SWNOVELXO Chapter 110 - Squander (4)
Chapter 110: Squander (4)
The tension was so intense that sixty seconds felt like an entire day.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Yuri could confidently say this.
He was far more nervous now than when he had fought Greta Wigun not long ago.
‘I’d rather be trading blows with Aunt Hopi.’
Back then, at least his mind was calm, and his thoughts were clear.
But now, not only was his heart pounding like mad, but his head was so hot that he had a slight headache.
Hoo-ah, hoo-ah.
Yuri exhaled quickly.
As his excitement subsided a bit, his hand moved once more.
Swish.
His hand swiftly pushed the paper past the units and tens places, up to the fourth zero he had seen earlier.
He pushed it up a bit further, and the fifth zero appeared.
As expected, there were more than five zeros, just as his instincts had told him.
Seeing this, Yuri’s focus reached its peak.
‘Now, will it be another zero, or a different number?’
And then, when Yuri confirmed the sixth digit, his eyes filled with exhilaration.
‘It’s a zero!’
This meant he had secured at least a million points.
Now, the seventh digit was crucial.
With a bit more ease than before, Yuri pushed the paper up.
And his eyes widened in surprise.
■0,000,000P
“It’s… it’s…”
Yuri’s mouth opened wide, and a loud shout burst out.
“It’s here!”
He had expected something big, but he hadn’t anticipated it would actually happen!
This confirmed that he had at least ten million points.
‘A high-grade elixir costs ten million points. If this is worth tens of millions…’
Then it might be the top-grade elixir.
Yuri beamed with joy.
Unable to contain his growing excitement, he quickly unfolded the paper.
And his face stiffened instantly.
“…Huh?”
The anticipation that had swelled up completely deflated, and question marks floated above Yuri’s head.
A lot of question marks.
????????????
‘What… is this?’
No matter how long he stared at it, the situation didn’t feel real.
Finally, a curse slipped out of Yuri’s mouth.
“…Shit?”
Yuri’s expression, as he continued to stare at the paper in his hand without even blinking, was beyond strange.
He couldn’t decide whether to be happy or sad.
His expression was completely lost.
It was understandable.
He had indeed pulled out a ten-million-point item, but…
It was something strange.
-Non-Refundable Lecture Registration Form 10,000,000P
He had drawn a bizarre lecture registration form worth the equivalent of a thousand regular registration forms, each priced at ten thousand points.
“……”
Yuri, stunned into silence, stood there as Coco, who found his behavior odd, glanced at the paper in his hand.
Coco’s usually squinty eyes widened slightly.
“You’re lucky, huh? Really, you’re a man of fortune, aren’t you?”
“……”
…Fortunate, she says.
Seeing this.
“That thing only sold one last year, and you managed to pull it?”
“……?!”
…Maybe I am lucky after all.
Out of all those items, he somehow managed to draw the one-of-a-kind.
But…
‘Why do I feel like I’m being mocked?’
Yuri’s face grew sorrowful.
As he stood there, dumbfounded, Coco gathered a few things and placed them in his arms.
“Here, take these.”
They were all the items Yuri had drawn.
Except for the [Non-Refundable Lecture Registration Form], which Yuri waved at Coco as he asked, desperately,
“Would you like to buy this from me? I’ll sell it to you for a bargain, nine million.”
Hoo-wook.
And in response to his offer, Coco exhaled smoke and showed him her middle finger.
“Would you kindly get lost now?”
And so.
Thud. Clack.
The door of the special sale shop closed harshly behind Yuri as he was unceremoniously kicked out.
Theresia, who had finished shopping at the special sale shop, was heading towards the crack when she noticed a familiar figure trudging along in the distance.
‘Yuri?’
Since they were heading to the same place, Theresia quickly caught up behind Yuri.
But the closer she got, the more she realized something was off.
‘Were his shoulders always this narrow?’
Today… no, just a moment ago, they seemed fine, but now his shoulders looked unusually slumped.
Finally, standing beside Yuri, Theresia was startled.
“…?!”
She couldn’t help but flinch at Yuri’s dejected expression, which didn’t suit him at all.
“Did… did something happen?”
It was only then that Yuri turned to her with the dead-fish eyes.
“Tetsha, what do you think life is?”
“……”
“Isn’t it just like the balance of my bank account?”
