“Student Lily, you earned 2 credits from the freshman assessment. Additionally, your magical innovation research paper, “Expanded Light Breeze Technique: Gas Layering Method,” will be published in this month’s issue of Elementary Magical Theory. The academy has already issued the corresponding credit reward of 5 credits. Your current total credits stand at 7.”
At the Academic Affairs Center, Redemption Office.
The instructor in charge took Lily’s ID card and swiped it through the magic slot in front of her, instantly displaying her personal information.
There were quite a few students at the redemption office at that moment. Upon hearing what the instructor said, they all turned their gazes toward Lily.
“What the hell? She’s a freshman? And she’s already published a paper?” blurted out an upperclassman who didn’t recognize Lily.
It hadn’t even been a month since this year’s freshmen started school, right? Had she even solidified her magical fundamentals yet? And she was already doing magical research and publishing papers? If freshmen were this overpowered, how were the upperclassmen supposed to keep up?
However, more people on the scene actually recognized Lily, and they weren’t all that surprised. “Have you been living under a rock? You don’t even know her? She already showed off her skills during the freshman assessment.”
Even the instructors hadn’t recognized what move Lily used back then, which proved it involved magical innovation. Once she compiled the corresponding theoretical content, getting published wasn’t hard—it just depended on which journal she landed in.
Someone else couldn’t help but say sourly, “I knew she’d get published sooner or later, but Elementary Magical Theory of all places…”
Everyone nodded in unison. That was exactly what they were thinking: We knew your theory would get published, but we didn’t expect you to land this well!
The Magic Holy City had long established a mature system for magical research, encompassing everything from the comprehensive academy teaching setup to the existence of various magical journals. Naturally, this was all part of the system.
Of course, magic had developed to the point where both innovation and in-depth research were no easy feats, so the phenomenon of “padding papers” was actually quite common.
For example, if I carved decorative patterns onto a Water Arrow spell, would that count as innovation? Sure! As long as the patterns were different, the innovation points would differ—perfectly reasonable.
But the top three journals didn’t accept this type of padded papers. They’d rather leave pages blank than compromise their authority.
From highest to lowest, they were: Advanced Magical Theory, Intermediate Magical Theory, and Elementary Magical Theory.
For some journals, the academy would only stingily reward one or two credits for publication. But for the top three journals, even the most basic one—Elementary Magical Theory—gave a 5-credit reward per paper.
Lily had just arrived and already touched the threshold of a prestigious journal. How could everyone not be envious?
The instructor at the redemption counter ignored the other students’ clamor and continued beaming at Lily. “Student Lily, may I ask what you need?”
At the First Academy, credits weren’t just a symbol of grades and honor—to a certain extent, they were the internal special currency. All kinds of academy resources could be redeemed with credits.
Wealthy students could buy credits with money. Conversely, those with many credits could exchange them for gold coins at a ratio of 1 credit to 10 gold coins.
However, unless they were in dire need, very few people would exchange credits for money.
Some special magical resources might not be purchasable with gold coins outside the academy, but you could easily redeem them with credits inside. The magic academy itself was an important resource platform.
A student like Lily, who had earned 7 credits not long after the semester started, could already be considered a fat sheep—ah, no, a major client. So the instructor enthusiastically pitched to her:
“I highly recommend this beginner-level magic wand, worth 10 credits. The green crystal on it is quite precious—sold separately, it would cost dozens of gold coins. It can enhance your affinity with the air element. Though it’s only beginner-level, it’ll serve you well even into the intermediate stage.”
The instructor wasn’t trying to cheat Lily either; he knew her trump card was the Light Breeze Technique, and pairing it with a wind-attribute magic wand would quickly boost her strength.
At present, almost none of the first-year freshmen could afford this thing.
Although gold coins could be exchanged for credits, what types of resources students could redeem depended on their 【non-gold-coin cumulative credits】. Only with higher cumulative credits could they unlock more redeemable resources.
For instance, if a tycoon threw in thousands of credits but had zero credits earned through other means, no matter how many credits showed in their account, they wouldn’t qualify to redeem certain special resources.
The beginner-level magic wand the instructor recommended had a redemption requirement of at least 5 【non-gold-coin cumulative credits】.
Lily already qualified.
It was indeed a good item, but damn was it expensive! Lily’s mouth twitched. “Teacher, I only have 7 credits.”
Couldn’t she be introduced to something more affordable?
The instructor waved his hand casually. “No problem. For outstanding students like you, the school also offers low-interest loans. As long as you repay 12 credits by the end of the semester, you can take it now.”
Lily’s face stiffened: My math isn’t great, don’t try to fool me! A 10-credit item, and you want 12 credits back in a few months—you call that low interest?
She finally saw the academy’s true nature: Academy earns, academy spends—not a single credit leaves with you!
Behind Lily, Avery had squeezed over at some point and whispered, “Lily, I’ll lend it to you. My interest is lower—just pay me back 110 gold coins by the end of the semester.”
Lily was speechless.
No wonder Avery had come to the First Academy—it suited her perfectly! It was a classic case of “a crooked tree casts a crooked shadow”—not a single upright person in sight!
Alright, although both the academy and Avery’s interest rates were a bit steep, the fact that they were willing to lend Lily money was already a form of recognition—they believed she had the corresponding ability to repay.
