Chapter 92: Cooperating with the Investigation

Kane had been at the outer court of Grim Academy for nearly three months now. By this time, he had gained a good understanding of life in the outer court. Thanks to a small fortune he had made upon his arrival, Kane enjoyed an exceptionally comfortable life here. His reputation for generosity and open-handedness made him quite popular, earning him new friends—though, of course, he always made sure to record their information in his little notebook.

Now he faced a problem: the meditation technique passed down in his family was of too low a grade. He hoped to borrow a higher-level meditation method from the library, and he had already set his sights on one titled "Fury Rock Meteor." He was convinced that if he could switch to this technique, the power of his human bomb series of sorcery would increase by at least thirty percent.

However, borrowing advanced meditation methods required not only magic stones but also corresponding academy contribution points. The magic stones were manageable, but Kane had not accumulated any contribution points at all. So, he began to take on academy tasks to earn them.

Today, after submitting his latest task at the inner court’s task hall and preparing to return to his dormitory in the outer court, a crisp voice called out behind him, "Excuse me, please wait!"

Kane turned and his eyes lit up at the sight of Caro’s delicate and beautiful face.

The two quickly struck up a pleasant conversation. Upon learning that Kane was a new student this year, Caro seamlessly assumed the role of a caring senior. Kane had only intended to flirt a little, but their chat proved unexpectedly enlightening. He learned that joining a club was very important for new students at Grim Academy. When using contribution points, the academy offered discounts based on the star rating of the student’s club.

Clubs at the academy were ranked by stars, with zero-star being the lowest and five-star the highest. The higher the rating, the greater the discount when spending contribution points—a one-star club earned a five percent discount, two stars gave fifteen percent off, three stars thirty percent, four stars half off, and five stars a whopping eighty percent discount. Currently, the only five-star club in the academy was the Board of Trustees, while the Discipline Office held the sole four-star rating.

Upon hearing about the benefits of joining a club, Kane realized that the contribution points he had painstakingly accumulated over several days amounted to less than two hundred—still a far cry from the three thousand required for "Fury Rock Meteor." If he could join a three-star or higher club, he could save a significant amount of points.

Noticing Kane’s interest in club membership, Caro eagerly introduced her own club, the "Heart Society," a group dedicated to caring for the disadvantaged and encouraging kindness. Because their president was a renowned professor from the inner court, their club had already earned a three-star evaluation.

Caro was eager to recruit Kane into her club—after all, it would grant her more opportunities to interact with someone of his A-rank potential. Whether she wanted to uncover his secrets, win him over to help with her own affairs, or simply secure a powerful ally, drawing him in was the first step.

Kane was intrigued, especially since the club’s mission of benevolence and their frequent charity auctions were excellent for networking—something Kane was very interested in, both for expanding his web of contacts and for enriching the contents of his little notebook.

Thus, Caro and Kane hit it off immediately, and she soon led him to the club’s headquarters. As for the matter of delivering contribution points to Andy, Caro was in no hurry—she could let him wait another couple of days. Winning over this A-rank talent was far more important.

…

Meanwhile, Andy was still running his stall at the market for extraordinary items. Ever since mastering the transcription spell, his speed at producing manuals had greatly increased. Each day, he loaded his spatial pouch with over a hundred auxiliary manuals. At his stall, he would display ten at a time, and every time they sold out, he would put out ten more.

By the end of each day, he could sell nearly all of his stock, and his earnings were much higher than in previous days.

With his pouch once again full of coin, Andy even treated himself to a handsome new spatial pouch at the market, intending to give it to Catherine when she finished her retreat—hoping she might be pleased enough to transform into a cat-eared girl for him.

Today, as Andy set up his stall, he sensed something was amiss. He noticed several times that customers who tried to approach were intercepted by a group of people, who also kept casting furtive glances his way.

Realizing something was wrong, Andy grew alert, a faint red glow flickering in his eyes.

At last, the group lost patience and suddenly rushed toward him.

At the same moment, a massive fireball condensed in Andy’s hand.

Andy hurled the fireball at the slightly chubby young man who seemed to be the leader. The man had just reached Andy and shouted, "Discipline Office! Please cooperate with our investigation!"

The fireball halted just inches from the young man’s face, its searing heat singeing his hair. Then, with a sharp turn, the fireball veered away and struck a roadside stone with a thunderous bang, showering the group with dust and debris.

"Oh, the Discipline Office? My apologies—I thought you were troublemakers," Andy said with a smile.

"You… you actually tried to resist arrest!" the chubby young man coughed.

"Resist arrest? You didn’t even identify yourselves at first. And didn’t you just say you wanted to investigate? How did this turn into an arrest? Do you have an arrest warrant signed by your director?" Andy’s brow furrowed as he questioned the group.

Having been hassled by the Discipline Office twice before, Andy had long since memorized Grim Academy’s regulations and studied the office’s functions and procedures thoroughly. If they deviated from protocol, he could call them out immediately.

After casting cleaning spells on themselves, the Discipline Office members glared at Andy. Seeing no one was harmed, the chubby young man dropped the issue of resisting arrest and said in an official tone, "We suspect you of breaking the library’s seal runes, copying materials, and selling them for profit. Please come with us for investigation."

This all-too-familiar scene made Andy’s brows knit together; he couldn’t help but recall the Night of Slaughter in Dallas City.