"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Ye Anfu, Dean of the War Academy."
"I will be hosting this year's Freshman Assembly."
On the ceremonial stage, the deans of various academies led their teaching staff in brief introductions and speeches.
What caught people's attention was that several teachers showed obvious... non-human traits.
Beast ears, heterochromia, shoulder-length silver hair, with clear signs of beastly transformation.
Among them, the archery instructor had pointed ears and an elegant appearance—obviously of elven bloodline.
Even more striking, the warrior instructor had giant blood in their veins, standing over three meters tall.
Even without armor, they looked like a small mountain.
"Do you think his father is a giant, or his mother? How did humans even get involved with giants?"
"I swear, if a teacher hears that question, they'll twist your head off."
Some students joked below.
Of course...
There were also freshmen who hadn't seen much of the world quietly marveling.
"Oh my god, since coming to the big city, I found out intermarriage with other races isn't uncommon."
"There are so many beast-eared girls in fantasy movies, they're basically a dream come true for otakus."
"Obviously, you're all from the countryside."
The city freshmen started mocking those astonished at the diversity.
It's worth mentioning...
After the Golden Lion family of the Beastman Kingdom betrayed the New World, plunged into darkness, and caused a massacre by dropping into the Shadow City through a 'rift,' calls to exclude other races have been heard across the Xuanlong Country.
But that was twenty years ago. Small towns tend to be conservative, so mixed-blood appearances were rare.
After the brief introductions on stage, the formal theme began.
"This freshman class is the largest ever..."
"Since everyone's battle spirit is high, today we'll start the freshman contest early."
"To clarify beforehand—"
"The final results of the freshman contest will affect your personal credits and even your dormitory assignment. I believe you understand the importance of credits, so I won't elaborate."
"Also, your scores will largely determine which academy you'll be assigned to. So if you slack off or make mistakes this time, your college career might get off to a rough start."
"Additionally..."
"Pay attention to the rules—there are no restrictions in this dungeon test."
As soon as Ye Anfu finished speaking, murmurs broke out below.
During the college entrance exam era, the dungeon had many restrictions—limited potions, quality restrictions on weapons and ammo.
Those rules ensured maximum fairness, limiting outside interference to select truly talented students.
But...
Reality was ruthless and had no such rules. Enemies had no chains binding them.
They were cruel, merciless, and underhanded.
If you tried to deal with them using civilized rules, you'd be dead for sure.
So, there are simply no restrictions in this freshman contest.
Of course...
Because everyone's level is limited, equipment won't be overly powerful.
"One minute to prepare."
"One minute later, the dungeon opens!"
...
Within one minute,
Freshmen gathered all over the plaza immediately turned serious.
Some wiped their weapons.
Some checked their ammo.
Some stretched their muscles to loosen up.
Some even prepared to pop stimulant potions early, saving a few seconds inside the dungeon.
To ordinary outsiders, this might be hard to understand, but even a second could affect rankings and final credits.
At this moment,
Even the previously lazy freshmen looked focused.
After all, this was a university gathering talent from all over the country.
Those who looked lazy and ranked outside the top thousand might be undisputed first in their hometown, or prodigies famed since childhood.
Among them, some eyes on the ceremonial stage fell on Yun Chen.
"Quite unique indeed," a teacher remarked.
Yun Chen held an unusually long silver-white staff in hand, embedded with magic crystals faintly glowing purple.
He looked like a mage, but his battle gauntlet clearly concealed a tactical dagger, and at his waist hung two brand-new firearms.
"This patchwork is truly a classic unclassed drifter."
"That rifle is from the Eerie series—long neglected in Jiang's treasury, finally finding an owner."
At that moment,
The usually cold and taciturn Dean Xia Qingcheng of the Weapons Academy showed strong interest.
She said, "I knew this guy would fit perfectly in the Weapons Academy."
...
The countdown began.
After silently counting down five,
The massive silver gates suspended in midair suddenly emitted a strong radiance, then swung wide open.
Very soon...
Everyone's consciousness connected upward.
The same popup window template appeared in everyone's mind.
[Dungeon Secret Realm: Troll Nest]
[Level: 12–15]
[Difficulty: Easy · Hard · Nightmare]
[Group Size: 1–5 players]
[Note: A dark, eerie forest lair inhabited by troll clans. Rumor has it that their battle intent surges even more in the darkness.]
...
Almost instantly,
The bustling plaza emptied out.
'Difficulty: Nightmare!'
'Players: Solo!'
This was the choice of every student at Jiangnan University.
The nation's best talents all opted to solo.
The mechanic ranked 653rd immediately entered and found the surroundings pitch black, with pairs of blood-red eyes glowing in the dark.
Without hesitation, the freshman summoned his mech.
"Let's fly!"
Mounted on a 2.5-meter tall mech, the mechanic wildly fired both machine guns mounted on its arms.
This was obviously the mech build of the mechanic class.
Elsewhere...
The priest ranked 213rd suddenly laughed wildly upon entering.
"Heaven helps me!!"
Many might find it unbelievable that a healer would dare solo a dungeon.
But priests accepted into Jiangnan University were definitely no pushovers.
The shadow priest build could easily convert their healing into percentage-based corruption damage.
The harder they healed, the more damage they dealt!!
Being a shadow priest in the dark was a huge buff!!
At this moment,
All the soloing freshmen showed off their own strengths.
Outside the dungeon,
The silver gates projected a holographic screen stitched from about thirty windows, displaying each student's status.
"Not bad!"
"This freshman batch is worthy of responsibility!"
At this time,
Dean Xia Qingcheng urged the teacher controlling the holographic screen.
"Switch to Yun Chen's window immediately!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。