"Good stuff…"
Li Fei ran her hand over the whole warehouse shelf and quickly found two items to her liking.
One was the knowledge of the [Fortune-Shifting Ritual]. This ritual could bring good luck; setting it up once cost roughly fifty gold coins, and it didn't last long — but for gacha-pulling, it was more than enough.
As for the other…
[Pandora's Box]
[Description: A box sealed by the Goddess of Luck, the Goddess Pandora.]
The market price hovered around ten thousand, and Lannister was only asking 8,888!
Li Fei, who had long been itching to try this thing out, really couldn't resist, and snagged one.
The two together offset 9,888 of the debt.
Her swift, deft movements made Lannister — who had originally planned to introduce the items to her slowly — secretly click his tongue: when on earth had the Magic Academy produced a student whose beauty could rival Miss Spell Encyclopedia's, and who was so remarkably well-informed?
"Alright, just these two."
Just as Li Fei was about to stop, Lannister flipped open a crate in the corner and egged her on:
"Won't you take a look at these as well?"
"Inside are some things I can't appraise — one hundred gold coins apiece… there might just be treasure in there."
Quite the salesman. But this girl's not falling for it.
Li Fei sneered inwardly.
In the popular novels making the rounds these days, there's always a plot where the protagonist 'scores a steal' — through all sorts of coincidences and lucky chances, buying priceless treasures at rock-bottom prices, leaving readers entranced and forever itching to run off to the Transcendent Market hoping to strike it lucky themselves.
And plenty of merchants had figured out their customers' mindset, buying up heaps of junk that was hard to identify at rock-bottom prices, then selling it at ten times the cost to customers trying to score a bargain.
Li Fei, too, had once harbored a fluke mentality and gone strolling through the Transcendent Market when she had nothing better to do — and the facts proved that those merchants were sly as foxes. Li Fei had poked here and prodded there until the pads of her fingers were nearly worn raw, yet aside from defective potions, she had never once succeeded in scoring a steal.
Even with Miss System helping appraise, it was like this — so the eventual fate of other fluke-chasers can well be imagined.
"Even the whole huge Transcendent Market can't turn up anything good, and your dinky little crate of stock here is really going to have treasure in it? Anyone could tell just by thinking with their butt — all this stuff of yours has definitely already been taken to someone for appraisal…"
Li Fei muttered to herself inwardly, yet her body was very honest, walking over to the crate, bending down to rummage and pick through it.
Finger bones of humanoid creatures, palm-sized teeth, bright red scales…
All of them the kind that 'looked like they just might be treasure,' but were in fact non-recyclable garbage that Miss System scoffed at.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Li Fei caught a slightly familiar description flashing past in her message panel.
Li Fei still kept up her nonchalant movements, but her gaze quickly locked onto the item that had caught her attention.
It was an oval stone of a strange hue, mottled with dark-red traces; when her fingertips touched it, there was a slick, greasy feel, and its temperature was close to body heat.
[Beauty's Blood]
[Description: The blood-tears of a Succubus, fallen here and now, steeped in pain and humiliation.]
The Witch gazed at that dark-red lump of stone, her mind racing, and quickly recalled the source of that familiar feeling — the class that Miss System had custom-made for her during her last gacha pull.
[Succubus Witch]
Ascension Requirements: ♀; mastery of one advanced Transcendent knowledge; …
Secret Elixir Recipe: scales of a Serpent-woman of Sequence 5 or above; Beauty's Blood; Succubus Orange Juice…
Ascension Ritual: leave Charm Marks on 100 Succubi, and create at least one Witch-Succubus hybrid.
——Holy crap!
——Scored a huge steal!
In that instant, Li Fei's heart skipped a beat.
Succubi, as a household-name race, possess looks that rival those of the angel race, yet lack the angel race's strength — their fate has been wretched.
Once upon a time, those ambitious Transcendents formed one Succubus-hunting party after another, exhausting heaven and earth in their search for traces of Succubi, their drive in no way inferior to those heroes set on raiding dragons' lairs.
Succubi may be lewd, but they're not stupid — who'd be willing to serve as slaves to potbellied nobles? To escape the dragnet, Succubi were forced to vanish without a trace, hiding away, no longer active across this bizarre and dazzling continent, appearing only as guest cameos in all manner of novels; the traces of their existence were gradually erased as well, leaving behind only 'adult stories' about Succubi — part true, part false — that the lives of the intelligent races savor with relish, never growing old.
Thanks to all this, this piece of [Beauty's Blood] hadn't been recognized.
