Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Prodigal Spending (4)
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It had been so tense that the 60 seconds felt like an entire day.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Yuri could say for certain.
It was several times more nerve-wracking than when he’d fought Greta Wigan just a little while ago.
‘Fighting Hopi Auntie would’ve been better.’
Back then, at least his heart had been calm and his head cool.
But now, his heart was pounding like mad, and his head felt hot enough to give him a slight headache.
Hoo— hoo—.
Yuri let out quick breaths.
As the excitement subsided a bit, his hand moved again.
Swipe—.
His hand quickly pushed past the units place, the tens place, and up to the fourth zero he’d seen before.
Pushing a little further revealed a fifth zero.
Just as his instincts had told him, there were at least five zeros.
Yuri’s focus reached its peak as he saw it.
‘Alright, next up: another zero, or a different number?!’
When he finally checked the long-awaited sixth digit, ecstasy gleamed in Yuri’s eyes.
‘It’s a zero!’
That meant at least a million points secured.
Now the crucial seventh digit.
Yuri pushed the paper up with a slightly more relaxed mind.
His eyes went wide.
■10,000,000P
“It’s… it’s…”
A massive shout burst from Yuri’s gaping mouth.
“It’s here!”
He’d guessed something big was coming, but he hadn’t expected it to actually show up!
With this, at least 10 million points were guaranteed.
‘Advanced mana enhancement elixir is 10 million points. If this is worth tens of millions…’
It might even be a supreme-grade elixir.
Yuri grinned broadly.
Unable to hold back his swelling anticipation any longer, he fully unfolded the paper.
His face instantly hardened.
“…Huh?”
The inflated expectations deflated completely, and question marks floated above Yuri’s head.
A whole lot of them.
????????????
‘What… is this?’
No matter how long he stared, it didn’t feel real.
Finally, a curse slipped from Yuri’s lips.
“…Fuck?”
His expression was utterly bizarre as he stared unblinkingly at the paper in his hand.
Should he be happy about this?
Or sad?
He couldn’t decide.
And he had good reason.
A 10 million-point item had indeed appeared…
But it was something strange.
—Non-Refusable Lecture Application Form 10,000,000P
A bizarre lecture application worth the equivalent of 1,000 standard ones had popped up.
“……”
Coco, seeing Yuri standing there dumbfounded and speechless, gave him a curious look.
She peeked at what he held.
Her squinted eyes widened slightly.
“You’ve got some luck, huh? A real lucky guy?”
“……”
…Luck.
She was calling this luck.
“That thing only sold one last year, and you pull it?”
“……?!”
…Maybe he really was lucky.
Out of all those options, he’d drawn the one-of-a-kind single sheet.
But…
‘Why does it feel like I’m being mocked?’
Yuri’s face grew forlorn.
While he spaced out, Coco gathered everything and stuffed it into his arms.
“Here.”
All items he’d drawn.
He pulled out the [Non-Refusable Lecture Application Form] and waved it at Coco.
With desperate pleading.
“…Wanna buy this off me? I’ll let it go cheap, 9 million.”
Puff—.
Coco exhaled smoke and flipped him the middle finger in response.
“Why don’t you get lost?”
And with that.
Thud— click—.
The door of the special sales shop slammed shut coldly behind the chased-out Yuri.
* * *
Theresia, having bought what she needed from the special sales shop, was heading toward the rift.
In the distance, she spotted a familiar figure trudging along.
‘Yuri?’
Since they were going to the same place anyway, Theresia hurried to catch up.
As she drew closer, she realized something was off.
‘Were his shoulders always this narrow?’
Today… no, he’d been fine earlier, but now his shoulders looked especially slumped.
Finally reaching his side, Theresia stood next to him.
“……?!”
She flinched at the sight of his uncharacteristically dejected, ill-fitting expression.
“W-What happened?”
Only then did Yuri turn to her with dead fish eyes.
“…Tetsya sunbae, what is life?”
“……”
“Isn’t it… just like the balance in my account?”
Life felt as vain as his suddenly empty bank account.
Tens of millions of points had vanished in an instant, leaving just over 200,000.
Such an absurdly hollow turn of events.
‘That’s life…’
His confidence, which had swelled in proportion to his account balance, now lay in tatters.
Theresia frowned at his pathetic display.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Yuri sighed under her cold gaze.
Then, as if remembering something, he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.
“Tetsya sunbae, do you know how to use this?”
Seeing the ‘10,000-point standard lecture application form’ Yuri held out, Theresia replied without hesitation.
“Oh my god! You bought that?”
…I didn’t buy it, I drew it.
“There are actually people buying those for 10,000 points.”
…Not 10,000, it’s 1 million points.
“Anyway, it’s trash to us—useless unless you’re in upper years.”
“Uuu… trash……”
“……?”
Theresia tilted her head at Yuri mumbling “trash” dejectedly.
Yuri asked sullenly.
“So what exactly is this trash…?”
“It’s literally a lecture application form…”
“…And?”
“I’ll tell you for one spar.”
“……”
“No, make it two.”
…Our Tetsya’s changed.
She wasn’t this worldly before.
Yuri sighed and nodded.
“Fine, explain.”
As he agreed, Theresia started walking and explaining what she knew about lecture applications.
“The Dragon’s Cradle is like a small kingdom. To run it, people from all walks of life are stationed everywhere.”
Excluding the North Island with the cadets, there were the East, West, South, and Central Islands.