Before the freshman assessment, Lily had been fretting over just 10 gold coins, and no one had offered to lend her any money.
This world was just that real.
Lily sighed inwardly but didn’t take up the loan offer.
Before the freshman assessment, time had been limited, so she’d focused exclusively on the Light Breeze Technique. But her future trump cards couldn’t be limited to just an expanded version of that spell. For her, a wind-attribute magic wand was useful, but not essential.
If possible, Lily wanted a wand that could enhance affinity with all magic types. But she didn’t even bother asking if such a thing existed—she knew with her toes that even if they had one, she couldn’t afford it, nor did she meet the purchase qualifications.
Instead, Lily asked, “Do you have a magic wand that speeds up mental energy recovery?”
“There is one,” the instructor said, giving her an odd look. “But honestly, I don’t recommend it.”
Speeding up mental energy recovery—that sounded like an important function, certainly no less valuable than a wind-attribute wand. So why wouldn’t he recommend it?
For upperclassmen and even instructors, this type of wand was indeed very important. They might take on various tasks and face all kinds of crises, and the difference between recovering a little faster or slower could be huge!
But Lily was a freshman. The mental energy she expended on her normal coursework could be fully restored through regular meditation. Would speeding up recovery by a little make much of a difference? No. It would just save a bit of insignificant time.
So, mid-to-high-tier mental recovery wands were bestsellers, but the beginner version was actually a slow seller due to its poor cost-performance ratio.
“How many credits?”
“Originally 10 credits, discounted to 7.”
But Lily had consulted Aaron in advance and knew what she was doing.
She continued bargaining: “Teacher Aaron said no one buys this wand—it’s been sitting in the warehouse gathering dust for years. How about a depreciated price of 1 credit?”
Now it was the instructor’s turn to have his mouth twitch: This was the academy’s resource redemption center, not a vegetable market!
Fine, since it was a slow-selling item, he’d give her a chance to bargain—but hacking at the ankle was just rude!
“Rock-bottom price, 4 credits. If you don’t want it, let it keep gathering dust.”
“Fine, I’ll take it.” Lily was decisive too.
1 credit was definitely impossible—that quote was just to feel out the academy’s psychological floor price. 4 credits was about what she’d estimated.
“Infuse your mental energy, casually cast a spell, and complete identity verification again.”
The instructor deducted Lily’s credits, retrieved a pitch-black magic wand from the warehouse, and tossed it to her.
Lily didn’t leave, nor did she inspect the wand. Instead, she put on a conflicted expression that was a mix of helplessness and heartache. “Teacher, use the remaining credits to invest in Teacher Aaron’s lab.”
The instructor stared at her in shock.
Seeing that Lily wasn’t joking, he slammed the table and stood up. “Student Lily, did Aaron put you up to exchanging for this wand?”
No wonder Lily had passed on the more suitable wind-attribute wand and gone for the cheap slow seller instead!
That bastard—just to replenish his own lab’s funds, he was even scamming his own student’s credits! He had no bottom line left!
This had to be reported to the principal—Miss Emma needed to discipline Aaron!
Lily now had a clear understanding of Aaron’s reputation.
If Aaron had done even a single decent thing in the past, this instructor wouldn’t have immediately jumped to “Aaron is scamming his student.”
Upon making that connection, the instructor was shocked and angry, but not at all surprised. As if it was only a matter of time before Aaron stooped to this level.
Although Aaron was indeed a huge pitfall in Lily’s mind, she still had to save face for him in front of outsiders.
Lily quickly said, “Teacher, you’ve misunderstood. The wand was my own choice.”
That was the truth. Aaron had only advised her on how to get it cheaper.
The instructor gave her a suspicious look and confirmed again, “And you’re sure you want to put your remaining credits into his lab?”
He added, “I should warn you—he’s already consumed a massive amount of resources. The little you’re putting in won’t even make a ripple. Also, instructors have no right to interfere with how students use their credits.”
“I’m sure.” Lily nodded.
She had no choice. Aaron had been hovering around her like a restless spirit, sighing dramatically:
“Lacking experimental materials—a world-changing experiment on the verge of collapse. Is this a moral failure, or the demise of humanity?”
“Others want to invest in me, but I won’t accept it. It would affect my control over the lab. But you’re my student, so I’m giving you a chance.”
“One credit, and you have a chance to rewrite the future. Two credits, and you can change the magical world…”
Lily was of course disgusted: You won’t let me invest in you, but you’re trying to squeeze every last bit out of me? Have you no shame?
But then again, sometimes Aaron was a huge pitfall, and other times he was more principled and reliable than Lily had expected.
The paper Lily published in Elementary Magical Theory had been submitted by Aaron on her behalf, which was why the review process had been so fast. And Aaron hadn’t asked to be listed as a co-author. If his name had been on it, Lily would only have gotten one or two credits.
After buying the wand, Lily didn’t have an urgent use for the remaining credits, so she might as well let him burn through them. After all, their mentor-student relationship made them natural allies with shared interests.
Disgusted as she was, Lily had still embarked on the road of no return—”earning credits to support her mentor.”
But she silently resolved: Once she had the power, she’d collect this debt sooner or later!
The instructor looked like he wanted to say something but held back, as if seeing a poor pitiful soul being bamboozled by Aaron.
Finally, he let out a long sigh. “Fine, as you wish. But don’t forget—if you need help, you can always come to the academy.”