“Is there something inappropriate?”
Shi Xian swept his gaze across the teacher’s table. Artemis was still smiling:
“Everyone gave scores from the heart, didn’t they?”
As she spoke, she gently waved her fingers at the Darkflame Torch.
Magical power formed letters, and the scores from over forty professors appeared in descending order, neatly lined up, completely visible in the air.
Aside from Ankater’s perfect score, the rest were so miserable it was hard to look at.
Lomio’s personal score bounced steadily back and forth between 0 and 1.
“Heh, what a joke…”
Looking at those scores, Ibuki Mio folded her arms and scoffed.
After guiding and commanding the whole process, gathering who knows how much intel, in the end, the teachers still cared less about him than some random organ on his body?
“So this is so-called fairness.” Annie also sneered coldly.
Even with just simple scoring, she could still feel the oppression within.
“……”
Karenina didn’t say a word.
She just kept taking deep breaths, adjusting, calming her emotions that were on the verge of exploding.
Ever since she’d used this transformed body, it was the first time she’d so clearly seen such conscious injustice from a collective group.
“My, my, everyone really gave such low marks.”
After a while, Artemis put away the list:
“Words and actions should match—that’s the bare minimum responsibility of a teacher.”
“If you put on two faces even towards teenagers, you won’t last long here.”
Her words finished, and though the Headmistress only subtly reminded them, in the face of reality, not a single teacher dared say another word.
“As expected from the woman who rules the Academy.”
Lomio nodded slightly.
This scene was more or less within his expectations.
Though Artemis had lived for over a hundred years and, as a half-elf, was far more open than ordinary humans,
She was absolutely a stickler for order. As long as you followed the rules and reasoned with her, she would never let you down.
That’s why, even though the Academy of Magic and Martial Arts was rampant with yuri and shared boyfriends, no big incidents ever broke out—
You can play all you want, just don’t joke around with school rules.
Thinking this, Lomio glanced at Ankater.
Her petite, loli-like frame now seemed a bit imposing in his eyes.
“As expected of a Rosso, so straightforward and unyielding.”
All in all, thanks to the Headmistress and her personalities, Lomio once again coasted through this minor storm.
So satisfying!
*****
Under the Headmistress’s guidance, everything that followed proceeded smoothly.
The four of them logged their Academy badges at Ankater’s place, and were then teleported out of the hall to make room for other teams.
With a flash of teleportation magic, in almost an instant, Lomio found himself back in his own room.
“They really do door-to-door service.”
With a sigh, Lomio lay down on his soft bed.
Even though he just wanted a good rest, the spoils from the past few days surfaced automatically in his mind.
“Two hundred credits… If I want to lend some out, I’ll need to keep at least one hundred and fifty as reserve funds.”
“Of the fifty credits I can freely spend, I still need to reserve some to upgrade the Talent Tree—experience cards, materials, and to keep my class level ahead…”
“If only there were someplace better than the junkyard to snag free materials…”
Thinking this, Lomio looked into his system inventory.
After the exams, the slots were rather empty, but three items still caught his attention.
First was the Key Fragment to the Phantom Sea Chamber.
In the game, the Phantom Sea Chamber was a mechanic for challenging oneself and farming credits, similar to a weekly dungeon.
The yield wasn’t huge, but the source was stable. Over time, it would add up to a substantial sum.
In his previous life, most of the premium items Lomio drew from the gacha were acquired through this very mechanic.
The next item was, of course, the [Tier-2 Wind Blade] he’d snatched from that student while rescuing Ibuki Mio.
“Long range, high damage, fast activation—a perfect weapon for ambush.”
Setting aside this skill for now, Lomio focused on the third item, which he’d obtained earliest.
[Ankater’s Alchemy Workshop Emblem]
He’d gotten this when he first crafted a card, directly from Ankater herself.
It granted him access to her private workshop on the top floor of Academy Building Three.
If he wanted to save on material costs, it would be far more effective to get close to this teacher and solidify his “Sage’s Disciple” status than rummaging through trash every day.
But here’s the problem—how do you get along with this drunken, irritable, skilled, and stubborn legal loli?
That’s a real technical challenge.
But Lomio hadn’t forgotten—he still had a personal quest that had been sitting in his list for a long time.
[The Genius Alchemist Ankater’s Hangover Syndrome]
[Ring of Breath Concealment (0/1)]
“She really became my advisor, so she must value my identity a lot…”
“If I can get that ring as backup and then demonstrate enough card-making skill, getting on her good side shouldn’t be hard.”
Reviewing the game’s storyline for Ankater, Lomio carefully laid out a plan.
Since she was a romanceable target in the game, he had to be cautious when interacting with her and maintain a safe social distance,
Lest he fall victim to that damned charm aura and walk the villain’s path to ruin!
School life—worrying about everything, every single day—was just exhausting!
Knock, knock.
Someone suddenly knocked at the door.
“Lomio, are you there?”
The voice was concise and direct—it was Ibuki Mio.
Sitting up, Lomio straightened his clothes and bedding a bit, then sat down at the table:
“Come in.”
A sudden visit?
Lomio didn’t think Ibuki Mio was the impulsive type.
As a martial artist, her rapid actions stemmed from accurate judgment of the situation, not momentary recklessness.
So this visit must have a purpose.
“Excuse me.”
Click.
Ibuki Mio pushed the door open and walked in. She glanced at the decor, a bit surprised:
“Hm?”
A room, a bed, a table and chairs, plus a wardrobe and bookshelf.
That was all the furniture she saw.
This room was a bit too plain, wasn’t it?
“I’m no noble or prince, just a country bumpkin, not worth mentioning.”
Lomio pressed a button on the kettle. As the alchemy array activated, in less than a minute, a pot of freshly brewed black tea appeared out of thin air.
Pouring out a cup each, Lomio invited Ibuki Mio to sit:
“Will black tea do?”
“Thank you.”
Ibuki Mio sat down across from him and went straight to the point:
“Sorry for the sudden visit, but there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
“Hmm…” Lomio rested his chin in his hand, rubbing it a bit, probing, “Is it about how to use the credits?”
“Exactly!”
Ibuki Mio nodded slightly and took a sip of the black tea.
The ordinary aroma generated by alchemy spread on her tongue, revealing its owner’s simplicity and poverty.
“I want in on your plan too.”