Li Fei had originally planned to fish for intelligence about Succubi from the 'Succubus expert' Melodia, in order to ascend to Sequence 5 — she'd never expected an unexpected windfall today.
Drawing on the consummate acting skills honed from dealing with girls, Li Fei controlled her movements and expression without batting an eye. After making a show of continuing to pick through the goods for a while, she finally casually grabbed the [Beauty's Blood] and a dyed-and-treated scale, and smiled sweetly:
"Just these two, then."
"Won't you pick a few more?"
Lannister egged her on: "See that section of finger bone? It's suspected to be an angel's finger bone. The body of a high-Sequence being is precious material in nearly every inch — pity I don't know any skilled appraiser…"
——F*ing hell! Like I don't know how long an angel's finger is?
Li Fei said, smile undiminished:
"Just these two."
"Fine then."
Lannister shrugged, conjured a Goldsmith Note with a face value of eleven thousand two hundred, then fished out two gold coins and handed them to Li Fei: "Our debt's settled."
——No, mustn't laugh, can't laugh just yet.
Gazing at the Wealth Points that had abruptly skyrocketed in her System Panel, Li Fei narrowed her eyes:
"Thank you, you really are an honest, good person."
"Heh."
Lannister gave a self-mocking laugh and waved a hand: "Only on the day I successfully quit gambling will I deserve to be called a good person."
"Eh? You mean to…"
Li Fei covered her mouth, feigning surprise.
"Mm, quit gambling."
Evidently, losing a wager he'd been dead set on winning had brought Lannister an unprecedented sense of frustration; and once his mood had settled, he actually felt a kind of great enlightenment, revealing a serene, peaceful smile like that of an enlightened monk:
"I think I finally understand — there's no such thing as a guaranteed-win wager in this world; gamble long enough and you're bound to lose… It's not too late to wash my hands of it now, I've still got time to switch over to some other Sequence path…"
As for a gambling-dog's declared resolve to mend his ways after a defeat, Li Fei didn't believe a single word.
So the pink-haired girl put on an innocent, regretful expression and said softly:
"Ah, and I'd been planning to keep betting on Miss Spell Encyclopedia…"
"Hm?"
Lannister's eyes lit up, staring fixedly at Li Fei, his voice trembling: "What did you say…"
"I'm an admirer of Miss Spell Encyclopedia. I believe she can make it all the way, so I was planning to keep placing bets — betting she'll win the finals."
The pink-haired girl revealed an understanding smile: "But since Mr. Lannister intends to quit gambling, then never mind. Hang in there, and good luck to you."
——If the Three Mage-Girls Squad can beat the Cleaver Squad, I'll eat this whole warehouse on the spot!
The blood rushing into his brain instantly shoved aside his earlier resolve, and Lannister's eyes flushed red in a flash. He reflexively grabbed at the cuff of Li Fei's sleeve, his voice hoarse:
"Wait…"
Li Fei shook off his hand without batting an eye, tilted her head, and asked in puzzlement: "Is there something else, Mr. Lannister?"
"How much… are you planning?"
Lannister swallowed, struggling to keep his tone steady.
"Just this much."
Li Fei waved the wad of Goldsmith Notes she'd just earned.
——Today's wager ultimately cost me around four thousand gold coins… As long as I win this, I can turn it all around at once!
Lannister panted heavily, the bloodshot streaks surfacing in his eyes growing ever denser:
"Before I wash my hands of it, I want to gamble one last time…"
"This… isn't really a good idea, is it?"
Li Fei knit her brows, looking hesitant and conflicted.
"There's nothing wrong with it."
Lannister's expression turned somewhat ferocious as he stepped forward again, seemingly about to grab Li Fei: "Really just one last time — gamble with me…"
"I think I'll go find someone else."
A timid look came over Li Fei's face as she took a light step back.
"Don't be afraid."
Seeing this, Lannister forced out a twisted smile: "How about odds of one to three? No — one to four, how's that? I'll even provide the spell contract…"
"But, do you even have any stake left?"
Li Fei tactfully reminded him.
"It's fine, I still have my ancestral estate."
A predatory gleam flickered in Lannister's eyes, as if ready to devour someone.
"Then… fine."
The pink-haired girl reluctantly agreed to the wager.
…
"What are you smirking about like an idiot?"
Lilith eyed her stepmom suspiciously, as though she'd taken the wrong medicine.
"Today I ran into a generous, selfless philanthropist."
Li Fei spread her arms wide and exclaimed in admiration.
What does a philanthropist have to do with you? There's no way they'd fund someone like you, who lives in a luxury villa, right?
