Chapter 206: Smartass Leo
"Get me registered first," Leo said flatly.
"Tsk, alright!" Shub snapped, though his movements were anything but confident. He hurried through the procedures, fingers flying over his device. Finally, he took out a fist-sized, square metallic box. Its surface was etched with intricate patterns and glowing seams, making it look like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
"Take me to the treasure," Shub said. "I need to attach this to it."
Leoâs gaze narrowed as he studied the box.
"Itâs not an explosive, right?"
"Why would I try to blow it youâidâL-Leo!" Shub corrected himself mid-sentence, his face stiffening. Right now, Leo held enough dirt to get him expelled from the academyâor at the very least slapped with a two-million-AC fine for abuse of authority.
Leo led him away, deliberately avoiding the cave entrance so Shub wouldnât get any ideas about people being inside. If possible, he wanted to hide the druidâs existence altogetherâkeep it as his wildcard and the colossus as his trump card.
He had already conveyed his intent to Howl to keep the druid quiet. Even to Lily, with his soul bond with Lily reaching such a high level, transferring such minor intentions to her was effortless now.
When Shub finally laid eyes on the nearly three-meter-tall Fluxsoil Heartâlush, pulsing rhythmically with dense mana and rich vitalityâhe froze.
The metal box nearly slipped from his hand.
"This..." Shub whispered. "Such high mana concentration..."
Internally, Shub grimaced.
I missed this. A treasure like this...
With mana this dense, he could have freely cultivated magic fruits, sold them, and lived comfortably. For a fleeting moment, a dark thought crossed his mindâdestroy it. But then he remembered that Leo quite literally had his career in his hands.
Swallowing hard, Shub attached the metal box to the bark.
A mechanical voice rang out.
"Analysis complete. Treasure Beacon detected: Fluxsoil Heart (Low-Purple-Tier). LeaderâLeo. Status: Freshman."
Shubâs eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Low... Purple... Tier?!
He had known it was high-rankedâbut this high? A Low-Purple-Tier Fluxsoil Heart could fetch over 2 million AC on the market.
"Please specify the area you wish to claim."
"Nine hectares," Leo said calmly. "Oval region. The entire mound."
"Nine hectares confirmed. Verifying whether the Leader has sufficient rights to claim the specified area."
"Processing... ... ..."
Shub scoffed internally.
9 hectares as a freshman? Who does this kid think he is? Even if he bought the rights, can he really defend that much land? I bet the guardian beast just stepped away, and he took advantage of it. Once it comes back and kills him, Iâll return and loot everything before he comes back from the temple. He wonât even know what hit him.
"Processing complete. Land successfully claimed. Leader: Leo. Territory designation: Leoâs Territory (Mid-Green). Please confirm via your smartphone."
Mid Green Tier from the start!?
Shub screamed inwardly.
Tsk. Probably the beacon alone got him so much Properity points...
Ting!
Leo received the confirmation and tapped it without hesitation. A new application installed itself on his phoneâ
Territory Management App (TMA)
. He skimmed through it briefly. Instructions, permissions, territory management... even options to add members.
Satisfied, he locked his screen.
That was when a soft, almost mouse-like voice came from beside him.
"Could you... please delete the video now?" Shub asked carefully.
Leo looked at him as if he had just heard something absurd.
Did he seriously think Iâd let go of something this juicy?
Leo opened his gallery and selected the recorded video. For a brief second, hope flickered in Shubâs eyes.
Just delete it, motherfucker,
Shub thought viciously.
Then Iâll teach you who the real boss is.
But then Leoâs finger movedâand Shubâs face drained of colour.
Leo wasnât deleting it.
He was opening the AAA complaint section.
Leoâs finger hovered dangerously close to the share button.
"Oh no," Leo suddenly exclaimed dramatically. "Whatâs happening? My arm isnât listening to me. Shitâdid some demon possess it? Someone call a priest! Get me purified!"
He kept rambling as his index finger slowly inched closer to the button.
Shub clenched his fists and teeth, veins bulging.
"What... do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Leoâs lips curled into a sly smirk.
"Now you get it, huh?" he said lazily.
"Well, what I wanted, you already brought it over my territory. So just leave thing at that."
Shubâs fists trembled. His grip tightened so hard that his knuckles cracked and blood seeped from his palms.
"That treasure is at least a hundred thousand AC!" he growled. "I canât just give it away!"
Leo stared at him blankly.
"Hundred thousand AC?" he asked. "Really? Do I look like an idiot?"
That was when it hit ShubâLeo already knew the treasureâs real rank.
And Leo wasnât done.
"Since youâre so eager to pay a hundred thousand," Leo continued cheerfully, "add that on top of the Blueleaf. Then I might consider deleting the video."
"Another hundred thousand?!" Shub shouted. "Do you think credits grow on trees?!"
Leo cupped his hands over his ears.
"Huh? What was that?" he said innocently.
"Did you say youâd gift one million more for my so-called mana purifier? Wow! Such a generous instructor we have at the academy!"
He even clapped enthusiastically.
"Youâ!" Shub shut his mouth immediately, afraid Leo would raise the price again.
"âFine!" Shub said darkly. "Send me the invoice. But you have to delete the video!"
Leo shook his head mockingly and searched for Shubâs contact details on AAA. As an instructor, his profile was public.
When the invoice notification arrived, Shubâs face turned pitch black.
Leo burst out laughing.
"Did you really think Iâd hand you any evidence?" Leo said. "Now pay upâbefore you receive another anonymous invoice."
With teeth clenched and hands trembling, Shub paid 1,100,000 AC.
His balance dropped to 200,000 AC.
Every credit he had saved over the past yearâgone in a single mistake.
When Leo received the payment notification, he glanced at it cheerfully.
Balance: 349510 -> 1,449,510 AC.
Leo smiled.
Shub never knew there would be a day when he would be played around by a freshman who wasnât even supposed to know how to use a phone. But Leo didnât just use it; he cornered Shub with the same device.
Why? Why?! Why did I get trapped by this motherfucker?! It always worked with other freahmen? Whatâs different about him? And why was I the one on whom he got his hands on? Other students and instructors are also going around doing the same thing. Why me?!
Shub cursed his luck inwardly.