“The Direct Vision Association has just gone through a great battle. The Sages have exhausted their mana, and the defensive formation’s energy has been drained dry… I should let the association recover first, or I might cause a catastrophic wipeout.”

Lin Xun rubbed his chin, thinking.

While he was pondering how to maximize his profit by leveraging the advantage of his faction, the female classmate named Peggy came looking for him.

[…]

[Peggy pulls you along toward the teaching building, heading to your mentor’s office…]

[Along the way, you see many gigantic refined copper dolls have already entered the academy and are clearing away the rubble from the collapsed buildings, working on reconstruction…]

[Peggy tells you that there is already news about that matter. Barring any accidents, your mentor will definitely agree to your request to visit Sage Osborn’s storage room.]

[Curious, you ask what method she used.]

[Putting on an air of mystery, she only shakes her head and says that she will tell you once the mentor agrees…]

[…]

[You enter your mentor’s office alone. Peggy waits just outside the door.]

[Your mentor is bent over the desk, busily writing a report. When it sees you come in, it sets down its quill pen and smiles as it tells you…]

[It had originally planned to wait until after your next assessment and allow your request only once you had achieved an A+ score.]

[However, in the battle just now, your performance was excellent. You did not panic in the face of the star monsters’ invasion, instead displaying the calm and fearless bearing befitting a Scholar.]

[In light of this, it has decided to grant your request ahead of time and allow you to visit Sage Osborn’s storage room.]

[As it speaks, your mentor hands you a key engraved with numerous characters.]

[You have obtained Character Spell Key (Key)!]

[Character Spell Key (Key): While holding this item, you can pass through designated defensive magic formations warded with character spells.]

[Your mentor continues, saying that once you enter the Sage’s storage room, you must not touch things recklessly and must not attempt to take any collection items out… Forget it. With the magic formation in place, even if you wanted to take anything, you would not be able to.]

[Your mentor waves its hand, indicating that you should hurry over to visit the storage room and return the key afterward, then picks up the quill and busies itself with writing once more.]

[You thank your mentor and leave the office. Peggy, waiting outside, seems to have known the result beforehand. The corners of her lips curl upward as she tilts her chin up, wearing a proud expression of ‘Hurry up and praise me.’]

[Unable to suppress your curiosity any longer, you press her again on how exactly she managed this.]

[Peggy stops being secretive, jerks her chin toward the few enormous dolls faintly visible in the mist outside the corridor windows, and explains that she begged her father to help you. And as it so happened, the academy had just been attacked by star monsters, so her father, in the family’s name, donated several buildings to the academy…]

“Tsk… so it was the power of money. No wonder it was so terrifyingly effective.”

[After agreeing that you will give her a thorough ‘reward’ tonight, you bid Peggy farewell and head alone toward another administrative building…]

[…]

[Following the directions your mentor gave you, you hold the Character Spell Key and pass through the layers of defensive magic formations, finally arriving at Sage Osborn’s storage room.]

[You push the door open and enter. The empty storage room covers quite a large area, rows upon rows of storage cabinets filling the space.]

[Through the glass cabinet doors, you can clearly see all kinds of precious collection items arranged within…]

[Among the many collection items, you see several peculiar objects shining with light. Those are useful items you can take into your possession.]

[The Starlight Cage you have been longing for, along with the teleportation painting of the Polar Star Society branch, both hang on the wall…]

[Righteous Apostle, what is your next move?]

[1. You decide to carefully tour the storage room, then quietly leave just as you came, not taking a single collection item with you. Theft is not a despicable act you could ever commit.]

[2. You decide to take the Starlight Cage teleportation painting. The painting was originally your spoils of war. Quietly reclaiming it now is at most putting it back where it belongs.]

[3. You decide to move every valuable collection item in the storage room. This certainly cannot be called theft. As a Scholar of Knowledge, a man of letters, how could what you do ever be called stealing?]

Lin Xun felt that the third option made a great deal of sense, but he did not rashly press any option. Instead he had the shell test things out first.

[…]

[You walk to the storage cabinet holding the precious collection items and attempt to reach out and touch it. Before your hand can reach the glass cabinet door, the defensive magic formation attached to it flings you away violently.]

[You know that without using brute force, there is no way to break the defensive formation and obtain the collection items inside.]

[You leave the storage cabinet and walk to the wall where the teleportation painting hangs…]

[You try touching the giant painting, which is as tall as a person. Even when your fingertips brush the canvas, you do not sense any defensive magic formation.]

[This painting seems to have been hung here only recently. Sage Osborn has not yet had time to add a separate defensive formation for it.]

[What is your next move?]

Lin Xun had a bit of a headache. The Starlight Cage was no small matter; it could forcibly imprison even demigod-level monsters, a peerless tool for trapping enemies behind closed doors.

Although this painting had no protective formation, it could not be stored directly in the Inventory and could only be carried away by physical effort. It was far too conspicuous.

If he dared carry the painting out, he would probably be ganged up on by the guards downstairs before he even made it out of the administrative building.

Lin Xun weighed things for a long time before finally making up his mind.

“The bold starve on full stomachs, the timid starve on empty ones. Either way, if I take the painting out, I am guaranteed to get caught…”

“In that case, I might as well empty the storage room entirely, then kill my way out of the academy.”

“It just so happens the Sages have already run their mana tanks dry. If they do not summon the Prophets in the Imperial Capital, I doubt they could stop me.” 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He took a deep breath and was just about to press the third option when he saw the game text continue to scroll.

[With a creak, the storage room door swings open and a person steps in.]

[The newcomer wears ornate, intricate robes with a single giant eye painted over the chest. Its face looks very familiar. It is the Knowledge-Seeking Direct Vision Branch Association Sage you met at the Polar Star Society’s manor, the one who killed you back then!]

[In other words, the owner of this storage room, Sage Osborn!]

[Upon seeing you, Sage Osborn smiles slightly and says that you must be the student who dared face the star monsters directly. Your mentor has already spoken to it, saying that you are interested in its collection and wish to visit.]

[Sage Osborn looks kindly and amiable, with none of the awe-inspiring killing intent from when you last met.]

[It goes on to say that your performance was excellent, that you showed not the slightest fear before the evil star god and set a good example that the other students should learn from.]

[You are puzzled. The Sages were supposed to be staying at the battlefield, carving magic formations to analyze and reverse-deduce the Starborn Spirit Progenitor’s coordinates. Why would Sage Osborn suddenly return to the storage room?]

[Sage Osborn walks over to the storage cabinet beside you, seemingly intending to open the cabinet door to take something out.]

[Suddenly, its legs go weak and it stumbles, nearly falling to the ground. You hurry forward and catch it.]

[Sage Osborn smiles at you, indicating that it is fine. It exhausted its spell power in the great battle just now and then had to carve character formations afterward, leaving its mental power somewhat strained. It will recover after a short rest…]

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes, a flash of murderous intent flickering in their depths.

Was this not the perfect chance to take out a Sage?

If he let this opportunity slip by, there might not be another so good in the future.