Time slips through our fingers like running water.
The seasons change in the blink of an eye.
Over twenty days flew by in an instant.
Before anyone knew it, the semester had been underway for nearly an entire month.
There were exactly three days left until the first monthly Practical Combat Prep Assessment.
During these final few days, the tension hanging over the second-year students grew incredibly heavy.
Along with the suffocating atmosphere came an endless wave of gossip and rumors.
For instance, a minor argument between Class 5 and Class 6 had escalated into a massive, classroom-wide brawl.
A rebellious student in Class 15 had finally been expelled for refusing to follow orders.
A student in Class 3 had pushed their latent potential so hard they suffered severe magic backfire and had to be rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
And so on, and so on…
But of course, the most captivating piece of gossip revolved around the legendary 600,000 Jewel wager between Drake and Asher.
The bet had been brewing for an entire month, drawing the attention of virtually every student and faculty member in the academy.
And now, just days before the assessment, a completely shocking piece of news leaked from Drake’s class.
Someone in Class 10 had actually broken through to Tier One, Level Four!
No one knew exactly who leaked the information first, but it was verified almost instantly.
The moment it was confirmed, the news spread through the academy like a raging blizzard.
Inside the [Faculty Only BS Chat Group], which housed dozens of instructors:
[Physics Guy]: “A Tier One, Level Four?!
Holy crap!
Are they really that strong?
I thought Class 10 only had one kid with C-Class talent.
How did he level up so ridiculously fast?”
[History Buff]: “Yeah, I know he practiced a private family breathing technique and started at Level Two when he awakened his magic…
but this still means he jumped two whole levels in less than a month!
How the hell did Drake pull that off?!”
[Ms.
Gossip]: “Ha!
You guys are out of the loop.
I heard it from the Class 9 instructor.
Drake literally took every single resource assigned to his class and dumped it onto that one C-Class kid!
Aside from two D-Class kids who got the scraps, not a single other student in his class has leveled up!”
[Math Department Head]: “Hiss…
Drake is absolutely ruthless!
He literally just brute-forced a Level Four by burying the kid under a mountain of potions!
What’s the point of doing that?
The actual Combat Exams in six months are graded on the overall class admission rate!”
[Ms.
Gossip]: “You really don’t get it, do you?
Drake did this specifically for the monthly assessment in three days.
Did you forget the rules?
Each class selects exactly three representatives for a tournament-style format.
Drake is just legally exploiting the rules to secure a guaranteed win!”
[Gym Coach]: “Isn’t he playing it a bit too safe?
Does he really need to go that far just to beat Asher?
I literally can’t think of a single timeline where Asher actually wins this.”
Just as the conversation began to lull, someone suddenly dropped a new message.
[Logistics Admin]: “Looks like Asher finally hit the panic button.
People saw Class 18’s door open over the past two days.
They’ve spotted Asher frantically trying to coach Luna.”
The group chat immediately erupted with collective scoffs and sneers.
[Physics Guy]: “Tch.
Now he decides to work hard?
What was he doing for the past three weeks?
He’s just lying to himself at this point.”
[History Buff]: “Not necessarily.
Sharpening your spear right before the battle might not make it lethal, but at least it makes it look shiny.
Maybe Asher just doesn’t want to lose too humiliatingly.”
[Math Department Head]: “Let’s analyze this rationally, without any bias.
An F-Class student would struggle to advance even a single level in a month, even with a mountain of resources—let alone after wasting the last three weeks doing absolutely nothing.
Even if Asher trains her to the bone these last few days, Luna will at best just solidify her Level One foundation.
As for Chloe and Claire, sure, they started at Level Two, but their F-Class talent severely limits them.
Reaching Level Three in a month is incredibly unlikely.
And even if they miraculously do hit Level Three, Asher’s class is absolutely no match for Drake’s Level Four powerhouse.”
[Gym Coach]: “Stop with the damn rational analysis!
Someone just opened a betting pool on the Dark Web!
Drake’s odds have already plummeted to 1:1.2!
If you guys don’t go place your bets right now, you aren’t going to make any pocket money!”
The moment the Gym Coach sent that message, the group chat fell completely silent.
A few seconds later:
[Physics Guy]: “Are you joking?
We are respected educators!
How could we possibly take the lead in participating in illegal gambling?”
