Chapter 165: Academy Resources Distributed: Instantly Turning into a Wealthy Lady
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: Academy Resources Distributed: Instantly Turning into a Wealthy Lady
After seeing the teacher off, I lingered in the lounge for a while.
I had just been bombarded with too much new information and needed a moment to process it all. This was reality, not a novel. In a story, you can gloss over settings and details because the plot will just keep moving forward.
But reality is different. These things will stay with me for the rest of my life. I didn't know why Teacher Ji Niang had suddenly told me all that, but since she had, I intended to remember it.
Of course, another reason I stayed behind was to see exactly what resources Teacher Ji Niang had secured for me. I knew well enough that one shouldn't flaunt their wealth.
I gave the fluffy accessory on my wrist a little shake and connected to its internal space.
My first impression was pure shock at the sheer size of the storage area!
If my storage leg ring had a capacity of less than a cubic meter, then this piece of equipment was larger than I could have imagined.
It had to be at least a hundred cubic meters, maybe more. My eyes weren't sharp enough to judge the exact dimensions, but it was definitely much larger than my bedroom.
However, the size of the storage space was never the point—the resources inside were.
The first thing that caught my eye was a glittering mountain of gold. Round coins were piled high, covering a massive area.
And it wasn't just gold; there was silver too.
"Gold and silver coins?" I frowned. Isn't this just money?
Do I even need this?
I pulled out a gold coin. It was about a size larger than the coins I remembered from my past life and incredibly heavy, which fit my understanding of gold's density.
But the metal felt... off. I’d seen gold before, but through Spirit Vision, this didn't match the gold I knew. It wasn't just the subtle physical differences; it was the internal information of the material itself.
Furthermore... there was a fluctuation of unknown transcendent energy within this "gold."
Is this even gold?
A look of confusion crossed my face. Since Teacher Ji Niang had fought for these resources, they couldn't just be mundane gold.
Could they be... transcendent materials?
With that thought, I immediately opened the Academy Network and started searching.
Eventually, I found a likely match.
Orichalcum. A widely circulated transcendent material. Because of its inherent value, it is often used as a high-value currency and is highly sought after by collectors.
Two other materials shared this status: Mithril and Red Copper.
These three transcendent materials could be exchanged at certain ratios, though these rates often fluctuated.
The difference between these three currencies was primarily used to define consumption thresholds. For instance, a truly precious alchemical item couldn't be bought with ordinary money; the transaction threshold would be set in Red Copper coins or raw Red Copper at the very least.
In other words, these three currencies were measures of value. Once an item's value exceeded a certain currency's bracket, no amount of that currency could buy it.
To use an analogy from the cultivation novels of my previous life, it was like the difference between low-grade and high-grade spirit stones. Even if there was an exchange rate, it was only a reference. No one was foolish enough to trade high-end currency for a mountain of low-end currency; that was just a roundabout way of devaluing one's own assets.
And now... I had this much... Orichalcum? And Mithril?
Does this mean I’ve essentially become a wealthy lady overnight?
The surreal feeling made me a bit lightheaded. Perhaps because I had never been filthy rich before, I couldn't quite wrap my head around it.
So... this is what it feels like to hit the jackpot?
It... doesn't seem like much, honestly.
It’s just money. No, it’s not just "money"—it’s a transcendent material that is valuable simply by existing!
The delayed rush of wealth finally began to stimulate my senses, but I was quickly distracted by something even more exciting.
Money is worthless in the face of transcendent power!
The resources Teacher Ji Niang got for me weren't just coins; they were Mana Sources and spellbooks!
The rows of perfectly sealed Mana Sources and neatly arranged spellbooks were the real treasures.
I did a quick count of the Mana Sources. Exactly 500. The number was almost overwhelming.
A traitorous thought even crossed my mind: Do I even deserve this?
After all, the total number I currently possessed was barely more than half of that.
Unfortunately, without a teacher or a senior sister to help me, I couldn't incorporate these Mana Sources into my body on my own.
But the spellbooks were a different story.
