Caius strolled out of the Student Council building, in an unusually good mood. Since he was already here, he figured he might as well check out the academy’s store.

  The shops inside Hydis Academy were exclusively supplied by the academy itself—some of the items sold here couldn't be found anywhere else. As the captain of the Student Council Security Team, he had clearance to shop there.

  Soon, he arrived at the East Gate shopping complex of Hydis Academy. “Complex” was a more fitting word than “store,” as it housed over a dozen shops—magic potion vendors, scroll shops, and stores selling all sorts of magical equipment.

  There were even magic stones for sale.

  Caius needed those. While he couldn't cast spells, he could channel magic power. Right now, magic stones were his only medium for magic release.

  But after glancing at the prices, his excited expression collapsed.

  Magic stones weren’t exactly cheap, though they were within his purchasing power. A Platinum-grade magic stone with embedded spells went for tens of thousands of gold coins.

  Platinum-tier equipment also generally ranged from several tens of thousands of gold, with top-tier items—like the kind Hilda used—peaking just above one hundred thousand.

  The catch was, academy magic stones couldn’t be bought with gold coins. They required academy contribution points.

  You could convert contribution points into gold—ten gold coins per point—but not the other way around.

  Depending on the spell engraved within, a Platinum-grade magic stone cost anywhere from 600 to 2,000 contribution points. That was roughly 30–40% cheaper than market prices.

  But while contribution points could be turned into gold, the reverse wasn’t true. They could only be earned through academy-issued tasks.

  As a member of the Student Council Guard, Caius could receive academy missions, but only passively—he wasn’t allowed to take them on proactively. Only field operatives had that privilege. This system was in place to prevent in-house personnel from abandoning their actual duties to grind missions all day.

  Caius, having never taken on an academy task before, naturally had zero contribution points to his name.

  On top of that, he hadn’t been fully integrated into the academy system yet. He’d need to officially become a field agent and be granted the academy insignia to get system access. His current badge was merely a position emblem—it didn't have the connection capability.

  The real Hydis insignia looked like a badge on the surface but was, in truth, a miniaturized Magitech Device.

  Through it, students could view academy maps, accept missions, send messages, and even communicate via magic power—though that only worked within academy grounds.

  Because the insignia was a micro Magitech Device, it needed to connect with the academy’s central Magitech hub to unlock its full functionality. Once off campus, most features would be locked.

  Still, Caius really wanted one.

  In the end, he could only buy some potions that were available for gold. The rest—the contribution point items—would have to wait until he started taking academy tasks.

  As he stepped out of the academy shopping complex, he saw a group of students walking toward him, laughing and chatting. The surrounding students quickly moved aside to give them space.

  But the group came to a halt almost immediately—because leading them was none other than Fenton, the same guy Caius had beaten up earlier.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  As soon as Fenton laid eyes on Caius, his expression turned grim.

  Caius glanced at him, raised an eyebrow, and scoffed with disdain before continuing forward with his hands in his pockets.

  Fenton’s forehead instantly popped with veins. He raised a hand, and his group quickly formed a human wall in front of Caius.

  Caius sighed. This was exactly why he didn’t like hanging around these academy kids.

  They’d never been properly chewed up by society. No experience, guts too big, and way too eager to follow the herd.

  There were twelve of them. Did they really think numbers would make a difference?

  Five Platinum grades and seven Golds. With a lineup like that, Caius didn’t even need to reach for his warhammer.

  “What? Got your teeth fixed just to loosen them up again?” Caius stuck a cigarette between his lips. His little feline companion lit it for him.

  Smoking was technically banned on campus—but rules were never really his thing.

  Fenton’s face turned stormy, cold mist curling from his body.

  “I’ll settle the score with you today,” he said in a low growl.

  Caius clapped his hands and laughed. “Oh? I’m so scared~”

  The crowd: “…”

  Damn it, he’s asking for a beating…

  “Boss…” one of the students looked to Fenton, whose clenched fists were trembling with anger. But in his eyes wasn’t just rage—there was wariness too.

  “Need I remind you that fighting is banned on campus grounds unless it’s in the arena?” Caius said coolly.

  “What, you scared now? Then let’s go to the arena!” snapped one of the hotheaded students.

  Caius wasn’t wrong—Hydis Academy had strict rules. Unauthorized combat was harshly punished. Most students couldn’t afford the consequences.

  Even though Fenton’s father was one of the school board directors, things worked differently here. Directors had limited power and couldn’t interfere with internal academy affairs.

  The last time Fenton provoked Caius, he thought Caius wouldn’t dare strike back without authorization. But Caius didn’t play by the rules—he threw punches the moment things got tense. And afterward? Fenton didn’t even report it to the school. Why?

  Because that would’ve been humiliating as hell.

  Besides, it was clear that Hilda had Caius’s back. Fenton wouldn’t dare oppose her directly.

  “The arena’s boring,” Caius exhaled a puff of smoke. “Don’t feel like it.”

  “What, scared now?” the same student jeered.

  Caius let out a low chuckle and slowly stepped forward, standing face to face with his opponent.

  "What I mean is—fighting in the school arena is pointless if no one dies."

  "I recall there's an arena in Grilla City, isn't there?"

  "That place doesn’t have any protection mechanisms."

  "Let’s go there. Sign a life-and-death contract. We’ll fight a deathmatch."

  "No rules. Blades, spears, swords, axes—use whatever you want. Magic? Go ahead. Hell, you can all come at me together. And then..." Caius leaned in, his face drawing close, a sinister grin curling on his lips.

  "Live or die, it doesn't matter."

  "So? How about it?"

  Everyone's expressions changed instantly—the look in their eyes was as if they were staring at a madman.

  A deathmatch over a few words?!

  That kind of menace wasn't something these pampered academy flowers could handle. Even though they had the numbers, they couldn’t help but take a step back.

  The student who had just been shouting about settling it in the arena was now red in the face, completely speechless.

  "What? Scared?" Caius grinned as he straightened up, towering over the group of students.

  "If you're scared, then scram."

  "Bunch of cowards."

  "Arena, was it?"

  "I'll kill you there all the same. If you've got the guts, just say the word."

  "Well?" Caius swept his gaze across the crowd. Every student his eyes passed over immediately looked away, none daring to meet his stare.

  "Come on, say it!" Caius's voice rose sharply.

  Even Fenton took a step back this time.

  "Tch!" Caius sneered, utterly disdainful, and strode forward. The students in his path scrambled aside.

  "A piece of advice: students at this Academy should stick to studying. Don't try to cross someone like me—a veteran mercenary who won’t even blink when taking a life."

  "Unless your family can protect you every single second of every single day."

  "Otherwise..." Caius tilted his head slightly.

  "You might not even know how you died."

  "I kill and disappear. Even if your family finds someone to avenge you, it won't bring your life back."

  "Think about whether it's really worth it."

  With that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, leaving behind a group of students clenching their fists in silence.

  "Boss..." one of them looked toward Fenton, only to find him gritting his teeth, silent for a long moment, before his whole demeanor seemed to deflate.

  He stared at his hands, Caius's words echoing in his mind.

  It was true... that man wouldn’t hesitate to kill.

  He had a bright future ahead—was it really worth going against someone like that?

  Sure, maybe his father could hire someone to take Caius out. But what if they failed?

  Would he then have to live the rest of his life in fear, always looking over his shoulder?

  For the first time, he began to question whether this was all truly worth it.