Shiina's Failure Penalty

Seeing this, Xia Mu finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It hadn't been in vain.

After the police arrived and took the unconscious clerk away, the Punish Evil and Promote Good mission was also completed.

He had gained another ten Skill Points.

A bountiful harvest.

After briefly giving his statement, Xia Mu carried Sakura on his back toward the infirmary to treat her injuries.

He thought about it; tonight he would max out his durability skills, and if he had any Skill Points left over, he would max out his medical skills as well.

Although he might not need them, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Being well-prepared was never a mistake.

Aside from some minor psychological distress, Sakura only had a scraped knee.

After a simple cleaning and bandaging, the doctor let the two of them leave.

Thus, Xia Mu supported Sakura as they returned to her dormitory.

Along the way, Sakura's eyes were filled with nothing but Xia Mu.

Was this the effect of reaching one hundred percent favorability? It was practically identical to Hypnosis.

Xia Mu felt that even if he were to ask to sleep with Sakura right now, she probably wouldn't refuse.

But it was hard to say; one hundred percent favorability didn't mean he could do whatever he wanted.

Hypnosis skills were still more useful.

He stayed with Sakura until midnight, and after she slowly drifted off to sleep, Xia Mu finally left.

Returning to his room, he began searching for skills online.

Golden Bell Shield, commonly known as Iron Shirt.

The principle was simple: it involved repeatedly striking the body to help the muscles adapt, thereby achieving a level of durability.

It was the same as the impact resistance training in the military or the durability training in Boxing.

It all came down to the endurance gained through long-term practice.

However, Xia Mu's skills were generally not like those of ordinary people.

Because he could magically modify them.

Spending twenty Skill Points, Xia Mu learned Iron Shirt.

A massive amount of memory was transmitted into his mind.

It was all about techniques on how to use key areas to absorb blows, how to minimize damage, and which areas were impossible to use for defense.

Then, following that, the muscles on Xia Mu's body were significantly strengthened.

As long as he activated the breath-gate of the Iron Shirt, his skin would become rock-hard.

Only then could he barely be considered to have no weaknesses in strength or defense.

But this still wasn't enough.

Xia Mu spent another ten Skill Points to perform a magical modification.

[Iron Shirt has been successfully modified.]

[You have obtained: Gold-Iron Shirt.]

[A special breath-control technique that can briefly make your body reach the hardness of a titanium alloy, capable of resisting sniper rifle bullets at its maximum, and automatically activates upon being attacked.]

The next instant, Xia Mu's body underwent a heaven-defying transformation.

The modified Iron Shirt had become his instinct; he could use it with every breath he took.

"Refreshing." Xia Mu lay on the bed, feeling physically and mentally satisfied.

With this, he no longer had to fear being assassinated.

Now, even if he stood still and let someone hit him, the opponent probably wouldn't be able to break his defense.

He had truly achieved a level of invincibility.

Future Skill Points could be spent on other things.

He was gradually trending toward becoming slightly invincible.

Closing his eyes, Xia Mu fell into a peaceful sleep.

He really had to thank Kushida and Sakura, the two girls who brought him his first batch of wealth.

He wondered, which girls would need to be corrected by him next?

He was looking forward to it.

Monday.

"What? You got a perfect score in every single subject!???"

Shiina's small face rounded in shock, and she stared at the report card in her hands with utter disbelief. "Xia Mu, you aren't joking, are you?"

"Of course not. This is the official report card issued by the school; I didn't fake anything."

Xia Mu waved his hand dismissively. In his eyes, this bet was nothing more than a one-sided suppression.

Even if Shiina had performed beyond her limits and also achieved a perfect score, it would have only resulted in a draw.

But looking across the entire school, how many people could guarantee a perfect score every single time?

"I, I..."

Shiina placed the report card onto the low table with a sense of defeat. "I actually lost? I lost to you, Xia Mu?"

Although she couldn't believe it and felt like she was in a dream, the facts were already laid out before her.

Even Suzune Horikita, who usually secured the top spot with ease, had been surpassed by Xia Mu.

However, there was one other person in the same grade who had also achieved a perfect score.

Arisu Sakayanagi.

But she was hailed as a genius girl, while Xia Mu...

She stared blankly at Xia Mu's smiling face and pouted. "Fine, Xia Mu, you're a genius too."

After all, to be able to score a hundred meant that in his usual exams, he must have been consistently scoring around ninety-eight.

"I lost." Although she didn't want to admit it, Shiina still said the words with her head hanging low.

Deep down, however, she felt a secret sense of happiness; at the very least, she no longer had to worry about Xia Mu being expelled for poor grades.

"Now it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Xia Mu looked at Shiina with a grin, arms crossed over his chest, waiting to watch the show.

"I, I know that!"

As soon as Shiina remembered the bet, her small face flushed bright red. She gritted her teeth and replied firmly, "A bet is a bet!"

Then, Shiina took a deep breath and stepped in front of Xia Mu. Like a maid, she performed a graceful bow, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, her warm breath fluttering against him, "Mas... Master..."

Her voice trembled incessantly. This was the first time in her life she had ever heard such a brazen request, but she had to go through with it.

It felt...

Strange and exciting. What was going on?

"Wow."

"That was amazing!"

Xia Mu watched as Shiina shyly buried her head into the bed, his eyes gleaming.

That "Master" had sounded truly intoxicating.

Combined with the fact that Shiina was wearing a white dress, her hair was disheveled, and her fair, slender legs were slim enough to be gripped with one hand.

Hehehe.

It seemed he should try to trick this cute little Shiina more often in the future.

"Ahhh! Stop talking!"

Shiina buried her burning, hot cheeks deep into Xia Mu's bedsheets and covered her ears with a pillow. Her muffled voice came from beneath the covers, "You are not allowed to tell anyone about this, or I will never forgive you, Xia Mu!"

It was fortunate that Xia Mu's bet hadn't required her to wear a maid outfit like she had planned for him, or she would have been truly humiliated.

Her original plan had been to make Xia Mu wear a maid outfit and walk around campus with her to embarrass him.

She hadn't expected that she would be the one feeling embarrassed instead.

But after thinking about it, Shiina felt it wasn't so bad.

Since only Xia Mu had heard and seen it, it didn't really matter.

"Eh? Eh? Eh?"

Thinking of this, Shiina pounded her pillow in frustration. Why was she thinking like that?

Her heart was thumping wildly, and the sound echoed back to her ears through the bedsheets. It seems that, without realizing it, I've gradually started to like Xia Mu.

Of course, she would never let Xia Mu know.

Lest he become even more arrogant.

In the end, it took Xia Mu treating Shiina to a luxury ice cream for the matter to finally settle down.

But now, whenever Xia Mu brought up the time Shiina called him "Master" to tease her, she would immediately turn into a shy little girl and cover his mouth with her hands.

It was like a summoning spell; it was just too cute.

After school, Xia Mu headed to the court.

He had promised Sudo that he would play a game with him.

The opponents were Class C.

Of course, it cost five thousand points per game.