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Chapter 34: He Accepted a Bounty Mission

Under a secluded patch of shade at the training field, Ashura clumsily wrapped the bandage around Lan Yu’s slender outstretched hand.

Tear stains still marked the girl’s eyes, and her lips jutted in a high pout.

The injury itself was minor, lighter even than the scrapes she got during drills, yet for some reason she had just burst into aggrieved tears.

The moment she started weeping, Ashura had clapped a hand over her mouth and dragged her beneath this tree, for if anyone saw that he had made Lan Yu cry, her admirers would tear him limb from limb.

After coaxing her for ages he finally stopped the waterworks, only for her to order the boy to bandage her hand.

Ashura had never done such work before, so he ripped a strip of cloth from the undershirt beneath his magic robe and prepared to wrap Lan Yu’s hand.

She curled her lip at the sweaty rag, produced a clean handkerchief from her spatial pouch, and told Ashura to use that instead.

The demand annoyed Ashura no end, yet he obediently wrapped her hand; after all, his life was on the line.

Staring at her right hand, now mummified like a rice dumpling, the girl pouted and said, “So ugly.”

Ashura offered no reply, turned around, and prepared to leave the training field to revisit the Magic-Martial Vault and review the Tower Ascension sword art.

Lan Yu called him back and insisted he buy her something tasty as compensation.

Ashura felt a headache coming… he really should not have tested moves on this little tyrant… yet he was still pleased with the power Tower Ascension had shown.

He showed her his badge, which now held only 20 credits.

Lan Yu knew he had just spent credits on that sword art, but she still refused to let him off and told him to accompany her after class to the cafeteria’s second floor and buy 20 credits’ worth of snacks.

Ashura had no choice but to agree, then he asked, “Hey, how’s my sword art? Pretty amazing, right? It cost me 1 000 credits.”

Lan Yu tilted her head, thought for a moment, and commented, “It is a blue-grade technique, isn’t it? The first 9 strikes are nothing special, but after that they reach purple-grade power.”

Ashura whooped, “Really? Then I just struck it rich with those 1 000 credits! Hahaha…”

Seeing him gloat, Lan Yu poured cold water on his mood and said, “But the technique has obvious flaws; I’ve already found two.”

“First, the momentum cannot be broken; every slash must follow the last, so if someone stronger forces their way through, you can’t build any more power.”

“Second, every blow has to land; if even one whiffs, the momentum dissipates, and no opponent is going to stand there like me and let you hack away.

“True, the continuous strikes can lock on, but if the opponent is faster and dodges even one slash, the chain is broken and all that power vanishes.”

Ashura gaped; she really was an elite from a great clan, spotting flaws in Tower Ascension after barely a dozen exchanges.

It seemed the academy truly gave value for money; how could anyone expect to buy a genuine purple-grade technique for only 1 000 credits?

Still, Ashura did not feel discouraged; he could already reach purple-grade damage, Tower Ascension’s ceiling was high, and he had yet to unleash the creator’s 18th slash.

If he managed all 18 slashes, it might even rival a yellow-grade Martial Technique.

Lan Yu had intended to dampen his smug grin, yet after seeing his brief gloom give way to carefree optimism, she felt both angry and amused.

The two never returned to the line and chatted under the trees until the morning session ended.

When the appointed time came to head for the cafeteria, Ashura suddenly felt troubled.

Walking beside Lan Yu, he endured stares and whispers; some male students even glared at him with clenched teeth, piling the pressure on.

He wanted to hurry ahead and widen the gap, yet the girl sauntered beside him, cheeks flushed, silent but clearly guarding against any escape.

They reached the cafeteria’s second floor and surveyed the dazzling, credit-priced dishes.

Ashura said bluntly, “You can see I’ve only got 20 credits; spend them as you like.”

Lan Yu shot him a glare, as though scolding his stinginess, then carefully began to choose.

She finally picked a special floral tea reputed to enhance beauty, priced at exactly 20 credits.

Ashura paid with a pained expression while Lan Yu, using her uninjured left hand, happily sipped the tea in tiny gulps.

When they turned to leave, they found the tall Magina standing behind them with arms folded, smiling without warmth; the pose only made her ample chest more prominent.

Ashura did not dare stare and quickly averted his eyes, mumbling, “Here for lunch?”

Lan Yu raised her brows, smiled at Ashura, and said, “The tea’s delicious, thanks!” then hummed a tune as she left.

Ashura held his tongue, lowered his head, and hurried past Magina; only on the first floor did he exhale deeply.

Before he could decide what to eat, his student badge buzzed with Magina’s message: “If I don’t get that same flower tea after class tomorrow, you’re dead.”

Food instantly lost its flavor; wasn’t this pure extortion?

He seethed but dared not retort, especially since he planned to test his sword art on Magina tomorrow.

Yet he had not a single credit left… how was he supposed to buy that tea?

Should he ask Magina to pay next month’s sparring fee… say, 30 credits… in advance?

He shook his head, certain that suggestion would earn him a beating on the second floor.

In the end he decided to check the task board outside the library for a job he could manage and earn some credits before tomorrow.

He strolled over to the board; thanks to the just-ended lunch break, few people were there.

Ashura scanned the densely packed academy assignments.

Given his current strength, he could not handle the combat-training missions and could only do manual labor such as cleaning or shelving books.

But those chores paid only 1 or 2 credits each… far short of the 20-credit tea… and Ashura aspired to become a powerhouse of the King’s Continent, not squander training time doing grunt work.

Then he noticed the adjoining bounty board where students posted all sorts of odd jobs, some paying well and some poorly.

Ashura skimmed the listings until one particular offer stunned him.

It read, “Obtain any personal item from freshman Warrior Class 8’s Magina… reward 1 000 credits!” Ashura could not fathom why that violent girl was worth so much.

Seeing it had just been posted, Ashura pressed his badge to the board and accepted without hesitation.

He felt he had struck gold… 1 000 credits!… and dashed back to the dorm in excitement.

Lying on his narrow bed, he pondered what to turn in; he certainly could not tell Magina, or he would fail to get the item and get pummeled besides.

Suddenly inspiration struck; he knew exactly what to hand over, and he sprang up from the bed like a carp.

In high spirits he settled into meditation for the entire night.

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