On the morning after our return to the Axis, I received a message asking me to attend a certain hall.
So here I was, standing at the hall’s entrance.
I went inside and found the rest of my class seated in scattered places. Even the two who hadn’t participated in the mission were there.
A blonde girl named Talia, and a gentle-looking young man named Jin.
At the front of the hall stood the same instructor who had briefed us about the mission.
His gaze stopped on me."Caius, you really take your time on the road."
I smiled apologetically."Sorry, instructor. Breakfast took some time."
He sighed as if he was about to smash his head against something."Fine. Just sit."
I took a random seat as the instructor began speaking.
"After reviewing the reports, I called you here today to review and evaluate your actions during the mission... Here, we will identify the flaws and mistakes you made, and address them to see what the best possible course of action could have been."
I felt irritated by his boring words.
I raised my hand."Instructor, I have a question."
He nodded for me to speak."Go ahead. What is it?"
"When will you announce our rewards?"
He frowned slightly as he replied."Caius, rewards are not the most important thing here. Learning from your mistakes is... However, I will announce them at the end."
I rolled my eyes at his words.
I sighed in disappointment and rested my head on my hand. The instructor looked annoyed—so much so that I felt he might throw the board in his hand at me at any moment.
But in the end, he looked away from me and turned to the others.
"We’ll start with you, Princess..."
Blah blah blah...
The instructor continued talking about things they could have done better.
Like Garon, who hindered the princess’s team because of his aggressive behavior, and Kyle, who acted on his own.
I stared at the ceiling absentmindedly, waiting for this boredom to end."The ceiling here is really nice," I muttered.
"Caius... Caius..."
What should I eat for lunch?
I hope Alicia astra nova doesn’t contact me today.
Suddenly, I was pulled out of my thoughts by a sharp pain at the back of my head.
I turned to see the instructor standing there, clearly in a bad mood."I’m talking to you. I’ve called your name several times with no response."
I rubbed the back of my head where he hit me and smiled."Sorry, I was a bit distracted."
He stood there in silence, probably thinking about how he should insult me.
Eventually, he sighed and walked back to the front of the hall, his voice echoing throughout the room."Now we’ll discuss the mistake made by your classmate Caius, who seems to pay me no attention at all."
I heard several quiet laughs.
The instructor stopped and turned toward us, his eyes locking onto me."So, Caius, do you have a deficiency in your mental faculties or what?"
Do I have a mental deficiency? I thought for a moment before answering."A little... why?"
More quiet laughter spread through the room. I even saw Leona covering her mouth.
He clearly hadn’t expected that answer.
The instructor pressed the electronic board against his face and muttered a few things... probably better left unknown.
"You attacked an entire gang by yourself."
I blinked innocently."What’s wrong with that? Thanks to me, we finished the mission early and without much noise."
He looked like he was about to bite the board in his hand, but he managed to restrain himself.
Sighing in surrender, he said,"Let’s move on to your rewards."
Finally, something worth listening to.
"Talia and Jin, you will receive nothing. In addition, some points will be deducted from your final evaluation for this term."
Their expressions looked ashamed... but who cared?
All I could think about was how many essence stones I would get.
The instructor read out the names one by one:
"Valia: 20 medium essence stones.Naira: 25...Ivan: 70.Garon: 75.Kyle: 80.Leona: 80.Izel: 90.Ellen: 110....Elliot: 220."
The instructor paused, as if he didn’t want to continue.
"Caius: 600 medium essence stones."
A whistling sound escaped my mouth without me realizing it.
The instructor ignored my reaction and continued."You can go to the academy’s storage basement to collect your stones. Just show your card to the staff there, and they’ll handle the rest."
"You’re dismissed."
I stood up, ignoring everything else, and left the hall.
Six hundred medium essence stones... wait for me, I’m coming.
.....
I went straight to collect my essence stones. There were classes I was supposed to attend today, but of course, I wouldn’t.
I entered my room and sat on the couch, then took all the stones out of my ring and placed them on the table.
I stared at the pile of shining stones in front of me, happiness filling my chest.
"Finally, the first step on the path to wealth."
I reached out and picked up one of the stones.
Its shape was irregular, glowing with a bright white color. Even without activating my ability, I could feel the dense essence contained within.
I gripped it tightly and slowly sent some of my essence into it. Essence began flowing from the stone into my body.
With each moment, the flow accelerated, and I felt pure essence flooding through me.
Time passed as I absorbed the essence from that stone, condensing within my body and merging with my own.
I felt my essence reserves expand slightly.
After half an hour, the stone lost its glow and turned into a pile of dust in my palm.
I picked up another stone and repeated the process.
I consumed them one by one without stopping.
I became completely immersed in the process, not even noticing the passage of time.
All I noticed was that I was getting closer...
To the next rank.
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