Isla Ning was away on business.
Perhaps she was off doing some mission again.
When he first met Isla Ning, she had also been on a mission.
Morintis didn't find it strange.
At Xiajing Academy, everyone was busy; no one was truly idle.
In a few days, the new students who tested into Xiajing Academy this year would arrive.
The academy would then hold unified lectures, and things would become even busier.
Morintis wasn't in a hurry to activate the Teleportation Stone.
Instead, he checked the information Byron had sent him.
"Requirements for entering Genesis Academy."
"Level exceeds 30."
Just the first requirement made Morintis feel a shock internally.
"Sister... is over Level 30?"
"So fast!"
Judging from the information Byron revealed, Morona joined Genesis Academy just three or four months after entering the main academy.
That meant in just three or four months, Morona went from Level 16 to Level 30.
This speed was startlingly fast.
Normally, going from Level 20 to 30 took about a year.
Unless Morona could also solo Nightmare difficulty dungeons like him.
But such people were exceedingly rare.
Morintis couldn't figure out how Morona managed to level up.
He could only ask when he saw Morona.
After reading the level requirement, Morintis continued to the second requirement.
"Pass the Level 30 dungeon [Abyssal Front], difficulty requirement: Inferno."
This one seemed somewhat difficult.
Inferno difficulty was much harder than Nightmare.
Clearing a dungeon on Inferno difficulty requires comprehensive demands on class, mentality, technique, equipment, and skills.
Ordinary parties couldn't hope to pass.
Only extremely elite parties could manage it.
"When I reach Level 30, I'll try to see if I can solo it," Morintis thought.
He hadn't even considered partying up.
Soloing was far more satisfying than partying.
"The third requirement: Contribution Points reach 1000."
Contribution Points were not the same as regular points.
They could only be obtained by completing tasks assigned by the academy or by doing things beneficial to the academy.
For example, this Mermaid Island trial would earn him some Contribution Points.
How much exactly was still unknown.
Contribution Points were essential for entering top-tier colleges, which was why Peach said the trial was very important to her.
If she wanted to join a top-tier college, she needed to obtain enough Contribution Points.
There were only three requirements, not many.
But none were simple.
After memorizing them, Morintis activated the Teleportation Stone.
The sound of din reached his ears, exceptionally lively.
"Burial Mounds dungeon, Normal difficulty.
Need Mages around Level 25, preferably proficient in fire skills."
"Bloodbath Orc Legion dungeon, Nightmare difficulty.
Need Healer, Level 22 to 25 acceptable.
Must be proficient in healing, full Bronze equipment minimum."
"Dark Night Tower, Nightmare difficulty.
Need Knight above Level 30.
Requires full Silver equipment, must possess Ally Protection skill."
Morintis looked at the environment, which resembled a bustling marketplace, and felt somewhat uncomfortable.
The Dungeon Hall was located within the academy grounds but couldn't be reached by ordinary means.
One needed to pass the Academic Affairs Office's review, confirm eligibility, pay 1000 points for a dedicated Teleportation Stone, and only then qualify to enter.
Morintis originally thought the Dungeon Hall would be solemn and sacred.
But now, it looked like a marketplace.
Numerous students were here recruiting party members, sitting on the ground, holding signs with their requirements,
and occasionally shouting out a few lines.
The scene wasn't much different from outside various dungeon entrances.
Morintis even wondered if this was really the Dungeon Hall.
Had he come to the wrong place?
His gaze passed over these people and landed on a massive hall.
That must be the Dungeon Hall.
Morintis stepped inside.
All the noises vanished the moment he entered the Dungeon Hall.
People still spoke inside the Dungeon Hall, but everyone kept their voices low.
Simultaneously, a peculiar sound surrounded his ears.
Vortex-like dungeon entrances were distributed in various corners of the hall.
The sounds came from these dungeon entrances.
Depending on the dungeon, the sounds emitted were different.
There were over a hundred such dungeon entrances.
The various sounds interwove, creating a very unique auditory experience.
Each dungeon entrance had a crystal ball nearby.
The crystal ball details the dungeon's name, level requirements, entry rules, cooldown time, and other information.
Back at Westsea First High, Morintis knew the Empire level controlled vast dungeon resources.
He never expected Xiajing Academy also controlled a large number of dungeon resources.
This world had countless dungeons.
As the Divine Dragon Empire's premier academy, controlling a batch of dungeon resources seemed quite reasonable.
