Liora leaned forward with a pleasant and patient smile.
"Points are the currency of the academy. Everything here revolves around them."
She raised a finger lightly, as though giving a simple lesson.
"You earn them through tasksโclearing beasts, gathering resources, assisting teachersโฆ small things."
Her tone was light.
A student behind them scoffed.
"She makes it sound so easy. This noob will be lucky to even get 100 points in a month."
Liora heard him, but ignored the comments, smiling faintly as she continued.
"Of course, if you're capable, there are better options."
Her eyes flickered slightly, noticing no change in his expression.
"Escort missions, capturing dangerous creatures, competing in ranked battles..."
Another voice chimed in, louder this time.
"That's for people who can actually fight."
A few laughs followed, but Liora didn't acknowledge them.
"And then..." she continued, her voice softening just a little, "there are those recognized by the academy itself."
She flicked her hair, making it obvious she was one of such people.
Even the crowd quieted slightly.
"Personal commissions, inter-academy victories. Direct recommendations..."
She paused, then looked at him.
"But those are far beyond beginners."
Silence lingered for a moment, then she gestured lightly toward the gate behind the warden.
"The cultivation grounds follow the same principle."
Her sleeve shifted slightly as she raised her hand.
"The outer grounds are affordable. A few hundred points at most."
"The inner grounds..." she glanced at him, "require thousands per day."
"The core chambers cost tens of thousands."
The crowd leaned in.
Now they knew where this was going.
"And the deeper regions..." her lips curved slightly, "are priced in the millions."
She sounded like she was just offering advice to an ignorant junior, but...clearly, she was looking down on him, openly jabbing at his ignorance to ruin his image.
For someone who had a reputation as great as that, Liora was confident in the number of points she had accumulated, which was why she readily offered help.
If only she knew...she was only going to embarrass herself in front of everyone.
Liora watched him carefully, but Aramith was assessing the situation carefully.
His gaze drifted to the ring in his hand, frowning slightly. Lynnor told him to use that ring to pay, but now...no one mentioned a ring.
Liora noticed the shift in his gaze, and when she saw the ring, she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh behind her hand.
"What's that millipede scale you're holding? My junior must have been duped!"
She calmed herself down before raising her hand. A silver gleam reflected in everyone's eyes.
"This ring is what we use in payment for the cultivation grounds. You can either have bronze, silver, or gold rings, depending on the number of points you have."
She then pointed at the black ring in his hand. "That ring cannot be used to pay for anything. Who gave it to you?"
With her words, several eyes fell on the ring in Aramith's hand.
Laughter burst out.
"What's that?"
"It's so ugly, look!"
"Wait, he wanted to use that to pay?"
Everyone was now chattering nonstop.
Aramith remained calm. From what Liora said, one would either use a bronze, silver, or gold ring for payment.
Liora obviously wasn't a simple person, and to have a gold ring, he could only imagine how many points one would need.
But still...something didn't make sense.
Lynnor told him to use the ring to pay, so she must have known...but in the same way, Lynnor was also the kind of person to forget and give the wrong ring.
Aramith turned to Liora. "I have no reason to leech off of you."
But Liora dismissed his words and turned to the warden.
"Don't mind the trouble he's causing, I'll pay for him."
But instantly, the warden's expression changed.
"Lady Liora, no need to do that. He's just lost."
But Liora glared at him, raising her ring to him, asking him to take the points.
He hesitated a moment, glancing at Aramith, before turning to Liora.
"He...wanted to go to the core...grounds."
"What?" Liora turned to Aramith, confused.
"Do you even know what you're saying?"
A few students snickered, remembering his earlier request.
"I told you he's an idiot. The number of people who have gone to the core grounds can be counted on one hand, and he wants to compare with them."
"Does he even know how many points are needed?" Another youth chipped in, looking pale.
Just thinking of the number of points needed had them agitated.
"W-warden, how many points is that?" Someone asked.
Without turning to the voice, the warden said three words that shocked them.
"Forty-eight million."
"WHat?"
"F-f-forty..."
They were stumped.
Not even teachers would have that many points on hand.
Payment for the grounds was done per hour, and Aramith had requested to pay for two people for a day. Each hour was priced at a million points, amounting to forty-eight when calculating for him and Mozrael.
"This guy must be insane!"
They could spend their whole time in the academy accumulating points, and not even reach a million, but this boy was blatantly asking for forty-eight million the moment someone decided to help him.
Aramith didn't react, but from their reactions, he finally understood how the value of the points stood.
He stared at the ring in his hand, still not understanding Lynnor's reason.
Liora finally calmed herself.
"You want to go to the core grounds?"
Aramith smirked a little. Since she wanted him to owe her a favor, he couldn't help but take this opportunity when he realized her plan was going badly.
"Too expensive?" He asked. He wasn't clear if he could pay with this ring, but he now found a way to push this girl with hidden intentions away. But if she persisted...
Aramith's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You wanted to pay, right? Or you'll go back on your word."
Liora broke in a cold sweat.
Is this guy insane? Maybe it's true that he's just a boy with good looks and no brains. Does he know how many points that is???
One youth, unable to hold himself, suddenly shouted.
"Are you insane? She wants to help you, and you're obviously attempting to embarrass her."
Liora glared at him, causing him to shudder.
He may have had good intentions, but his words were rather like throwing mud in her face.
