'Journey to the West' appear on the stone stele, the entire plan had already unfolded in his mind.

Upon returning to the classroom, a bustling scene greeted them.

Some opened their data terminals, frantically searching for reference build templates for their theme categories.

Some held pens and drew diagrams on scrap paper, jotting down pairings, resource allocations, and where to position core cards; others simply crowded around the homeroom teacher by the podium, asking questions all at once.

"Teacher, my core card is Lava Giant, and my theme is Volcanic Zone. If I want to take the creature path, should I add creature cards first or stack terrain cards first?"

"Teacher, how do support-type themes increase combat power? Can traps and mechanisms alone clear the trial?"

"Teacher! My theme category has a slight conflict with my core card's attributes. Should I reroll it..."

The homeroom teacher was swamped, answering them one by one.

Su Mu found a seat by the window, sat down, and opened his System Panel for a look.

Name: Su Mu

soul Power: 210/210

dungeon Theme: Journey to the West (Special Unique)

Core Card: F-grade Stone

dungeon Status: Unopened

Unopened.

The three characters were crystal clear.

All dungeon themes were in an unopened status right after Awakening.

Just like a Chaos embryo, it required the Awakened to expand and shape it using soul power before it could become a dungeon space truly capable of combat.

Su Mu looked up at the large screen at the front of the classroom.

Displayed on it were the operational steps and precautions for "Opening a dungeon with soul Power."

Step One: Connect consciousness to the theme core.

Step Two: Expand the Chaos cloud cluster using soul power to form a basic space.

Step Three: Construct elements within the space, such as terrain, architecture, creatures, and traps.

Step Four: Place the core card into the dungeon to complete the binding.

Step Five: Test operation, resolve conflicts, and confirm combat power.