My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

—Eland Dimne, a Serum developer once famous for his exceptional quality, has been caught red-handed. Sources say every piece of Serum research he ever claimed as his own was actually the stolen work of his subordinates, work he’d taken and passed off under his own name as the primary creator.

—Because of this, Eland Dimne now faces the very real possibility of total bankruptcy. Following the exposure of this case, the victim himself has demanded a formal trial, seeking justice for what happened.

—Eland Dimne’s current whereabouts remain unknown.

"Oh... what’s this?" Julian sat on the living room sofa, watching the news with a completely flat expression, though genuinely interested underneath it all. He nibbled on a pastry he’d picked up from that bakery he’d stumbled onto by pure chance.

It tasted delicious.

"...If I’d known he was going to end up in a mess like this, I should’ve squeezed more out of him."

Julian let out a wistful sigh, mourning the loss of that thoroughly promising cash cow. Well, what’s done was done, there wasn’t much he could do about it now.

Julian switched off the TV, set the plate with his pastry aside, and got up from his seat. He could hear a fair bit of noise coming from the street outside.

Getting up, Julian peeked through the window and spotted a small crowd gathered outside. A few reporters, along with what looked like a hunter.

"Hm... they’re still at it."

Word had apparently gotten out that a Rank-A hunter had shown up somewhere around here recently, so people had started flocking in, hoping to find some trace of them, or maybe just angling for a story, like those reporters clearly were.

Julian had no idea what that legendary-ranked hunter had actually been doing in this area, but their presence had clearly been welcomed with open arms.

’Maybe there’s some kind of stronger Invader around?’ Julian felt a brief flicker of worry, but quickly shook his head. ’They’re legends. That title exists for a reason.’

Then he nodded. "Right, keep up the good fight, hunter. You’ve got a world to protect."

Julian closed the window again.

A few days had already passed since he’d sorted out Kina’s mess and met Ilunia, that girl carrying such enormous potential.

Over these past few days, Julian had received a letter from Kina every single day, detailing her progress and how she’d come to see Ilunia. So far, everything looked positive, genuinely excellent, in fact.

Turned out, Ilunia wasn’t just sweet, gentle, and fragile-looking, she actually had a heart just as pure as an angel’s.

In short, she was kind enough that anyone might find themselves wanting to protect her.

Julian felt his heart race with anticipation. He was genuinely eager to get Ilunia as his next disciple.

Her potential was simply too good to just let slip away.

Beyond that, the only other thing Julian really needed to worry about now was the tournament, drawing closer by the day.

Two more days, and it would finally arrive, so before that day came, Julian needed to properly prepare himself.

He headed up to the second floor, lay down on his bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and turned off the light.

He needed to enjoy his free time and get as much sleep as humanly possible.

This was essential preparation.

How important was it?

Extremely important.

***

The treatment Kina received at the Academy had shifted entirely by now. No one dared insult her anymore, or even whisper anything bad about her behind her back.

Her desk was spotless now, those unpleasant stares had faded away, and with that, Academy life had become considerably more pleasant.

Alongside that, Ilunia, being close with Kina, benefited from the ripple effect too. The difference was, Ilunia might still face quiet insults behind closed doors, but no one dared bully her openly anymore.

Throughout all this, Kina had been following exactly what her Master had asked, keeping watch over Ilunia, and even becoming her genuine friend.

At first, Kina hadn’t understood why her Master wanted her to keep an eye on this blind girl, but after spending some time with Ilunia, Kina had come to realize that, far beyond her fragile, angel-like appearance, Ilunia was actually remarkably sharp and quick-witted.

Her memory was extraordinary, likely a side effect of her blindness sharpening it further.

On top of that, given how much Ilunia had been bullied for so long, Kina had assumed she’d turn out shy, maybe even depressed. But that wasn’t the case at all.

Ilunia wasn’t depressed in the slightest, if anything, she was remarkably cheerful and gentle, gentle enough that Kina found herself wanting to hug her every time the girl smiled.

Then, today happened.

"For me?"

"Yes."

Kina stared at the vial of serum in front of her. She had no idea where Ilunia had gotten it, but it was clearly no cheap serum, judging by how violently the Mana inside it kept pulsing.

That was unmistakably a Serum Ampoule capable of helping Kina push her progress forward, progress that had all but stalled lately given the lack of direct Alien hunting.

The problem was, something like that was clearly an expensive kind, one Kina couldn’t possibly just accept without a second thought.

"This is a bit much, Ilunia... shouldn’t you keep it for yourself?"

Ilunia smiled. "I’m fine. Besides, you’re entering the tournament, right? It’d be good if you had more Mana to work with."

’That’s... a fair point...’

If it were at all possible, Kina genuinely wanted to pay for that vial herself, but right now, her identity was "Kiena," someone who was supposed to be poor, without a credit to her name.

If she suddenly started throwing around money like that... how would Ilunia react?

Kina decided to hold back on revealing her real identity for now. At the very least, she couldn’t afford to act recklessly and end up creating some troublesome mess for her Master.

"Still, I think this is way too much."

Kina tried to refuse. But right then, she felt Ilunia’s hand grab hers, pulling it forward and pressing the vial into her palm.

"This isn’t too much at all. I’m genuinely grateful, you know, because of you, they’ve stopped bullying me. This is just a small gift, in the future, I can give you even more."

Seeing how genuine and pure that intention was, Kina started feeling increasingly guilty about hiding her true identity.

She let out a low groan, then gripped the vial tightly.

"Alright, I’ll accept it... I-I’ll pay you back once, yeah, once I’m able to."

A little hesitant, Kina turned her face away, casting her gaze off toward the ground in the distance.

Ilunia smiled softly, letting out a small laugh, murmuring in a low voice, "Kiena’s so cute, isn’t she?"

That single sentence shattered Kina more than anything else could have.

’Cute? Me? Ugh... no way.’

Wasn’t she already mature enough that being called "cute" felt a little...

Then she remembered again, clamping her mouth shut tight. As she glanced at Ilunia, whose eyes stayed shut tight behind the blindfold.

’Oh, right, she can’t see...’

Kina blinked, then silently apologized in her heart, feeling a fresh wave of guilt. Her gaze drifted, a little awkward, back down to the vial, gripping it tightly in her hand.

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