“A Tier 5 magical beast requires professor-level combat power to lead the hunt if we’re serious about it.”
Mio Ibuki had handled her fair share of magical beast business, so she naturally sensed that the team Luomiu mentioned was different.
“With our average level being Tier 3, we might not even catch their eye. Have you found another opportunity?”
Annie cut straight to the point Luomiu wanted to discuss. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but it must be related to credits, right, Luo…”
She looked at Luomiu and suddenly froze.
From a distance, Luomiu’s figure had been hard to discern. But now, seeing him up close…
Was this Luomiu?!
Those chest muscles, abdominal muscles, and arms that were more exaggerated than a typical warrior’s!
“Did you take some kind of magic potion?”
Even Annie felt compelled to use a respectful tone when faced with such a perfect physique.
“How could that be? This is all hard work and sweat!” Luomiu shook his head.
Earning credits was certainly hard work. As for the sweat… being worked to exhaustion by that superhuman Sylvia was a very real, very vivid memory.
“Anyway… you’re right. I want to get credits, a lot of credits!”
Finally, someone understands that I want to make money! Luomiu felt immensely relieved.
‘Is it the influence of a good brother, or has she seen Sylvia’s superhuman antics? This little maid’s logic is finally aligning with human thinking!’
This was a small step for the team, but a giant leap for Luomiu’s life! Please, let there be more normal people!
“Humph, how could Your Excellency be so shallow? It must be…” Mio Ibuki pondered for a moment, but she couldn’t immediately explain why Luomiu was being so opportunistic.
A team that could plan around a Tier 5 magical beast as their core was bound to be far stronger than a student squad. Would he really take such a huge risk just for potential credits and relics?
There was no way Luomiu was just a greedy person who would do anything for credits!
“No, I really am just doing this for credits—to make my future life at the academy more comfortable.”
Since accepting his fate that he would one day clash with these SSR characters, Luomiu now spoke his mind directly to avoid misunderstandings.
“The academy’s trials won’t stop. What’s the difference between having no credits in your account and opening a wallet to find it empty? I can’t stand that.”
“…Let’s assume that is the case for now,” Mio Ibuki said, standing up. “There are still a few hours left. I shall go and recover my strength to prepare for tomorrow’s plan.”
‘She doesn’t believe me at all!’
Luomiu watched her frown and walk toward her tent, feeling utterly speechless. It seemed Mio Ibuki’s ‘normal mode’ wasn’t going to be activated anytime soon.
‘Where exactly did things go wrong? Could the “White Moonlight” who died in the players’ hearts also have been tainted by some SSR aura and turned into a weirdo?’
Luomiu was genuinely a bit afraid. In this world, only those SSR characters had actual plots; the development of other characters was completely haphazard. As a result, every SSR he met was less human than the last!
Considering that Sylvia, a third-year student, seemed to be getting more ridiculous as the years went by…
In terms of combat and planning, Luomiu, as a player, wouldn’t lose to a game character. But what did it mean when they started clinging to him?
Luomiu recalled his various conversations with Sylvia.
‘Didn’t I practically tell her to get lost to her face? Why does it feel like saying it was useless?’
“Anyway, I’ll leave this one to you.”
“Understood.”
Annie nodded, then turned her gaze toward the shield warrior tied up like a zongzi on the ground. “So, can we begin processing this ‘loot’ now?”
She pulled a slender syringe filled with a light blue liquid from the pouch at her waist.
“Truth serum?”
“An improved version. Fewer side effects, stronger results,” Annie explained. “Interrogation wastes time, and fear might make her babble nonsense, affecting the accuracy of the intel. With this, in 3 minutes, we’ll know all of Beatrice’s arrangements.”
Now that’s what you call professional!
“Begin then.”
Luomiu took two steps back, giving the space to Annie.
Annie skillfully tore open the shield warrior’s collar and injected the serum into her neck. Throughout the process, the shield warrior didn’t even have a chance to struggle.
A few seconds later, the girl who had been trembling with fear moments ago suddenly had hollow, glazed-over eyes.
“Name.” Annie’s voice was flat.
“…Grey… White Knight Squad…”
“Where is Beatrice?”
“…At… the entrance to the South Valley… She has united fifteen noble squads…”
“What is the objective?”
“…Eliminate all commoner squads trying to approach the exam site… especially… the Top Team…”
Annie’s questions came one after another, and Grey’s answers were completely unreserved.
“So it was her. She wasn’t eliminated?”
As it turned out, that woman Beatrice was using the Cromwell name, dangling future resources and connections as bait to forcibly bind these second- and third-rate noble children to her chariot!
Their target wasn’t just Luomiu and his team, but all students of non-noble origin who had the potential to challenge the final rankings!
“That’s it?” Luomiu asked, expressionless.
“That’s it?” Annie was stunned.
With something this big happening, couldn’t you show a little more emotion?
“Ah, nothing. I mean, this is actually quite important.”
Luomiu remembered this part of the plot. The protagonist’s team was suppressed and harassed by the capital’s noble squads. After much trouble, they finally entered the exam site and successfully completed the test. Then they were told that the mastermind behind it all was Luomiu Arcadi.
‘It’s not just the hunting; it’s the scapegoating that follows… Fortunately, the Top Team is quite famous now. Otherwise, wouldn’t the protagonist’s group be coming for an explanation tonight?’
‘Beatrice definitely doesn’t have the brains for this. There must be another mastermind within the Cromwell family.’
A few thoughts flashed through his mind as Luomiu looked at Annie. “Ask her if there is a secret path that was only given to the capital’s noble squads. If you find several, then that’s the one.”
“Understood.”
Although she didn’t understand where Luomiu’s confidence came from, Annie obeyed. Soon, she extracted three paths from Grey’s mouth.
“Jujube Forest, Thorn Labyrinth, and the Coastal Dense Forest.”
“The three paths correspond to different exam site distributions. There doesn’t seem to be a problem.”
“No,” Luomiu corrected immediately. “Only the Jujube Forest is viable. The other two are false information sold to the commoner squads. Taking those two paths will lead to an immediate ambush by other capital squads.”
“One out of three? And the reason it’s viable is…?” Annie’s expression calmed.
She could clearly feel a net being cast toward the team. Finding a hole large enough to slip through was the best thing they could do.
“Because those are all people from the Cromwell faction.” Luomiu pointed out the key issue. “The squad of Russell, a high noble, and Kafnier will clash with the heirs of the capital’s high nobles during the exam. They’ll be at each other’s throats in the future. This kind of thing only happens if you find someone you can hit without repercussions—someone who has to swallow their anger and keep quiet.”
“As you say.”
When it came to her master’s affairs, Annie was extremely professional. “If we didn’t know the path the Cromwells are responsible for, moving blindly would be dangerous.”
“Given the above, we need to prepare for clearing the magical beast camp tomorrow, finding an opportunity to kill the Tier 5 beast, and the final breakout.”
“That really is a heavy workload,” Annie remarked coldly.
Luomiu noticed her gaze lingering on his body.
What on earth could turn a boy into this in just a single day?! The alchemy of the Duchy was far too terrifying!
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