The massive artificial island of the Cradle was full of facilities, operated by talents gathered from around the world.
A lecture application let you request instruction from those talents.
“Cadets find the target’s affiliation, position, name, etc., fill out the form, and drop it in the lecture request box. That’s it.”
The Black Sword Guards deliver it, and if accepted, the Cradle provides everything needed for the lecture.
…Or so Theresia explained.
It sounded fine, but there was one huge problem.
Yuri blinked.
“…The recipient can refuse?”
“It’s not ‘can’—they almost always do. Acceptances are extremely rare.”
“Why?”
“They have their main jobs, and there’s no real benefit for them.”
“Huh……?”
“They’re busy enough without carving out time once or twice a week for lectures. No extra pay either.”
“The Cradle doesn’t cover lecture fees?”
“Lectures are official Cradle duties, so no extra beyond their regular salary.”
“It’s basically volunteer work for them.”
That explained why most refused.
And why Theresia called it trash.
What was the point of filling one out?
It wouldn’t get accepted.
It was just throwing 10,000 points into the void.
“Upper years sometimes get acceptances, so they poke around with them… but honestly, they’re used more for something else.”
“Something else?”
“One-use sparring request.”
“……?”
Theresia continued as Yuri tilted his head.
“Who do you think cadets clash with most often here in the Cradle?”
“Obviously… Black Sword Guards?”
“Exactly.”
Yuri’s eyes lit up as Theresia nodded.
“You can submit to Black Sword Guards too?”
“Yeah. And they almost always accept—unless the cadet’s level is way too low.”
“Surely their ‘lectures’ aren’t spars?”
“Why not? Every single one of theirs is a 1-on-1 duel.”
“As expected……”
“That’s why skilled upper years keep submitting to build sparring experience.”
“Hoo?”
Yuri nodded, face lighting up with understanding.
‘Cadets of the Cradle, huh?’
What would Cradle cadets want to learn most?
Academics? Economics? History?
Sure, they might care a little.
But any cadet here would prioritize boosting their own combat power.
The easiest way? Real combat experience.
Thus, Black Sword Guards—with their high skill and vast experience—were the perfect instructors.
‘And battle-crazed as they are, they wouldn’t pass up a challenge disguised as a lecture request.’
Only then did Yuri realize why he’d pulled so many lecture applications.
‘It wasn’t bad luck—the boxes were just packed with them!’
How many had upper years used last year?
Impossible to guess.
Pulling an elixir amid all that might’ve been pretty lucky.
As he consoled himself—
‘Huh?’
A thought flashed through Yuri’s mind.
He turned to Theresia.
“Tetsya sunbae.”
“Yeah?”
“Can this be used on anyone in the Cradle?”
“Probably?”
“Then… the Sword Lord too?”
Theresia wasn’t surprised.
Her look said she’d been waiting for him to ask.
She smiled faintly.
“The Cradle doesn’t forbid it, but there’s a warning on the box.”
“What?”
“‘Overreaching beyond your station invites disaster. Only those who can withstand the Blackblades’ wrath should wield the pen.’”
“…Then just say outright not to do it.”
It basically meant don’t write the Sword Lord’s name unless you’re ready for a real fight with the Black Sword Guard.
Theresia nodded at Yuri’s grumbling.
“In the decades of cadets the Cradle’s produced, do you think none ever thought to submit one to the Sword Lord?”
“Well… sure, some must have.”
Getting instruction from the Sword Lord meant claiming ‘disciple of the Sword Lord.’
Whether they truly wanted to learn…
Or just leech off his fame…
Someone surely tried.
But the Black Sword Guard wouldn’t let flies buzz around their master.
‘Hence the warning…’
Yuri thought of the [Non-Refusable Lecture Application Form] in his pocket.
‘So if you’re ready to throw down with the Black Sword Guard, you can write the Sword Lord’s name?’
If so, you’d have to survive a full-on brawl with them first to even reach him.
Yuri chuckled, then sobered up, lost in thought.
‘Instruction from the Sword Lord……’
Undeniably priceless.
‘But…’
For him, whose goal was to surpass the Sword Lord.
To take lessons from the monster who crippled old man Johan’s leg?
Johan’s face briefly crossed his mind amid the chain of thoughts.
Yuri mulled it over blankly, then shook it off.
He switched tracks.
‘Anyway, this non-refusable one… turns out it’s pretty good.’
Hearing Theresia’s explanation reframed the value in his hand.
‘No wonder it costs 10 million for a scrap of paper.’
In the talent-rich Dragon’s Cradle.
A chance to learn exactly what he needed from someone—even if not the Sword Lord.
That could be worth more than 10 million points.
Realizing the true worth of what had seemed like expensive trash, Yuri’s eyes sparkled.
‘Wait, doesn’t that mean I profited?’
He’d spent 17 million to get nearly 20 million worth of goods. Clear win.
The moment it hit him, his sullen face broke into a grin.
“Hmm~”
He even started humming.
Theresia muttered in disbelief at his stark mood swing.
“…Is he sick or something?”
He definitely had some bipolar mood disorder.
* * *
Dawn of February 1st.
“Hoo……”
Yuri exhaled long, sitting cross-legged.
Before him stood four vials lined up neatly.
His gaze turned resolute as he eyed them.
‘This amount… might just do it.’
Estimating so, Yuri picked up the priciest, most potent one: the advanced mana enhancement elixir.