“You obnoxious brat!” Butterfly glared so intensely at Auralise, one could imagine a spark flaring between them. “What do you want now?” Despite having traveled together on the recent expedition, the two were still like fire and water.

  “Oh, nothing much.” Auralise’s smile deepened. “I’m not going to brag, but I’m ranked fifth.”

  Fifth…? Sean’s eyes widened in surprise. Auralise might have the best mana aptitude possible for a non-Bloodline Magus, which was the inferior bright grade. But she wasn’t from the early batches of players, which made climbing the ranks exceedingly difficult at this stage of the game. The only logical explanation was her substantial use of resources. The power of money never ceases to amaze.

  “Pfft.” Butterfly snickered. “Fifth? That’s it? And here I thought you were the top player to justify that smug attitude.”

  “What?” Auralise scanned the list, and when her gaze landed on Butterfly’s name, she flinched. “You? Above me? How in the world did you get ranked higher?” she muttered, disbelief flickering across her face.

  It was a fair question. Auralise had leveraged the Spell Generator program and her underlings to churn out a vast array of powerful spells. Not to mention the truckload of mana crystals she likely burned through to supercharge her meditation. Yet despite all that, Butterfly’s superior mana aptitude and her status as a Bloodline Magus had secured her the higher rank.

  Butterfly grinned mischievously as she crossed her arms. “Surprised? I guess raw talent beats a fat wallet and the support of your cronies.”

  Auralise’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing as her eyes climbed further up the ranking list. “So what? You’re not even number one,” she snapped, fists clenched at her sides. “This is ridiculous. I’ve put in way more effort than you! There must be a flaw in the system.”

  Chicken couldn’t resist chiming in with a smirk, “Or maybe it’s just that Butterfly is better, lady.”

  Auralise glared daggers at him as her cheeks flushed with anger. If looks could kill, he’d have died a dozen times over. “We’ll see about that. I’ll let you stay on your high horse for now since the top spot will be mine soon enough.”

  Without another word, she spun on her heel and stormed off. Her entourage, including Dominique and Satellite, hurried after her with a mix of awkwardness and determination. Clearly, they felt challenged to become the best in the game.

  “Uh, guys,” Patrick said cautiously, eyeing Auralise’s retreat. “I think we just made a powerful competitor.”

  Sean exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “She’s always been competitive. Nothing new there.”

  “Yeah, but this time it feels different,” Patrick muttered.

  Butterfly, despite being the primary source of the conflict, seemed unbothered. “Whatever. We’ve got more important things to do.”

  Accordingly, they didn’t dwell on the matter. Instead, the group turned their attention to the latest expansion missions. If they wanted to hold onto their current spots—or climb even higher—in the overall rankings, they needed to start grinding spirit coins sooner rather than later.

  Jacky was reviewing the mission list. Despite his second-stage Initiate Attunement status and ranked tenth, he felt the heavy weight of a burden no other player could truly understand. Unlike them, he had only one life.

  His attention was captured by the setting traps mission. On the surface, it was a low-risk, low-reward task, but there was no cap on how many missions a player could accept. Of course, most players avoided taking multiple missions since failing to complete them could harm their amity with NPCs or even result in a deduction of merit points. Jacky was no exception. However, there was one mission that every combat-focused player would definitely accept: exterminating undead creatures.

  [Exterminate undead creatures invading the academy.]

  [Mission Difficulty: Two stars]

  [Requirement: First-stage Initiate Attunement]

  [Note: Caution is needed when facing the undead. Death will not be compensated]

  [Reward: 1 spirit coin per kill, with additional rewards depending on the type of undead creatures]

  The rewards were modest, just one spirit coin per undead slain, but the mission didn’t explicitly state that the kills had to be direct. If trap kills counted, Jacky could potentially earn dozens, even hundreds, of spirit coins from a single well-placed trap without ever engaging in direct combat. Naturally, most players wouldn’t see this as a major opportunity. Setting traps was time-consuming, and laying them in a sprawling forest where the undead might never pass was a gamble, bordering on a fool’s errand. Still, Jacky wasn’t like most players.

  “It’s worth a try, and I can confirm with the assistant fairy,” Jacky muttered to himself. This method was not only efficient but also the safest option available.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Caution was imperative. After all, he had uploaded his mind into the game, so death for him wasn’t just a temporary setback—it was final. Although he was courageous, when facing an unknown danger, he preferred to err on the side of caution.

  His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice. “Thunder, you’re taking the trap mission?” Locktekei, his longtime friend, stepped up beside him, glancing at his own holographic screen.

  “Yeah,” Jacky replied evenly. “Seems like the best option. Safer, too.”

  “In that case, I’ll take the guarding mission and watch your back, bro. No telling what might wander too close while you’re setting up those traps. One hundred spirit coins shouldn’t be too hard to gather anyway.”

  Appreciating the gesture, Jacky offered some advice in return. “Since you’re taking the guarding mission, why not grab the trap mission as well? I’ll show you how to set them up. Trust me, it’s worth it…” He then went on to explain his plan of exploiting the undead-kill mission by combining it with trap deployment.

  Locktekei’s eyes widened. “Whoa, I never even considered that. You’re a genius, man! Alright, let’s do it.”

