A Prosperous Beginning in the Secret Chamber

As Wendy disappeared into the secret realm, the entrance area swiftly cleared. 

Teachers were busy discussing the promising students in their classes and the quality of this year's intake, sprinkling their conversations with mutual flattery and pleasantries. 

In contrast, Alex sought solace under a tree, quietly meditating.

Oscar, noticing Alex's calm posture, approached with a crafted ease, remarking, "Mr. Watson, you seem quite confident. It looks like the Omni-Class is set for a notable rank today." 

Upon hearing this, Alex opened his eyes, his response laced with humility, "Not at all. I hardly expect our performance today to stand out. If I joined Warrior Class A as an assistant, I would certainly appreciate any guidance you could offer, Mr. Mills." 

With those words, Alex resumed his peaceful meditation, limiting his engagement in social niceties to a bare minimum.

Oscar, faced with Alex's disinclination to prolong the conversation, let out a quiet sneer before returning to the company of his peers. Internally, however, he was plotting. 

The past days had seen Warrior Class A undergo intense training, with noticeable improvements across the board. Oscar was convinced that no matter what strategies Alex and Wendy had devised, they stood no chance against his class.

The thought of Alex seeking his "support" upon joining Warrior Class A elicited a cynical laugh from Oscar. 

He had already devised a plan to keep Alex busy with the most tedious and demanding tasks for six months, eventually leading to his dismissal. Oscar was curious to see how Alex would manage in Santania School following such a scenario.

Within the Chaotic Stone Secret Realm, Wendy's gaze took in her immediate surroundings. It wasn't her first encounter with a secret realm; after two years at Santania School, she had garnered some familiarity with the primary ones used. 

Her scrutiny was merely due to the random nature of one's entry point into the realm each time, which could very well land a person amidst dangerous beasts.

Noticing the absence of others, Wendy comfortably retrieved a map from her pocket. 

This map, prepared by Alex, had been given to her right before they set off, under the pretext of preventing its theft through special techniques. Consequently, Wendy was unaware of its contents until now.

Upon opening the map, she was taken aback. It was a comprehensive map of the entire Chaotic Stone Secret Realm! 

Maps were typically crafted and detailed over time by predecessors. While Santania School possessed a map of this realm, it essentially provided just a skeletal framework, highlighting areas prone to beast congregations or where valuable herbs and minerals for cultivation could be found.

However, Alex's map went far beyond this basic outline. It meticulously detailed every landscape feature of the Chaotic Stone Secret Realm and included extensive notes on various locations, even revealing several secret passageways!

The notion of secret passages within the realm was unknown not just to Wendy but to everyone at Santania School. Alex's detailed knowledge was undoubtedly due to his access to the Divine Library.

"Let's see, I'm located in section L6... Oh! Is there a secret passage here?!" Wendy quickly located the relevant note on the map after determining her position. 

"Stand before a monkey-shaped stone, walk three steps left, six steps forward, turn around, walk fifteen steps back..."

This method was completely new to her, yet she meticulously followed Alex's directions and arrived at a vast stone wall. 

"The final step... lightly tap the marked spots on the stone wall in front of you, the rhythm is..." 

Thump! Thump-thump-thump! Thump! 

Following these actions, the stone wall began to tremble subtly. The wall, which appeared to be a natural formation, seamlessly opened to reveal a stone door three meters high and two meters wide.

Wendy was utterly astounded by the sight. A secret passage within the Chaotic Stone Secret Realm was beyond her wildest imaginations! She hurriedly stepped through the passage, and the stone door closed swiftly behind her, leaving no trace of her passage.

Inside the secret passage, darkness momentarily engulfed the area as the stone door shut, only to be replaced by a soft, distant glow that was difficult to discern. Wendy, heeding the advice given by Alex beforehand, initiated the Divine Light Mastery she had honed in recent days. 

Suddenly, a gentle luminescence enveloped her, casting light within the chamber. Moving towards the glow with curiosity, Wendy was taken aback by what she found. 

"These are nightingale stones?! And there are so many of them? Incredible!" Her eyes widened at the sight. 

Students entering the secret realm could earn points in two main ways: defeating beasts and collecting valuable parts like horns, teeth, scales, or fur, or by gathering resources such as ores and herbs.

Nightingale stones, valuable ores within the assessment, added 15 points per stone. Glancing around, she estimated there to be at least a dozen stones in sight, totaling over 150 points. 

Grasping the magnitude of her find, Wendy involuntarily swallowed. She recalled that last year's top scorer, Isabella, had amassed 380 points. 

Had she, upon merely entering the secret realm, already secured almost half of Isabella's previous year's score?

This realization brought tears to Wendy's eyes. The previous year, she had managed only 20 points, scraping together leftovers discarded by others, without earning a single point from defeating beasts. 

This inability to combat the creatures was precisely why Wendy had remained at stage one. "Thank you, Mr. Watson! Sob..." 

After drying her tears, Wendy immediately set to work collecting the nightingale stones. With no beasts or rival students to contest her, she completed the task in half an hour.

Packing the substantial ores away, Wendy consulted the map again. "There's a stone door ahead leading to the O5 area, and then... another chamber is near the O7 area!" 

With her path laid out, Wendy's eyes brimmed with determination. This time, she was resolved to secure a remarkably high score.