One sword stroke felled Bruce. The long legs wrapped in black silk suddenly tensed and exploded with force; with a twist of her slender ankles, she left footprints several centimeters deep in the ground, her figure rocketing toward Annesia.
Lilith didn't bother wiping the blood off her face — she cut off [Martyrdom] and tossed Li Fei a healing spell, letting the searingly painful, half-numb left shoulder regain a touch of control.
— Don't proc the multi-cast, don't proc the multi-cast…
Li Fei muttered inwardly, her heart not at ease.
She figured she'd definitely take a wound from one Tier-3 Spell Scroll, but it wouldn't necessarily knock her out of combat. A proper mage girl's Tier-3 spell came with high spell-penetration and spell-damage bonuses, but with Intermediate Resistance and her outstanding constitution, even eating one wouldn't necessarily spell instant death. But if a multi-cast triggered…
Rumble, rumble, rumble —
Out of nowhere, a pitch-black Thundercloud surfaced above Li Fei's head, electric crackles snapping in the air, exuding an oppressive pressure.
Li Fei lifted her head and watched, wide-eyed, as the Thundercloud abruptly split into two… three… four!
Four overlapping Thunderclouds folded into a roiling black tide — dense, deep, hung high in the heavens, heart-jolting mana swirling within, like a sky-blotting demonic palm ready to come pressing down at any moment and grind Li Fei to powder.
"Motherf-uuuck…"
Li Fei's heart skipped a beat.
Thundercloud — a Tier-3 Chaos-school spell. It used mana to generate dark clouds blanketing a designated area and rained down multiple lightning strikes on enemies. Its lethality was nothing to sneeze at; whether for AoE or one-on-one combat, the effect was outstanding. Its only drawback was a slight delay between the Thundercloud's formation and the lightning's descent, giving the enemy a chance to escape.
Of course, that delay was very brief. Even same-Sequence rogues had a hard time seizing that fleeting window to escape danger. With Sequence 8 Li Fei not currently holding the Blade of Joy, she obviously couldn't make it out in time.
On top of that, Annesia had placed this Thundercloud with great care, precisely predicting Li Fei's positioning to ensure she stood right at its center. If Li Fei had no trump cards, one Thundercloud was enough to knock her out. At worst, it could lock down Li Fei's movement routes and buy Annesia more time to cast.
"I'm cooke— no, wait!"
Inspiration struck Li Fei. Ignoring the splitting pain in her left shoulder, she forcibly raised her arm and grabbed Flowing Silver's blade-edge with her left hand.
Then, without hesitation, she swung the sword. The blade easily sliced open the skin and flesh of her palm, and her blood was flung out in tow with the swinging longsword, droplet-flowers paving a trail — the farthest splatter landing right under Annesia's feet.
[Flowing Silver]
Equipment Grade: Crescent Moon
Stats: Sharpness Grade III, Durability Grade II, additional sword-swing speed bonus.
Enchant: Flowing Silver
Flowing Silver: Upon contact with blood, leaves a mithril trace, and can move at extreme speed to the location of that trace; maximum range 30 meters, usage interval 1 minute.
Boom!
A dozen-odd lightning serpents danced wildly, scorching the earth. The boundless electric glare washed everything clean, completely sweeping away the darkness beneath the Thundercloud.
But a streak of silvery-white light had slipped out of the Thundercloud's range an instant before the lightning descended.
Where the tender, pink sole revealed through the torn stockings overlapped with the splatter of her own blood, Li Fei activated Flowing Silver using her own blood, and the only barrier remaining between her and Annesia was a single layer of spell shield.
"surprise."
Li Fei flashed a brilliant smile. Sword-glares fell on the shield like rain pelting banana leaves, and an arrow burning with mana-light became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Crack —
The instant the spell shield shattered, Annesia, like a startled rabbit, instinctively cut off her casting in defiance of the spell-backlash and lunged sideways and backward, putting as much distance as possible between herself and Li Fei.
"Running?"