Lilith started to speak, then held back, and in the end just buried her head in the water, gurgling out bubbles.
Splash——
The water rippled. The young madam, perpetually in an excited state from having earned too much, wriggled and spun a few crooked circles in the bathing pool before barely calming down, then lightly stepped on Grace's fair, dainty little foot. The latter snuggled up beside her without a word, letting Li Fei lean against her shoulder and enjoy this lovely soaking time.
As for why the young madam dared to be this brazen… all that can be said is that Madam Zhihua had been quite busy lately, still not home even at this late hour.
"Grace, where'd you get that combat outfit of yours? It looks really stylish."
Li Fei hooked her arm around Miss Poker-Face's neck, the whole thrust of her words being 'I want one too.'
"It's an inheritance…"
Miss Poker-Face, drifting ever closer to a deadpan loyal-hound persona, faithfully recounted the story of how she'd completed the inheritance trial the day before the exchange match and obtained the combat outfit.
"How nice."
Li Fei let out an envious sound.
Just look at other people's inheritances — a one-of-a-kind class path, exclusive equipment, skills to control good fortune… not like us Witches, who have to sell liquor to make money and then get exploited out of ninety percent of it!
"Do you… want to… try it on?"
Grace asked hesitantly.
"Sure, then from now on we'll be good teammates who wear the same combat outfit."
Li Fei thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of others giving to her without reservation, and couldn't help whispering in her ear: "Tomorrow's the finals — be sure to give it your all. Once you've claimed the laurels, I'll reward you handsomely… We can pick a time when Sister Zhihua's away and go to my room…"
Sploosh!
Lilith felt she couldn't stand to stay another second, and couldn't help splashing a handful of bathwater at the two of them before storming out of the bathing pool in a huff.
Grace gazed at Lilith's retreating figure, her lips trembling slightly.
Lady Annie was gentle and warm toward her, and so was Qin Zhihua, yet…
With a soundless sigh, she turned her face, wiped away the dripping bathwater from Li Fei's cheek; in her pale cyan eyes there was guilt, there was tender pity — only, no trace of confusion.
It's all my fault.
Grace told herself so:
What I can do is, no matter how deep into depravity she sinks, to walk with her to the very end.
Then she let go, making room for Eva and Sasha, quietly waiting for Li Fei to resolve their Witch Sickness problem.
At dawn, Li Fei opened her eyes and turned her head to the right. Sure enough, Grace had woken even earlier than her, quietly gazing at her.
The left hand that held Lilith's had also seeped a bit of sweat.
"Good morning."
Li Fei gave an unsated yawn, then padded barefoot into the living room, covered Qin Zhihua's eyes from behind, her voice a touch languid: "Guess who I am."
Qin Zhihua smiled without answering, only taking Li Fei's hand and leading her over to sit down at the side.
"Sister Zhihua, why have you been coming home so late lately?"
The young madam, the thief crying 'stop thief,' said: "Could it be you've got a new sweetheart?"
"The shop's been a bit busy."
To avoid affecting the young madam's state of mind, Qin Zhihua kept the matter of her planned trip out under wraps for now, and said in a gentle, soft voice: "I'll come back earlier tonight."
"Mm-hm, remember to bring champagne."
Li Fei said, brimming with energy, and stole a glance at Su Ling'er out of the corner of her eye.
Ever since yesterday, Sister Ling'er had been acting strangely, not daring to meet her eyes, blushing the moment she got close, looking flustered and bashful — when she had time, she'd have to have a good chat with her.
"You mustn't underestimate your opponent."
Qin Zhihua lightly tapped the young madam's forehead, then took the porcelain spoon from Ram's hand to ladle porridge for her.
"My cultivation's advanced again — there's no way I'll lose."
The young madam said, beaming with delight.
Back when Kenneth ascended to Sequence 6, the main material of his secret elixir, the [Balance Crystal], had auctioned for a high price of over ten thousand gold coins. As the core material of the Sequence 5 ascension secret elixir, [Beauty's Blood] was worth even more, its value soaring into six figures.
Since this profit had been earned by genuine skill, it was likewise tallied into her Wealth Points — though Miss System played a certain part, my, Li Fei's, exquisite acting and keen judgment also deserve no small credit! Fair and reasonable, fair and reasonable.
Counting the 36,675 Wealth Points left over after buying the first two tiers of "Furnace Battle-Qi", the ten thousand Wealth Points won from the gacha, plus the recent estate dividends and liquor-sales commissions — even after buying the knowledge book 'Wasp Swarm' and the 'Tier-1 Chaos-type Spell Gift Pack' along the way, Li Fei's total Wealth Points hit a new record high, breaking through to one hundred and fifty thousand.