[History Buff]: “Exactly!
I, Mr.
Lu, will state this right here, right now!
I am absolutely, fundamentally opposed to vice, gambling, and—I mean, I will fight it to my dying breath!”
[Ms.
Gossip]: “So…
where are your morals?
Where is your dignity?
Where is your bottom line?
…Where is the link?”
[Gym Coach] has initiated a ‘Poll’.
Long-press to open the link…
Once the link was dropped, the group chat went completely dead.
…
On Earthland, the Dark Web was a massive, encrypted subdivision of the global virtual network.
Because it guaranteed absolute anonymity, it was widely praised and utilized by mages of all backgrounds.
Opening betting pools was just one of its minor, most inconspicuous features.
The Dark Web was primarily used for trading high-tier cultivation manuals and miraculous elixirs, buying rare weapons, recruiting illegal test subjects, hiring mercenaries, putting out assassination hits, and hosting underground auctions.
It was a place where anything you could imagine was bought and sold.
However, the vast majority of its core functions were strictly locked behind a Tier Four Transcendent Realm verification.
When the instructors clicked the link, they immediately saw the odds for the wager between Drake and Asher.
Drake’s payout odds were a measly 1:1.2.
Asher’s payout odds were a staggering 1:5!
There were no complex conditions or third options—just a simple, brutal bet on who would win.
Under Drake’s 1:1.2 odds, a constant stream of ticker tape rolled across the screen, displaying massive bets.
[Drunk Beat My Mother-In-Law] wagered: 20,000 Jewels.
[Category 8 Hurricane] wagered: 10,000 Jewels.
[Add Me on V-Chat for Krabby Patty Formula] wagered: 20,000 Jewels.
But under Asher’s 1:5 odds, the ticker tape was agonizingly slow, flashing only a handful of pathetic, minimum bets.
[Swallow Weeping Willow] wagered: 1,000 Jewels.
[Spicy Rice Crackers] wagered: 1,000 Jewels.
[Fire Dance Relocation] wagered: 1,000 Jewels.
The only reason these bets were 1,000 Jewels was because that was the absolute minimum wager allowed on the platform.
However, amidst the sea of tiny, pitiful bets, one specific ID suddenly flashed across the screen in bold letters, blinding everyone who saw it.
[Magnolia’s Daniel Wu] wagered: 50,000 Jewels.
The absurd amount instantly grabbed everyone’s attention.
50,000 Jewels!
That was considered a massive bet even on Drake’s side, let alone throwing it onto a guaranteed loser like Asher!
At 1:5 odds, if Asher somehow managed to pull off a miracle, this person would walk away with their principal plus 250,000 Jewels—a clean 300,000 Jewel payout!
Of course, that was completely predicated on one impossible condition…
Asher actually had to win.
…
Inside Class 18.
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
Asher’s smartphone vibrated on his desk.
He picked it up and opened a new text message.
[Fiore Central Bank Notification: Your savings account ending in 9527 has processed a transaction of 50,000 Jewels to **.
Available Balance: 4,386 Jewels.]
Seeing the text, Asher couldn’t help but click his tongue.
That 50,000 was quite literally his entire life savings.
“Master, what are you looking at?” Luna asked curiously, leaning over from her desk.
Since her massive stack of Gravity Room passes had finally run dry, she had spent these final few days training inside the classroom under Asher’s direct supervision.
“Oh, nothing.” Asher put his phone away, a wide, irrepressible grin spreading across his face.
“Just making a little extra cash on the side.”
…
At the exact same time.
The Hakobe Hills, South Suburbs.
The Heartfilia Family Villa.
Inside the first-floor training room.
Clunk!
Clunk!
With the heavy hiss of depressurizing air, two separate Tier One Gravity Room pods hissed open.
Chloe and Claire slowly stepped out.
Though their expressions were vastly different, their eyes burned with the exact same fierce, brilliant light.
The magical aura rolling off both of their bodies was undeniably sitting at Tier One, Level Three!
“Old man…
I bet you’re going to drop dead from shock when you see our magic,” Chloe muttered, looking out the window toward the direction of the First Magic Academy.
“Hehe…
bet you didn’t see this coming, handsome!” Claire flashed a triumphant grin.
“In the end, it’s the two of us who are going to swoop in and save you from total disaster!”
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