After all, figures like the White God also came from Xiajing Academy.
More accurately, over half of the Divine Dragon Empire's top experts came from Xiajing Academy.
Above each dungeon entrance vortex, a light screen hung down.
The light screen recorded that dungeon's records.
Morintis observed that the light screens only recorded the top three places, and only for the highest difficulty.
If the dungeon had an Inferno difficulty, it only recorded the top three for Inferno.
If it only had Nightmare, then it was the top three for Nightmare.
It included the clear time and the party members' names.
Each member's level, class, and other information.
This also served as a reference.
If other parties wanted to tackle the dungeon, they could copy the strategy.
Through repeated attempts by other parties, excellent configurations had already been found.
If you could find a better one and set a new record, that was even better.
This setup had a competitive, tournament-like aspect.
It encourages parties to strive for first place.
Appearing on a dungeon leaderboard was a great honor.
"Classmates..."
A gentle voice suddenly came from behind Morintis.
Morintis turned to see a female student, roughly in her early twenties, standing behind him.
She took a deep breath, gathering courage.
"Hello, classmate.
Is this your first time at the Dungeon Hall?"
Morintis nodded.
She continued, "My name is Hannah.
I can explain all the details about the Dungeon Hall to you."
There's no free lunch; pies don't fall from the sky.
Especially in Xiajing Academy, to gain something, one must pay.
Morintis asked, "How much?"
Hannah immediately said, "100 points is enough."
She seemed somewhat nervous.
Perhaps it was her first time doing this.
100 points...
It didn't sound like much.
But points weren't easy to earn.
Actually, 100 points wasn't that little.
Morintis didn't respond immediately.
Seeing Morintis hesitated, Hannah quickly added, "70 points is also fine."
"100 is fine."
Morintis transferred 100 points to Hannah.
Receiving the points, Hannah let out a long sigh of relief and showed a sweet smile.
"Thank you, classmate."
"The main function of the Dungeon Hall is to provide access to various dungeons."
"In the entire Dungeon Hall, there are 95 dungeons in total."
"Among them, 20 are Level 10-20 dungeons."
"23 are Level 20-40 dungeons."
"The remaining 52 are Level 40-70 dungeons."
"Besides that, there are 2 large-scale dungeons and 1 super-large-scale dungeon."
"That makes 95 dungeons in total."
Large-scale dungeons were for 40 or more people.
Super-large-scale dungeons were also called hundred-player raids.
Morintis asked, "What about dungeons above Level 70?"
Hannah shook her head.
"Dungeons above Level 70 aren't here."
Morintis roughly understood.
Probably, dungeons above Level 70 were managed uniformly by the academy.
They wouldn't be placed in the Dungeon Hall for casual access.
Those dungeons were very important resources.
The materials and equipment found inside were extremely useful.
Hannah continued explaining the various functions of the Dungeon Hall.
For Morintis, although it was just information he could eventually figure out on his own, having someone explain it saved him a lot of time.
The cost was only 100 points.
He still had over 130,000 points; 100 was just pocket change.
"Each dungeon has corresponding clear records."
"If you can set a new record, you can receive a reward."
"The entry conditions for each dungeon also vary.
Most require meeting the basic level requirement, but some require meeting the average party level."
"There are also some special dungeons that have requirements for the highest or lowest level in the party."
Dungeons came in many varieties with different requirements.
Morintis asked, "Are there any dungeons without level requirements?"
Hannah shook her head.
"There used to be.
But later, people died inside; it was too dangerous.
The academy set level requirements.
If you don't meet the level, you can't enter."
"There are still many dungeons without level requirements in the wild."
Entering dungeons through the Dungeon Hall differed fundamentally from wild dungeons in terms of safety.
Inside, you could leave the dungeon at any time.
If in danger, you could choose to exit.
Safety was greatly increased.
Unless you were one-shot killed, dying was less likely.
In other words, the money wasn't spent for nothing.
From the dungeon level settings and ranking competition,
Morintis saw the academy's intention to cultivate students.
From low-level dungeons all the way to high-level ones, all while striving to ensure student safety.
Every student who could enter Xiajing Academy was a talent.
Losing even one would make the academy ache for a long time.
Safety was naturally important.
Therefore, dungeon levels were regulated: what level enters what kind of dungeon.
Aiming too high without the requisite strength was not allowed.