Merath was stunned by Simon’s words, but in the next second, her lips curled into a smile.
"You know that you shouldn’t be speaking to me in that manner. For you to call me and ask me to borrow you merits, then it means you’re in a real pinch."
"What if I hadn’t forced you to accept my number, how would you have reached out to me? Shouldn’t you be nicer to me?"
Simon clicked his tongue. "Are you giving me the merits or not, Merath? I don’t have time to waste."
Merath was sitting on the edge of a balcony railing with Jorra standing beside her with his back resting against the balcony and his arms folded.
Merath’s lips curled up the more behind her mask when she heard Simon’s words. Although it was obvious that Simon was not begging for money but asking for money because of the pride he had, it was still very intriguing to her that Simon was able to place down his pride and ask her to borrow him some money.
’I definitely need to benefit from this.’
She chuckled softly.
"I can lend you a hundred merits and I can wait for you to pay me back in three days, but I definitely need something from you in return."
Simon narrowed his eyes. He expected this, so he wasn’t surprised by her words.
They were not friends, she was a demon, and there was no reason why she would lend him some money and only collect it back on the due day without getting interest from it.
"What do you want?"
Merath kicked her feet playfully while looking down at the students, instructors, guards, and several members of the academy with a tinge of indifference and disdain in the depths of her eyes.
A few seconds later, she answered.
"A favour."
Simon frowned deeply behind his mask.
This, he did not expect.
A favour was not to be taken lightly.
"What kind of favour?"
Merath leaned backward, and her left hand touched the floor as her body bent in a rather strange angle.
"It’s more like a companionship type of favour. I’m not certain yet, but don’t worry, you can reject it if it’s uncomfortable for you. It’s not a big deal."
Simon narrowed his eyes with a suspicious expression.
"I can reject it?"
Merath nodded despite her strange position.
"You can definitely reject it. It’s just hundred merits. I would rather if we have a good relationship than a bad one because of a mere hundred merits."
"Hmm." Simon hummed in contemplation for a few seconds, then he replied.
"Alright. No problem."
Merath raised her body in joy, and those who were watching were terrified that she would suddenly lose her balance and fall off the balcony’s edge into the depths of the academy.
But she didn’t.
"Perfect. I’ll transfer it to you now."
Simon waited, then he received a notification on his Grave Mark.
"I’ve sent it." Merath said.
"I’ve seen it. Thank you."
Without waiting for a response from Merath, Simon ended the call, causing Merath to chuckle.
"What a sweet boy."
Jorra’s lips twitched behind his mask when he heard this, but he said nothing.
Meanwhile, Simon exhaled deeply, then he stood.
He had never borrowed money from somebody he was not close with. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he had to borrow money in his past life, and he would deny that it hurt his pride to do so.
But since this was the best option to take so as to advance to the next heart rank, then he would lay down his pride and do so.
The ability to learn how to control other emotions aside from anger was something he had a feeling that he needed to learn to reach the peak.
’Oh, Iron Fangs, Iron Fangs. You bastards have genuinely caused me to lose a lot and I cannot remember the last time I was so annoyed and angered by a group of weaklings and children like you.’
’I was eating my food in peace, but you decided to ruin it. You’re going to pay a thousandfold for all the losses I’ve incurred.’
Simon’s gaze was bone-chillingly cold as he left his cultivation room and went to the receptionist of the cultivation tower.
This time around, he paid for a mid-grade cultivation room, and the price of a mid-grade cultivation room was thirty(30) merits per hour.
And for Simon?
It cost him ninety (90) merits per hour, but he paid for it without blinking an eye, leaving him with only ten (10) merits.
Without wasting a single second, he went to his new cultivation room where the demonic energy was twice as dense as his previous room.
Simon nodded in satisfaction the moment he entered the room, then he started cultivating immediately.
His body greedily sucked in the demonic energy in the air, and he had more than enough demonic energy to refine his chaos flame to 100%.
Fifteen minutes later, he was done. He had refined his chaos flame by 100%.
Simon stopped cultivating, then he inspected every single aspect of his body to make sure that he had no hidden internal injuries or anything suspicious in him.
He found nothing, but he was still not done.
He used his Shadow Sense to perceive the shadows around him and outside the room in order to ensure that nobody was observing him.
After his shadow affinity grade increased from Intermediate C grade to High C grade, the radius his Shadow Sense could perceive increased from ten meters to thirty meters in its passive state.
And when he actively used it, he could perceive shadows in a sixty meter radius compared to his twenty meter radius in the past.
After making sure that all was good, he exhaled deeply and decided to advance to the next rank.
Any interruption in his next rank could literally end his life which was why he took his time to ensure that nothing could disturb him.
"Alright. Time to become a Fiend."
Without hesitation, he started burning his Demon Heart.