Chapter 71
Seniority was based on the Disciple Token one held.
Linda had found Claudio’s Achilles‘ heel.
But Claudio shrugged it off. “It’s just a title. If you want, I can be junior instead.”
Linda just stared at him, lost for words.
‘Still so stubborn,‘ she thought to herself.
Craig and Rafael gave Claudio a long, curious look. “Are you dressing up as a girl?”
Claudio said nothing.
“Should we give it a shot?” Craig grinned.
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Craig and Rafael exchanged glances, then went straight for Claudio, who dodged in a flash. They chased Claudio all over, but couldn’t even get close enough to touch his sleeve.
Claudio shook his head, trying to stop the nonsense.
Linda and Laura shared a knowing glance, totally in sync.‘
In a flash, Laura was behind Claudio. Claudio spun around, but she was quicker, giving him a playful push.
Craig and Rafael yelled from behind, “Gotcha!”
Rafael cheered, eyes shining. “Nowhere to run now.”
Claudio was speechless.
Laura tilted her head, watching as Craig and Rafael had Claudio sandwiched between them. “It’s boring when you keep running away.”
Claudio frowned, like he wanted to say something, but let Craig and Rafael keep him pinned between them, clearly not amused.
Craig just shrugged. “Hey, Claudio, we’ve all been coming up to the Frost–Crowned Highlands every day, and so have you. How come you never come inside? What, you shy or something?”
Claudio replied, “I’m not.”
Rafael clicked his tongue, saying, “Look at his grumpy face. He’d never admit it even if he was.
“Linda, let me tell you, after you passed out that day, my master went after the High Sanctum of Archmagi to
settle the score.
“Claudio jumped into the chaos and went after Matthew, even managing to land a hit. He almost got himself
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Chapter 71
seriously hurt, but Laurence pulled him back.”
Linda blinked in surprise. “He went after Matthew? Why?”
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Rafael and Craig tightened their grip on Claudio. “Come on, Claudio, spill it. Why’d you do it?”
With all four of them staring at him, Claudio turned his face away. “No reason. The guy just rubbed me the wrong way.”
Craig pulled Claudio’s head close, squishing their cheeks together. “Why are you so awkward?”
Claudio had never been this close to anyone before. He practically leapt out of their arms, bumping Craig and Rafael aside. Rafael clutched his arm and yelped, “I’m seriously hurt.”
Claudio shot him a cold look. “Yeah, right. Drama queen.”
With that, he turned and walked off.
Craig shook his head. “Still just a kid.”
Linda watched Claudio walk away, deep in thought. In her past life, Claudio always had the final say, never let anyone mess with him.
But seeing him now, getting his head pushed down and lectured by Craig and Rafael, was honestly kind of…
Refreshing.
And just now, he definitely noticed Laura sneaking up behind him, but he let it happen.
Linda ran her fingers over her Claudio.
‘Looks like my guess was spot on,‘ Linda thought to herself.
Suddenly, Linda piped up, “Hey, Laura, Craig, Rafael, are you ready to divvy up the spoils or what?”
Their eyes lit up in a flash. Rafael, still playing the wounded act, bolted out of the Hermit’s Sanctum. “I’ll go and drag Claudio back.”
Craig called after him, “Relax, we’ll save him a cut. No need to chase him down.”
Rafael didn’t even look back. “You just don’t get it, Craig. If he’s not here, how do we split his cut?”
Craig muttered, “Damn, he’s got a point.”
But when Claudio finally came back and pulled out his Infinite–Expansion Satchel, only to reveal it was empty, their faces fell. Rafael blurted out exactly what Linda was thinking.
“You seriously didn’t take anything?”
Claudio frowned. “Does it matter? You guys got stuff, right?”
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Rafael jabbed a finger at the ground, annoyed. “This is what we scored together after teaming up. But when you were out there solo, you didn’t grab a single thing?”
Claudio gave Linda a flat look. “Didn’t get the chance. Someone yanked it all out before I got there.”
Linda just stared at him, lost for words.
Not wanting to dwell on it, Linda jumped in, “Okay, let’s divvy up the spoils.”
Linda dumped out everything except the Core Orchard. It was a rare find, sure, but since Laura and the others had reached the Core Formation stage, they didn’t need it anymore.
When the others saw the pile of loot Linda had laid out, the room fell silent. Claudio looked unfazed, but Craig and Rafael’s eyes went wide. They could hardly believe it.
Rafael gaped, “Did you seriously clean out the whole Veil?”
Laura awkwardly fiddled with her ring.
‘Why is my haul so tiny? Uh–oh, what should I do?‘ she thought, feeling a bit self–conscious.
Craig scratched his head. “This isn’t fair. Linda, stash your loot. Let’s only split up what we got after Cloud Cave, since that was a team effort. Anything you scored before that is yours, no questions asked.”
Linda was about to speak up.
But Craig waved her off. “I’m the senior here, so that’s settled. You busted your ass for those. No way we’re taking credit for your hard work.”
Even Rafael, who was usually all about the money, piped up, “Yeah, I might be greedy, but I’ve got some pride. No way a senior should take advantage of a junior. What’s yours is yours. I don’t want it.”
Craig nodded. “Right. If anyone wants something, we can trade, but nobody gets a free ride.”
Laura jabbed a finger at Craig. “Let him handle it.”
Linda kept quiet and watched as Craig divvied up the ores and witch–weeds they’d scored from the last two spots, making sure everyone got what they needed.
If something didn’t split five ways, he’d swap in something else to even things out.
By the end, everyone had a pretty even share.
Rafael was grinning from ear to ear. “We’re rich. If we sell all this at the Mystic Exchange, we’ll rake in a ton of Luster Shards.”
Craig smacked him on the back of the head. “These Rainbow Stones can boost your Astral power, and you want to sell them? Don’t you care about leveling up?
“And these rare ores are perfect for crafting magic artifacts. And that Flame Ganoderma? We all made sure you got it. If you dare sell it, I’ll have Laurence give you a good beating.”
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Chapter 71
Rafael muttered, “I was just saying.”
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Craig shot him a look. “Sell the common spirit ores if you want, but the rest is off–limits. Use it to level up first.”
Rafael grumbled, “Got it.”
But just then, Craig and Rafael took half of the Rainbow Stones and slid them over to Linda. She blinked in surprise.
Craig explained, “We don’t really know what kind of cultivation technique you use, but before we set out, I asked Kermit what you’d need most.
“He said the number of Gilded Core you have is different from ours, so it’ll take a lot more Astral power for you to control them. That’s why anything that can boost Astral power is especially important for you.”
After a pause, Craig added, “We made a deal before heading in. If we found anything like that, it’s all yours. Turns out, we got lucky. The Veil had a Rainbow Stone mine, so the three of us went for it together.”
It was because of this shared goal that Laura, Rafael, and Craig, who were supposed to be searching different parts of the Veil, ended up at the same mine.
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
