After a long journey, they finally arrived at a hotel in Riston without any further ambushes. As they got out of the car, Hale handed a box to Charles, saying, “Charles, these are the spoils from the three level five Beast Masters you defeated. Take a look.”
Charles accepted the box but didn’t open it immediately. “No rush, Teacher Hale. I’d like to rest first.”
“The check-in is already handled. You all can rest while I discuss things with the other teachers,” Hale replied.
In the hotel room, Charles took a refreshing shower to relax before finally opening the box to examine his loot: [20 gold coins], [6 tier two beast cores], [3 tier three beast cores], and some equipment. Most were green quality, with only two blue items and one purple item:
– [White-Feathered Shoes [Blue Quality]]: Made from the feathers of the White-Feathered Bird, increases running speed by 20% when worn.
– [Ice Crystal Necklace [Blue Quality]]: Wearing it long-term can soothe emotions and aid sleep.
– [Jet Ring [Purple Quality]]: Made from space gems, extremely valuable, with an internal storage space of 8 cubic meters.
Only the [White-Feathered Shoes] and the [Jet Ring] were useful; the rest were items he didn’t need, and Charles planned to sell them later.
The [Jet Ring] primarily served as a means of concealment, allowing Charles to take items from the [storage space] without raising suspicion. To be honest, he was quite tempted to sell it; items that could store things were incredibly valuable! With 8 cubic meters of storage, it was probably worth over a hundred coins!
Right now, he hadn’t found his third mystical beast yet, and he might need to search for it at the Genosha Calivia auction, which would surely require a significant amount of gold.
After some hesitation, Charles decided to keep it for now. There was still almost a month before the auction began, plenty of time to think things over.
Currently, his finances were as follows:
Experience tales at m-vl-emp _yr.
– [Cash]: 23 gold coins, 530 silver coins, and 200 copper coins.
– [Account Balance]: 30 gold coins, 800 silver coins, and 256 copper coins.
Altogether, that amounted to 54 gold coins, 330 silver coins, and 456 copper coins.
While that looked like a lot, it included 7 gold coins owed by Raj, compensation from the Miller family, and industry compensation from the Draven family, along with some materials previously stored in his [storage space]:
[Storage Space]:
– [Weapons]: Black Gold Long Knife (Purple), Ice and Fire Supreme Spear (Blue)…
– [Equipment]: Nine Netherworld Armband (Purple), Divine Scale Armor (Blue), White-Feathered Shoes (Blue), Ice Crystal Necklace (Blue)…
– [Daily Items]: Tent, bedding, camping lamps, flashlight…
– [Beast Cores]: 6 Tier Two Beast Cores, 3 Tier Three Beast Cores.
– [Alchemy Miracle Drugs]: Spirit Essence Pill (Orange) ×1, Miraculous Speed Pill (White) ×30…
– [Special Items]: Map Fragment [2/3]. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Charles felt a mix of excitement and anxiety as he reviewed his resources, aware that he would need them for whatever challenges lay ahead.
Charles had already sold everything he could in Lsengard, but there were still some high-value items he was reluctant to part with, like the [Spirit Essence Pill], which he knew would be very beneficial in the future. As for weapons and equipment, blue and below weren’t too concerning, but purple-grade items were much more precious.
Initially, the [Ice and Fire Supreme Spear] had cost him 100 silver coins because it lacked a beast core, while a typical purple weapon could cost several gold coins—or even dozens! This didn’t even factor in special purple gear like the [Jet Ring] and the [Black Gold Long Knife], which were worth even more!
After storing the loot he planned to sell in his [storage space], Charles put on the [Jet Ring] and stepped out of the room. He intended to stroll around and sell off the useless items.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Jace squatting outside, looking hesitant.
“Charles, you’re out?” Jace stammered, clearly nervous and unsure of what to say.
“Yeah, what’s up? Is there something you need?” Charles asked.
“Um, no, I just wanted to check on you and say thank you,” Jace replied. He was aware that during the crisis, he hadn’t offered any help and had even said some discouraging things, so he felt grateful that Charles was willing to talk to him.
“Thank me for what?”
“Thank you for saving me,” Jace mumbled, his gaze fixed on the ground.
“No need. I didn’t save you for that,” Charles replied, turning to walk away.
Jace watched Charles’s retreating figure with a complicated expression. Taking a deep breath, he called out, “Charles, I want to be braver too, but I don’t have the strength! What can I do?”
“I can’t do anything, it’s just because I’m weak!”
Charles paused for a moment, leaving behind just one line as he continued walking.
“Strength comes not from power, but from courage! It’s because you have courage that you become strong!”
Those words struck Jace like a thunderclap, leaving him frozen in place as he repeated, “It’s because I have courage that I become strong!”
…
Charles didn’t return to the hotel until evening. He had sold all the unnecessary equipment and materials for a modest sum of 3 gold coins and 200 silver coins. Now, his total assets amounted to 57 gold coins, 530 silver coins, and 200 copper coins.