He couldn’t help but feel that life was as empty as his bank account.
Where tens of millions of points evaporated in an instant, leaving him with barely two hundred thousand points.
Such an absurdly hollow experience.
‘That’s life…’
Yuri’s confidence, which had risen in proportion to his account balance, was now completely drained.
Seeing his pitiful state, Theresia frowned.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
With a cold gaze, Theresia’s stare made Yuri sigh.
Then, as if something came to mind, he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.
“Tetsha, do you know how to use this?”
Seeing the “ten thousand points lecture registration form” Yuri handed her, Theresia spoke without a moment’s hesitation.
“My God! You bought this?”
…I didn’t buy it, I drew it.
“There are people who would actually buy this for ten thousand points.”
…It wasn’t ten thousand points, it was a hundred million points.
“In any case, it’s practically trash unless you’re in the upper years.”
“Ugh… trash…”
“……?”
Watching Yuri mutter about trash so dejectedly, Theresia tilted her head in confusion.
Yuri asked, his voice tinged with sorrow,
“So, this trash… what exactly is it?”
“Like I said, it’s a lecture registration form…”
“…But?”
“If you want me to tell you, you’ll have to spar with me.”
“……”
“No, actually, let’s make it two spars.”
…Our Tetsha has changed.
She wasn’t this materialistic before.
Yuri sighed and nodded.
“Alright, just explain it to me.”
With Yuri’s agreement, Theresia began walking as she explained what she knew about the lecture registration forms.
“The Dragon’s Cradle is like a small kingdom. And since it needs to be run, there are various people from all walks of life.”
Excluding the northern island where the cadets were located, there were also eastern, western, southern, and central islands.
The large artificial island, the Cradle, was filled with countless facilities, and it was overflowing with talents gathered from all over the world to manage them.
And the lecture registration forms were what allowed cadets to request lessons from those talents.
“A cadet just needs to find out the affiliation, position, and name of the person they want to learn from, fill out the registration form, and drop it in the lecture request box. That’s it.”
Then, the Black Sword Corps would deliver the request, and if the requested person accepted, the Cradle would provide everything needed for the lecture.
…That was Theresia’s explanation.
Hearing it like this, the lecture registration form didn’t seem bad, but there was one significant issue.
Yuri blinked and asked again.
“…The person being requested can refuse?”
“It’s not that they can refuse—they usually do. In fact, it’s rare for them to accept.”
“Why?”
“They already have their primary jobs, and there’s nothing much for them to gain from it.”
“Huh…?”
“They’re busy with their own work, so they can’t really take time out once or twice a week to give lectures. Plus, there’s no additional pay.”
“The Cradle doesn’t provide anything? Like a lecture fee?”
“Since lectures are considered official work by the Cradle, they don’t receive anything beyond their usual salary.”
“So, for them, it’s just volunteer work.”
Yuri could fully understand why most of the people who received these requests would reject them.
It also made sense why Theresia had called the lecture registration form trash.
What was the point of writing up a request if it would never be accepted?
It was like throwing away ten thousand points into thin air.
“Still, some people occasionally accept the requests, so as you progress through the years, people often submit lecture requests here and there… But honestly, the lecture registration form is used more often for something else.”
“Something else?”
“A one-time sparring request.”
“…?”
Seeing Yuri tilt his head in confusion, Theresia continued her explanation.
“Who do you think the cadets in the Cradle encounter most frequently and closely?”
“Well, obviously… the Black Sword Corps?”
“Exactly.”
When Theresia nodded, Yuri’s eyes lit up with realization.
“No way, can you submit a request to the Black Sword Corps as well?”
“Yes, and the Black Sword Corps generally accept the requests unless the cadet who submitted it is too far below their level.”
“Surely, the lecture by the Black Sword Corps isn’t just a sparring match, right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? The Black Sword Corps’ lecture style is, without exception, one-on-one sparring.”
“I knew it…”
“That’s why the more skilled upper-year cadets consistently submit lecture requests to the Black Sword Corps to gain sparring experience.”
“Hmm?”
Yuri nodded, immediately understanding.
‘As expected of the Cradle’s cadets.’
What do the cadets who enter the Dragon’s Cradle most want to learn?
Academics? Economics? History?
Of course, they wouldn’t be entirely uninterested in those subjects.
