<h4>Chapter 125 The Dungeon of Maya! Part-1. </h4>


    "For the SS-rankers, ''Meeting of Gods'' might be a way to show off, but for the talented children, it''s a rare opportunity..." (Raji)


    Raji nced at the five of them and said it with a serious look on her face.


    "There will be a sparring tournament held before the official ''Meeting''; every race will send their most talented children to participate in this tournament; these children will represent the faces of their respective races." (Raji)


    "The same is true for us too; we have to make sure that you kids are ready to face the wider world. Only when it''s confirmed will we be sure to take you with us." (Raji)


    Raji nced at Link with narrowed eyes and said,


    "Although I don''t think there''s any need to prove the obvious capabilities of talented children like you, we still have to make you go through the proper procedures of selection to not set a bad example." (Raji)


    "It wouldn''t be good if people used us of favoritism among the students." (Raji)


    Link dodged making straight eye contact with Raji and replied in a low tone, while his left hand scratched the back of his head:


    "I don''t particrly mind it... It''s no big deal to go through the proper?procedures."(Link)


    Hearing Link''s reply, Raji nodded her head in satisfaction, and a small smile appeared on her cold face.


    ''As expected, this little kiddo is indeed the best for Riya, sigh~'' (Raji)


    (Raji favors Link heavily; if not for the fact that she has to follow the proper procedures, she would have vited her power and already given Link direct approval without even making him go through the tests.)


    Raji nced at her ipetent younger sister, who was nibbling on some snacks in the corner without even paying attention to the things Raji exined, and then she nced at Link, who was always attentive and ready to go to any danger in the hope of bing stronger and better.


    The more Rajipared Link and Riya, the more she was satisfied with her choice to engage Riya with Link at a young age.


    ''Engaging Riya to Link might have been the best decision I ever made.'' (Raji)


    While Raji stared at Link for a few minutes, Link was trying his hardest to barely keep himself from fainting from her burdensome gaze; he felt like she was seeing right through him.


    Being gazed at by an SS-ranker is no small matter; it feels like they can see right through you and you are standing buck naked in front of them. It feels like all your secrets have been seen through by them, and you are just a mere ant crawling on the ground.


    There have been records of people experiencing mana deviation or directly just fainting on the spot, by just one look from an SS-ranker. (This generally happens when your mana foundations are weak or your will is quite weak.)


    (Ordinary people have weaker wills and resistances; thus, SS-rankers have to wear special sses when talking to ordinary people to prevent harming the people by their overbearing.)


    Raji didn''t mean any harm when she looked at Link without taking any protective measures; she just knew that Link was strong enough to not even flinch at such small inconveniences. (Raji cares about Link''s well-being and is as concerned about him as his father.)


    Even in the novel, Raji helps Link many times, but eventually, the protagonist, Halo, works, and Link ends up dead in the hands of Fade. Raji couldn''t help but shake her head in regret at this turn of events.


    In the novel, She hated Fade to the core, for killing Link; she even helped Ashtel beat Fade on several asions, and thus she eventually died at the hands of the ''Final Boss''.


    She was more of a stepping stone type character'' for Fade in the novel,pared to a proper viiness like Lia. (Don''t get the wrong idea; Raji is not a ''p*doph*le''; she favors Link and thinks of him as her family, nothing else... Don''t get any funny ideas.)


    …


    After staring at Link for quite a while, Raji reluctantly looked away and continued exining further.