Without hesitation she expended 99,999 Wealth Points and two Potential Points, pulling [Introductory Combat] up to [Foundational Combat], and [Foundational "Furnace Battle-Qi"] was accordingly upgraded to [Intermediate "Furnace Battle-Qi"].
Li Fei glanced at the System Panel with full confidence, lips quirking into a smirk √:
[Character Panel]
Name: Li Fei
Level: 21
Knowledge Tree:
1. Nature Type:
Foundational Natural Magic
Introductory Cycle Principle
Intermediate "Five Elements Meditation" (Advanced "Five Elements Meditation" unlocked after ascending to Sequence 7)
Intermediate Summoning Magic (Advanced Summoning Magic unlocked after ascending to Sequence 7)
3: Combat Type
Foundational-grade Combat:
Permits learning and using Tier-2 combat skills.
Introductory Weapon Mastery:
Increases melee damage by 10%.
Intermediate Furnace Battle-Qi (Advanced "Furnace Battle-Qi" unlocked after ascending to Sequence 7)
Intermediate Resistance (Advanced Resistance unlocked after ascending to Sequence 7)
Potential Points: 3
Introductory "Furnace Battle-Qi":
Strength +10; Constitution +10; Agility +10; Attack Speed +10%; Physical Penetration +10%; Destructive Power +10%; Resistance +5%; Dynamic Vision +5%; Neural Reflex Speed +5%; additionally boosts burst power, wound-healing speed, lifespan, stamina recovery speed, and so on.
Can consume Battle-Qi to speed up the rotation of the Battle-Qi vortex, up to a maximum of fifteen rotations per second; as the Battle-Qi rotation speed increases, it additionally raises Strength, Constitution, Agility, Attack Speed, Destructive Power, Resistance, Dynamic Vision, Neural Reflex Speed, and so on, and carries fire-attribute damage.
1, 2…
Foundational "Furnace Battle-Qi"
Strength +20; Constitution +20; Agility +20; Attack Speed +20%; Physical Penetration +20%; Destructive Power +20%; Resistance +10%; additionally boosts burst power, wound-healing speed, lifespan, stamina recovery speed, and so on.
Can consume Battle-Qi to speed up the rotation of the Battle-Qi vortex, up to a maximum of thirty-five rotations per second; as the Battle-Qi rotation speed increases, it additionally raises Strength, Constitution, Agility, Attack Speed, Resistance, Destructive Power, Dynamic Vision, Neural Reflex Speed, and so on, and carries fire-attribute damage.
…
Intermediate "Furnace Battle-Qi"
Strength +30; Constitution +30; Agility +30; Attack Speed +30%; Physical Penetration +30%; Destructive Power +30%; Resistance +15%; additionally boosts burst power, wound-healing speed, lifespan, stamina recovery speed, and so on.
Can consume Battle-Qi to speed up the rotation of the Battle-Qi vortex, up to a maximum of fifty-five rotations per second; as the Battle-Qi rotation speed increases, it additionally raises Strength, Constitution, Agility, Attack Speed, Destructive Power, Resistance, Dynamic Vision, Neural Reflex Speed, and so on, and carries fire-attribute damage.
…
Miss System has always been a case of you-get-what-you-pay-for. Apart from being expensive, "Furnace Battle-Qi" has almost no drawbacks. Even in the Foundational state, the triple-tier Furnace Battle-Qi can raise the three dimensions of Strength, Constitution, and Agility by sixty points each in one go, and Attack Speed, Physical Penetration, and Destructive Power are strengthened by 60% as well; though Dynamic Vision and Neural Reflex Speed gain less, even a 1% boost to those two attributes is exceedingly precious.
Not to mention, the rotation-speed cap of Furnace Battle-Qi also towers above ordinary Battle-Qi techniques, and faster rotation means fiercer output and more formidable combat power. What's more, after the Battle-Qi vortex was tempered with the [Weighty Qi Powder] refined by Madam Zhihua, the rotation-speed cap was pushed up by another five rotations, reaching a maximum of sixty rotations per second — though under full-power output its endurance is worrying, the combat power, just like activating Kaio-ken, is downright ferocious.
"To restore the glory of us mage-girls — it is our bounden duty."
Feeling the mighty surge of power coursing through her body, Li Fei brought her five fingers together, snapping out a crack of bursting air, and set off down the road to the Magic Academy, valiant and full of spirit.
____
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