Otaku Translation: The villain only wants to live a Buddhist life Chapter 441

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Chapter 441: Dark Demon’s Observation Stage

In the corridors of the castle, both students and professors seemed to be in a hurry.

The first-year students were preparing for their final exams, while the second to sixth-year students were preparing for both their final exams and the House Cup Competition. On top of that, the sixth-year students were also busy with graduation affairs.

The previously relaxed atmosphere of the academy had become increasingly tense.

Even Dark had to postpone his research on [deadly sin] until next month.

As for this month, he decided to extract and store as much [deadly sin] above the 90-point standard line as possible for future use.

Additionally, he had a half-finished [Transfiguration Spell], but he didn't have time to study the Magic Charm composition of the [Transfiguration Spell]. Moreover, Professor Cazer was clearly getting busier, so he felt embarrassed about disturbing him.

However, thinking about the long holiday lasting three months, he could definitely leave these projects to be continued after the vacation.

After all, he wouldn’t be going out much after returning home, so it would be a good opportunity to find something to do.

Having made up his mind, Dark focused his attention on the final exams, especially on the astronomy project — this was probably the first completely baffling project he had encountered since entering school!

If only he had seen fewer constellations in the Star Palace Labyrinth, he could have analyzed the differences and found the Inner Constellations that best suited him.

Even if not precise, at least he would have had a starting point for research.

But who would have thought that he would see all eighty-eight constellations in the Star Palace Labyrinth?

This problem without an entry point troubled him for a whole week.

It wasn’t until the second Wednesday of May that he reluctantly gave up and asked Professor Medea for help.

The way Professor Medea looked at him at that time left a deep impression on him.

After finding out the answer, he couldn’t help but ask, “So we can have multiple Inner Constellations?”

Professor Medea simply replied, “Ordinary people certainly can’t, but there are always those born extraordinary in this world, like you.”

Dark couldn’t help but grin awkwardly.

No one knew better than himself how extraordinary he was, but was this kind of extraordinariness a bit off?

What’s the use of having eighty-eight Inner Constellations? Write eighty-eight papers?

“That’s your problem,” Professor Medea said, barely suppressing a laugh. “Anyway, the assignment has been given; how to do it is up to you. I’m only responsible for grading.”

Dark: “...”

...

Thus, Dark was forced to compile all the information on the eighty-eight constellations, writing an extremely long analysis. Based on the final scene of destruction he witnessed in the Star Palace Labyrinth, he tentatively made a "prophecy interpretation."

But speaking of "prophecy interpretation," it was essentially just vague predictions about recent experiences.

The flames shooting out from underfoot indicated that he would step into danger, and those flames represented fire-related disasters.

Basically, that was the extent of the "prophecy interpretation."

After interpreting, naturally, he needed to seek solutions.

Generally speaking, water overcomes fire.

Therefore, to deal with fire hazards, one should look for water-element items.

Dark indeed wrote this in his homework.

But his real thought was: wouldn’t staying indoors solve the problem?

After all, he hadn’t planned to go out anyway.

So Dark didn’t take it too seriously.

When he finally completed the astronomy final project, it was already the third week of May.

In the previous two weeks, he extracted five drops each of [Pride] and [Greed], storing the remaining points in the Worm Tree.

Then, on Thursday afternoon of the third week, the final project of the History of Magic was also finally assigned!

History of Magic, being one of the core subjects, had traditionally combined theoretical exams with classroom presentations.

But every professor had their own ideas.

Professor Ryan Hex believed that the theoretical exam for History of Magic was meaningless and changed it to an open-book project paper, similar to astronomy.

He listed eight topics, allowing students to choose autonomously.

In reality, none of the topics were easy, and they were all dull and uninteresting, causing the first-year magisters to groan in despair.

History of Magic, after all, was a core subject, unlike the elective astronomy.

If the score in this course didn’t meet the requirements, they would face failing, retaking exams, or even remedial classes.

If multiple courses were failed, there was even the possibility of repeating the year — which would be disastrous!

