First Magic Academy.
Year Two, Class 18—the room with the door smashed across the floor.
“Asher, do you dare make a bet with me?!”
Realizing he was completely on the hook for 300,000 Jewels, Drake blurted the challenge out without any warning.
He had just thought of an absolutely perfect way out of his predicament.
Hearing this, Diana and Crawford glanced at him in confusion, clearly having no idea what kind of angle he was playing at now.
“No,” Asher flatly refused, shaking his head without a second thought.
Knowing what kind of absolute scum Drake was, he was completely certain the guy was brewing up some toxic scheme.
“No?!” Drake froze.
He hadn’t expected Asher to instantly derail his script.
Panicking, he quickly laid out the terms: “We’ll bet on the Combat Prep Class rankings a month from now!
If your class ranks higher than mine, I won’t just hand over the 300,000 Jewels with both hands—I’ll publicly bow and apologize to you in front of the whole academy!
How about it?
Are you too scared to bet?!”
Asher still shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?!” Drake was getting desperate.
“Do you not want the 300,000 Jewels?!”
Asher immediately pointed out the glaring flaw in his logic.
“You already owe me that 300,000.
Why on earth would I bet my own money against you?”
“I—” Drake was entirely stumped.
His entire plan was to goad Asher into accepting the bet so he could legally and completely wipe out his debt.
He didn’t know if Asher had been secretly hiding his strength for years or if he just got incredibly lucky to suddenly hit Tier Three, Level Three.
But that didn’t matter.
Asher’s three apprentices were genuine, bottom-of-the-barrel F-Class talents.
It would take a sheer miracle for them to advance even a single level in a month.
Meanwhile, Drake had recruited a solid C-Class Enhancement student and two D-Class Elemental magic students.
Even with the laziest training schedule, his class would absolutely crush Asher’s.
It was a guaranteed win!
He just never expected Asher to refuse the bait.
Just as Drake was scrambling for a new angle, Asher suddenly spoke up.
“Actually, I am willing to bet.
If you win, I’ll waive the 300,000 you owe me.
But if you lose?
You owe me 600,000 Jewels, plus you have to bow and apologize every single time you see me around campus.
Deal?”
Asher kept his face completely blank as he spoke, but his heart was pounding wildly against his ribs.
He had only rejected the initial offer to maximize his profits.
Drake thought he was setting a trap?
Please.
Asher was digging a massive grave for him.
A month from now?
Forget just leveling up—Luna’s magic might even undergo another evolution!
Jumping from Tier One, Level Three to Level Six was entirely within the realm of possibility.
It was a guaranteed win!
Hearing the counter-offer, Diana and Crawford snapped their heads toward Asher, their confusion morphing into deep bewilderment.
Diana’s lips parted as if she wanted to warn him against it, but she ultimately stayed silent.
“Six hundred thousand?!” Drake gasped, feeling like his heart had briefly stopped.
Even though he didn’t think there was any reality where he lost, that number forced him to consider the consequences.
If he did somehow lose, there were only two ways to scrounge up that kind of cash.
One: use his status as an academy instructor to take out a massive, crippling loan from the Fiore Central Bank.
Two: go to the underground black market and sell himself as a human test subject for experimental potions.
The first option ruined him financially; the second option could literally kill him!
“If you don’t want to bet, then forget it,” Asher added casually, tossing some extra fuel on the fire.
“Oh, by the way, you have one month to hand over that 300,000.”
“Fine!
I accept!
Six hundred thousand it is!”
After a few seconds of frantic calculation, Drake couldn’t find a single scenario where his elite students would lose to F-Class trash.
Gritting his teeth, he stomped his foot and locked in the wager.
“Excellent!” Asher immediately turned toward Diana and Crawford.
“I ask that both Directors serve as official witnesses to this wager!”
Diana and Crawford exchanged incredibly weird looks.
For some reason, it felt like Asher was practically bouncing with eagerness.
Drake’s brows furrowed deeply as well; he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was very wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
“Hmph.
Since both parties have agreed, then so be it.
I have other matters to attend to.” With a cold snort, Crawford spun on his heel and marched out without looking back.
Drake shot Asher one last venomous glare before scurrying after him.
Soon, only Asher and Diana were left in the ruined classroom.