During the afternoon, he spent some copper coins tasting local delicacies in Riston. Originally, he planned to gather materials for crafting [Super Miracle Drugs], but after inquiring all afternoon, he discovered that the required items could only be purchased in Genosha Calivia.
Just as he reached the lobby of the hotel, Catherine appeared in front of him.
“Hale just said that other teachers and students haven’t arrived yet. We’ll have to wait another couple of days before we can leave.”
Charles looked into Catherine’s sparkling blue eyes and knew she was eager to spar again. She was such a battle enthusiast—after fighting a level five Beast Master, she couldn’t wait to continue training and showed no desire to rest.
“Wait, Charles, Hale said you need to take a proper break,” Catherine recalled, quickly suppressing her urge to spar. Charles’s well-being was more important.
At that moment, voices from the lobby caught their attention.
“This is so annoying! We have to wait; I’m itching to get to Calivia!” one person complained.
“Seriously, who would dare attack students from Cyber Academy?” another scoffed.
“I heard that the group arriving today was ambushed by a level six Beast Master and three level five Beast Masters,” a third voice chimed in.
“Impossible! If that were true, they wouldn’t have made it to the hotel,” someone replied skeptically.
“Right? If the recruitment officer was only level six and faced three level five Beast Masters, they would have been killed already,” another added.
“Probably just exaggerating. The level five Beast Masters must have attacked, but the recruitment officer handled it, and those four are blowing it out of proportion,” someone concluded.
“Good point!” they all agreed as they walked toward the elevator.
Just then, Jace, who had just stepped out of the elevator, overheard their conversation. Among the three, a tall and hefty student pointed, “Look, that guy seems to be from Lsengard. I’ll go ask if it’s true.”
“No need to ask; it’s definitely fake!” a red-haired student said confidently.
“No, it’s not fake; it’s real!” Jace suddenly interjected, fists clenched. Despite his poor performance during the attack, he didn’t want others to slander or deny the truth, especially after Charles and Catherine had fought hard to save him. How could it be exaggerated for the sake of gossip?
“Lan, did you hear that? He says it’s true!” the tall, hefty student said to the red-haired one.
Lan shrugged dismissively and turned to Jace, asking, “Really? Then may I ask, what level is your recruitment officer?”
“Level six Beast Master,” Jace replied.
“Ha! A level six Beast Master, along with three level five Beast Masters, attacked you. How did you survive?” Lan questioned, continuing, “In a battle between two level six Beast Masters, how did the remaining level five Beast Masters not wipe you out? That’s just ridiculous!”
“No, it was Charles who killed them all,” Jace tried to explain.
But Lan just laughed, clearly unconvinced. “Charles? Even if he is a level five Beast Master, there’s no way he could take down three opponents of the same level in such a short time!”
“No, Charles is a Level 3 Beast Master!” Jace stated honestly.
“Haha!” Lan laughed so hard he could barely stand, slapping his thigh and mocking, “Level 3? Dude, do you think I’m an idiot? A Level 3 Beast Master defeating a Level 5 Beast Master? Wake up, stop dreaming!”
Lan continued, “Looks like this Charles is just a guy who loves to boast, and he’s stupid too—has no common sense. If he could kill a Level 5 Beast Master, why doesn’t he just commit suicide?”
Jace didn’t want to argue, but he remembered what Charles had said to him before leaving: “It’s because of courage that you become stronger!”
He had always thought that his timidity and cowardice were due to a lack of strength, not realizing what he truly lacked!
After hearing Charles’ words, he finally understood the reason.
So when someone didn’t believe him, Jace instinctively wanted to retort.
It was like breaking a world record; when others heard about it, they not only didn’t believe it but mocked him, and that feeling was really hard for Jace to bear.
Charles had not only saved him but had also enlightened him; he was his benefactor!
Although he was timid and lacked courage, he knew how to be grateful.
“I’m telling the truth; if you haven’t seen it, it just shows how narrow-minded you are!” Jace suddenly shot back.
The atmosphere became tense.
Lan straightened up, glaring at Jace, and slowly said, “You think I’m narrow-minded? Do you know who I am? First in the Riston assessment! I’m narrow-minded?”
Just as Jace was about to continue arguing, Hale, who had just finished a meeting, walked out of the corridor and said, “So what if you’re first? You’re just a frog in a well.”
“What! What do you mean?” Lan turned around, anger written all over his face. His companion hurriedly intervened, saying, “Lan, this is the admissions teacher.”
Upon hearing his companion’s words, Lan’s anger immediately lessened; they couldn’t afford to offend the admissions teacher.
“A Level 3 Beast Master killing a Level 5 Beast Master? I don’t believe it either. Teacher Hale, does that make me a frog in a well as well?” A seductive female voice interjected, accompanied by the sound of high heels. It was Nora, the admissions teacher from Riston!
She continued, “I’d like to see which genius is capable of killing a Level 5 Beast Master.”