They don't want me to try anymore.

He thought to himself: Tom, Tom, you're such a good-for-nothing. It's one thing that you can't graduate, but why do you want your junior to take the risk for you? You have no conscience!

He sighed and said, "Richard, this is really too risky. You're only a freshman, it's not worth it..."

His voice was always weak, and he was interrupted by Richard before he could finish speaking.

"You should try it no matter what."

Richard stood up and said firmly, "I don't want to fail my first exploration of the illusionary realm after starting school. As for adventure... I've been on an adventure since the moment I set foot on the Empire's territory."

Tom and Hepper tried to persuade him, but Richard said, "Even if the two of you don't come, I will try on my own."

"Alright, alright, I can tell you're not going to change your mind, junior."

Finally, Hepper shrugged helplessly, gently tossed her long, wavy brown hair into a simple ponytail, and said to Richard, "You just saved me once, so I can only accompany you this once more."

"Thank you so much, senior!"

"However, I have to make a deal with you, junior: if you can't escape the monsters' pursuit, you must use the teleportation scroll immediately!"

Tom added, "Richard, that's what I mean too. Safety is the most important thing, no matter what."

Richard smiled and replied, "Of course."

Outside the illusory realm, in the auditorium.

More and more people are gathering around to pay attention to the Red Prison Mine.

Because there were relatively few first- and second-year students among the onlookers, and given Richard's excellent maneuvering that just turned the tide, the voices mocking Richard were no longer the dominant force.

With the teachers remaining silent, the students roughly split into two factions.

One faction supports Richard.

"His idea is theoretically sound!"

"Once they meet, those two monsters are both lords, they will inevitably fight, and the plan will succeed!"

The other side...

"Theory and reality are different. Theoretically, the exam questions are all things I've learned, but in reality..."

"The two monsters are too far apart. If they slow down even a little, they'll be caught!"

"The Ash Giant's slow movement is to be expected, but I remember the other monster was that old centipede, right? It had hundreds of legs and was incredibly fast!"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing."

In the end, several students who usually loved to have fun stepped forward and acted as peacemakers.

They suggested with chuckles, "Since there's such a big difference of opinion, why don't we take a gamble? We can bet not only on who wins in the end, but also on when Richard will be caught up!"

"I'll bet five silver coins!"

"I'll bet gold coins..."

For a moment, the auditorium was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

In the illusionary realm, Richard and his two companions split into two groups.

Hepper and Tom were tasked with luring the Ash Giant, while Richard was to find the giant centipede on the other side of the map—the senior students originally wanted to take on this more dangerous job, but Richard refused.

Richard felt that since he insisted on taking the risks, he should be allowed to do the most dangerous tasks.

Moreover, as a summoner, he has a wider range of methods for escaping or finding scapegoats...

About half an hour later, Richard arrived at the southernmost point of the illusionary realm.

There is a crater here with a diameter of 100 meters, and the magma inside is like a pot of thick soup, constantly emitting smoke and bubbles.

With a casual glance, he spotted his destination.

A centipede head, two meters long and wide, lay motionless on the edge of the crater, enjoying a baby-like sleep, a special edition featuring Yoshikage Kira.

"The Lava Giant Centipede, a unique variant found in the Red Prison Mine, possesses strength at the mid-silver level, but its exoskeleton is extremely hard..."

Richard cautiously approached, recalling the information as he did so.

Finally, at a distance of about thirty meters, he stopped, drank a bottle of mana-replenishing potion, and summoned four water elementals in one go.

The water element dispersed, aiming at the centipede's head from different positions.

Fire the ice arrow!

Boom!

After a round of attacks, the centipede...did not react at all.

...Hiss, is this a stillborn baby?

"Is this thing so hard to wake up? How did that Ash Giant manage to wake up so early...?"

Richard scratched his head and summoned his bomb rabbit again.

He made the rabbits hop and jump, crawling into the centipede's mouthparts, and then had the water elemental fire ice arrows.

"How can you sleep at your age? You need to learn from Zhang Huaimin, you know? Get up and party!"

This time, the ground shook as the explosion and foul smell emanated from the ground.

Click, click, click...

After being dazed and confused by a mouthful of hot, bursting stinky tofu, Huaimin... no, the giant centipede finally woke up!

"...You're giving the road some spice!"

Seeing that the plan had succeeded, Richard summoned his horse and rode north.

Behind them, a centipede tens of meters long crawled out of the magma, its hundreds of sharp claws clattering together.

With a sweeping motion, a dark shadow flashed by, and the four water elementals left to cover the retreat were evaporated on the spot.

Then the centipede chased after Richard, and in the howling wind, its ferocious shadow loomed over the heads of the man and the horse.

In the school auditorium, the onlookers began to discuss it again.

But this time, most people didn't support Richard.

"Looking at it this way, the centipede is incredibly fast!"

"The horse can't outrun it at all; it'll be caught up in less than a kilometer!"

"It's over, it's over, this freshman is doomed."

"My gold coins..."

In the fantasy world.

Richard took a deep breath as the enormous shadow drew ever closer.

Active skill, [Fate Writer], activated!

Chapter Twenty-Five That year, I had my hands in my pockets

【Fate Writer】 is an active skill Richard gained during his second simulation. Its effect is to modify the probability of a certain event occurring.

He had originally intended to save this move in case Hamilton had any other options. Now that it seemed the rampaging Ash Giant might be their doing, he decided to use it no longer.

At that moment, a blank sheet of paper appeared on Richard's retina.

Richard's mind stirred slightly, and a sentence appeared on the paper:

Because of low blood pressure after waking up and the need to poop and pee, the giant centipede's movements were affected, and each attack would miss its target... This is reasonable!

Just then, the giant centipede swooped down on Richard!

There was a loud bang!

It fell over onto the nearby rock...

It even created a huge crater.

Inside the auditorium, many who had bet on Richard losing after the first attack stomped their feet in frustration.

Someone nearby scoffed, "I told you you guys underestimated this freshman! No matter what, he managed to dodge the first move!"

"Exactly, that's right. It would be reasonable to bet on him losing in a minute, just like we are."

boom!

Bang bang bang!

In the illusion, the centipede attacked three more times, but none of them hit their target.

Richard rode his horse in a zigzag pattern, and was unharmed except for being hit on the back by a piece of stone!

The students in the auditorium gradually became unsettled.

"Did this centipede drink fake alcohol? Why is it failing every time?"

"My gold coins..."

"No, don't be afraid, it's a technical problem. Don't be afraid, there's still a chance!"

At this point, the giant centipede was also somewhat bewildered.

On the one hand, it was also puzzled as to why it could dodge every single insect in front of it.