"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."

Leo's gaze narrowed as he studied the box.

"It's not an explosive, right?"

"Why would I try to blow it you—id—L-Leo!" Shub corrected himself mid-sentence, his face stiffening. Right now, Leo held enough dirt to get him expelled from the academy—or 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 wouldn't get any ideas about people being inside. If possible, he wanted to hide the druid's existence altogether—keep 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 Heart—lush, pulsing rhythmically with dense mana and rich vitality—he 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 mind—destroy 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). Leader—Leo. Status: Freshman."

Shub's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Low… Purple… Tier?!

He had known it was high-ranked—but 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, I'll return and loot everything before he comes back from the temple. He won't even know what hit him.

"Processing complete. Land successfully claimed. Leader: Leo. Territory designation: Leo's 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 phone—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 I'd let go of something this juicy?

Leo opened his gallery and selected the recorded video. For a brief second, hope flickered in Shub's eyes.

Just delete it, motherfucker, Shub thought viciously. Then I'll teach you who the real boss is.

But then Leo's finger moved—and Shub's face drained of colour.

Leo wasn't deleting it.

He was opening the AAA complaint section.

Leo's finger hovered dangerously close to the share button.

"Oh no," Leo suddenly exclaimed dramatically. "What's happening? My arm isn't listening to me. Shit—did 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.

Leo's 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."

Shub's 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 can't 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 Shub—Leo already knew the treasure's real rank.

And Leo wasn't done.

"Since you're 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 you'd gift one million more for my so-called mana purifier? Wow! Such a generous instructor we have at the academy!"

He even clapped enthusiastically.

"You—!" Shub shut his mouth immediately, afraid Leo would raise the price again.

"—Fine!" Shub said darkly. "Send me the invoice. But you have to delete the video!"

Leo shook his head mockingly and searched for Shub's contact details on AAA. As an instructor, his profile was public.

When the invoice notification arrived, Shub's face turned pitch black.

Leo burst out laughing.

"Did you really think I'd hand you any evidence?" Leo said. "Now pay up—before 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 year—gone 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 wasn't even supposed to know how to use a phone. But Leo didn't 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? What's 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.

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