Therefore, despite their inner groans, the first-year students were still diligently looking for materials to complete the assignments.

Dark was no exception—during this period, he spent nearly all his free time shuttling between the library and his dormitory, growing busier by the day.

Besides History of Magic, other courses also announced their assessment methods during class.

Summoning, Magic Theory, Potions, and Dueling Class all combined theoretical written exams with practical assessments.

Only Arithmetic and Magical Beast Studies had purely theoretical written exams.

The requirements for Magical Beast Studies were lower and temporarily considered an elective.

All practical assessments would take place in the fourth week of May, while the theoretical written exams would start on the 28th.

In short, papers, experiments, and reviews filled the entire month of May for the students.

As a result, the first-year students’ attention to the House Cup competition had decreased significantly.

Many only realized that the House Cup Competition was about to begin amidst their hard studying!

Although first-year students couldn’t participate in the House Cup Competition, the collective honor passed down through history still deeply resonated with them.

The harmonious atmosphere between students of different houses had thus worsened considerably.

“From 8 PM on Friday night to 8 PM on Sunday night, lasting 48 hours. Students from the second to sixth years of each house will form teams of three students per year per house, entering the dungeon for adventure. Points will be calculated based on the actions of each group.”

“The academy will release several high-point missions before the competition begins. Completing these missions first will earn substantial points. Additionally, defeating floor bosses and exploring unknown areas will grant extra points.”

“Lower years will have a weighting factor compared to higher years. Therefore, in the dungeon adventure competition, the points earned by higher years may not necessarily surpass those of lower years.”

“Unfortunately, there is no live broadcast of the dungeon adventure competition. The situation can only be estimated based on the changes in each house’s points.”

Dark put down the rulebook and continued to immerse himself in his studies. He had little interest in others’ dungeon adventures. Next year at this time would be his stage.

...

It wasn’t until 7 PM on Sunday evening that he temporarily set aside his pen and paper, left the dormitory, and came to the common room.

At this time, the common room was already packed with people.

Noble House students had gathered here, discussing the changes in points intensely.

The twenty adventure groups from the four houses across five years inside the dungeon had noticeably sped up in the last hour, with each house’s temporary points rising rapidly.

Dark found the location of the first-year students and sat down next to Doron, asking, “How’s it going? Who’s in the lead?”

Doron’s cheeks were flushed with excitement, and he immediately exclaimed, “Noble House, Of course!”

But the little chubby boy Pistein beside him seemed somewhat nervous: “We’re only slightly ahead, and we could be overtaken at any moment. Magister House is very strong this year!”

Dark took out his sorting card and called out the bar chart, discovering that Noble House’s temporary points were only slightly higher than Magister House’s. Moreover, Knight House and Fool House’s temporary points were also catching up quickly.

The overall strength gap between the four houses wasn’t as large as imagined. Each year selected top-tier students as participants, making it evenly matched.

“Isn’t the critical period still half an hour away?” Dark thought for a moment and said.

Pistein immediately nodded: “Yes, half an hour later, the strongest mission boss of this dungeon competition will appear. Whoever finds and defeats the boss within this half hour will likely take the lead. Even Fool House, currently with the lowest temporary points, has a chance to win instantly!”

“The strongest mission boss… With the level of second and third-year students, even if they find it, it might be difficult to defeat.” Dark murmured under his breath, his gaze turning back to the sorting card in his hand.

Suddenly, his eyelids twitched as a new detail caught his attention. “Did Fool House complete some high-point mission?”

Almost simultaneously, exclamations rang out in the common room.

The bar representing Fool House suddenly surged, making the originally lowest-scoring house leap to the top!

Dark slightly turned his head and saw Doron, who had been excited just moments ago, now furiously pounding the table, looking like someone whose advantage had suddenly been overturned.

Little chubby Pistein hurriedly lifted the tea set on the table and consoled him: “Don’t worry, Doron, we still have a chance!”

“Yes, don’t give up until the end, don’t give up until the end!” Doron clenched his fists and repeated quietly.

