Chapter 25: The Price of Hope and the Burden of Genius

Air finally rose to her feet. There was still a short while before class officially began, but Kereiya’s actions had already drawn considerable attention from their peers.

Thus, Air decided to use this moment to disclose some information. While a few students might already be aware of these facts, they were certainly not common knowledge.

Rumors had already begun to circulate among the students. Yet, widespread whispers, even if every student heard them, were fundamentally different from an official announcement made to the entire class.

Air walked to the front of the podium. As if on cue, some students noticed her movement, and the chatter in the classroom began to subside.

“Everyone, please quiet down,” Air announced from the podium. “Before our official lesson today, I have a few things to discuss. For anyone absent, please inform them later.”

Her unique aura immediately silenced the class, leaving only her voice echoing through the room.

“Thank you all for your cooperation,” Air said, casually tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with one hand. “As we all know, our teacher Qieluo informed us yesterday that we only have seven days left. Now, only six remain.”

“Within these six days, we must resonate with the Witch’s Heart. This means our introductory meditation technique requires us to complete the condensation of our spiritual power.”

“Perhaps some of you visited the academy’s commercial district yesterday,” Air continued. “Those who did might have noticed that the academy sells extraordinary materials like incense. We can use our academic credits to purchase these incenses to aid our meditation.”

“I’m sharing this information because I don’t want anyone in class to feel overwhelmed. The academy wouldn’t present us with an unsolvable challenge…”

Air ceaselessly reassured the students present in the classroom. Perhaps due to the despairing news they had received just yesterday, a palpable sense of oppression hung in the air, even with a slightly larger attendance this morning.

As Air’s calming words washed over them, the mood in the class began to shift, easing slightly. However, this respite was fleeting. Not everyone in the class wished their class monitor well, after all.

Long Shi, for instance.

Just moments ago, he had returned to the classroom from the dining hall, surrounded by his usual entourage of lackeys. Upon reaching the doorway, he saw Air speaking at the podium.

Normally, this would be of no concern to him; he couldn’t be bothered with such matters. After all, he wasn’t one for reasoning with others through words.

He was utterly vexed at the moment. He hadn’t grasped the meditation technique in the slightest, and if things continued this way, he’d likely end up as a petty captain in the servant army after seven days.

Yet, Air was discussing the meditation technique, forcing him to listen. This, naturally, infuriated him, though he couldn’t erupt in anger just yet.

Instead, he simply had one of his followers ask someone nearby and then relay the information to him.

–Big Brother, that class… the half-angel said the academy sells incense. You can buy it with academic credits, right there in the academy’s commercial district.

–The commercial district? Boss, I know! I went there yesterday, and I saw those incense products.

“You knew? And you didn’t tell me?” Long Shi’s temper flared instantly as he angrily questioned his subordinate.

–Wait! Boss! No, it’s not that I didn’t want to, but it’s useless! I checked, and the incense is too expensive! Six hundred—six hundred academic credits for one portion!

–One portion only lasts for half an hour of burning time for a single person. With the meager credits we have, it’s barely enough to light it, sniff the scent, and then it’s gone!

Long Shi, of course, wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to stir up trouble for Air. “I say, Class Monitor, dear leader,” he sneered, drawing out each word. “You kept telling us not to worry too much, and this is the result?”

“I know you have plenty of academic credits, enough for yourself, but we don’t! Don’t just look out for yourself and ignore whether we live or die, alright? Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

“The class monitor has so many credits and such great talent, why not share some with us?”

“Exactly!”

As Long Shi’s few cronies egged him on, they even managed to incite the emotions of the other students. After all, having just eased their worries only to be told they’d been misled would infuriate anyone.

Air’s brow furrowed. If she didn’t handle this well, her prestige in the class would likely plummet. Moreover, she found herself in a difficult position, for what Long Shi said was indeed the truth.

She had considered how to deal with dissenters in the class, but Long Shi’s current actions had undeniably struck a nerve.

She couldn’t very well tell the entire class to take out academic credit loans to buy things, could she? Such a suggestion would be ill-suited coming from her.

“Everyone, please calm down,” Air asserted. “I, too, only just learned that the academy sells this incense. While I had a premonition it wouldn’t be cheap, I never imagined it would be *this* expensive.”

‘Regardless, her first priority was to deflect blame, mitigate her own impact, and then redirect the conflict outwards. This was the simplest solution.’

“But no matter the cost, this still represents a glimmer of hope,” she continued. “Yes, it’s true, we only have a thousand academic credits, which is certainly not enough. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t earn more credits.”

“If the incense is too expensive, we can negotiate the price, or perhaps we can purchase it in bulk as a group to seek a discount. There are always more solutions than problems. Our time is limited, so we must seize every opportunity. I believe none of you want to be expelled, do you?”

Although Air’s words temporarily quelled some of the unrest, the threat of expulsion had stunned them into silence. Thus, between continuing their meaningless agitation and waiting for a rational solution, they temporarily chose the latter.

Therefore, if Air failed to provide a compelling solution, the class’s internal conflict would undoubtedly escalate further.

Long Shi, at this moment, was naturally disdainful. Air’s actions, in his eyes, were undeniably elevating individual failures to the level of collective interest—utterly foolish. Those without ability should simply be expelled.

If *he* were the class monitor, he would never grant those useless individuals the chance to hijack the collective momentum.

He would personally deal with anyone who held the class back.

However, he wasn’t the class monitor now, so he only needed to consider himself. The problem was simple: to avoid elimination after seven days, he just needed enough academic credits.

Given his strength, he possessed numerous ways to accumulate sufficient credits.

It was at this precise moment that one of his lackeys relayed some astonishing news.

–Boss, this is huge, someone in our class has already completed the Witch’s Heart resonance!

“What?!” Long Shi’s demeanor instantly turned serious. “Who is it?”

–It’s that white-haired kid by the door! I don’t know how that kid managed to complete the Witch’s resonance in just one day!

“Hey! I say,” Long Shi spoke again, but this time his words weren’t solely aimed at Air. “Instead of arguing here, why don’t we make that great genius who completed the resonance share their method?”

“That’s right, tell us!”

“Exactly! Staying silent, secretly getting rich, are you?”

“Why be so stingy? Share it, and we’ll all be better off.”

Hearing the words from Long Shi and his group, Air’s heart tightened with urgency. She hadn’t anticipated them directly targeting Ren.

Given the current situation, with all eyes now fixed on Ren, wouldn’t she be overwhelmed?

Air was also desperately trying to devise a solution. However, she had only just become class monitor, and her own standing in the class stemmed entirely from her election speech. She lacked the authority to control the actions of the other students, leaving her feeling somewhat powerless.