A violent act disguised as a transaction—but actually a robbery—was unfolding openly at this moment.
“This staff is not bad.”
Helos unceremoniously snatched the staff embedded with a ruby from Kelaode’s hand.
Like a picky appraiser, she weighed it in her hand, then brought it close to her eyes to carefully examine the gem at the top, which was still emitting a weak heat.
“The purity is acceptable, though the magic circuit is carved a bit roughly. But if I pry out the gem and repolish it, it should sell for a good price.”
She nodded in satisfaction and casually tossed the staff to Julius behind her.
“Th-this is a staff I bought at a high price!”
Kelaode’s heart was bleeding from pain. This was an advanced item specially commissioned by his father before enrollment, worth a fortune!
“It’s mine now.”
Miss Helos rolled her eyes at him, completely ignoring his protest. Her gaze then fell on Kelaode’s fingers, where two exquisitely crafted rings were worn.
“These two rings look pretty good too.”
The girl’s lips curled into a devilish smile.
“Defensive type? Or enhancement type? Either way, they’re mine now.”
“No! Those were given to me by my big brother…”
Before Kelaode could finish, a large, thick hand had already reached out.
“Save your breath!”
Julius expressionlessly grabbed Kelaode’s finger and yanked slightly. Accompanied by a pig-slaughter-like scream, the two rings easily changed owners.
“And this necklace.”
“These boots look enchanted too, right? Take them off!”
Under the merciless hands of Miss Helos and Julius, everything on Kelaode that could be called “valuable” was stripped away in just a few minutes.
At this moment, Kelaode had none of the arrogant noble young master demeanor from before. His luxurious mage robe was now loose and disheveled, his belt was missing, and even one of his boots had been pulled off, revealing his patterned socks.
He stood trembling in the wind like a plucked rooster, his eyes filled with humiliation and despair.
“Hmm… what else is there?”
Miss Helos rubbed her chin, scanning Kelaode’s body as if thinking about what might have been missed.
Just then, Julius suddenly reached out and grabbed the collar of Kelaode’s mage robe.
“This garment looks like it’s made of pretty good material.”
The black-haired youth evaluated seriously.
“The gold thread seems to be real gold? And the fabric seems to have an automatic cleaning function? Looks quite valuable.”
With that, he prepared to undo the buttons on Kelaode’s collar.
Kelaode’s face turned green with fear. He clutched his chest with both hands, letting out a shrill scream.
“No! Stop! This is robbery! A crime! I’ll go tell the Dean! I’ll sue you!”
“Are you stupid?!”
Just as Julius was about to succeed, Miss Helos finally couldn’t stand it anymore. She rushed over and slapped Julius’s hand away, cursing irritably.
“What are you stripping his clothes for?! Are you a pervert?!”
“Huh?”
Julius rubbed his hand back with an innocent look.
“But this garment really does look valuable. Since we’re robbing him anyway, one more piece wouldn’t hurt, right?”
Miss Helos was amused by his righteous tone.
“Stop embarrassing us!”
She gave him a disgusted glare.
“We’re here to collect supplies, not to gather junk! What would you do with a worn garment like that? Even using it as a rag is too dirty!”
“Besides, this garment isn’t even worth the two gems on his shoes!”
Also, even though they were currently “robbing,” they still had to maintain some decorum. If they stripped him down to his underpants, not only would it damage their reputation, but if they pushed him too far, it could become a problem.
“Alright, alright.”
Miss Helos waved her hand impatiently as if shooing a fly.
“You can get lost now.”
“Get out of my sight before I change my mind. Otherwise… I’ll really have Julius strip you naked and hang you from a tree!”
Kelaode felt as if he had been granted a pardon. But his face was already purple with anger and shame. He gritted his teeth, his hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his flesh.
But there was nothing he could do. Without his staff, scrolls, and all his magic items, he was as weak as an ant in front of this silver-haired girl and that terrifying black-haired man. He could only accept this reality humiliatingly.
Kelaode turned and limped toward the depths of the forest.
“You… just wait for me!”
Before leaving, he turned his head and gave Miss Helos and Julius a vicious look with bloodshot eyes, as if to say that this wasn’t over, and he would collect this debt tenfold, a hundredfold.
As for his two unlucky lackeys… they had already been knocked out cleanly by Julius with one punch each during the robbery and were teleported out of the exam venue by the protection mechanism of the ruins.
Watching Kelaode’s fleeing back gradually disappear into the thick forest, Julius withdrew his gaze. He frowned and looked at the girl Helos beside him with some confusion.
“Why let him go? Since we’ve already made an enemy of him, why not just send him out too? What if he allies with someone else in the ruins or creates trouble for us?”
In Julius’s style, eradicating the root was the safest approach.
“Send him out?”
Miss Helos turned around, revealing an enigmatic smile.
“If we send him out, who will help us collect mana crystals?”
“What do you mean?”
Julius was taken aback.
“Think about it.”
Miss Helos raised a finger and waved it gently in the air.
“This guy may not have great character, but he’s at least a somewhat competent mage. He still has the ability to find crystals. And now that we’ve robbed him clean, he’ll definitely be eager to recoup his losses and try to collect crystals to raise his score.”
“Someone driven by hatred and desire like that works the hardest.”
As she spoke, the smile on Miss Helos’s lips grew deeper. She didn’t explain further, but directly turned around and waved toward the shadows behind her.
“Gavi.”
“Yes, Master.”
The blonde girl silently emerged from behind the tree. Her clothes were still spotless, and she had already taken out a small notebook for recording.
Miss Helos leaned close to Gavi’s ear and lowered her voice, giving an extremely “vicious” order.
“I want you to secretly follow that red-haired kid.”
“Remember, don’t let him find you, and don’t disturb him while he’s collecting crystals.”
“But…”
A sly gleam flashed in Miss Helos’s eyes.
“Every time he collects more than ten mana crystals—when he thinks he’s made enough profit and is about to find a place to hide them, or when he wants to rest—”
“We’ll ‘coincidentally’ run into him.”
“And then ‘conveniently’ take his mana crystals.”
“Got it?”
This was essentially treating Kelaode as free labor—the kind that never tires and is self-motivated. What was this called? Sustainable overfishing!
A hint of understanding flashed in Gavi’s gray eyes. She immediately nodded in comprehension and closed her notebook.
“Understood, Master. Just a periodic harvest on that kid. I’ll go execute now.”
With that, Gavi’s figure flickered slightly, and like a ghost blending into the air, she instantly disappeared, quietly following in the direction Kelaode had fled.
Watching Gavi’s departing figure, Julius stood there speechless for a long time. He looked at the silver-haired girl beside him, who was looking smug and even humming a tune.
He suddenly felt that his idea of “eradicating the root” was far too merciful and kind compared to Miss Helos’s method of “cutting flesh with a dull knife.”
After a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence.
“You really are wicked, Miss Helos.”
Even though it was a complaint, there was no disgust in his pitch-black eyes; instead, there was a hint of amusement he hadn’t even noticed.
“But I like it,” Julius said softly.
“Hmph.”
Upon hearing this, Miss Helos turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. Her light purple eyes were full of playfulness.
“You’re not bad either.”
“It seems… Julius.”