  The two thus accepted their missions and headed out to prepare. Jacky felt more secure with his friend’s company. As they walked, Jacky’s mind churned with ideas for trap designs— pitfalls, explosives, and maybe even magic traps. Then, a sudden thought struck him like lightning. That’s it! An ingenious trap that could easily cover a wider area formed in his mind.

  A confident smirk tugged at Jacky’s lips. This might just tip the scales in my favor.

  Unlike usual, Victor was not relishing the sight of players dancing in the palm of his hand, nor did he deliver a grand speech about the expansion or the looming invasion of the undead army. His attention was wholly fixed on the innocent little girl seated before him.

  “So, Lillie, have you absorbed everything I just taught you?” Victor asked slowly, taking on the role of a patient tutor guiding a young pupil.

  Despite Lillie’s extraordinary mana aptitude, Victor decided not to immediately force her to practice a meditation technique. Instead, he took his time drilling the basics into her head. Most of what he covered mirrored the material from the two-day compulsory class he’d previously taught to players. But unlike when teaching the first and second batches of players that he did personally, Victor was now more experienced and held nothing back.

  “Mana aptitude, elemental affinity, spell models, how to cast spells…” Lillie counted each point on her fingers, then with a bright smile, she declared, “Lillie understands everything that Mentor Victor explained.”

  Victor paused, his hand reflexively touching his throat in amazement. He had always taken Lillie for a simple-minded girl, yet her grasp of magic knowledge was nothing short of astounding. It was as if she had a natural talent for magic. Could her innocent demeanor be a fa?ade to conceal a more complex, perhaps even darker, nature of hers? He couldn’t help but wonder.

  But as his gaze lingered on her porcelain-white face, so full of earnest innocence, Victor found it impossible to entertain such thoughts.

  Still, Victor’s suspicion wasn’t entirely unfounded. There was something enigmatic about Lillie’s heterochromatic eyes—her special constitution seemed to harbor a profound secret. With his current level of power, he couldn’t delve too deeply without risking interference or conducting a direct experiment. Not that he’d resort to such invasive methods, especially when Lillie might reveal the truth in her own time.

  “Mentor, what will you teach Lillie next?” she asked, tilting her head with a childlike curiosity.

  Victor pondered briefly, then handed her a memory crystal. “Use this to study the meditation technique contained within. I’ll guide you through the process.”

  Since ascending to the rank of Elemental Adept Magus, Victor had gained the ability to craft memory crystals. However, as the academy’s sole official Magus (excluding Roland), producing these crystals in large quantities for the players was both impractical and inefficient.

  In Lillie’s case, as she had yet to become a true acolyte, she lacked the ability to wield magic. This meant she couldn’t activate the crystal on her own, and Victor had to channel his infused mana into her body to help her. Without hesitation, he placed a hand gently on her shoulder, guiding his mana through her, allowing the crystal’s knowledge to flow into her mind.

  Lillie’s eyes widened as the influx of foreign knowledge filled her head, but she quickly composed herself, closing her eyes to focus.

  The advantage of memory crystals over the Shadowlink Mark lay in their ability to provide instant comprehension. Unlike the players, who relied on trial and error or additional guidance, Lillie would be able to dive straight into the meditation practice with precise understanding. In Victor’s hands, she would become a monstrous genius, unmatched by any.

  “Mentor, Lillie fully understands the Myriad Elements Method,” she said with a bright earnestness, gazing up at Victor expectantly with her small hands clasped tightly in her lap.

  Victor nodded with a satisfied smile. “Mm-hmm.” He gently reached out and patted her head. “You’ve done well, Lillie.” This apprentice of mine is really talented.

  Just then, the door swung open with a faint creak as a fairy flew inside. “Oh, so this is where you’ve been hiding, Master,” said Lizbeth, crossing her arms. “Setting me aside to fawn over your little student.” She harrumphed, bloating her cheeks.

  Victor coughed. “Liz, it’s… How about this? Why don’t you try teaching Lillie a bit?” Lizbeth had gained experience as an assistant in classes, so she should be more than capable. Besides, Victor had something important to do.

  “You want me to teach her?” She then grinned, straightening up. “Sure. I’ve just finished guiding those knuckleheads on the new missions, so I have some free time.”

  Why do I feel that asking for her help was a mistake?

  Lillie tilted her head. “Is Miss Lizbeth going to teach Lillie? What will Miss Lizbeth teach her?”

  Lizbeth winked. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll teach you how to have fun. Something Master will never teach you. Hehehe.”

  “Liz—”

  “Oh, relax.” She waved him off. “I’ll make sure your precious apprentice sticks to the rules. Mostly.”

  Victor wanted to ask, “What do you mean, mostly?” But he kept it to himself and sighed. Whatever, he was going to let Lizbeth have her fun. In addition, it was better to see if the two of them got along since Lillie could be said to be his successor.

  Even Lillie looked excited about this as she exclaimed, “Lillie will do her best!” and held her hands together.

  Not minding them further, Victor quietly exited the room. However, he had barely taken a few steps when Lizbeth told him that there was a new mission, so he checked the Headmaster’s Journal on the way out.

  As he read through the description—

  Mission: Investigate the Eerie Rumor

  There have been rumored sightings of an abominable monster lurking in the depths of the Thornwood Forest. As the headmaster, you must ascertain the truth of these rumors yourself in order to keep the academy safe.

  Type: Side mission

  Reward: Bet-tier {Indomitable Will} spell book

  “This…”