Dark observed around and found many people as agitated as Doron.

He couldn’t help but think, “Why do these people seem more invested in the House Cup than I am?”

His focus on the House Cup was driven by his need for the Holy Grail.

But these classmates seemed purely motivated by the so-called Noble House honor?

...

Just as Dark was analyzing his classmates' psychology, the bar chart on the sorting card underwent another dramatic change.

Knight House, Magister House, and even Noble House, which had fallen to second place, seemed to have suddenly completed some high-point mission, causing their temporary points to surge.

Then, half an hour before the end of the dungeon competition, this increase suddenly slowed down.

According to the predictions of senior students, this was likely because the higher-year groups from all four houses had simultaneously discovered the boss!

“How many points does this mission boss provide?” Dark couldn’t help but ask.

Pistein immediately picked up a document and glanced at it, then looked up and said, “One hundred thousand points.”

“One hundred thousand points?” Dark pondered, “I remember that each victory in the House Cup duel earns ten thousand points?”

Pistein nodded, "That's correct. The duel competition is conducted in a house-versus-house format. First, there are duels between students of the same year, followed by cross-year challenges. Each year can only send one representative, and each participant has one chance to challenge someone from a higher year. Winning a regular match earns ten thousand base points, while defeating someone from a higher year grants an additional ten thousand base points. The house with the highest total score will receive an extra one hundred thousand bonus points as a reward for their victory."

“In other words, these one hundred thousand points can offset the final victory reward of the duel competition.” Dark narrowed his eyes and said.

Since these were temporary points, even if they increased by tens of thousands, they had no actual significance. What mattered was the difference.

A difference of one hundred thousand points could secure a win.

And if the strongest mission boss in the dungeon competition and the victory in the duel competition were achieved by two different houses, determining the winner would depend on other accumulated factors.

At this point, the total actual points and the temporary points converted from the final exam scores, which were relatively close, became significant.

...

The atmosphere became noticeably tense afterward. Students in the common room tightly watched the bar charts on the sorting cards, waiting for the final results.

Just two minutes before 8 PM, the bar representing Magister House’s temporary points suddenly jumped!

Instantly, the entire room erupted in groans!

“It’s over! We’re going to lose this year’s Holy Grail!”

“How could it be Magister House? Why Magister House?”

“Quick, calculate the point difference…”

Students’ cries of despair echoed everywhere, accompanied by the sounds of pounding tables.

Beside Doron, whose face was ashen, Dark quickly calculated the point difference and finally sighed in relief.

The slight advantage Noble House had built up initially played a role; the point difference between the two houses was less than one hundred thousand.

This meant that as long as Noble House won the duel competition, there was a high probability of securing the House Cup.

In other words, there was still hope.

Having hope was certainly better than having none.

The atmosphere gradually eased.

Lower-year students began discussing among themselves.

Senior students, however, looked like deflated balloons, heads drooping as they slowly left the common room.

Watching the reactions of the senior students, Dark crossed his fingers and estimated, “It seems we must mentally prepare for not obtaining the Holy Grail this year.”

Winning the House Cup duel competition wouldn’t be easy, especially with the presence of the [Silver Dragon Maiden] in Magister House’s fourth year.

In last year’s duel competition, the [Silver Dragon Maiden] not only secured a victory point in the same-year duel but also gained a second victory point in the cross-year challenge, helping Magister House achieve ultimate victory in the duel competition.

If it weren’t for Noble House’s overwhelming advantage in the dungeon competition, they wouldn’t have won the House Cup last year.

"Oh, well, it seems like I have to rely on myself for everything." Dark took a deep breath and stood up from his seat.

Fortunately, his current need for the Holy Grail wasn’t that urgent.

With Professor Harvey’s help, the [Soulless Curse] had been upgraded to the elementary level.

Through persistent effort, the [Spiritual Concentration Art] had also reached the threshold of a breakthrough.

Dark patted Doron on the shoulder and said, “Don’t be discouraged. If we lose this year, there’s always next year.”

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