Li Fei took a single step out, sword-light following like a shadow, intending to deliver a physical persuasion-to-surrender.
But Annesia's agility and jumping power somewhat exceeded her expectations. After two consecutive bounds, the white-haired beauty barreled straight into a thicket of shrubs, momentarily concealing her form.
"You can't get away!"
Without hesitation Li Fei chased into the shrubbery, with no intention of giving her so much as a breather.
"Wuah—"
In the brief chase, Li Fei clearly had the upper hand. Just as Annesia was about to break out of the shrubs, a hand seized her mage robe and yanked her back.
Since she had eaten a loss in the preliminaries — and since the shrubs blocked the spectators' line of sight — Li Fei no longer cared about her image. Ignoring Annesia's pitiful cries, she clutched the mage robe with one hand and clenched her other into a fist — a fist white as polished jade, raised high overhead.
Such an adorable white-haired beauty… one punch could probably make her cry for a long, long time, right?
Li Fei's lips curled upward, her eyes turning a touch sadistic.
"Wuu…"
Facing such a vicious opponent, Annesia's sapphire-like eyes brimmed with moisture, like a fawn beneath a tiger's claws. Right at that moment, she recalled the suggestion Irena had given her before the exchange tournament began:
"Master An, blow on her neck."
The fist dropped.
Annesia closed her eyes, decided to trust Irena, and recklessly lifted her head — blowing a puff of breath onto Li Fei's neck.
"Eep~"
When the fist was a mere 0.01 centimeters from her eye socket, Li Fei trembled, let out a strange sound, and all the force in her fist dissipated into thin air.
If Annesia hadn't been such a stunner, if Li Fei had felt genuine danger, this kind of "weak-point attack" never could have worked. But with timing, terrain, and the human factor all aligned, Li Fei got hit.
— This chick has no martial honor whatsoever! Using such dirty tricks against me!
— Also, how did she know my weak spot? Even if she looks a bit dim—
Li Fei subconsciously covered her neck, a suspicious look on her face.
"Irena wasn't lying to me! It really works!"
Annesia's eyes lit up, and her snow-tender little claws clamped right onto Li Fei's shoulders to keep her from escaping. She puffed up her cheeks and blew forcefully at the strip of neck skin between Li Fei's fingers.
"Well, since you started using your mouth, don't blame me."
Li Fei flashed a devilishly enchanting smile and activated [Partial Transformation — Succubus Empress (Lips)]. A crimson tongue more than thirty centimeters long, like the writhing tentacle of a sea monster, was driven hard down the enemy's throat, easily cutting off the "weak-point attack" the white-haired beauty was launching at her.
Ignoring Annesia's wide, tearful eyes and the little-fist-pounding on her chest, Li Fei pinched her jaw to keep her teeth from closing, and simultaneously activated [Venomous Kiss] and [Succubus's Kiss], recklessly injecting toxins into the enemy.
Under the tense yet expectant gazes of the entire crowd, the shrubbery rustled first, then went quiet again.
A moment later, Li Fei walked out of the shrubs carrying the defeated, unconscious white-haired beauty in a princess carry.
"NOOO!"
At the moment the battle's dust settled, a gambling-dog's wail rose from the boiling crowd.
The first round of the group stage was over. The Three-Mage-Girl Squad had defeated the Model Squad and another "got-through-the-eliminations-on-a-bit-of-luck" team in succession, securing advancement with a 2:0 record.
"That's ridiculous — when was the last time an all-mage team made it to the finals?"
"Miss Irena, the Twin Star, once took two mage girls on an unstoppable run all the way to the crown. But back then she was already in her second year, and at Sequence 6, she could solo-massacre low-Sequence opponents single-handedly."
"Hold on — can someone explain to me why the armor blew up?"
"Wasp Swarm and Flame Enchant wrecked the power furnace. And that sword — I've seen the same model. It's called Flowing Silver. Triggering the enchant via self-mutilation, that's a seriously brutal trick…"
Amid the clamor, Alex gripped his sword hilt, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes:
"Keen judgment, swift casting, footwork and battle-qi refinement that don't look like things a freshman should possess."
