Lily left the Academic Affairs Center amid everyone’s sympathetic gazes.
The conversation between the redemption office instructor and Lily had been heard by all.
At this point, everyone’s mindset had balanced out: Sure, we don’t have Lily’s talent, but at least we didn’t end up with a mentor as disastrous as Aaron!
At the First Academy, some mentors were hands-off, and some rarely provided extra benefits to their students—but no one had ever heard of a mentor who bled their own students dry instead!
Those who had once admired and aspired to be mentored by Aaron were secretly relieved: Whew, it was a good thing Aaron didn’t pick them.
Lily wanted to salvage Aaron’s reputation a bit—after all, a mentor’s disgrace shouldn’t be aired publicly. Besides, although Aaron was frustrating, he wasn’t actually terrible—were they all misunderstanding something?
But seeing everyone’s gazes grow even more sympathetic, Lily silently shut her mouth. Forget it—if she tried to defend him further, they’d only think Aaron had completely brainwashed her.
After stepping out of the Academic Affairs Center, Lily looked at Avery, who was beaming brightly beside her, and couldn’t help asking, “You’re not here to exchange anything?”
This girl had simply followed her straight out.
Avery waved her hand casually. “The redemption office isn’t going anywhere—I can exchange things anytime. But catching you alone for a chat isn’t so easy. You’re always gone right after class, and I can never get a hold of you.”
“I’ve had a lot going on lately,” Lily explained.
Avery was the one who’d funded Lily’s first pot of gold—there might be more opportunities to collaborate in the future—so Lily stayed friendly. “Student Roll, what do you need from me?”
“Just call me Avery. ‘Student Roll’ is too formal.” Avery handed over a shimmering golden invitation card. “I’m in the process of establishing a new club—called the Gold Coin Club—and I’d like to invite you to join.”
Lily took the card and discreetly scratched at it a couple of times.
“Stop scratching—it’s copper-plated.” Avery wasn’t surprised by Lily’s move at all. Good, she truly was the talent Avery had her eye on!
Lily gave up resignedly. Fine, copper-plated—that fit her impression of Avery perfectly. If Avery had used real gold to make the invitation, that would have been the real miracle!
Abandoning the idea of making a small profit off the invitation card, Lily opened it and glanced at the contents—simple and straightforward: The Gold Coin Club invites all ambitious individuals!
Even the club’s name was refreshingly blunt.
Still, Lily was genuinely interested. “Can you tell me more?”
Don’t forget—for Aaron to maintain his rank as a senior mentor, his students had to meet a series of requirements by the end of the semester.
For example:
· Minimum 【total cumulative credits】 of 400;
· Minimum 【non-gold-coin cumulative credits】 of 200;
· No fewer than five papers accepted by professional journals;
· At least one student holding a position in a club;
· An outstanding student rate of no less than 50%…
All these requirements had essentially been dumped on Lily’s shoulders, and she was figuring out how to tackle them one by one.
The club requirement was exactly one of them—so of course Lily was interested. With a newly established club like this, she’d have a better chance of landing a leadership position rather than just being an ordinary member.
“As the name suggests, this club’s goal is to make money. You see, some people have already set their sights on my business—they’re waiting for me to expand so they can shut me down. But if I operate under the cover of club activities, it won’t be so easy for them to make a move.”
Avery spoke with great enthusiasm.
As for who had set their sights on her? That was hard to say. Spreading rumors about Miss Emma carelessly could get you into trouble.
Avery also knew she was operating on the edge of the academy’s rules—if someone came after her operation, she’d have no one to appeal to. No big deal—she just needed to make her business compliant.
She’d already done her homework well in advance.
“My plan is that within three years, it’ll become the number one financial group in the academy—no, in the entire Magic Holy City! Within five years, it’ll be able to buy out the academy!”
Good grief—so she wasn’t just competing with the academy for business—she had her eyes on the academy itself.
Lily’s forehead was covered in black lines: No wonder you didn’t dare print this manifesto on the invitation—afraid the academy would find out and throw you in a sack, right?!
Avery looked at Lily earnestly and said, “You’ve got no small amount of trouble ahead of you, being under Mentor Aaron. Never mind the people he’s offended over the years… He only took you as his sole student—all his evaluation targets fall on you.”
Clearly, she understood Lily’s situation and knew exactly how to persuade her tactically.
“Join the Gold Coin Club. At the very least, consider the club position requirement taken care of—I’ll handle it. I’ve reserved the position of club advisor for you. Later on, if it works out, you’ll be vice president.”
With that, Avery glanced around—no sign of Aaron. Safe!
So she went on boldly, “And if you ever want to escape the pit that is Aaron, I can also introduce you to other mentors.”
Lily thought for a moment but didn’t agree on the spot. “Thank you for the invitation. I’m not planning to switch mentors for now. As for the club, I need some more time to think it over.”
How could Avery let her take her time?
There were plenty of people eyeing Lily! Even powerful clubs like the Student Council and the Magical Research Association would probably send her invitations.
If she took too long to think, too many variables would come into play.
