Chapter 125: Information That Cannot Be Found

Andy almost thought he had triggered another alchemical bomb when he heard the sound, but seeing the indifferent expressions of those around him, he suppressed the urge to bolt. At that moment, he saw the girl casually press a button on the alchemical device, and the buzzing ceased.

The girl pouted and said, "As expected, you're a newbie. Your student card hasn't been activated yet, has it?"

“Activated? What do you mean activated?” Andy asked, puzzled.

The girl finally found a sense of superiority and proceeded to explain in detail. Though her tone was less than friendly, Andy roughly understood that students of Grimm Academy needed to imprint their personal information on their student cards to use the stored contribution points for spending and accumulation. Typically, this was done by placing a drop of their own blood on the card.

Without hesitation, Andy bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto his student card. The blood quickly seeped into the card, activating it.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the library, an elderly man with white hair and beard carefully wiped the academy’s most treasured relic, the Grimm Stele. Suddenly, a brilliant light flashed, revealing a name: "Andy Charles."

The old man paused, shook his head, and sighed, “Hmm, another Charles boy falling into the trap.” Then he nonchalantly resumed his cleaning.

After activating his student card, Andy swiped it and heard the expected “beep! Student card” sound. He felt no desire to linger and promptly left the mission hall to complete the small task assigned to him.

“Hey, wait up!” someone called after him as he stepped outside.

Andy turned to see a slender student beckoning him. When Andy asked why he was being called, the boy said he had a way to buy contribution points using magic stones and asked if Andy was interested.

Andy was immediately intrigued. The E-level task he had just received would only earn him about ten contribution points upon completion. Gathering enough points to rent a meditation room would take ages if relying solely on tasks.

If he could buy contribution points with magic stones, it would save him a great deal of time. However, such exchanges were not supported by the academy and usually took place on the black market.

Andy was about to ask the boy to take him to make the purchase when he suddenly felt an inexplicable familiarity in the boy’s tone and demeanor — a practiced smile that lowered one’s guard, body language brimming with the confidence unique to a sales expert.

Andy had met many like him back on Earth, and such encounters often signaled that he would soon have to spend some money.

Aware of this pattern, Andy ignored the boy and pressed on.

The skinny student grew anxious when Andy paid him no mind. He had noticed Andy during his card swipe in the hall and realized that the unactivated student card marked him as a complete novice. Yet Andy now possessed the rank of Advanced Sorcerer Apprentice — an obvious result of resources and magic stones.

This kind of wealthy but contribution-point-hungry individual was the boy’s ideal customer. Seeing Andy try to walk away, he hurriedly blocked his path and told him that he could exchange magic stones for contribution points at a ratio of nine to one, far better than the black market’s usual ten to one.

Andy was tempted and feigned hesitation before following the boy to a shop in the Mixed Courtyard trading market.

To his surprise, the shop owner was the same guy who had repaired the rune array at their villa.

After exchanging pleasantries — though they didn’t know each other’s names — the boy kept joking around, repeatedly emphasizing that he had brought Andy here.

The shop owner caught the implied message and discreetly handed the boy a small cloth bag. The boy’s face lit up in delight, and he quickly found an excuse to leave.

Andy observed all this silently. He had seen such dealings countless times in his previous life; as long as he achieved his goals, letting intermediaries take a cut was of little concern.

Soon, Andy and the shop owner finalized the transaction. Andy exchanged magic stones for over fifteen hundred contribution points. When the payment was done, the owner handed Andy a card and explained that it was an anonymous contribution point card. Andy could transfer the points from this card onto his student card at any card reader, and there was one right in the shop.

The anonymous card looked oddly familiar. Upon closer inspection, Andy realized it was essentially his own student card. Considering the shop owner’s proficiency in rune arrays, Andy deduced that he had cracked the student card’s rune system, converting it into an anonymous card.

As for how the owner came into possession of the student card, Andy suspected no student would willingly sell their own card. There must be some dark dealings involved, known only to the shop owner.

Without hesitation, Andy transferred the contribution points onto his student card.

Although he now had plenty of contribution points, Andy still had to complete his assigned tasks; otherwise, a negative record would be left in the academy’s mission hall.

Following the instructions, he went to the designated flower shop to pick up a bouquet, then made his way to the place where the girl often appeared. Soon enough, he found her and handed over the flowers, slipping a card with a reminder from the guy into the bouquet.

The girl glanced at the card, replied with a dismissive “Heh,” and ignored Andy thereafter. Since the task was completed, Andy didn’t care about her attitude. He responded with a casual “Heh” and took his leave.

On the way back to submit the task, Andy’s thoughts turned to the S-level task pinned at the top of the hall. If he could use the magic mirror to locate some fragments of the “Endless Secret Stele,” he wouldn’t have to worry about contribution points anymore, given their lucrative exchange rate.

Finding a secluded spot, Andy began consulting the magic mirror.

“Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me, tell me about the fragments of the Endless Secret Stele in the royal capital.”

The mirror’s surface shimmered, displaying a torrent of rapidly changing text and images, like a relentless stream of information.

Suddenly, the content froze, and Andy stared in astonishment.

The entire mirror turned sky blue, covered in a jumble of garbled symbols.

It had... blue-screened!