There were books ranging from one mana consumption all the way up to a thousand. There was only one "thousand-consumption" spellbook, but I was satisfied with that. After all, didn't Tan Han only have one as well?
Even if I had it, I couldn't use it yet. Even with these five hundred Mana Sources, my total wouldn't break the thousand mark.
When I actually counted them one by one, there weren't that many spellbooks, but I didn't mind the tedium. I incorporated them into my body one after another.
The feeling of being "filled" with spellbooks was incredible!
Looking at so many spells, I felt a bit at a loss. Is this what they call "the burden of choice"?
I checked my Ley Line Personal Data on my phone. Based on the names alone, I could guess the effects and categories of these spells. The sheer quantity was impressive, but they were incredibly disorganized.
To put it bluntly, there was no system to them.
If I previously believed that more spellbooks were always better for handling various situations, I now understood a new truth: spells this disorganized were a major headache.
The simplest and most direct reason was that, at my current stage, I didn't have the mental energy to manage this many spells.
I needed a vast amount of time to slowly digest these gains. The only pity was that none of these spells enhanced learning ability or aided memory. If I had a spell like that, I’d be twice as efficient!
After all, learning, understanding, and researching are the most energy-consuming tasks, and they cannot be rushed.
Regardless, I wasn't in a hurry. Since I had a course exemption, I had plenty of time to take things slow.
But before that, I needed to study rune knowledge. As the saying goes, sharpening the axe doesn't delay the woodcutting.
After setting those things aside, I discovered one more item. It looked like a dreamlike, transparent crystal. There were quite a few of them, and they felt very light in my hand. I could sense an energy fluctuation inside... it felt familiar. It was Ley Line energy.
However, there wasn't much Ley Line energy; most of the contents were things that existed by clinging to that energy.
Could this be... a product of Ley Line Stagnation? Isn't this the reward for the Freshman Competition? Is it really okay to give this to me early?
Well, since it was given to me, I might as well take it. I just didn't know how to use it. Could these be carrying Earth Memories?
Since they were distributed as resources, they definitely weren't useless. I’d ask Sister Bai or Teacher Ji Niang about them later before using them.
I organized everything, took a deep breath, and adjusted my state of mind. Don't flaunt your wealth, don't flaunt your wealth! Keep a cool head.
I’d read plenty of useless trivia in my past life about what happens when people get rich overnight.
The key was to let go of all worries, maintain a normal mindset, tell no one, and live life as usual. Since my mentality had already shifted, everything I did now was out of my own volition. I could refuse anything unreasonable and live without fear of threats...
This is what it feels like to have a safety net!
I silently returned to my seat. While flipping through Analysis of 300 Common Runes, I kept an eye on the matches on the field.
Don't talk to me about whether I could actually focus on both the book and the match. That was a joke. Even without a match, I couldn't absorb much from the book.
Rote memorization is inherently dry. You have to read and understand things over and over. Forced memory doesn't do much good; it’s rigid, disorganized, and fails to trigger associations or build mental connections.
I’d realized something about spellbooks: if I just relied on rote memorization, then even after I mastered Real Editing Technology, I would just be a copycat of the spellbooks I’d seen. Only by having my own ideas could I break through the ancient, unchanging formulas.
"Xiao Han~ I came to see you! It wasn't easy finding you in the spectator stands."
A sudden voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see a familiar face—wasn't this Annie from Class 66, whom I’d met recently?
"I’m in the stands whenever I’m free. I shouldn't be that hard to find, right? Why did you come over?"
"Hehe~ just to see you! We’re acquaintances now, after all. I didn't expect you to be the biggest dark horse of this year!"
Annie spoke with a tone of unmistakable admiration. "Um, you won't look down on me, will you?"
"Why would you think that? That’s obviously impossible," I said with a wave of my hand and a smile. "But did you come all this way just to ask if a friend would look down on you?"
"Of course not! Our matches for the morning are over, so I was planning to celebrate. I wanted to invite my friend along?"
"Popping the champagne at halftime? Is this really worth a celebration?" I asked, puzzled.
