Borrow a Brick

"Ahab Gul. I knew I'd run into you at the General Affairs Hall."

Another female apprentice walked up, the badge on her chest marking her as Second-Rank.

Ahab looked up at her. She seemed familiar, as if he had only seen her not long ago.

It was Eleanor Incalos.

She had been brought back from the island that quickly?

Ahab knew plenty of girls looked clean and harmless on the outside, but in truth held grudges like nothing else.

But he was a Demon Hunter Wizard, and he was not afraid of a Second-Rank Apprentice.

Ahab immediately used The Void Authority to carry out a "See Through" prediction.

Eleanor had wind-element affinity, so he would See Through one...

"Mm, just as expected, I ran into you."

"All the Third-Rank Apprentices have gone off to take missions. You must be in a hurry to buy something. Mm, just a guess."

Eleanor did not seem to have any intention of fighting. She muttered a few words to herself, deliberately saying them for Ahab to hear.

"If you have something to say, say it. I don't have time for small talk."

"If you want to chat, go find that male apprentice willing to take your surname."

Ahab was very blunt.

When meeting someone whose intentions were unclear, he had to seize the initiative first and build up momentum.

"Mm, you mean Lechi Incalos."

Eleanor Incalos smiled knowingly.

A mental neat freak. All little househusband types had that.

"Mm, Lechi and I knew each other before we entered the Academy."

"I was the second princess of a certain kingdom, and Lechi was one of the knights who protected me.

"Later, a wizard descended, and Lechi and I were both tested to have aptitude, so we entered the Academy together.

"But Lechi still keeps his original values. He thinks my surname is a noble surname, so, well..."

Eleanor propped up her cheek and smiled.

"So, Lechi and I are equal classmates. Good friends."

For a moment, Ahab had nothing to say.

Some women were just like that. They only ever thought about romance.

As princesses, they had to fall in love. As queens, they had to fall in love. Even as imposing female generals, they had to fall in love...

And after becoming wizards, they still had to keep falling in love.

Seeing that Ahab had no reaction, Eleanor continued secretly laughing to herself.

Was he relieved? And he was even deliberately pretending he had no reaction at all.

"I heard you borrowed money from Lola's mutual aid society. Lola has quite the background, so it's better not to clash with her."

Eleanor played the part of a gentle older sister.

"Do you need me to lend you some Magic Stones so you can pay back what you owe?"

"I work part-time at the Crafting Hall, and Lechi's Magic Stones are all kept with me too. I'm fairly well-off at the moment."

Hm? The Crafting Hall?

Oh my, so I could make use of you. You should have said so earlier.

Ahab put on an amiable battle face.

"Mm, what a noble-born and gentle young lady. However, I don't have the habit of owing beautiful ladies money."

"If you truly want to help me..."

"Why don't you get me a Blue Steel Brick from the Crafting Hall?"

Blue Steel Bricks were not the ordinary stone bricks paving the roads.

They were an extremely sturdy material, used exclusively for special buildings.

It was said that the towering Wizard Tower at the center of the Academy had some parts built from Blue Steel Bricks.

"Mm, easy enough. I'll bring it to you this afternoon."

Eleanor agreed without hesitation.

She would just say there had been a defective product, and she had thrown it away.

Anyway, if anything happened, Lechi would help her.

"There's still one hourglass left until five-thirty."

In the dormitory, Ahab took out the small bottle of "Corpse Dissolving Powder" and poured it into a small glass vessel.

Next, he added a little clean water and mixed the powder into a paste.

Finally, Ahab used an extra-small pair of tweezers to stick the paste into the gaps under his nails.

Direct contact with Corpse Dissolving Powder was not toxic at all. It only worked if it touched a wound.

However, the Corpse Dissolving Powder had another effect that did trigger on contact...

Mm. The instant it touched him, his fingertip went numb... Ahab was very satisfied with the paralyzing effect.

It came with the main ingredient of the Corpse Dissolving Powder—the "Vampire King's Nail."

Lastly, he still had to bring a few more props.

Ahab dug out the bundle he used to carry materials and packed in all kinds of props he had just bought today.

At the very bottom, Ahab stuffed in a Blue Steel Brick.

Eleanor had sent it over yesterday. It was the size of an ordinary red brick.

But in terms of hardness, the two could not be compared at all—

A brick of this level had every right to smash in any Wizard Apprentice's damn head!

This was Ahab's backup plan.

Even with See Through, he could not let his guard down.

Do not forget how Vivian had lost to him and had her Authority seized.

Lola was suspected to be a mount, so she probably would not undergo Bloodline Transplantation. That would affect her appetite.

But correspondingly, she very likely had done some degree of body tempering.

The higher a wizard's level, the stronger their physique would be.

Without body tempering, one could not withstand a big shot.

This Blue Steel Brick was precisely for that situation!

Lastly, Ahab went through the whole plan again.

Someone like Lola would not let go once she had her eyes on a target.

Other than killing her, there was no good solution.

Although he had been in contact with old wizard Merlin, the reason he was in debt in the first place was precisely because of the other party's pressure.

As for having a backer, there was no point fantasizing about that. Merlin would only ensure he did not die.

The old bastard might even be happier to see him half-crippled.

At the same time, he could not possibly pay the money back honestly either. Lola's interest was too high.

As for playing the coward and swallowing the humiliation, that was even less possible.

People who served as mounts for big shots were the most vicious when tormenting others.

In short, it all came down to one sentence: resisting carried enormous benefits, while not resisting carried enormous harm!

Ahab packed up his things, slung the bundle over his shoulder, and left the dormitory area.

The place Lola had arranged was the small grove at the westernmost edge of the freshman area.

Clearly, Lola was not so perverted that she wanted other people to watch her XP.

That small grove was the most remote place in the entire freshman area, suitable for riding.

At the same time, it was also suitable for murder and silencing witnesses... Ahab thought to himself.

"Mm, not bad. You arrived this early."

Deep in the small grove, Lola sat on a large blue boulder with one leg crossed over the other.

Today, she had tied on an extra belt, cinching her loose wizard robe against her body.

It looked as if she was wearing something under the wizard robe that was not meant to be seen by others.

Ahab put on his battle face—which was to say, that perfectly natural, friendly smile.

"I didn't dare be late."

"After all, your reputation precedes you. How would I dare defy you?"

Lola clapped her hands. It seemed she liked obedient little puppies who knew how to read the room.

At the same time, looking down from above, her gaze swept over the bundle Ahab was carrying.

"Mm, what's this?"

Ahab held the bundle in front of his chest and opened it.

"They're some props I prepared."

The bundle was indeed stuffed full of all kinds of things, looking as if they were worth almost half a Magic Stone.

"What, there's even a brick?"

Lola glanced over the bundle of props Ahab had brought.

Lola understood all the other things and what they were used for.

After all, she belonged to a big shot, so her knowledge in this area was naturally relatively broad.

But a brick... She truly had no idea how that was supposed to be played with.