Chapter 26: First Cashback
This morning’s class was The Fundamentals of Baby Beasts.
Fortunately, Shani had already read the course’s ebook several days ago, so she had no trouble keeping up with the instructor’s pace.
Since it was a compulsory first-year subject, the class was held on the sixth floor, which was reserved for mandatory courses.
The classrooms on this floor were also different from those on the fifth floor. Each one was much larger, spacious enough to accommodate all one hundred first-year students.
Three hours flew by, and the class ended with an assignment due the following day. Several students groaned as the instructor left.
Like Shani, they all wanted to spend every possible moment practicing resonance so their eggs could hatch as quickly as possible.
Shani openly invited Jeryon to have lunch with her in the cafeteria.
Since they planned to continue their resonance after lunch, it was easier if they finished eating together and headed straight to the fifth-floor classroom afterward.
Trailing behind Shani, Kiran could practically feel the other students’ stares burning into her back.
She had to admit Shani had incredible courage.
Shani, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about everyone’s attention. Neither could Jeryon.
With him joining them for lunch, the two had now become a trio.
Shani handed a glass of milk to both Jeryon and Kiran. "This is from my hometown. Fresh cow’s milk."
Without hesitation, Kiran took a sip and immediately praised how much fresher it tasted.
After that, she was no longer timid around Jeryon, as if she’d completely forgotten that just yesterday she’d been terrified of saying even a single word to him.
Jeryon also drank the milk Shani had given him without the slightest suspicion.
Shani smiled inwardly.
’Even if inviting Jeryon to lunch in front of everyone makes me stand out... at least I don’t have to rack my brain figuring out how to give him the potion.’
She had already mixed the milk with the Elite-Grade Sedative Potion she’d received from the hidden mission reward.
Fortunately, the system’s potions had neither taste nor smell.
[Cashback Activated! Gift: Milk with an Elite-Grade Sedative Potion (40,007 Credits). Cashback: 200,035 Credits. Total Gift Value: 40,007 Credits.]
Shani nearly spat out her food when she heard the system notification.
She quickly covered her mouth and lowered her head. She didn’t want people thinking she was strange for suddenly grinning.
’I didn’t know rewards from the system also counted as gifts.’
Since yesterday, Shani had been incredibly busy. She still hadn’t had time to decide what to do with the 50,000 Credits sitting in her Cashback Balance.
She’d been torn between paying off her debt first or buying another gift. And even if she bought one, she hadn’t known what gift would solve her another problem.
Now she didn’t have to worry anymore. With 200,000 Credits, she could pay off her debt and buy enough energy potions to cure Jeryon.
Shani’s heart pounded. She had become rich in such a short time!
After a while, she forced herself to calm down. Lunch break was far too short for her to celebrate for long.
After eating, the three of them returned to the fifth floor to continue their resonance practice.
However, because of their limited schedule, they only had thirty minutes.
"We’ll continue tonight," Shani said eagerly, hoping their egg would hatch as soon as possible.
Jeryon nodded. As always, he was easy to work with.
Their next class was another compulsory subject: Baby Beast Nutrition and Feed Management.
Throughout the lecture, Shani couldn’t close her mouth in astonishment.
She had already read the course ebook and even looked up the prices of several types of baby beast food mentioned in it.
She already knew raising a baby beast was expensive.
But today’s class taught her that feed came in many different quality grades.
If someone wanted to provide the very best, the cost was far beyond anything she’d previously researched.
’Good thing I have the Cashback System. Thank you, System. Mwah!’ She blew it a kiss in her mind.
Then she continued making plans.
’Tonight I’ll mix those five Energy Potions into some milk and give it to Jeryon. Hopefully it won’t be too much and water the milk down.’
Like the morning class, this one also ended with homework due the next day.
Mentally and physically exhausted, Shani and Kiran headed back to their dorm rooms.
"I don’t think I have the energy to continue resonance tonight," Kiran complained as they walked together. "But I also want to meet my baby as soon as possible."
Shani felt exactly the same. Using her brain for so many hours had taken a surprising toll on her body.
Still, she straightened her back. "Come on. Let’s keep going for our baby beasts." She patted Kiran’s shoulder.
Kiran nodded and clenched her fists, cheering herself on.
...
Back in her room, after showering and changing into fresh clothes, Shani took a bottle of milk out of her preservation vault.
"System, I’d like to buy five Elite-Grade Energy Potions."
[Cashback Shop Activated! Purchase successful: 5 Elite-Grade Energy Potions for 75,000 Credits. Remaining Cashback Balance: 175,035 Credits.]
Seeing that she still had plenty of Credits left, she also paid off her 40,000-Credit debt.
Her Cashback Balance was now 135,035 Credits. She also still had 11,400 Credits in her personal savings.
She could transfer the system’s Credits into her own account if she wanted, but purchases in the Cashback Shop could only be made using the Cashback Balance.
Unless she truly needed the money elsewhere, she’d rather keep it inside the system.
Shani took the five Energy Potions out of the system inventory.
Fortunately, each potion only came in a tiny 5 mL vial. She poured all five into the bottle of milk.
Once she was finished, she hurried out of her room and made her way to the fifth-floor classroom.
Jeryon wasn’t there. Instead, she found a note tucked beneath the table.
"Sorry. The headmaster suddenly called for me. How about we continue tomorrow morning instead? If you don’t mind, of course. You can contact me at this number."
Looking at the number, Shani realized they had never exchanged contact information.
She folded the note, put it away, and returned to her room.
Meanwhile...
Jeryon was sitting inside the headmaster’s office, surrounded by members of the royal family.
"Come back to the palace. Your condition needs to be thoroughly examined by the royal medical team."
...