“Thank you, Director Diana,” Asher said with genuine sincerity.
If she hadn’t intervened when she did, he definitely would have taken a beating today.
“I was merely passing by,” Diana corrected him, pressing her pink lips together.
Yeah, right, Asher rolled his eyes internally.
As expected of Chloe and Claire’s aunt.
What a textbook tsundere.
After a brief, heavy silence, Diana looked at him with a complicated expression.
“You shouldn’t have made that bet with Drake.
He has a student with C-Class talent in his roster, and that student possesses a private family breathing technique.
Your chances of winning are…” She didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was glaringly obvious.
“Does Director Diana not believe in me?” Asher asked, raising an eyebrow.
Diana didn’t answer.
The silence was deafening.
“Alright,” Asher grinned, entirely unfazed.
“But I have absolute confidence in myself.
I believe in my own abilities!”
“I understand,” Diana said with a slow nod.
“Don’t worry.
I will make sure to carve out some time to properly tutor Chloe and Claire at home.
I have matters to attend to.
Goodbye.”
Swish—
Asher’s vision blurred for a fraction of a second, and Diana was suddenly standing at the broken doorway.
“I watched those two grow up.
Thank you, Asher.”
Leaving those soft words behind, she vanished down the hall.
Staring at the empty corridor where Diana had just disappeared, a thoughtful expression crossed Asher’s face.
The very next second, his gaze sharpened, and his voice dropped to a cold, commanding tone.
“Who’s hiding out there?
Show yourself!”
With Diana’s overwhelming aura gone, he could clearly sense someone lingering directly outside the door.
“Master, it’s just me.” Accompanied by a soft, clear voice, Luna stepped shyly into the classroom.
“What are you doing back so soon?
Have you already finished learning the Extreme Compression Breathing Technique and the Star-Shattering Fist?” Asher asked, genuinely stunned.
Luna nodded gently.
“Mhm.
I’ve finished.”
Hiss…
Asher sucked in a sharp breath.
He had originally estimated that, even with the Archive’s direct neural transmission, it would take her at least a full day to grasp two Mystic Tier, Low-Grade manuals.
But it hadn’t even taken her a single morning!
Her comprehension speed was terrifying.
He really had picked up an absolute treasure!
“Master, I heard what happened just now,” Luna suddenly said, looking at him with deep, solemn resolve.
“Please don’t worry.
I will train as hard as I possibly can.
I absolutely won’t let you lose.”
As she spoke, her Tier One, Level Three aura naturally flared up, feeling noticeably denser and more powerful than it had been just yesterday.
“Good!
Excellent!” Feeling the fierce momentum radiating from her, Asher laughed heartily, his chest swelling with pride.
“With you saying that, I have nothing to worry about.”
She had only just broken into Tier One, Level Three yesterday, and a single premium meat breakfast had already solidified and pushed her power even further.
With this kind of monstrous, latent talent, what did he have to fear?
And that was just her raw magical aptitude.
Once she mastered her new breathing technique and combat spell…
“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got,” Asher said, clearing his throat.
“Demonstrate both your new breathing technique and the combat spell for me at the same time.”
As Luna dropped into a combat stance and began circulating her mana, Asher immediately activated [Insight].
[Name]: Luna [Level]: Tier 1, Level 3 [Magic]: C-Class Enhancement Magic [Bloodthirsty Direbear] [Breathing Technique]: Extreme Compression Breathing Technique [Combat Spell]: Star-Shattering Fist [Flaw 1]: Host body contains the dormant SSS-Class Magic [World-Devouring Behemoth].
Due to a severe lack of consumable energy, the magic cannot manifest its true power!
[Flaw 2]: Breathing technique contains severe structural flaws.
Practicing this method will irregularly and continuously drain latent potential, making it highly likely to overdraw physical lifeforce…
[Flaw 3]: Portions of the combat spell are missing, resulting in drastically reduced power output…
[Solution 1]: Initiate secondary awakening to evolve the magic.
Specific optimization regimen includes: Massive consumption of high-tier meat…
[Solution 2]: Optimize the breathing technique.
Specific optimization mapping includes…
[Solution 3]: Restore the combat spell.
Specific optimization mapping includes…