Leading Tessa toward the wide steps of the administration building, Leo listened as the morning bells tolled across the campus.
Behind them in the open courtyard, a furious roar of humiliated pride broke the quiet of the morning.
"You think you can walk away from me, slum trash?" Julian shrieked, scrambling up from the lawn with his silver coat covered in mud.
The wealthy heir drew an electric stun baton from his pocket, thumbing the ignition switch until bright blue electricity crackled along the tip.
Blinded by rage and the stares of his watching classmates, the bully lunged forward, swinging the weapon toward the back of Tessa’s head.
Leo turned with rapid speed, stepping between his sister and the descending strike in a single fluid pivot.
His bare palm caught the live electric baton mid-swing, the thin energy coating over his skin absorbing forty thousand volts without a flinch.
With a tight clench of his fingers, the baton’s casing fractured, crumbling into smoking fragments.
A burst of ozone hissed into the air as the internal battery discharged harmlessly against his palm.
Julian stared at the ruined remains of his expensive weapon, his mouth opening as his breath hitched in surprise.
Leo didn’t give the bully a chance to retreat.
He stepped in close, driving a sharp liver strike with his left fist that lifted the teenager three inches off the flagstones.
"Gaaah!" Julian’s eyes bulged as the breath was violently punched from his lungs.
Before the boy could fall, Leo delivered a downward palm sweep across his chest, slamming him flat into the turf with a dull thud.
The boy lay in the grass gasping like a stranded fish, holding his stomach while drool dripped onto the ground.
"If you ever come near my sister again," Leo said, looking down with an icy glare, "I won’t leave your ribs intact."
The two lackeys dropped their textbooks in terror, backing away with their hands raised in surrender.
The surrounding crowd of students shrank back in awe, nobody daring to make a sound or move a muscle.
Whispers of disbelief spread among the onlookers, shocked that an unranked district laborer had dismantled an Awakened noble without breaking a sweat.
Leo took Tessa’s hand and led her up the grand staircase, entering the vaulted foyer of the administration building.
Colored windowpanes cast vibrant patterns across the polished floor where administrative staff bustled with digital holopads.
A line of wealthy parents in tailored coats waited near the customer counters, paying semester invoices with gold bank cards.
They walked down the central corridor to the bursar department, where an administrator in gold-rimmed spectacles sat behind a high desk.
Behind the administrator rose tall archives containing records of the city’s most influential dynasties.
The official looked up, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he recognized Tessa’s frayed jacket.
"Tsk, if you are here to plead for a tuition extension, student Marsh, don’t waste my time," the official said coldly, adjusting a stack of eviction forms.
"The academy board signed your termination order ten minutes ago."
"Check the account again," Leo said, stepping up to the counter.
"Young man, unranked district laborers aren’t permitted to address administrative staff," the official sneered, tapping the terminal screen.
"Unless you have twelve thousand credits in certified funds right now, campus security will escort you both to the gates."
"We aren’t leaving until the official receipt is printed," Leo replied, his voice calm and steady.
"Rules are absolute in District 7," the administrator scoffed, waving a dismissive hand.
"Slum families always promise funds that never arrive, wasting our valuable processing hours."
Leo reached into his dark jacket, pulling out the sealed cashier’s draft and placing it flat onto the desk.
The official blinked in confusion, picking up the document and scanning the verification barcode with his terminal wand.
The terminal screen chimed with a golden glow as twelve thousand credits transferred into the academy’s master account.
The administrator’s jaw dropped, his eyes bulging behind his gold-rimmed spectacles as the debt counter reset to zero.
Before the stunned administrator could speak, Leo dropped an additional bank chit worth ten thousand credits beside the draft.
"Twelve thousand for the arrears, and ten thousand advanced credit for next semester’s laboratory fees," Leo said, leaning forward until his shadow fell across the desk.
"Print the official receipt with the board seal right now."
The administrator turned pale, his fingers trembling as he typed rapidly into the security terminal.
"T-Ten thousand advanced credit..." the official stammered, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his upper lip.
"Processing your transaction right away, sir."
The automated printer whirred, spitting out an embossed gold-foil receipt stamped with the official seal of District 7 Preparatory Academy.
"Account fully cleared in good standing, student Marsh," the official stammered, handing the golden slip across the desk with both hands.
"Your enrollment privileges and dormitory access are restored with highest priority."
The embossed golden crest shimmered on the parchment, certifying her elite student status with legal immunity.
Tessa took the receipt, staring at the golden seal as new tears of joy spilled down her cheeks.
A triumphant chime resonated through Leo’s field of vision as both engines updated simultaneously.
[ Quest Completed: The Price Of Survival ]
[ Combat Reward: +2,500 EXP | +10 Free Stat Points Awarded ]
[ LEVEL UP: Level 3 -> Level 4 ]
[ LEVEL UP: Level 4 -> Level 5 ]
[ Strength: 10 -> 14 (+4) ]
[ Agility: 11 -> 15 (+4) ]
[ Perception: 11 -> 13 (+2) ]
[ Cosmic Pathways: 0% / 100% ]
[ Status: HP 100/100 | Stamina 100/100 | Ether 25/25 ]
[ Total Account Balance: 179,500 Credits ]
A surge of warm energy rushed through Leo’s limbs, widening his ether channels and reinforcing the muscle fibers across his shoulders.
His senses expanded, allowing him to perceive the subtle heartbeats of every person in the hall with clarity.
Tessa threw her arms around Leo’s waist, burying her face into his chest as sobs of pure relief shook her shoulders.
"Thank you, Leo," she wept, gripping his jacket against her cheek.
"I promise I will make you proud by earning the highest academic honors in the entire academy."
"You already do, kiddo," Leo murmured, resting a hand gently on her head with a soft smile.
"Now wipe your tears," Leo added, pulling a clean handkerchief from his pocket to dry her cheeks.
"We have some essential shopping to take care of before I catch the evening train back to District 9."
"Shopping?" she asked, blinking through her damp eyelashes in surprise.
"Leo, where did you get all this money?"
"Private contracting work for independent clients," Leo said, tapping her nose with a playful finger.
"Let us buy you new laboratory textbooks, proper winter clothes, and organic groceries that don’t come out of a dented tin."
"I have worn this patched blazer for three full terms," she whispered, looking down at her fraying sleeves with a shy smile.
"The other girls in the dormitory always whispered about my old shoes whenever we walked to class."
"Those days are finished forever," Leo promised, wrapping his arm around her shoulders with protective warmth.
"From now on, you get the finest equipment and the best of everything."
They walked out through the soaring archway into the bright midday sun, the fresh breeze carrying the scent of flowering jasmine across the plaza.
Tessa nodded happily, clutching her golden tuition receipt as they headed down the broad concourse toward the central shopping district.