Elara could accept defeat, but she could not accept such an unclear and muddled defeat.
As fellow S-rank students, both with S-rank talents, her family background was far superior to Kylen's. Yet she had been defeated in an instant. It made her feel like a complete fool!
Before Kylen could speak, Avelia stepped forward first and pushed Elara's hand away. "If you want to know something, ask directly. Don't make excuses to touch my man."
Elara froze, her cheeks flushing. "I… that's not what I meant…"
Kylen smiled gently. "All right. I really can't tell you the specifics of my ability, but you did make a critical mistake in the battle."
"Your Griffin's attacks and your talent ability complement each other quite well. But you overlooked one thing. Your Griffin's roar hit Avelia's blood shield first.
And while your Void Condensation Explosion has an extremely strong gravitational pull, it has a flaw.
Avelia reversed this flaw, decomposing blood into invisible-to-the-naked-eye particles and infusing them into the energy orb."
"So, do you understand now…"
Elara suddenly realized.
So that's it!
It wasn't that Kylen could command inanimate objects; that was just his disguise. No wonder the Void Condensation Explosion had been controlled…
Kylen had actually revealed some information. This was a favor, and she had to repay it.
Elara nodded in thanks. "Thank you. As compensation, I'll give you a Silver Class Abyssal Armament!"
Kylen looked slightly confused. "Silver Class?"
Elara chuckled. "It seems you haven't had any contact with Abyssal Armaments, Kylen? Let the mentor at the Logistics Office explain it to you. Let's go together~"
Abyssal Armaments were undoubtedly valuable items beyond Kylen's understanding. This young lady was giving one away just like that, were all Contractor families this extravagant?
Kylen looked at Avelia, who sighed helplessly. "Don't look at me. I don't understand either.
The ones I used before were specially prepared for me by that old man Orion. They were all destroyed in the abyssal rift last time."
Elara stumbled slightly when she heard this.
Orion… old man? Was she talking about the principal?
Orion Hawthorne, a living legend who had touched the Sanctuary Realm.
Even her father had to show him respect. She had long heard that this genius senior sister was the principal's personal disciple, and their relationship was indeed extraordinary.
The three arrived at the Logistics Office.
Elara walked briskly towards the logistics mentor. "Mentor Bartholomew, I'm here to see you!"
Kylen sighed silently.
The connections of large families were truly extensive; she even knew the mentor in charge of logistics.
As everyone knew, logistics was an important position, and anyone who held it was no ordinary person.
Bartholomew, the director of the Logistics Office, was a white-haired old man.
When he saw Elara, he said gruffly, "Where's the thing your father owes me? Does he plan to default on the debt? He doesn't dare to come himself, so he sends his daughter?"
Elara smiled and said a few kind words to calm Bartholomew down.
When he saw Kylen and Avelia, Bartholomew's expression turned serious. The calm eyes that had been like an ancient well rippled slightly, and finally, he sighed softly. "So the little slime finally chose you."
His words were meaningful… It seemed he knew Avelia's true identity.
Kylen bowed respectfully. "Kylen, greetings to Mentor Bartholomew."
Bartholomew looked Kylen up and down, then nodded slowly. "Hmm. For her sake, you were willing to give up an A-rank talent potion worth over 100 million and only take a D-rank one. It's clear you're a good Contractor."
Avelia's cheeks blushed slightly, and she stood behind Kylen.
Kylen suddenly realized. The talent potions were delivered by the Logistics Office, and coupled with Bartholomew's understanding of Vampiric Slimes, it was only natural that he knew what had happened the day before.
"Now, what are you two here for today?"
Elara pulled Bartholomew and said, "Mentor Bartholomew, I promised to give Kylen a Silver Class Abyssal Armament."
The tea Bartholomew had just drunk almost choked him.
"Cough cough cough! You little troublemaker, you're truly extravagant. A Silver Class Armament? That costs fifty credits!"
