High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2035: Chapter 256: After the End

Before the selection competition ended, Dylan had once sighed with a question—after dying in the Dreamland, do we continue sleeping in reality or wake up startled?

Zheng Qing felt that he could now answer this question.

Of course, the time was slightly later than expected.

The young cost student’s last impression of the selection competition was the puppet’s lazy ’wish you all sweet dreams,’ then the world fell into darkness, and when he regained consciousness, the sparrows outside the window had started to chatter on the treetops. The sky was not yet bright, the dorm was very quiet, only two uneven snores echoed back and forth.

One snore was heavier, belonging to Xin Fat Man; the other was lighter, from Fatty Cat Tuan Tuan.

Zheng Qing stared at the dark tent overhead, trying to recall last night’s experience—competition, ghouls, groups of ghouls, exhausted, then a big one came, and then the competition ended—the young wizard gradually opened his eyes wide; after leaving the Dreamland, he didn’t have ’sweet dreams’ like the puppet suggested, nor was he startled awake as Dylan guessed.

He felt nothing.

The sky simply brightened.

It was as if he had quietly spent a period of unconscious time in some dark environment, but it must be admitted that this deep sleep is an excellent cure for mental fatigue; just like now, he felt incredibly refreshed.

The young cost student tiptoed out of bed, washed with the help of sprites, then did his morning routine alone without waking the soundly sleeping Xiao Xiao.

The scene from yesterday of Xiao Xiao being swallowed by that dark whirlpool was still vivid in his mind. Although it wasn’t clear what feedback might result from a competition-like death in the Dreamland to reality, it certainly wouldn’t be without impact. In such situations, the best response is to let things take their course and wait for them to naturally awaken.

Today is the weekend, many people originally sleep in, coupled with last night’s event, the campus seemed even quieter, until Zheng Qing finished his morning routine and returned to the dorm with breakfast, he barely encountered anyone.

Back in the dorm, Xiao Xiao was already awake, rubbing his sleepy eyes and reading the morning’s newspaper. To Zheng Qing’s surprise, Xin Fat Man was also awake, scrabbling away at his desk.

”Having breakfast?”

Upon seeing the food, the Fat Wizard immediately perked up, bounced out of his chair, and shouted: ”Seeing how I’ll praise you with flair, it’s not too much to treat me to an extra meat bun!”

”Why are you awake so early?”

Zheng Qing handed over the paper bag and looked at the Fat Wizard, full of suspicion, but quickly realized that the Fat Wizard hadn’t participated yesterday, so he was simply sleeping in this morning.

Xin Fat Man eagerly grabbed a meat bun from the paper bag, stuffed it into his mouth, and contentedly took a deep breath before simply replying with sticky words: ”...catching up on drafts!”

As he spoke, he picked up the soy milk, couldn’t be bothered to use a straw, directly peeled off the lid and gulped down several mouthfuls, continuously slurping and cursing such nonsense as ’scorching to death,’ only afterward did his voice gradually became clear again:

”...material sent by the editorial office this morning... do you know? Last night’s selection competition, Atonement Hunting Team ranked seventh among all hunting teams! Only behind the school team, four academy teams, and Judgement Hunting Team... including Hemophilia, Glory, You Yao Qi, YPO, Destiny, Tai Yi, 3A, Auspicious, and a whole bunch of veteran hunting teams, all fell in the last three minutes!”

Xin Fat Man waved his arms, getting more excited as he spoke, even forgetting he still had a fresh meat bun in hand: ”...full marks! Because Atonement endured till the end, all five judges from the Hunting Committee gave full marks! In Senior Linda’s words, this ’has never happened in the history of the school hunting competition’!”

Zheng Qing cautiously watched the meat bun in the Fat Wizard’s hand, fearing it might spill its juices, creating a mess. Sharing a similar concern was the Fatty Cat Tuan Tuan squatting at the bedside, though unlike the Warlock, its desire was simpler, merely wanting to eat that bun.

”Hmm, sounds quite impressive indeed.”

The young cost student absentmindedly echoed—complementing oneself always felt a bit awkward—the worst part was, he hadn’t figured out how to explain to his companions how he endured the last three minutes.

It’s not really okay to tell them the dark creature at the end of the Hunting Competition was a ’Clever Kid’ who cleverly connived with him for a fake match.

That would be unhealthy for the young wizards’ worldview and values at school.

”Quite! Impressive?!”

Xin Fat Man’s voice seemed capable of shattering glass; he stuffed the meat bun into his mouth in one swoop, seemingly without chewing, as the bun disappeared deep into his throat, treating his sticky fingers with suspicion, he intended to grab the cost student.

Zheng Qing nimbly dodged.

This slightly deflated the Fat Wizard’s momentum, he spitefully picked up the soy milk and took a hateful gulp before starting again: ”Do you know what the editorial office thinks? Based on their internal opinions, the big creature that appeared in the last three minutes of yesterday’s selection was a genuine Big Wizard in strength, also naturally possessing the high-level existence’s pressure... ordinary hunting teams might not last even three seconds before it!”

”You lasted three minutes!”

”If last year someone had claimed Atonement Hunting Team cheated in the freshman competition; if someone mumbled ’opaque’ during the Black Prison Battlefield last semester; then last night’s competition, under everybody’s eyes, with Upper House members from the Moon Council overseeing, under thousands of eyes... no one can criticize Atonement’s achievements anymore!”

”Three minutes, ah!!”

”Exactly sixty three-second intervals!”

By now, the Fat Wizard seemed a bit teary-eyed; he loudly blew his nose like he did in yesterday’s dream: ”I was sitting on the substitutes, surrounded by pitch-blackness, with lightning and thunder within, ghostly howls mingling, thinking it might be playing with corpses, Jiang Da Headmaster went pale with fright...”

Zheng Qing had to interrupt the slightly exaggerated and sentimental statements of Fat Man.

”I couldn’t possibly defeat a Big Wizard! Definitely couldn’t!” He asserted to his companions with a very firm voice and gaze: ”You know my level after so many training sessions, maybe a tiny bit stronger in Talisman Studies or curse than the Doctor...”

As he spoke, he gestured a small gap with his thumb and index finger: ”...but if this tiny gap could allow me to last three minutes longer than the Doctor, I wouldn’t believe it myself!”

”This is also what everyone is baffled by now.”

Xiao Xiao, who had been reading the newspaper all this time, finally took off his glasses, rubbed his face, and looked at Zheng Qing with a confused expression: ”So... what happened in the last three minutes exactly? How did you manage to hold on? You know, when Mordicana’s tentacles dragged me into the dark whirlpool, I didn’t have any chance to resist!”