Chapter 298: Another Purpose!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Moss was excited when he read the post on Professor Locke making his first appearance as one of the judges in the competition. Locke was one of the most outstanding experts on Magical Beasts.

Moss already knew Locke’s name when he looked through the information. If Locke were a judge in the competition, Moss would greatly benefit if he could meet him and exchange information.

He also saw, “According to a reliable source, Professor Lock will select two to three outstanding students as interns to participate in his ‘Ancient Divine Beasts scientific research project.”

Moss’s eyes flashed, and the corners of his lips rose. His heart was already surging as he thought, ‘Wow, the Ancient Divine Beast scientific research project, huh?’

It was a world-class major research project, after all. This project should have just started a couple of years ago, according to the information Moss had gathered before. Still, the relevant experts, scholars, and professionals worldwide wanted to participate.

These people tried their best to get in because they knew it would not matter, even if the research project did not make any progress in the end. They would have bragging rights if they experienced participating in the research project.

However, any small achievement would leave a considerable mark on the history of human development.

BoxNovel.com

“Does the Ancient Divine Beast exist?!”

After all, others widely spread the saying that the Ancient divine beast existed before. Moss had also seen several related information about this as he read on. However, he did not pay much attention to it because many, including most well-known experts, thought it was just a legend.

That was because the previous information in this was only a public record, and there was no evidence to prove its existence.

Still, it was not until Locke’s team found the mark of an even more ancient civilization in the seven-star cluster of the Aklamar Mountains and set up the Ancient Divine Beast scientific research project again.

Only then did the Ancient Divine Beast topic return to the center of people’s attention.

“Aklamar Mountains and the seven-star cluster, huh?” Moss’s expression was profound, and his gaze was solemn.

According to his current information, Aklamar Mountain was in the northwest direction of the Magical Beast Territory. It was 1,000 kilometers away from the Great Wall.

After this world became a game a hundred years ago, it created a super mountain range after the appearance of a spatial rift connecting other worlds. The area was incredibly vast as it was ten times larger than the previous five mountains of this planet combined.

However, there were countless Magical Beasts and unknown creatures, and even professionals dared not enter so quickly. Of course, danger also meant opportunity.

There were countless rare treasures and the Sui pearl in the Aklamar Mountain Range. Therefore, no one felt surprised that Locke could find the seven-star cluster and traces of a more ancient civilization.

‘Aklamar Mountain Range,’ Moss had thought of exploring that place before, but he eventually gave up because he could not deal with the Magical Beasts, even at his current level, if he entered alone.

“Even if I encounter higher-level beasts, I can break away and have some time to catch my breath as long as there aren’t too many of them. It won’t be a problem for me to survive with Absolute Defense.

“Still, there’s a limit to my strength, and I don’t know what it’s like over there. However, I’ll have a chance to go to Aklamar Mountain Range if I can join the research team.”

Moss looked at Locke’s photo on his computer screen, his eyes shining as he continued pondering, ‘I’m already at level 36 and four levels away from my next profession’s evolution window. Reaching level 40 with my overall strength shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Still, among all the targets I’ve yet to unlock, obtaining a mightier mount is still the most arduous task to unlock.

“I don’t know what other mount could be more powerful than Little Seven. However, I would have the opportunity to learn more about this field if I could participate in the research team.

“I would also have the chance to learn which beasts were more powerful than Little Seven. Only then would I be able to unlock my next evolution.”

Of course, Moss knew that doing so might not necessarily achieve his goal, but he would not let it go as long as he wanted information related to it.

‘I must get the internship for the Ancient Divine Beast scientific research project!’ Moss secretly made up his mind.

…

Perhaps it was because he was affected by the most difficult college entrance exams in history. Nonetheless, this year’s national first- and second-year student exchange competition received special attention.

There was still a week before the competition, as it was on October 10th, but the media could no longer wait.

Kyoto Times:

“Let’s Witness Kyoto Institute’s Sixth Consecutive Win!”

“Kyoto Institute Will Compete in the National First- And Second-Year Exchange Competition With the Youngest Team Lineup!”

National Hot News:

“Five Old Members and Six New Members. Will Kyoto Win for the Sixth Time?!”

“The Low-Key Five Predetermines the Champion of the Competition in Advance!”

…

The media in Kyoto were unanimously optimistic that Kyoto Institute would defend its title in this year’s competition. However, the media outside of Kyoto were worried about Kyoto’s future in the competition.

Sky Network:

“The Host for This Year’s Competition, Dongfang Institute, Is Determined to Win the Competition! Kyoto’s Young Team Members Will Have a Rocky Path Toward the Championship!”

“Kyoto Institute Has Dropped Out of the Top Three in the Competition’s Overall Strength Ranking!”

National University Network:

“This Year’s National First- And Second-Year Student Exchange Competition Will Have a New Champion!”

“Analysis and Prediction of the Competition’s Winning Teams: Shuimu Institute and Shanghai Institute Are in the Lead!”

…

The media had various opinions while the participating universities were still preparing for it, especially the top ten universities.

The other nine universities besides Kyoto were even more so. These nine tried their best to topple Kyoto in this year’s competition, but among these nine, other than the top three, Shuimu and Shanghai, they had to mention the host of this year’s competition, the Oriental Institute.

They fully used the rules and selected the eight most outstanding university second-year students, three of which participated in last year’s competition.

Since the end of last year’s competition, these eight students had engaged in scientific and practical high-intensity training under the leadership of a coaching team composed of three advanced and seven intermediate powerhouses.

The three first-year students on the team were ranked in the top 100 during the college entrance exams. Therefore, they were all strong contenders for this year’s competition in terms of overall strength or personnel experience.

Even Shangde Athletic Group, the competition’s authoritative forecasting organization, predicted that Eastern Institute, which was in the right place at the right time, had a 39% chance of winning.

Shuimu and Shanghai were only ranked second and third. Kyoto was in fourth with an 18% chance of winning. Shangde Athletic Group’s prediction was not entirely unreasonable because the final round would adopt a 10-person team to determine the champion.

Therefore, the professionals looked down on Kyoto because the team had six first-year students, even though they had genius students like Bishop.

However, Kyoto’s reserve team members and professors did not care about public opinion. They continued preparing in an easy and orderly manner.