『Ding!』
『Mission Accomplished: "Chemistry Competition"』
『Mission Reward: "Achievement Points 200", "Potential Points 200"』
『Mission Multiplier: 100x!』
『Final Reward: "Achievement Points 20,000", "Potential Points 20,000"』
『Current Status:』
『Name: Locke Broughton (Sole Player)』
『Achievement Points: 89,000 (Can be used to purchase items in the Achievement Store)』
『Potential Points: 78,000 (Can be used to upgrade owned skills)』
『Supreme Talent: limitless (Gold Quality, Level 1): My energy is infinite; your energy is beyond your imagination!』
This was the kind of mission reward that truly brought a smile to Locke's face.
It was effortless. Unlike those killing missions where you have to scheme and struggle for hours only to get a reward slightly higher than a study task, academic excellence was a gold mine.
Locke stood up and politely shook hands with his competitors from Augusta High. The two local "Study-Gods" were clearly unhappy. This wasn't a "close defeat"; it was a total massacre.
But whose fault was it that their hand speed couldn't keep up with Locke's?
"You won on hand speed. Next time, we won't lose."
"I look forward to it," Locke replied, shaking hands without a second thought.
Next time? Even then, the result wouldn't change. A mosquito's leg is still meat; as long as he could earn points, Locke wouldn't pass it up—especially when the "meat" was this substantial.
Both his Achievement and Potential points were rapidly approaching the 100,000 mark. He was now one-thousandth of the way to his ultimate goal. After a thousand more sets of 100,000 points, he could finally afford the Sun God Bloodline, which had never seen a discount in sixteen years.
'Be brave, Locke! Keep at it!'
*Flash!*
With a group photo capturing Locke, Gwen, Cindy, Kahn, and the chemistry teacher holding the first-place trophy, the official business of the Maine trip concluded.
The remaining five days were a reward—free time to explore local scenery or attractions. Each student even had a reimbursement budget of $1,000. It was Midtown High's way of rewarding students who brought home glory.
Doing well in school literally paid. If you were receiving a "Happy Education," you should realize you were being raised like livestock, only meant to be carved up and served when the time was right.
...
Walking out of the small auditorium, Mrs. Cord handed out the $1,000 rewards.
"Wow!" Gwen and Cindy looked at the thick envelopes printed with the Midtown mascot. "Thank you, Mrs. Cord."
The middle-aged, balding chemistry teacher let out a cough. "No thanks for me?"
Gwen and Cindy shared a look. "Thank you, Teacher."
'I really am unworthy of a name,' the teacher thought sadly, but he cheered up instantly. He had a bonus coming too. 'Maybe now my application for a new chemistry lab will finally be approved.'
By late afternoon, Locke drove the R8 to one of the spots on Gwen's five-day itinerary—a wooden fort by the river. They took photos and video-called families before heading back. When they reached the rental house, they found Sue and Tommy waiting.
"Congratulations, Gwen."
"Congrats!"
The group of six teenagers exchanged hugs.
Gwen smiled modestly. "It's okay, Sue. We just had the advantage of faster hands. We might not be so lucky next time."
As top students from different states, their knowledge base was nearly identical. Augusta had simply been unlucky enough to encounter a "Hand-Speed Demon." Gwen glanced at Locke, who had his hands in his pockets and was yawning.
'This guy's hands... so fast!'
Locke felt her gaze and blinked back. :What's up with her look?'
(T/N:- 😏)
Sue smiled. "Well, I hope you have a great time at the dance in three days. Augusta High's Winter Ball is quite unique."
"I will," Gwen said, then paused. "Wait, aren't you going with Tommy?"
Over by the guys, Tommy was explaining the situation to Locke and Kahn. In short: his girlfriend had ordered him to invite another girl to the Winter Ball instead of her.
Kahn's mouth hung open. "I'm so jealous."
Locke noticed Cindy walking up behind Kahn. "Why don't you suggest that to Cindy? Ask her if you can invite someone else next time."
Kahn looked at Locke, tempted. "Is that... a good idea? Would she agree?"
Locke shrugged. "You could try."
Kahn nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. I... definitely won't invite other girls. Even if Cindy asked me to, I wouldn't, because I am Cindy's boyfriend."
He turned around and put on a look of pleasant surprise. "Cindy! When did you get here?"
Cindy let out a dry laugh.
Locke and Tommy shared a look and smiled. This was how high school friendships were built: through the art of setting your friends up for disaster.
Locke watched Kahn chase Cindy into the house. He looked at Tommy. "And you actually agreed?"
"I didn't want to," Tommy sighed. "It's ridiculous."
"And yet..."
"She was very... persuasive," Tommy whispered.
Locke could picture it. How wicked. Once a woman feels guilty, she's willing to hand over even her boyfriend to ease her conscience. Locke felt a twinge of envy and looked at Gwen.
Gwen happened to look back and gave him a brilliant, sunny smile. Locke understood: Gwen wasn't that type of person.
"So, did you invite Carrie?" Locke asked Tommy.
Tommy shrugged. "She said no. Which is fine. I invited her, she refused, so I've done my part."
Just then, a slightly battered pickup truck drove by and parked across the street. As usual, Carrie walked with her head down, following silently behind her mother into their house.
Locke frowned. 'Only five days left. Why hasn't it happened yet?'
...
That night, Locke and Gwen were in the living room eating popcorn and watching a movie they'd rented in town.
"Maybe we shouldn't go to the dance," Gwen said.
Locke, who was looking at a text on his phone, looked up. "Huh?"
Gwen put down the popcorn. "It's Augusta High's dance. Why should we go? If Sue and Tommy were going together, we'd have someone we know, but it'll be all strangers. It's a bit pointless, don't you think?"
"But we're missing the Midtown Winter Ball too."
Gwen smiled. "The Poseidon will have its own, won't it?"
"True. There's supposed to be a New Year's Eve ball. But... that'll be all strangers too."
"That's the point," Gwen said brightly. "No one there will know we're only sixteen. We can dance like adults."
Locke paused. "Of course."
He didn't really care about the dance, but he suspected Gwen's reluctance wasn't just because of Sue. But what was it?
After saying goodnight and returning to his room, Locke stood by the window. He looked at the darkened house across the street. He seriously doubted he could finish his "Class Change" before returning to New York. He couldn't keep flying back to Augusta just to see if Carrie had successfully awakened.
'Is something missing?'
Locke poured a glass of bourbon and took a sip, his eyes flashing. Supernatural power in the Marvel Universe was interesting—it always required a price. Excluding "cheats" like Captain Marvel who got her power from the Tesseract/Space Stone, most power was "borrowed" from higher dimensions or ancient entities.
And borrowed power requires a repayment.
The Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj borrow from the Vishanti. The Ancient One borrows from countless dimensions and uses the Time Stone to dodge the bill. Mages borrow from elemental dimensions.
So... had Carrie awakened, but failed to find a "Lending Bank" willing to give her a line of credit?
Did she fail to find a lender?
Locke's eyes lit up.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666