Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 717: Shopping Spree

Time flew by as hours passed; throughout the day, students spent hours abusing the free point system that Cindralis had approved. They ate the most lavish meals allocated to students, and some went to various stores and packed clothes upon clothes for free, indulging themselves without restraint. The personnel in charge of each building and establishment could only shake their heads; as long as the price of a single item was not excessively high, it did not require approval, and thus there was little they could do to intervene.

So, if a student wanted a shirt that cost one hundred points in a hundred different quantities and designs, they could get it without restriction. The best place to abuse the free point system would have been the Training Facilities Building, but sadly, it was closed, much to the silent disappointment of a few who had hoped to take full advantage of its resources.

A few students did not participate in such a spree; they simply returned to their own rooms to rest for whatever was going to happen tomorrow, as they could already guess that the training would begin then, but they just did not know the exact time or what form it would take.

At this moment, Asher was leaving William’s room; his own room was just a couple of steps away from William’s and they were on the same building floor, so he did not have to walk far, but he could hear students giggling in the hallways of the lower floors. Curious, he walked towards the railing and simply stared down at them, observing their behavior with mild interest.

Each of them held big bags, clear evidence of their extravagant purchases. He rested his elbow on the rail as he did nothing but watch them, as though he were bored, or perhaps merely detached from their excitement. Although he did not participate in taking advantage of the free point system Cindralis had created, he did not judge the people that did.

After all, not everyone could acquire points so easily, and when they did have points, they had to be careful with their spending, as not even a single point could be wasted on unnecessary luxury under normal circumstances.

Asher understood that if he were in their shoes, weaker and a commoner, he would have done exactly what they were doing without hesitation. Although tempted by the thought of new clothes, he had so many new clothes in his system inventory that he would not be able to finish using them anytime soon, making the temptation ultimately meaningless.

Asher also understood that no matter how much these students abused this free point system for the next one month, it could never affect the Star Academy in any significant way. After all, Cindralis had lived for at least nine thousand years; the sheer amount of wealth she had amassed over such an immense span of time was not something children who were twenty years of age and younger could ever hope to exhaust within a single month, no matter how recklessly they indulged themselves.

After a moment of silent observation, Asher turned away from the railing as he stepped towards his own door. Opening it, he simply walked straight to the balcony. It was already nighttime, so the sky was filled with dazzling starlight, stretching endlessly across the heavens in a mesmerizing display. Some of the top ten were also standing at the balcony, each immersed in their own thoughts.

Asher simply glanced in their direction and nodded, saying nothing more. He had spent the entire day talking to William and Finch; at this moment, he just needed silence and peace, a brief escape from the constant noise of interaction and expectation.

Asher sighed as he sat in silence, his thoughts unable to drift away from the tournament, the anticipation refusing to leave his mind and body, clinging to him with an almost suffocating persistence.

’Hey, system, since I’m about to go for a worldwide competition, why not give me something that can aid me? After all, even Cindralis herself said that there were people that could match me or even surpass me in terms of sheer talent and power,’ Asher spoke mentally, directing his thoughts to his ever-present system.

Although he had called the system evil the last time they had conversed due to it asking for all his vitality, Asher still could not help but try his luck again, hoping that perhaps this time, it would respond differently.

[The system will give the Host a reward for every single battle or match-up he loses]

The system chimed as it effectively flipped the script on Asher’s expectations, presenting an offer that was both tempting and absurd.

Asher arched an eyebrow as he immediately understood that the system was simply making fun of him. Even if the system promised to ascend him to the Heavens in one fell swoop, Asher would not agree. His family name, his father’s name, his brother’s name, everything would be tarnished in front of the entire world. Besides, the aura he had built for himself within the Star Academy for the past ten months would crumble instantly, rendering all his efforts meaningless.

So, although the reward was undeniably tempting, it simply was not worth it.

’Why don’t you just give me something if I win?’ Asher asked again, attempting to negotiate despite knowing how futile it likely was.

But the system did not reply anymore, as though deliberately telling Asher to accept its original deal or stop disturbing it altogether, maintaining an almost mocking silence.

Asher shook his head as he realized the system was no longer responding. He could not help but wonder how and why the system had suddenly turned so evil and sinister. However, Asher seemed to forget that he himself was the cause of this shift; after all, he had been demanding rewards at every possible opportunity, forcing the system to develop a way to counter his constant requests.

’I wonder what the other Empires would put up as a reward,’ Asher thought to himself as his focus shifted away from the system. ’Would it be a single reward, or perhaps four different rewards, one from each Empire?’ He sighed softly as he shook his head, realizing there was little point speculating without any concrete information.

’I should get some sleep; it will be an early day tomorrow,’ he said to himself as he rose to his feet and walked back to his bedroom. Although he could remain awake throughout the night and still maintain peak condition for the training, sleep always had its mysterious ways of restoring and rewiring both the body and the mind in ways that could not be easily replicated or explained.

He stepped into the bathroom, took a night bath, and changed into a set of night clothes before climbing onto his bed. As for supper, it was best not to eat, in order to avoid any sort of unfortunate ’scenarios’ during the training tomorrow; after all, nobody knew what the training would entail or how demanding it might be.

With that, his consciousness gradually faded as the Dream Realm swallowed it whole, pulling him into a deep and undisturbed slumber.