However, for cadets who entered the Cradle, the primary concern would naturally be how to improve their own combat abilities.
And the easiest way to do that was by gaining real combat experience.
Therefore, for the cadets of the Cradle, the Black Sword Corps—who had reached high levels and had abundant combat experience—would be the best instructors.
‘And if the Black Sword Corps are as obsessed with fighting as rumored, they wouldn’t refuse a challenge presented in the form of a lecture request.’
Finally, Yuri realized why he had drawn so many lecture registration forms.
‘I wasn’t unlucky. There were just a lot of lecture registration forms in the lucky boxes!’
It was impossible to estimate how many lecture registration forms the upper-year cadets had used throughout the past year.
And the fact that he managed to draw an elixir among all those lecture forms might mean he was actually quite lucky.
As he comforted himself with that thought.
‘Huh?’
A thought crossed Yuri’s mind.
He turned to Theresia.
“Tetsha.”
“Yeah?”
“Is this lecture registration form usable for anyone in the Cradle?”
“Probably?”
“Then… what about the Sword Master?”
Theresia didn’t seem surprised by the question.
In fact, she looked at him as if she had been waiting for him to ask.
She smiled and answered.
“The Cradle doesn’t explicitly forbid it, but there is a warning message written on the request box.”
“What does it say?”
“Excessive ambition beyond your means will bring disaster. Only those who can withstand the wrath of the Black Sword should dare to write.”
“…If that’s the case, why not just say not to write the Sword Master’s name at all?”
This was practically saying, unless you’re prepared for a serious confrontation with the Black Sword Corps, don’t even think about writing the Sword Master’s name.
Theresia nodded at Yuri’s grumbling.
“Do you really think that in all the years the Cradle has been around, no cadet has ever thought of submitting a lecture request to the Sword Master?”
“Well… of course, there would’ve been.”
If you could receive instruction from the Sword Master, you could even call yourself the “Sword Master’s disciple.”
So whether they genuinely wanted to learn from the Sword Master or just wanted to exploit his reputation a bit, there must have been those who tried to submit a request to him.
But the Black Sword Corps wouldn’t have allowed such flies to swarm around their master.
‘That’s probably why they put up that warning.’
Yuri thought of the [Non-Refundable Lecture Registration Form] in his pocket.
‘So, if you’re ready to fight the Black Sword Corps, you can write the Sword Master’s name?’
In that case, you’d likely have to survive a serious battle with the Black Sword Corps, or perhaps the entire Black Sword Corps, before you could receive instruction from the Sword Master.
Yuri chuckled and then wiped the smile from his face as he fell into thought.
‘The Sword Master’s instruction…’
It was undoubtedly knowledge beyond measure in value.
‘But…’
Could he, someone whose goal was to surpass the Sword Master, receive instruction from the monster who took Johan’s leg?
The thought of Johan’s face flashed in Yuri’s mind, and he mulled it over for a moment before shaking it off.
He decided to focus on something else.
‘Well, in any case, this Non-Refundable Lecture Registration Form… it’s a more valuable item than I thought.’
Listening to Theresia’s explanation made him see the true worth of the item in his hand.
‘It wasn’t just a piece of paper worth ten million points for nothing.’
In the Dragon’s Cradle, filled with numerous talents.
Even if it wasn’t from the Sword Master, the opportunity to learn something essential could be worth more than ten million points.
Realizing the true value of what had seemed like an expensive piece of trash, Yuri’s eyes gleamed.
‘Wait, if that’s the case, then I actually came out ahead.’
Spending seventeen million points to obtain items worth nearly twenty million points was undoubtedly a win, no matter how you looked at it.
The moment he realized this, the gloomy and sullen expression on Yuri’s face brightened considerably.
“Humming~.”
A tune hummed cheerfully from his lips.
Seeing Yuri’s drastic mood change, Theresia muttered softly in disbelief.
“…Is this guy sick?”
It seemed he must have caught some illness that made his emotions swing wildly.
February 1st, early morning.
“Hoo…”
Yuri sat in a meditative position, taking a long, deep breath.
In front of him, four medicine bottles were lined up neatly.
Yuri’s eyes grew resolute as he stared at them.
‘With this amount… it might be possible.’
Determined, Yuri picked up the most expensive and beneficial of them all, the high-grade mana enhancement elixir.