[Demon Hunter] Ye Fan was ranked 8th with 84 points. [Earth Knight] Zhao Yuan was ranked 30th with 66.6 points. As for 90th place, the threshold for being selected as a military academy seed, it was held by an [Archer] Fang Zhou didn't recognize, who had 50 points.

Fang Zhou didn't bother looking any further down the list. After a rough glance, he was surprised to find that although 180 students had entered the Cave at 8:00 AM, the leaderboard now only ranked up to the 177th place.

He quickly realized what this meant and shook his head slightly. Only a single day has passed, and three students have already been eliminated. The Cave is still a bit too dangerous for newcomers like us who only had our Awakening two months ago.

He silently reminded himself, I must not become overconfident and lose my vigilance because of today's success.

Overall, apart from Fang Zhou's commanding lead on the points leaderboard, the other students were all neck and neck. After all, everyone was bound to go all out and hunt frantically on the first day. The second and third days would be the true test of resilience and endurance.

After ensuring everything was in order, Fang Zhou found a relatively clean rock and sat down. He summarized the lessons from the battle while watching his tireless Skeletons act as battlefield Cleaners.

For Fang Zhou, this battle was, on the whole, a great success. He hadn't expended much Spiritual Power, nor had he lost many Skeletons, yet he had easily become the final winner.

He concluded that being the lurker who reaped the benefits was an exhilarating experience, one that was always rewarding.

However, to be the "fisherman" who has the last laugh every time, the ability to scout the enemy and the ability to conceal his movements were both indispensable. In this respect, Fang Zhou knew he had significant shortcomings. This time, his opponents were just goblins and Burrower Monsters, low-level Demons with dull Perception. If he had faced Demons with a keen sense of smell, like Fierce Wolves, his rather rudimentary sneaking abilities would have gotten him discovered long ago. He certainly wouldn't have been able to reap the rewards so easily.

He recorded this reflection in his personal terminal's memo, then stood up to inventory his gains from the battle.

Judging by the corpses in the goblin cave, 30 goblins, 40 Burrower Monsters, and 15 Slimes had been killed in the battle. The goblins' pointy ears, the Burrower Monsters' webbed feet, and the Slimes' hides were all on the military academy's material list. Additionally, the Skeletons had also scavenged some rare Sweet Juice Sacs from a few of the larger Slimes.

These Sweet Juice Sacs were extremely attractive to certain Demons with a sweet tooth. Therefore, not only could they be exchanged for contribution points at the military academy, but they might also prove useful in the next two days of hunting.

Excluding some materials that were damaged in the intense fighting, Fang Zhou roughly estimated that the remaining materials could earn him at least 30 contribution points. However, the bag he was using to store materials was nearly full. Fortunately, the Slime hides were inherently elastic and served as excellent containers.

After bundling the materials, Fang Zhou looked toward another pile of items organized by the Skeleton Army. The four elite Middle Rank Apprentice goblins had provided him with a Chief's Battleaxe, a Chief's Feather Crown, two Warrior's Axes, and a Sacrificial Crystal Ball—a total of five [Gray Inferior] pieces of equipment. Meanwhile, the two elite Middle Rank Apprentice Burrower Monsters had provided him with a Personal Guard Bone Shield and an Elder's Magic Staff, another two [Gray Inferior] pieces of equipment.

Although equipment looted from Demons required some modification before humans could use it, the military academy still offered a buyback price of 5 to 8 contribution points for each piece. Fang Zhou checked on the Hunting Recorder; these seven Gray Inferior pieces of equipment could be traded in for at least 40 contribution points.

Adding the 30 contribution points worth of materials from before, Fang Zhou had effortlessly obtained resources worth 70 contribution points from this single battle. This was far more satisfying than his previous days of clearing the Abyss Difficulty [Horn Demon Outpost].

The only downside was that these materials and equipment were exceedingly heavy. When marching from now on, Fang Zhou had to assign a few Skeletons specifically to carry his loot.

He then looked with anticipation at the final pile of loot. These were two [Gray Inferior] [Marvels].

The first was the [Rock Shield Crystal Stone], looted from the Burrower Monster Elder.

[Rock Shield Crystal Stone] (Gray Inferior): A one-time use item, usable only by Magic Professionals. When used, it releases an Apprentice Middle Rank-level [Rock Shield Skill].

This Marvel was a one-time consumable. The Burrower Monster Elder had crushed one earlier, attempting to create a Shield to block the Skeleton Flying Spears. Of course, it had not succeeded. Based on its performance in the battle, the shield created by the [Rock Shield Crystal Stone] had a much weaker Defense than Fang Zhou's own [Skeleton Shield].

I probably won't need it myself. But the advantage of such a one-time use Marvel was that it could be cast instantly without consuming Spiritual Power. If I were to sell it back to the military academy, it should be worth 3 or 4 contribution points.

Fang Zhou put it away. Whether he used it later, sold it to the military academy, or gave it to his two assistants, Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang, as a project reward, it was a good option.

Next, he examined the second Marvel, the [Goblin Sealed Bone Bell]. This bone bell was the Marvel the Goblin Priest had created through some ritual, sacrificing the Burrower Monster Queen. The priest had used this Marvel to seal the Burrower Monsters' tastiest ally, a large Slime, making it turn on its allies and nearly turning the tables on them. However, to block Fang Zhou's Skeleton Flying Spears, the Goblin Priest had used the large Slime as a meat shield, causing it to explode and splatter everywhere.

Fang Zhou lightly shook the somewhat sinister bone bell. Aside from a slightly dull sound, there was no response.

Could it be that the bell broke because I killed the Slime?

Fang Zhou checked the Marvel's description on his attribute panel.

[Goblin Sealed Bone Bell] (Gray Inferior, Repairable): Usable only by Magic Professionals. Can seal one creature of Middle Rank Apprentice level or below. The sealing duration is based on the user's Spirit Attribute.

He tried to repair it using the attribute panel, but the feedback indicated he lacked the required knowledge.

Fang Zhou pondered for a moment. Previously, Instructor Su Xinyan gave me a Blue Fine quality sachet Marvel, saying she made it herself. That proves Instructor Su is quite skilled at crafting Marvels. After the Cave Hunting ends, I'll go ask her how to repair this [Goblin Sealed Bone Bell].

By now, the industrious Skeleton Army had nearly finished cleaning up the chaotic cave battlefield. Fang Zhou found an upwind spot in the goblin cave and began to set up camp. Compared to the open Cave tunnels, this cavern, although stuffy and smelly, at least offered shelter from wind and rain, making it an excellent camping spot.

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