Chapter 3: The Ivy Demon School

Cold, trembling...

The musty smell invaded his nostrils, and Bai Ming suddenly opened his eyes.

Unfamiliar wooden boards, steel frames.

A dormitory?

He propped himself up and looked around.

A twelve-person dormitory, bunk beds—each lower bunk was occupied by someone rising, all in school uniforms, including himself.

But the upper bunks were completely empty.

“Ahem, everyone awake?” The square-jawed boy broke the silence. “There are five minutes of safety time before the dungeon starts. I’m a player from the Changyuan City authorities, ID [Wind and Freedom].”

Above his head appeared the label [Wind and Freedom: LV2].

Then, two men and one woman introduced themselves one after another, all from various government departments, their IDs reading [No Questions About the Future: LV2], [I Can Pentakill: LV2], and [Iris: LV2].

Bai Ming mimicked them, revealing his ID [No Heaven: LV1].

Though he hadn’t completed the newbie task, he had learned from the Player Forum that this was a necessary procedure to prevent ghostly entities from sneaking in.

“My name is [No Heaven], a free player.”

At once, the five players were stunned.

[I Can Pentakill] widened his eyes. “Level 1? Even with a D rating on the newbie task, you’d get 50% experience, enough to reach level 2!”

[No Questions About the Future] sighed. “I get it now. You’re one of those legendary F-rated players who only earned 20% of the completion experience, far short of the 100 experience points needed to level up. After passing the newbie task, the minimum requirement is to participate in an E-rank game, so you were assigned here.”

[Iris] frowned. “Isn’t that screwing us over? Everyone else is level 2, and he’s stuck at level 1. No wonder even the authorities don’t want him.”

The authorities were the largest and strongest player organization in the Hua District, backed by the state with abundant resources.

They frequently recruited newcomers on the Player Forum, offering free training, player pensions, and funeral subsidies.

After all, the Dusk Game was a life-or-death affair; for their own safety or what might come after, many players chose to join government departments.

Even those not in official departments would join related player organizations—free players wandering alone were extremely rare.

Of course, [Wind and Freedom] knew that as a state entity, the authorities would not reject F-rated players; [No Heaven] being a free player was likely a personal choice.

But Bai Ming did not want to linger on this topic with [Iris], instead turning to the last player. “Your turn, miss.”

The plain-looking girl in the corner lifted her head, her voice calm. “[Wind Yinyin], free player.”

The label [Wind Yinyin: LV3] appeared above her.

The four authority players inhaled sharply.

[I Can Pentakill] immediately put on a flattering expression. “Big shot, please take me along—I promise to behave.”

Early level differences were crucial; skill points, willpower attributes, especially the second specialty point gained at level 3, made these players significantly stronger than level 2.

[Iris] brightened, playfully winking at [Wind Yinyin]. “Sister, we’ve got to look out for each other~”

[No Questions About the Future] pondered. “I see, the system balances things by placing an F-rated player like [No Heaven] in our group and pairing him with a level 3 player.”

[Wind and Freedom] spoke seriously. “No matter the level, we humans must unite to clear the Dusk Game.”

[No Questions About the Future] and [I Can Pentakill] showed no emotion; [Wind Yinyin] remained calm.

Only [Iris] subtly curled her lip but quickly returned to normal.

[Wind Yinyin] glanced around. “Since we’ve all met, it’s time to find the rules.”

[I Can Pentakill] pointed behind the dormitory door. “I already found them; the rules are posted there.”

There was a yellowed sheet of paper.

Changyuan High School Basic Student Code

1. Normal class hours in the teaching building are 7:00–11:40; 14:30–17:00; 19:00–22:00. No lingering outside these times.

2. Dormitory rest times are 12:00–14:00, 17:30–19:00, and 22:30–6:00. No entering dormitories outside these times.

3. The library is open from 17:30–19:30. No visits outside these hours.

4. Students must wear full school uniforms when entering the teaching building, keeping their attire neat and behaving politely.

5. Teachers and students must respect and care for each other. Students must obey teachers’ instructions, respect and cherish them.

6. Students must get along kindly without fighting. Conflicts should be resolved rationally, and difficult issues promptly reported to teachers.

7. The student’s duty is to study; all non-study-related activities are prohibited.

[No Questions About the Future] mused, “Luckily, this is an E-rank game, so the rules are simple. The last rule—that students must focus on studying and avoid unrelated activities—might be troublesome. Trying to escape the school is surely a dead end.”

[Iris] laughed. “That’s easy. Since skipping school isn’t allowed, just follow the formal procedure. Like applying for sick leave? Something serious enough to require hospitalization, like a broken arm or leg.”

[I Can Pentakill] frowned. “Too easy. The dungeon can’t be that simple.”

[Iris] glanced at Bai Ming with a hint of meaning. “So someone needs to try it. Preferably the weakest fighter among us…”

[Wind Yinyin] cut her off coldly. “Don’t get any funny ideas. The Dusk Game won’t allow cheating like that. Injuries fully heal once players return to reality. The system wouldn’t permit such shortcuts.”

[Iris] muttered softly, “Maybe it’s reverse psychology...”

Ringing bells—!

Thumping footsteps—!

[Wind and Freedom]’s expression changed. “The five minutes of safety time are up. Do you hear the footsteps? Probably the class bell. We must head to the teaching building immediately to avoid violating rule seven.”

Everyone hurriedly pushed open the dormitory door, rushing out in a scramble.

No need to worry about directions: in the hallway, a crowd of students in matching uniforms hurried along, their noisy footsteps and low conversations blending—clearly on their way to class.

[Wind Yinyin] scanned the group. “Sounds like the prep bell. Check your student IDs; don’t go to the wrong classroom.”

Everyone reached into their pockets. Except for Bai Ming, the other five quickly produced student IDs—uniformly “Third Year, Class Six.”

[Iris] sighed in relief, her tone much lighter. “After all, this is an E-rank dungeon. Not too difficult.”

She shot a glance at Bai Ming, impatiently urging, “Hey, [No Heaven], just missing your ID now. Hurry up!”

However, Bai Ming seemed not to hear. His steps faltered, then he broke away from the group, running down an empty campus path.

[I Can Pentakill] was speechless. “What’s he playing at?”

[Iris] snapped back, “What else? No wonder he got an F rating on the newbie task—doesn’t even understand the basic rules. Whatever, a student’s duty is to study. Let him go scout on his own.”

No one paid him any more mind. The five quickened their pace, blending into the crowd, heading straight to the teaching building.