"I'm growing more and more eager to fight her once she's reached the mid-Sequences."
In the washroom, Klein teased inwardly:
"Uncle Josson, looks like the Flame Enchant I've been busting my hump training these past two days is gonna go to waste, huh."
"What do you know!"
The aged tone was a touch heavier than usual — clearly he was agitated: "I admit, this team winning in the group stage caught me off guard. But for you, there's no Tier-1 spell more useful than Flame Enchant!"
"[Touch of Weakness], [Flame Enchant], [Flourishing Growth] and [Spike] — as long as you pair these few low-Sequence spells with [Parasitic Tentacles], your spell system can take initial shape. Can any other inheritance do that?"
"At any rate, the rewards this time are far more generous than we'd imagined — first place can actually open the treasure vault… A pity that the grade of items you're allowed to pick is bound to have a cap, otherwise we might've saved ourselves thirty thousand credits."
Klein shrugged, optimistic and confident: "No need to rush. Our current pace is already much faster than expected."
"Fei-bao, up me!"
"She bled so much… I'm seriously gonna cry, she's just—"
In the spectator stands, the fangirls were still over the moon about Li Fei's victory.
Where some laughed, naturally some cried.
The [Gambler] Lannister sat slumped in his chair, mouth hanging open, soul utterly gone from his eyes.
Shards of his broken champagne glass slumbered at his feet, and the bottom of his shoes had been soaked along with them in champagne.
"A bet I was sure to win… Why? Why did it turn out like this?"
He felt at the spell contract and Goldsmith Note inside his pocket, his heart twinging in pang after pang.
"Big Sister Irena, why do you look so unhappy?"
After making up an excuse to stay behind at school alone, Li Fei sidled up to Irena, who had just finished her refereeing duties, smiling like a blooming flower.
Though she hadn't caught on during the match itself, a little after-the-fact reflection had made it perfectly clear who had leaked her "weak spot" to Annesia.
Rumor had it, a certain grey-haired beauty had a not-quite-clear relationship with Annesia, hehe.
"No I don't."
A formulaic, sweet smile hung on Irena's face too: "Congratulations on advancing. Keep up the good work tomorrow."
"Oh, really?"
Li Fei blinked, lightly patting her about-to-burst-out cleavage as if letting out a sigh of relief, her expression dripping with passive-aggressive sweetness: "I was worried Big Sister Irena would be angry with me because of what happened with Senior Annesia~"
"I won't be."
Irena's smile grew even more amiable: "Annesia and I are just ordinary friends."
"Then that's good."
The way Irena was forcing her words pleased Li Fei all the more. Even after they said their goodbyes, her face still beamed with a dazzling smile.
Based on Annesia's heart rate, expression, and reactions, the battle-tested Miss Top Courtesan had realized:
Senior Annesia's first kiss didn't belong to Irena — it belonged to me, Li Fei!!
In an utterly radiant mood, Li Fei switched accounts back to Miss Kaname Madoka, transforming into the pitifully lovely pink-haired beauty.
Even though the skin template was "Yuzuriha Inori," Li Fei's Charisma Attribute was simply too high, so the post-transformation form had ended up with a few fine-tunings compared to the original version.
Her legs were a touch longer; the ratio of the lower-body length (taking the navel as the dividing line) to her overall height matched up perfectly with the sacred number 0.618. And her dainty, just-a-handful waist held up a burden that by all rights shouldn't belong to such a slender frame — like weighty Red Fuji apples — looking like it might bend at any moment.
She scanned the spectator stands and quickly spotted Mr. Lannister, the Charity Gambling King, his face etched with utter resignation.
"Um…"
Li Fei poked his arm and, in a soft, cutesy, bashful voice, said: "May I ask… can I collect on the bet now?"
"Mm."
Lannister glanced at Li Fei, slowly rose to his feet, his gaze numb and hollow: "Wait for me a moment."
