Chapter 45: Risk and Reward
Seris’s dorm looked exactly like you’d expect from someone who occupied the highest student position in the academy.
She sat on the couch with her legs crossed and looked at Alden across the room.
"So. What do you want?"
"What else." He didn’t hesitate. "The other side of the mountain. The Ravenveil family’s reserved beast forest." He gestured vaguely toward the window. "There were enormous beasts over there. I was about to finally get somewhere and then the Helion Core incident happened and you pulled me back before I could do anything about it."
Seris’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"The other side?"
"Yes."
"That’s not a good idea, Alden." She rested her cheek against her fist. "The beasts on that side are considerably more dangerous than what you were hunting before."
"Exactly what I want."
She stared at him.
"Do you want to die?"
"I’m strong enough. Don’t worry about it."
"Remember your fight with the dragon?" She kept her voice even. "Most of what lives on the other side is around that level."
Alden waved his hand. "That was then."
Seris looked at him for a moment, then a screen materialized in front of her, angled so he could see it too.
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OPPONENT STATUS
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Name: Alden
Level: 20
Rank: C+
Class: Undefined
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Her eyebrows lifted.
"Oh~? When did Level 3 become Level 20? I genuinely didn’t notice."
A small smile. "And F-Rank to C+. That’s quite something."
Alden glanced at the screen.
’C+?’
His own panel appeared in the corner of his vision, visible only to him.
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Rank: D+
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’Huh?’
He looked between his panel and hers.
’Soul Rendering calculates differently from the standard system? Her reading is off.’
He said nothing about it.
Seris closed her screen. "Even at Level 20, I’d still advise against the other side."
Alden’s eyebrow twitched. "What exactly is your problem? I helped you during all of that. I even gave you my blood."
"Aww~" She pressed one hand lightly against her chest, expression completely unchanged beneath the performance. "I thought you gave it to me because I took Vincent’s attack for you and saved you from being split in half." She tilted her head. "Don’t tell me you forgot about that particular detail?"
"The first time was fine," he said. "The second time wasn’t."
She sighed. "Alright. I won’t get greedy next time."
"You’ll pay for the second time. That’s our agreement — blood for a favor, no exceptions." He folded his arms. "Which means you owe me one."
"Fine." She looked at him with mild patience. "You can go."
"That’s not everything."
She paused.
He leaned forward slightly.
"I’m also keeping quiet about you and your father’s plans." He held up two fingers. "Two favors. One for the blood, and one for the silence."
Seris looked at him.
For a moment, her usual calm smile slipped.
"...You’re shameless."
Alden grinned. "I prefer ’strategic.’"
Seris held his gaze for another second. Then she let out a slow breath and leaned back.
"Fine." She looked at him with the measured patience of someone revising their opinion of a situation. "What do you want?"
"Since the finals are coming up—" He paused, as if choosing words carefully. "I need some gold coins for supplements. Training supplies."
"How much?"
"About fifty gold coins."
Seris stared at him.
"Fifty."
"For supplements."
Her eyes narrowed very slightly. "You could buy everything you actually need for training with one or two gold coins."
Alden’s expression held for a second too long.
’Damn, she’s suspicious.’
An idea hit him.
"Why are you asking so many questions?" He put on a perfectly reasonable expression. "We have an agreement. No questions. No excuses."
Seris looked at him.
Then she smiled, the kind that meant she’d already figured out the answer and was going to let him believe he’d gotten away with something.
"Fine. I’ll have them arranged by tonight."
She tilted her head. "Though I’m quite certain those fifty coins aren’t going toward supplements."
Alden’s eye twitched.
"At least put a little more effort into lying next time."
’Am I actually that obvious?’ He pushed the thought aside. He’d gotten what he came for. "Alright. I’m heading to the Reserved Forest now."
"What’s the rush?"
"I just said—"
"At least let me tell you where to find the carriage." She gestured toward the window. "There’s one waiting in the backyard of my dorm. Use it."
Alden stopped at the door.
"...Oh." He glanced back. "Thanks."
He opened the door and left.
The click of it closing behind him was the only sound for a moment.
Seris stayed on the couch and looked at the closed door.
"Fifty gold coins for supplements." She shook her head once, slow.
"He’s becoming more troublesome by the day."
________
The carriage rolled to a stop on the other side of the mountain as the late afternoon light stretched long across the landscape.
Alden pushed the door open and stepped out.
The driver leaned forward slightly from the front.
"Please be careful, Sir Alden. The beasts in this region are considerably more dangerous than what’s on the other side."
He turned and gave her a casual nod. "Yeah. Thanks for the ride. You can head back."
"Of course. Stay safe." She turned the carriage and started back down the mountain path.
Alden watched until it disappeared around the bend.
Then he turned around.
His expression changed.
A grin spread slowly, starting at the corners, his eyes sharpening with the specific anticipation of someone who has been waiting to get here for a while and has finally made it.
He clenched one fist and smacked it into his open palm.
"Alright."
He looked at the vast wilderness stretching ahead of him. The treeline was denser here, the terrain rougher, the sounds coming from inside it fundamentally different from the sounds of the forest on the other side of the mountain.
’Things that belong to a different weight class live in there.’
He could feel it before he’d taken a single step.
"Let’s go get some powerful beas—"
[DING!]
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[Radar Alert!]
Large quantities of high-rank Mana Beasts detected in the surrounding area!
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Alden’s eyes went wide.
Then the second notification appeared before the first had finished loading.
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[Limited-Time Bonus Unlocked!]
[More Risk, More Reward]
EXP Gain ×2
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