After that day, Alexander didn't seek out Diana anymore, and since she didn't seek him out either, he started clearing intermediate dungeons relying only on Ocean and his goblin form.

  Even though he was stronger, Alexander didn't dare to try clearing any {Intermediate – Advanced Dungeons}. Their BOSSES were likely creatures above the intermediate levels of the 2nd evolution.

  With the impossibility of completing the harder dungeons, Alexander focused on improving in the time he had left before the event, which made Ocean and the |Thrust| skill level up.

  Ding!

  [Your familiar (Ocean) leveled up]

  Ding!

  [|Thrust (Beginner)| leveled up to |Thrust (Intermediate)|]

  The month ended so quickly it seemed like a blink of an eye.

  Realizing this, Alexander went to Jayce's shop to have his spear maintained once more before the start of the event.

  "You're different," commented Jayce upon seeing that Alexander wanted another maintenance on his spear.

  "I'll take that as a compliment," replied Alexander with a shrug.

  "I've never seen a novice adventurer take such care of his equipment, especially when the maintenance cost is high," explained Jayce. "But look at you here again, for the third time this month alone."

  "Why do you do that?" inquired Jayce.

  "I had no idea how much wear my spear could withstand. Especially since I use poison," replied Alexander casually.

  "That makes sense," agreed Jayce, laughing. "You knew nothing before I explained the right time to maintain your equipment."

  "Not at all," admitted Alexander. "However, this time it's different. I'm participating in an event and I might not be able to do maintenance in the near future."

  "But just for the record, I don't consider my maintenance a waste, as it's an investment in my safety," explained Alexander. "Haven't you ever heard that the dead no longer have their wealth, only their regrets?"

  Alexander's words triggered something in Jayce and he got lost in his thoughts. But it didn't take long for him to return to normal and begin the spear maintenance.

  The next day, when the integration event was widely announced, all the new students were gathered in the academy's event arena, which easily accommodated everyone, as it was colossal.

  As soon as all the students entered the arena, Lucas appeared, seeming not to want to be there, and started a formal speech: "Today the Twin Combats Academy begins the integration event for new students."

  With each word Lucas said, his formality dropped drastically. His second sentence was already in a very different tone: "Now gather in groups of four people, one from each course, and go to Stellar Forest. The group that brings back the hardest creature to hunt, in one week, will be the winner."

  Upon finishing, Lucas mentally reviewed what he had said, to see if he had forgotten anything and, noticing he actually had, he added: "Just a small reminder: you, obviously, can only bring back a creature obtained through your own merits. If any group cheats, there will be consequences."

  To attest his words before the students, Lucas released a gigantic amount of lightning that rumbled loudly as it rose to the skies.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Some of the more noble students didn't take Lucas's words very seriously, but upon looking at his power and his deadly serious face, they changed their minds. Little did they know Lucas was only speaking seriously because he didn't want to have to work even more to investigate them.

  Realizing the seriousness of the event, the other students began trying to form, or join, the best possible team. But Alexander, quite indifferent, shouted a question, silencing the crowd: "Professor, will there be prizes for the winner? Contribution points alone won't improve our strength."

  This was the question most students wanted to ask, but none of them had the courage to do so when facing Lucas's serious demeanor.

  As his professor, Lucas easily recognized Alexander's voice and cursed him in his thoughts: "Damn kid. Always looking for more benefits."

  "What if I say no?" replied Lucas coldly to the crowd, as if he didn't know who had asked the question, but as if such a question were a mistake.

  "No problem, professor," countered Alexander. "I only asked because we're in the ideal season to hunt rabbits. And since they come in all types and sizes, I wanted to know which one to hunt."

  "…" Lucas.

  "…" Crowd of students.

  This answer took everyone by surprise, because despite being simple, his words had an obvious meaning: the more reward you offer, the more willing I am to try. But if you don't offer a good reward, why should I put in the effort?

  Lucas was caught off guard by these words, because the integration event was supposed to stimulate the students' potential to the maximum, but, thanks to Alexander, they were starting to get discouraged even before the event began.

  After mentally cursing Alexander for his greed, Lucas took a step back and promised a reward. But this time he made a point of promising something from the school: "The prize was supposed to be a surprise, but since you all seem curious, I'll tell you. Each person in the winning group will be able to choose a skill, fitting their result, from the academy."

  Ding!

  [You have a new mission]

  "It seems a mission is only triggered in the system when the request has all the components of a mission, including a clear reward, or some component that makes it special, for the system or for me," thought Alexander upon receiving his new mission.

  The mention of the prize left the students in a frenzy, because it wasn't easy to obtain a skill from the academy's archive. Even the simplest skill costs a considerable amount of credits.

  Obviously there were some nobles among the students who had access to good skills because of their family, but no common noble family had a collection as large and/or as detailed as those of the great academies.

  While most students were gathering into teams, Alexander began formulating an action plan. But it didn't take long before he had to stop and change places to avoid the people coming towards him.

  After changing places a few times and confirming that people were still following him, Alexander stopped and refused them clearly and directly: "I'm not interested. Please find someone else."

  "Why are you rejecting us?" asked Stella, feeling insulted and upset. "You saw I can cast several powerful Tier I spells."

  "I know you must be one of the best in terms of raw power among the new students," replied Alexander. "I'm just not interested in testing that power on my own skin."

  Alexander's answer hit Stella's weak point and left her angry and embarrassed.

  Before she could say anything, the strong, black-haired young man accompanying her, about 5 cm taller than Alexander and even a bit taller than Lucas, said: "Ignore him, Stella. He's just a coward who's afraid of getting burned. Let's go to Jason."

  Alexander looked at the unknown young man who insulted him with such disdain that he didn't need to say a word. His look was enough to answer him.

  Stella hesitated about what to do, torn between her anger and her embarrassment, which gave the other person enough time to approach.

  Noticing Diana's arrival, Alexander showed no reaction and simply asked: "Are you sure? I might not win this event."

  Diana didn't even blink as she replied firmly: "Yes."

  After this brief exchange, Diana positioned herself beside Alexander, lowered her head, and they didn't speak again.

  Observing that Alexander and Diana maintained a silent distance, Stella mistakenly thought they didn't know each other, which, in turn, led her to believe he thought anyone was acceptable, except her.

  "You can look for another group, Mark, but I'm staying in this one," exclaimed Stella angrily, as she felt extremely offended.

  "Don't be like that," pleaded Mark, trying to persuade Stella. "We can find a better team."

  "You can go. I won't," Stella tried to say. But in the middle of her sentence she realized that Alexander and the "stranger" had walked away without warning her.

  Upset by her anger, Stella became even more determined to be part of Alexander's team.

  "With no choice," Mark continued to follow Stella, who was determined to join Alexander's team.

  Unable to get rid of the two tails that scared off other potential candidates, Alexander went to complain to Lucas. But as soon as he heard the story, Lucas opened a wide smile.

  "Don't be like that, Alexander. This is an integration event," Lucas intervened while filling out a form at high speed. "Here. Now they are formally in your team."

  "…" Alexander.

  Seeing the dismay on Alexander's face as he looked at the form cheered Lucas up immensely, as he felt avenged. But it didn't take long for Alexander to accept the situation, return to his usual indifference, and take the registration form.