Then I'll fulfill it

"Time to pay back the Magic Stones, little brother."

Lola walked up to Ahab at an unhurried pace.

Ahab answered her with a "what the hell are you talking about?" expression.

Before he had set out to hunt Vivian, he had been forced to borrow fifty Magic Stones from the Newcomer Mutual Aid Society for the sake of Bloodline Transplantation.

The loan term was half a year, and the total interest was fifteen stones.

Spread across each month, that came to three stones.

Three Magic Stones—was that really worth the president coming in person to collect?

"Take a good look. This is the IOU you signed back then."

Lola pulled a folded sheet of paper from her wizard robe.

"It clearly states here that interest payments shall follow Article Three of the Academy's lending regulations."

"If we go by that article, with interest calculated as nine in, thirteen out, it has to be settled every month and paid off before the end of the month."

Ahab: ?

Aside from the principal, he had to pay fifteen Magic Stones in interest every month?

Meaning he had borrowed 50 Magic Stones—

received 45 in hand, and had to repay 140 in total??!

...He had to admit, this level of black-heartedness could rival the world he had transmigrated from.

But if she was going to run this kind of business, she had to be prepared for the wrath of an ordinary man pushed too far.

Should he just use See Through?

Although Ahab himself was only at the Third-Rank Apprentice level, a Second-Rank who had never undergone Bloodline Transplantation had no chance against him at all.

"No, I can't kill her that simply."

Ahab's gaze swept discreetly over the apprentices passing by around them, one after another.

Before transmigrating, it wasn't as if he had never done the sort of business Lola was doing.

So Ahab understood very well that doing this kind of thing required one prerequisite—

Backers!

Just look at Lola's external tube connected to her stomach because of her damaged esophagus.

And the urine bag hanging at her waist.

This was no ordinary backer. This was a master-servant relationship, maybe even a mount relationship.

Otherwise, how would she dare hang a Teru Teru Bozu so close to the General Affairs Hall?

And even dare show up openly?

Just twenty-some meters away was the Enforcement Squad that handled corpses.

"What's wrong, little brother? Can't pay it back?"

Lola smiled smugly.

"Actually, the first time you came to the mutual aid society, I had my eye on you."

"With aptitude as poor as yours, you still managed to become a group leader. You must be talented—the kind of talent our Newcomer Mutual Aid Society needs.

"As long as you join us, you'll be one of our own, and the interest can be discussed."

As she spoke, Lola even gave him a meaningful smile.

The meaning was: if you didn't join and didn't pay, then you knew what would happen.

This old lady wasn't some delicate little girl. She had strength and methods to spare.

"I only have seven Magic Stones on me."

"Forget being unable to pay it back. Even if I could, I wouldn't."

Ahab had already made his decision.

First, he would play along.

Once he made the Corpse Dissolving Powder, everything would be easy.

"I agree to join you."

Ahab deliberately lowered his posture a little. It was only temporary deception anyway, so whatever worked.

"Mm, good."

"But our Newcomer Mutual Aid Society isn't something just anyone can join. There needs to be an initiation test."

As she spoke, Lola placed her palm on her lower abdomen.

"Three days from now, at five-thirty in the afternoon, come find big sister in the little woods at the westernmost edge of the West District."

"Big sister will personally give you a little test~~"

People who had been tortured too much themselves were the most ruthless when it came to torturing others.

Only after Lola had gradually gone far away did the silently spectating Third-Rank Apprentices dare to resume their discussion.

"Who's that apprentice? Did he borrow Magic Stones from the Mutual Aid Association too?"

"I've seen him in the public lectures. I think he's called Ahab Gul. His aptitude is terrible."

"That she-devil just said Ahab should go to the little grove too."

"Do you think we'll see Ahab hanging here too in three days?"

The apprentices discussed in low voices, all feeling that this poor little apprentice was finished.

"Tch—"

Ahab scoffed at these voices of discussion.

What a bunch of trash. At the slightest thing, they thought it was all over.

Had they scammed all their friends? Cheated all their classmates? Robbed all the passersby? Did nobody even dodge away from them when they walked down the road, and they still had the nerve to say they were at the end of their rope?

As for this Lola.

Ahab merely grumbled silently in his heart:

If you're that eager to rush to your death, I'll grant your wish!

He would rent a laboratory today and immediately start making "Corpse Dissolving Powder."

As for where to rent the laboratory, whether there would be traps, and so on...

"Come."

With a thought from Ahab, the thick book on his shoulder floated down in front of him.

My Future Diary hadn't been used in ages!

[March 26. I finally got ready to do my first research project of my apprentice career.]

[I have to say, there really are a lot of traps when renting a laboratory. Lamp inspections, missing equipment—those can only be called minor problems...]

[But from my current perspective, this matter is actually very easy to solve.]

[All I need is to find a laboratory whose previous owner died not long ago.]

Mm, if they had only died recently, the equipment would be complete, and there also wouldn't be many traps...

Ahab nodded in satisfaction. He already had an idea.

When he had gone monster hunting last time, he had witnessed two First-Rank Wizard Apprentices "leave" the Academy forever.

First-Rank Apprentice Taize had been killed on the spot.

First-Rank Apprentice Clifis was a high-ranking Void Cultist and had already defected.

Either of their laboratories would do.

Ahab turned around and went back to the General Affairs Hall.

In the end, he rented Clifis's former laboratory at the price of two Magic Stones for seven days.

"Success!"

In a remote laboratory in the North District.

Ahab, who had not closed his eyes for a day and a night, looked with satisfaction at the yellow powder inside the test tube.

This was Corpse Dissolving Powder!

A full thirteen Magic Stones' worth of materials had only produced these few dozen grams.

That showed just how extraordinary its effects were!

Its main ability was, of course, exactly what its name implied.

Cut a wound in a corpse and add one or two grams of Corpse Dissolving Powder.

In less than half an hourglass, the entire corpse would turn into thick liquid!

In addition, the name "Corpse Dissolving Powder" also had the effect of hiding the truth in plain sight.

To living people, this was also a deadly poison powder.

Once it contaminated a wound, it could produce the same effect as when added to a corpse—

Namely, turning the victim into thick liquid within half an hourglass.

"And this powder also has a very strong contact paralysis effect."

"That comes from the main material: 'Vampire King's Fingernail.'"

Ahab put the yellow powder into the prepared little bottle he carried with him and stuffed in the cork.

There were still five days left on the laboratory's rental period. Perhaps he could think of a way to sublet it.

After all, he only had five Magic Stones left on him.

His aptitude was poor, so in the future he would inevitably have to be a pay-to-win player, crazily downing potions.

Ahab walked out of the laboratory and shut the door.

Once again, he set off down the road to the Administration Hall, planning to spend a little money to post a sublease.

"Mm, five days for just one Magic Stone. Someone should rent it pretty quickly."

Ahab posted it on the notice board and simply did not leave.

At this price, an apprentice should come to rent it very soon.

People came and went, and before long, an apprentice walked up to the notice board.

However, the other party did not seem to be here to rent a laboratory.