"What do you mean 'halftime'? I’m celebrating the victory of this match! If I don't celebrate now, I won't be in the mood if I lose the next one!" Annie said as if it were the most logical thing in the world.
"I guess that makes sense... but you should have a little more confidence in yourself. If you could win this morning, why can't you win this afternoon?"
"My opponent this morning made an operational error. Their spell failed and they suffered mental backlash. I basically stumbled into a victory. I’m actually still very weak, okay!"
"Huh? You’re that lucky?" I raised an eyebrow, surprised. At this stage, how could someone still mess up a spell so badly they’d get mental backlash?
Wouldn't they be pinned to the Academy Network and mocked for days?
"Of course! My luck has always been pretty good!" Annie said confidently. "Anyway, do you want to grab lunch with me?"
"Lunch with you? Since it’s your celebration, you probably invited others, right? Would it be inappropriate for me to go?" I asked, fishing for information while giving a polite decline.
"Others? That’s a good question. So far, there aren't any. Xiao Han, you’re the first one I’ve invited!"
"Eh?" I looked at Annie, surprised. I was the first?
I’d only met Annie a few times. Was that enough for her to make me her first choice?
And I remembered her being a very timid girl when we first met. Why was she so lively now? Was she the type to be shy around strangers but energetic around friends?
"Don't 'eh' me. If you don't come, I really won't know who else to invite." Annie lowered her head, looking like a kicked puppy.
"Wait, aren't you the Class 66 monitor? You’re the monitor, but you don't have any friends in your class?"
"Friends? No. Those guys in my class want to kill me. I don't have any friends there, and I don't want to hang out with them anyway," Annie pouted and grumbled.
"Huh?"
Hearing Annie's explanation, I was completely baffled. How did someone like Annie become the monitor of Class 66?
So, I asked her exactly that.
"Wait, Annie, how did you get elected as the monitor of Class 66 then?"
"Me? How should I know? I didn't even want to be the monitor! Everyone was a new student, and in the transcendent field, we were all newbies. We just argued back and forth until we finally decided to draw lots. I was the unlucky one who got picked!"
Annie flared up with annoyance when I asked, but her tone turned helpless by the end.
"No one expected it to turn out like that. After I was elected, a lot of people were upset. Some even told me to resign voluntarily. But my counselor told me that being a monitor comes with extra resource distribution, so I gritted my teeth and accepted. Now that I have some strength, those guys don't dare mess with me, but they still can't stand me. So we’re just stuck in a stalemate. If they want to play the silent treatment, I can play it too."
"Heh... hehe, your class certainly has... personality..." I gave a dry laugh, unsure of how to comfort her.
Just thinking about Annie's daily life made me feel exhausted for her.
"Right? So, Xiao Han, please have lunch with me today~" Annie pleaded, putting on a pitiful, kitten-like expression.
"Fine, alright." Under the barrage of her weak-toned pleas, I finally gave in.
I didn't have any plans for lunch anyway, so I didn't mind keeping my friend company.
"Really! That’s great!" Annie suddenly got excited and leaned in close, sitting right on the armrest of my chair, pressed against me.
"Whoa! What are you doing?" I was startled by her sudden proximity. Being in such close contact with a girl still made me instinctively recoil.
"Um, Sister Xiao Han~ you don't mind if I take a photo to record the moment, do you? You’re a big celebrity now, after all~" Annie said as she pulled out her phone for a final check.
"Fine, fine... whatever," I shrugged, essentially giving my consent.
Looking at the composition on the phone, Annie’s photography was a bit haphazard, but her smile was genuinely radiant.
"Awesome~ Hehe~ Sister Xiao Han~ I’m going to borrow your reputation for a bit! If they know I’m friends with you, they probably won't dare to target me so openly anymore, right?"
"Hmm..."
For some reason, hearing her say that made me feel a bit sorry for her. This had to be the worst possible starting position, right? Being targeted by your entire class... her future life probably wouldn't be easy.
But in exchange, she got the authority and benefits of a class monitor, along with resource distribution. It was hard to say whether she was lucky or unlucky.