Fifty credits meant it was worth at least 50 million Imperial Coins outside! Moreover, such items were priceless and hard to come by; their actual value was far higher.
Elara handed over a purple-gold card. "Mentor Bartholomew, there's 100 million inside. It's for me to purchase academy credits."
Contract academies were always short of funds, so they opened a credit purchase channel for wealthy students. On average, one credit costs two million Imperial Coins, and a maximum of 100 credits could be purchased per month.
Bartholomew sighed helplessly. "All right then. Young man, how much do you know about Abyssal Armaments?"
Kylen shook his head. "Nothing."
Bartholomew explained patiently. "The so-called Abyssal Armaments are special equipment made from the body parts of sequential races such as alien beasts, demon plants, and undead that we hunt in abyssal rifts.
This kind of equipment is extremely powerful, not inferior to contracted creatures, but using it always has side effects. The stronger the armament, the more severe the side effects."
"Abyssal Armaments are divided into grades from lowest to highest: Iron Class, Silver Class, Gold Class, Obsidian Class, and Mythic Class.
Low-tier Contractors can only use Iron and Silver Class. Mid-tier Contractors can use Gold and Obsidian Class.
Only high-tier Contractors who have broken through to the Rebirth Realm can use Mythic Class armaments."
"Of course, the academy supports you to hunt and bring back materials. The processing fee is only ten credits. If you are willing to sell them to the Logistics Office, we will also subsidize the corresponding credits."
Kylen nodded slightly. His mind became much clearer. A Contractor's combat power consisted of three parts: their own realm, their contracted creatures, and Abyssal Armaments.
Elara was being generous, probably as a gesture of friendship. For large families, money was just a number, and they never hesitated to spend it on valuable friends.
Kylen didn't mind. It was just that credits were indeed tight, one Silver Class Armament alone cost fifty credits.
Just as Kylen was about to choose carefully, footsteps were heard outside.
A man over six feet tall, wearing the academy uniform and covered in blood, walked in. He carried a blazing red spear on his left shoulder and a pair of giant wings on his right.
The wings were delta-shaped, seemingly from some kind of pterosaur. He wore a grim smile of a bloodied victor.
"Mentor Bartholomew, don't rush to rest yet. Help me see what grade of armament can be forged from these Crimson-Horned Pterosaur wings."
"Oh, new faces. Are you a freshman this year?"
Bartholomew wore an amused expression. "Kylen, what bad timing. But your first serious rival is back."
A rival? Who was he?
"Raviel Dorne, a sophomore and Transcendence Realm Contractor. He's a member of the Blood Spirit Team that the little slime used to belong to, and also one of the S-rank students who pursued her."
Kylen turned to look at Raviel. Their eyes were filled with scrutiny.
Raviel stepped forward. "Heh～ I've been wondering when I'd get to meet you? I went to the abyssal rift, and when I came back, I heard you stole our captain."
A cold, murderous aura from years of battle emanated from him.
Suddenly, Kylen sensed malice in his eyes. Raviel raised his right fist and swung it fiercely. Kylen dodged backward, and the fierce wind from the fist barely brushed past the corner of his eye!
Before that, Avelia's expression had turned icy. The dragon blood on Raviel's body obeyed the call of Blood Coagulation Control, tightly binding his shoulders.
"Huh? You actually dodged? Have you already reached the Ascension Realm?"
Avelia said coldly, "What… do you want to do to my man?"
When Raviel saw Avelia behind Kylen, he looked hurt. "Captain, don't say such hurtful things. It's just… I don't think I'd lose to you now."
Having just returned from hunting the Crimson-Horned Pterosaur, he was full of arrogance and didn't take Kylen seriously at all.
Kylen brushed off the blood splatters on his body and smiled faintly. "I thought someone fierce had come back. Turns out you're just a tasteless loser who's complacent because someone else's realm dropped."
Raviel's expression changed drastically. "What did you say?"