Avery quickly said, “Do you have any other concerns? You can tell me—everything’s negotiable. Or are you waiting for invitations from clubs like the Student Council?”
Freshmen all gravitated toward those well-established clubs with significant influence both on and off campus. It was only natural for Lily to want in as well.
“Alright, I’m sure they’ll invite you. But in the short term, there’s no way they’ll offer you a position.”
Defeating Chris against all expectations and becoming the fastest freshman to publish in a prestigious journal—that was enough for those non-public-recruiting clubs to extend olive branches to Lily. But wanting a leadership position? That was a bit too much to ask.
You see, these clubs never lacked talent! Those who held positions in them were essentially upperclassmen—already mid-to-high-tier mages—and most had unique skills to boot.
As for other small-to-medium clubs, they might offer Lily a position, but their potential couldn’t even compare to Avery’s newly founded Gold Coin Club!
“All things considered, my offer is the most generous you’ll get.”
Lily admitted that Avery was right—purely from a cost-benefit perspective, joining the Gold Coin Club was a very suitable choice. Making more money—wasn’t that appealing?
In the past, Lily would have agreed without hesitation.
As someone who’d navigated the corporate world, she’d always been good at weighing pros and cons—which was why during the practical assessment, she’d shamelessly challenged the weakest opponent. She’d found that a pretty good deal.
But now, Lily hesitated. Because of something Aaron had once said to her: Don’t lose your edge.
Aaron might have said it casually, but it had indeed left an impression on Lily.
She could find the option that maximized benefits through careful calculation—but was that truly her intention?
Lately, Lily had also been pondering a question: The freshman assessment was over, and she could now stand firm in the academy—so what came next?
At its core, the question was: What was her goal?
Make lots of money and live out her days in comfort?
Become a powerful mage that no one dared to mess with and reach the pinnacle of life?
Both sounded pretty good. But something felt missing.
She remembered how the old Lily—her former self—had put it: “Magic is amazing! I want to explore the mysteries of magic!”
She’d been through a lot, and some of her thoughts had changed over time—but had others really changed?
Lily looked up. “Avery, I have a question. Why do you want to found the Gold Coin Club?”
“Because I love it!” Avery answered without hesitation.
Lily smiled.
See—that was Avery’s true intention, so she went ahead and did it.
Even if it meant giving up the chance to join those big clubs, even if she might never surpass them no matter how long she tried, even if she might never get the chance to buy out the First Academy…
And what about Lily?
“You know, I just don’t want to be constrained by money. But beyond that, I don’t really love money that much. What I want to do… is explore the mysteries of magic.”
She’d experienced a life spent chasing money—she didn’t like it.
She also wanted to live for her true intentions!
There was no such thing as the “most suitable” choice. Only “I want to do it, so I’ll do it”!
She was luckier than others—she’d witnessed the power of science. And this was a world of magic—she wanted to witness the wonders of magic! She also wanted to see what would happen when science and magic collided!
At this moment, Lily truly returned to herself.
Avery’s expression shifted slightly. “I understand what you mean.”
Lily’s ambition was even greater than hers!
Avery was a princess of the Northern Empire—with that foundation, she had the right to follow her heart and had a real chance of achieving her goals.
But what about Lily? Was she overestimating herself?
—That’s what Avery thought, but then she remembered how Lily had brilliantly turned the tables in the freshman assessment.
That outcome had surprised even Avery. She’d thought Lily’s ace in the hole was the ten gold coins she’d given her. In reality, it hadn’t been.
Maybe Lily really could create more miracles?
Lily didn’t outright reject Avery. But Avery knew that after those words, the chances of Lily accepting were low.
“Your goal is the Magical Research Association?”
Avery thought for a moment and shared everything she knew:
“Chris has joined that association too. With his temper… he might still try to cause you trouble.”
“Also, among the mentors affiliated with the association, some have past conflicts with Mentor Aaron—you should watch out. Although the association is mainly research-focused, the web of relationships there is no less complicated than the Student Council’s.”
The Student Council had clear rules—everything was out in the open. But the Magical Research Association wasn’t necessarily the same. There were all sorts of vested interests at play.
Lily nodded. “Thanks for the intel. I have considered the Magical Research Association, but I’ll see how things go.”
Lily never meant to abandon her tasks entirely—she just didn’t want to be a mere tool for completing them, nor lose sight of the forest for the trees.
Those requirements and tasks were milestones and processes along the path to her goal. Could she simply cast them all aside? Of course not. Returning to her true intentions didn’t mean being a reckless fool again.
Her interest in the association was genuine—but if it ran counter to her interests, Lily didn’t need to stubbornly stick with it. She had other options.
Starting her own club like Avery did—wasn’t that also an option?
Of course, founding a club came with all sorts of hassles—not anyone could do it just because they wanted to.
In short, Lily planned to wait and observe a bit longer before making her decision.
“I hope you get what you wish for. I’d love to witness miracles too.” Avery extended her hand to Lily. “But… if you change your mind, come find me anytime.”