Disappointed that his work had not been appreciated, Vishwa, who had already gone back into the network server, quickly resurfaced before him upon hearing Rahul's distrusting tone.
"Rahul? What happened?"
"Where is the money?" Rahul demanded.
Disappointed, Vishwa replied, "I created a dynamic anonymous account and deposited the entire amount," but Rahul, intrigued, asked, "Dynamic anonymous account?"
"Cracking this account requires computational power beyond my capabilities," Vishwa explained.
Surprised, Rahul brimmed with joy. "Vishwa, you are so cool," and this time, a smile lit up on the virtual screen. But in his happiness, Rahul didn't notice and said, "Neo, exchange 50% of that money."
[Accepted]
[You have 20 billion Federation Coins.]
[Exchange ratio between F.C and D.P is 1000:1.]
[Exchange successful.]
[You have gained 20 million D.P.]
"Man! I'm rich again," Rahul smiled but was stunned by Vishwa's action. Frozen, Rahul asked, "Neo, what was that?"
[Ding...]
[Calculating...]
[Incomprehensible data.]
[Can't be analyzed.]
Rahul facepalmed. "Who am I asking?" He thought from Vishwa's perspective. Soon, he realized his mistake and decided to make amends.
"Vishwa, you know..." He paused for a moment before continuing, "When I heard that you were done, I was nervous and even panicked, though I didn't show it."
"I was afraid because my account could be tracked back."
"I'm sorry."
Though he was speaking, maybe even becoming emotional, Rahul also realized this, but he let himself show his emotions because, even though he didn't have deep trust in Vishwa, Vishwa was going to be his lifelong partner.
Rahul sat down at his position, "You know, Vishwa, you may be the first guy I've opened my heart to," and it seemed like his effort didn't go to waste.
The virtual screen lit up, and Vishwa appeared and said, "Sorry, Rahul, I was just sad."
Rahul shook his head and said, "No, I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated you like that," and he promised, "I will never treat you like that again."
Vishwa smiled and cheerfully said, "Ok, from today, you are my best friend," and extended his virtual hand.
Seeing this, curiosity piqued Rahul, and he asked, "Why friend?" But Vishwa's reply stunned him.
"Because best friends take guard each other's backs."
Suddenly, laughter filled the dungeon, a stark contrast to the environment.
"Ok, Vishwa, you will have my back," Rahul said jokingly while extending his right hand. "Don't let me die."
And like that, cheerful laughter continued in the gloomy environment and soon disappeared.
.....
At 10:00 a.m., in Class X, the teacher addressed the students.
"Hello, students. As you may already know, today we will be rearranging class sections. Any student scoring below 50 in novice training will be placed in training Section A, while the rest will be in Section B."
The teacher continued, "Students with life professions will undergo novice training in the school hall, while those with auxiliary and combat professions will follow me."
Five minutes later, all the students of Class X gathered at the novice dungeon.
"You should be familiar with the details by now, so I won't go into much explanation," the homeroom teacher said.
"Now, enter," he gestured for them to proceed.
Students entered in pairs, forming teams based on combat and auxiliary professions. However, some underestimated the novice dungeon and ventured in alone, perhaps out of confidence.
In this novice dungeon, the monsters ranged from G-rank to F+ rank. Now, it was Rahul's turn to enter the novice dungeon.
"Rahul, would you like to go solo?" the homeroom teacher asked.
"Yes, sir, I would like to be alone," Rahul replied, nodding his head.
Amar suggested, "Why not go with me?"
Rahul glanced at Aman, smirked, and summoned his peak D-rank skeleton to demonstrate. "Sir, this is a peak D-rank skeleton."
"What! A peak D-rank skeleton?" Both Amar and the teacher exclaimed with their wide opened eyes.
"Rahul, can you already summon a peak D-rank skeleton?" Amar asked curiously.
Deciding not to draw too much attention, Rahul made an excuse. "Yes, but it takes a toll on my body."
The teacher agreed. "Yes, it can be," and warned him, "Try to only use it in critical moments."
But Rahul smiled as he thought, "Achieved."
On the other side, whispers filled the air as students heard the conversation.
"Oh! A peak D-rank skeleton."
"Rahul summoned a peak D-rank skeleton."
"What's so special about a peak D-rank skeleton?"
The students murmured among themselves, some impressed while others sneered at his peak D-rank skeleton.
"Alright, enough chatter. What matters is your ranking in novice training, and you have only 12 hours," the homeroom teacher reminded every student sternly.
After some time, Rahul entered the novice dungeon.
He released all the skeletons from the Darkness Space, and all 20 peak D-rank skeletons materialized before him.
He ordered, "Eliminate every monster," and sternly warned, "Don't kill any students," letting all the peak D-rank skeletons roam in the novice dungeon.
Upon doing this, he decided to maximize its benefits, but before that, he instructed, "Neo, link all the undead skeletons to the inventory."
[Accepted]
[Auxiliary function Link: Linking with all skeletons...]
[Auxiliary function Link: All skeletons have been linked.]
[Ding...]
[All skeletons' loot will be put in the System's Inventory through Auto-Pickup.]
"Now, everything is done." He spotted a relaxing spot on a tree branch, laid down with his backbone supported, and took out an intelligence stat crystal from his inventory, holding it in his fist while activating the Predatory Absorption Technique.
A smooth, cold feeling filled his hand as he closed his eyes to feel the change. His mind felt clearer. This moment lasted for a few minutes and ended with a prompt.
[World System]
[You absorbed 1 intelligence stat crystal.]
[Your intelligence stat increased by 1.]