    "Seven kids will be chosen from humanity''s side and will participate in this tournament. If you all can secure your seats, you can go and experience the fighting styles of various geniuses from the whole world." (Raji)


    "It''s one of the best opportunities to confront and get acquainted with talented people of several races." (Raji)


    Raji hesitated before saying the next line but eventually said:


    "Moreover, it is said that the elf princess, who is rumored to be the most beautiful girl among today''s younger generation, will also participate in this tournament. She is going to be the next ruler of the Elf Kingdom, so it''s good to get to know her for diplomatic?reasons. (Raji)


    Raji nced at Link with a cold look on her face and said in an unquestionable tone:


    "You better stay away from that girl though; don''t forget you are already engaged and have people waiting back home." (Raji)


    Link had a confused look on his face, but he still replied in a nervous voice:


    "O-okay…." (Link)


    Raji shook her head and then said,


    "Leaving that matter aside, if even one of you wins the tournament, all of you will be able to get the chance to touch the ''World Tree'' and obtain its favor." (Raji)


    "I don''t need to exin how big of a thing the ''Favor of World Tree'' is; the Elf Kingdom is going all out in rewards this year... Perhaps because their princess is also going to participate this year too...." (Raji)


    Raji suddenly clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "The Elves are inherently arrogant; they didn''t even give a single gold coin to the winners of thest ''Meeting of Gods tournament'', but anyway, your best reward is still the experience you get while fighting the other geniuses." (Raji)


    Raji then said it in a serious tone.


    "The procedure you have to follow to get your seats confirmed is simple; you have already passed that ''Group Survival Test'', next you have to conquer an ''A-rank'' Dungeon sessfully, and thest would be toplete a mission." (Raji)


    Raji tapped on her desk, and a hologram appeared; it showed a dungeon gate and its location.


    "This is the dungeon you guys have to conquer as a group; you have a week for preparation... Next week, I will personally bring you all to the dungeongate."(Raji)


    "Be sure to prepare everything you want for the exploration." (Raji)


    Raji suddenly nced at Rio, who had been standing with an expressionless face from the start, and said:


    "Although you have already conquered various dungeons before, this is the first time conquering an A-rank dungeon, so be sure to prepare." (Raji)


    Rio nodded his head at Raji''s remarks.


    Raji had long known the fact that Rio had been to many dungeons before, but since it was not against the rules, she didn''t mind him doing whatever he wanted to do. (She doesn''t know he has been to those dungeons to steal things, not to conquer them.)


    Generally, the students of the academy can use the simtion room for practical training; thus, they don''t need to go to the dungeons to practice, but everyone has their way of training, so Raji didn''t mind Rio wandering around outside the academy for days.


    Don''t ask me how she knows; she can keep track of every student''s presence as long as they are still in her vicinity of 500 kilometers; her tracking range is insanely wide. She has the duty of keeping track of all students'' whereabouts.


    (Obviously, there are limitations to this tracking range too; if you enter a dungeon or different space, then she won''t be able to track you unless she also enters that space herself and then uses her tracking on you.)


    (If you guys have the question, why didn''t she detect the deaths of the students during the ''New Year festival'' then? I have fixed this plot hole and re-edited those chapters. Raji was busy focusing on developing a new spell during that time. Re-


    read those chapters for further details.)


    (What about Rio''s ''True Immunity''? No, she was just tracking his presence through his aura, and ''True Immunity'' doesn''t block Rio''s aura.)


    After exining all the other important things, Raji dismissed them, and all five of them hurriedly left the office, as if they had been waiting for this moment.


    While Raji looked at their backs in confusion, all five of them hurriedly left the office, and Link also dragged the sleeping Riya out with him.


    …


    Outside the principal''s office.


    Link sat on the nearby bench and gasped for breath; he''d been holding it since the moment they entered the principal''s room. He didn''t even dare breathe too loudly in Raji''s presence.


    Liam was shivering while sitting in the corner, and Ellie was trying her best tofort him.


    Riya was sleeping without any care in the world.


    Rio and Lia just looked at this and shrugged their shoulders.


    If some passerby looked at the five of them now, they would have misunderstood the situation, thinking that these five have barely survived a very tough battle and are now trying to recover from severe ''PTSD''.


    …


    …


    Author''s Notes.


    Yo! Your beloved author is here!


    Question of the day:.


    Would you want an SS-ranker to look at you?


    Nah, I will pass. (The feeling of being seen through is very weird and traumatizing.)


    Yes. (Well, hopefully, they will find my hidden talents at least.)


    By the way, don''t forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment with your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.