This Mr. Gambler wasn't tall. Even standing straight, he was half a head shorter than Li Fei — owing to his rather large head, his height was visually around 158. His brown short hair was a touch unkempt, his face a bit aged for his years, the stubble on his chin not entirely shaven. He gave off a feeling of dejection and worldly weariness, with hardly a trace of the vigor a young man ought to have.
Under Li Fei's gaze, he climbed the stairs like a walking corpse, reached the very top of the stands, then deftly hopped over the railing — and leapt off.
"Uh…"
Li Fei put on a harmless, alarmed expression, hands clasped over her chest as if worried about whether Lannister would survive — while inside, she immediately began doing the math.
If she got Tingbao or Maria to resurrect him, then squeezed him dry for two or three hundred years, would that be enough to pay off the gambling debt plus the resurrection cost?
If not, she'd just have to ask a necromancer to put both his corpse and his soul to use…
"Don't worry."
A passing classmate warmly consoled Li Fei: "Every time Lannister loses a bet, he likes to jump from somewhere high to sober himself up. He won't die."
"And this guy, while he's a gambling addict and loses more than he wins, his reputation's actually reliable. He's never welched on a debt."
"How does the saying go again? 'The Charity Gambling King always pays his debts.'"
Li Fei let out a sigh of relief and put on a grateful expression: "Thank you."
…
"Please, come in."
A limping Lannister pulled open the warehouse door and lit the oil lamp on the wall.
After taking a leap off the building, this guy had sobered up considerably.
He'd realized that while he had lost over ten thousand gold coins to this mysterious Miss Kaname Madoka, he'd raked in over seven thousand from the other bettors. The losses weren't actually all that disastrous.
Still, since he didn't have enough cash on hand, Lannister proposed two debt-repayment plans:
One: pay 18,000 gold coins in a lump sum, with the remaining 3,300 gold coins deferred and charged at 15% monthly interest.
Two: pick part of his collection to offset some of the debt, with the remaining balance paid in a lump sum.
Li Fei, on the one hand, marveled at the fact that this guy "with only three-figure savings in his pocket had dared to be the house and run a betting pool with stakes in the five figures," and on the other hand, gently proposed, "Let's first take a look at what good stuff you've got."
So she followed Lannister all the way to a small warehouse not far from the Academy.
Once the lights came on, the pink-haired beauty's face lit with curiosity as she glanced left and right, taking in the wildly assorted items inside.
"These are all the 'spoils' I've won in betting games."
Lannister wore a proud expression: "Pick to your heart's content."
"All right, let me have a look."
Li Fei casually picked up a sheet of yellowed parchment.
It was a contract.
The contents of the contract shook her deeply.
The man Lannister had bet against was a married gentleman, and if the latter lost the wager, the price was his wife's usage rights for one year — divisible and transferable, no less. On it was even a signature representing his partner's "informed and voluntary participation."
"Oh, that's the bet that Sir Bob lost to me."
Lannister explained: "Honestly, this is one of the bets I've won most effortlessly. I even suspect he lost to me on purpose…"
Hsss… that's some next-level play.
The possibility of "deliberately throwing the match" gave Li Fei a chill the more she thought about it, and she sincerely hoped that in the future she too could befriend this kind of generous and big-hearted gentleman.
"There are still 7 months and 25 days left of the one-year term. If you want it, that offsets 5 gold coins per day. Or as a bundle deal I can give you a discount price — hmm, how about a thousand gold coins? Trust me, while Lady Bob isn't young anymore, she'll definitely make you feel it's a steal."
Lannister continued his sales pitch.
"No, no thank you."
Miss Top Courtesan shook her head and put the contract back where she found it.
— You've got to be kidding me. In this world it's always other girls spending money to buy my time. Where's the logic in me paying out the other way?
— Do you have any idea what the going rate is for a top-ranked courtesan of the Golden Kumquat Tavern?
— Still, this guy's stockpile is kind of interesting…
Li Fei covered her upward-curling lips and surveyed the room with mounting interest.
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