Borrowing Money to Invest

"Hiss—"

After taking out the three ambushers, Ahab took out the Corpse Dissolving Powder and cleaned the scene up completely.

As for the reason for the ambush, Ahab could roughly guess.

It was for the freshman research evaluation!

Under heaven, no wall was without cracks.

To keep anyone from beating him to it, he had submitted his research results several months ago.

"The reward for first place in the freshman research evaluation is still pretty generous."

Ahab did not go back the way he had come. He turned a corner and headed toward the west side of the freshman district.

He planned to go to the abandoned stone house where he had once stewed Vivian, and stay there until the evaluation began.

Practice had already proven that those sealed-up stone houses were hidden enough.

A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall, much less a beast.

He was definitely going to take the reward for first place in the freshman research.

The records in Future Diary were still vivid in his mind:

[Vivian relied on her research into Corpse Dissolving Powder to take first place in the freshman research evaluation.]

[Less than a month after the evaluation, she advanced to Second-Rank Apprentice.]

[What an enviable speed. Her initial aptitude was clearly about the same as mine.]

[A large part of this was thanks to "first place in freshman research"!]

[First, if the research is judged first, the results will receive Academy investment for mass production, bringing in a large amount of Magic Stones.]

[Most importantly, first place in research grants Academy contribution, which can be used to buy many things that are not usually sold.]

[For example, Mithril Potion. After drinking it, within seven days at most, it can increase mental power by ten points.]

[The raw material for this potion is the pituitary gland of a Silver Pegasus. The formula is all-natural, and there are no side effects...]

"For the next few days, I just won't go out."

Ahab walked into the run-down stone house, then used a branch through the window to paste the seal back on.

"Eleanor, I've already asked those friends of mine in the Enforcement Squad."

"They can't find Ahab Gul either."

On a bench beside the stone-paved road, Lie Qi struggled to hold back his laughter as he explained to Eleanor.

Yesterday, Eleanor had wanted to go chat with Ahab again, only to spend the entire day searching and fail to find him.

The library, the dormitory, the General Affairs Hall... she had searched all the places he often went!

In the end, Eleanor went to Lie Qi again and asked him to get his friends in the Enforcement Squad to help, to see if something had happened to Ahab.

Lie Qi had always hated doing favors related to Ahab Gul.

But this time, Lie Qi agreed very readily.

Because he also needed to confirm whether Ahab was dead or not.

Only then would it be easier to place his bet... Pah, only then would it be easier to invest.

Then Lie Qi found his friends in the Enforcement Squad and confirmed that Ahab had been missing for three days.

And the last time Ahab had appeared was that night in the library.

"Looks like that Wilson guy is pretty capable after all."

Lie Qi praised him in his heart with satisfaction.

Still, why had Wilson not been seen these past few days either?

Mm, he had probably gone into hiding. Pretty smart of him.

After all, once Ahab died, Wilson's research would very likely become first.

Then the others would naturally ambush Wilson just as Wilson had ambushed Ahab.

It made perfect sense for Wilson to hide!

Thinking this, Lie Qi lowered his head again and glanced at the dejected Eleanor.

Eleanor had only been deceived for the moment. Yes, that had to be it!

He had even taken Eleanor's surname, so when they had children in the future, it would practically be the same as the children taking Eleanor's surname.

Lie Qi was very confident in himself.

After coaxing Eleanor with a few more words, Lie Qi got up and headed for the North District.

"Knock, knock, knock."

After arriving in the North District, Lie Qi familiarly knocked on the door of a certain laboratory.

"Come in."

A stocky apprentice opened the door.

He looked scruffy and unshaven, but there was nothing inflated about his strength—he was a genuine First-Rank Apprentice.

"Senior Andre."

Lie Qi greeted him and familiarly pulled over a chair to sit down.

When Lie Qi had been a new student, Andre, a First-Rank Apprentice, had been the one in charge of guiding him.

Later, when Lie Qi advanced to Second-Rank, the Academy rewarded Andre, his instructor, with a sum of Academy contribution according to the rules.

Because of that, even though he was already Second-Rank, Lie Qi still kept in frequent contact with Andre.

"Senior, I'd like to borrow one hundred Magic Stones from you."

"For an 'investment' in new-student research."

Lie Qi got straight to the point.

The standard for advancing to First-Rank Apprentice was 60 points of spiritual power and mastery of a 0.6-ring spell.

In terms of spiritual power, Lie Qi had already met the requirement.

But the borrowing price for a 0.6-ring spell model in the library was 500 Magic Stones.

With Lie Qi's income, he would have to save for at least five years.

And that was assuming nothing unexpected happened.

Second-Rank Apprentices no longer received Academy subsidies. They had to take missions and earn Magic Stones themselves.

"An investment in new-student research?"

Andre, his face covered in stubble and his belly jutting out, set down the experiment in his hands.

There were well over a thousand new students taking part in the research, but only three could place in the rankings.

The chances of a successful "investment" were very low, but if one really picked the right one, the return started at tenfold.

"Did you look into it properly?"

"If the new student you bet on doesn't even make the top three, all those Magic Stones will go straight down the drain."

Andre's expression looked very dark, as if this was not the first time he had lost everything on a research investment.

"The one I'm investing in is a hair-growth potion."

"Originally, there really was a piece of research stronger than this potion."

"But the owner of that research recently—went missing."

Lie Qi spoke with complete confidence.

Ugh, just bringing it up made him angry.

The Magic Stones he had originally left with Eleanor had already amounted to more than a hundred.

If he took half of them to invest in new-student research and multiplied it tenfold, it would be just enough to borrow the 0.6-ring spell.

In the end, they had all been tricked away by that bastard Ahab!

Otherwise, why would he need to come borrow Magic Stones to invest?

Even if he beat Lie Qi to death, he would never believe those Magic Stones had been given away by Eleanor of her own accord.

"Mm. Since you dare borrow one hundred Magic Stones, it looks like you have quite a bit of confidence..."

Andre stroked his bristly beard and said, "Borrowing Magic Stones is no problem. Whoever you're betting on, I'll put down 100 Magic Stones too."

Lie Qi slapped his chest and gave his full guarantee.

"Don't worry, Senior. The research I have my eye on will be stable in the top three even if it can't take first."

"And the owner of that research has already gone into hiding, so there won't be a situation where the apprentice dies and the research doesn't count."

Lie Qi had never felt that his future was so bright.

Ahab, who had deceived Eleanor, was dead, and he had also found a target he was satisfied with betting on.

Once he earned this batch of Magic Stones, he would be able to advance to First-Rank Apprentice!

As for that detestable Ahab Gul? He could only watch from the heavens, raging helplessly—

Andre was very satisfied with Lie Qi's introduction, while secretly thinking to himself:

Later, he would go investigate it too.

If this research really was that reliable, he would introduce other First-Rank Apprentices to invest as well.

Another three days passed.

Early morning.

The window of the General Affairs Hall was packed with people.

Clusters of apprentices gathered together, jostling back and forth.

From time to time, apprentices rose onto their tiptoes and craned their necks to look ahead.

Today was the day the freshmen's research results would be publicly ranked.

On the west side of the General Affairs Hall, a notice board four or five meters tall had already been erected.

At the same time, an official wizard in charge would personally announce the results.

Of course, the ones crowded here were not only the newly arrived Third-Rank Apprentices, but also a small number of Second-Rank Apprentices.

There were even a few First-Rank Apprentices.

There was no other reason. If higher apprentices had come to pay attention to the freshmen's research results, most of them had invested money in it.