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Chapter 166

“You fought them both, who do you think will win?” Ronald asked me with curiosity in his eyes.

Both of them were around the same age and the distance down their evolutionary path. In many ways, this was a battle between the Stride family and the Frankford family as much as it was a battle between the two young masters. Which genetic line was stronger?

Frankford was a family of metallurgists and blacksmiths. Just about every weapon in town was constructed by one of them, including the weapons Sammuel had lent me to use during the martial competition. As for the Stride family, they were a family dedicated to chemistry and alchemy. They were behind the majority of the city’s access to medicines and pills. Of course, they didn’t control the market quite as completely as Frankford controlled their market.

Huntington was a strong, muscular man who looked like your typical gym bro, whereas Jordan had a slimmer, more delicate appearance. If the contest came down to strength, I did not doubt that Huntington would win, but the Stride family possessed something the Rockford family did not. They were more cunning. They depended on tricks and underhanded methods, just like the deal they had cut with the Capala family before.

“Jordan will likely win this match,” I predicted after a quick thought.

“Really?” Ronald looked a bit surprised.

Fate also shot me a quick considering glance, but she immediately turned back to the two men.

“Shall we make things interesting?” Jordan asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” Huntington asked.

“A bet… I have no incentive to fight you.” Jordan rolled his eyes. “You’re the one with something to prove.”

“You…” His eyes narrowed, but then he grunted and pulled out an item from seemingly nowhere and lifted it.

It was a necklace made of metal, but it was far finer than something that I ever thought would come from a blacksmith. It was composed of two strands which were annealed together and then twisted the entire length until it appeared like there was no end. It seemed somewhat familiar to me.

“This is a double helix necklace constructed by our best blacksmith. It can deflect the strike of the fifth realm once. It’s practically a second life.” He declared, handing it to the instructor who seemed to be acting as the referee. “I originally intended it as a gift for Mistress Sci, but someone interrupted my plans there.”

As the one who ended up taking up Mistress Sci’s time and interrupting his plans, I felt nothing at all.

“In that case…” Jordan flicked his wrist and a bottle appeared with the sound of pills clinking around inside. “This is an Immortal Beginning Pill. It can push someone who is in the upper tiers of the mortal realm into the world of a paragon safely.”

His words instantly resulted in excited murmuring among students.

“Ah, I could use those pills for my girlfriend.”

“As if you could afford it, it’s an extremely expensive pill and nearly impossible to get.”

“How so?”

“Do you think a mortal can afford such a pill? The only time it matters is if a paragon knows a mortal they want to help level, but even then it’s rarely worth the cost of the pill with other options are available. Other than that, it’s difficult to find mythic ingredients weak enough that they won’t harm a mortal.”

At first, I hadn’t been that interested in the fight, but as I heard people talking about the pill, I couldn’t help an eyebrow raise. As it turned out, wasn’t Mara exactly at that level? She was still in the first realm, but she was close to entering the second realm. According to what Abigail let slip, she should be able to evolve in the next year, but if a pill could push her into the paragon ranks quicker, wouldn’t that be for the best?

I already knew I lacked the knowledge to just be able to make a pill myself. Alchemy was still quite a few steps beyond my botany understanding. Even if I read every book, it was something that required a practiced hand. It could take me years, not to mention hundreds of thousands of kilojoules to be able to afford that practice. For the moment, I was dependent on whatever I could get.

“Alright, the winning side goes the prize.” The instructor spoke up.

“Excuse me,” I called out, raising my hands as I stood up.

“What are you doing? Sit down!” Fate hissed under her breath while Ronald only looked up at me with wide eyes.

Soon every eye in the arena turned to me as I began to move toward the stairway from the spectator stand. When the two contestants on stage saw me, both of their normally stoic expressions instantly turned sour.

“What do you want?” The instructor asked warily.

He was a bald man who looked pretty fit himself. He spoke in a deep voice and he seemed to have piercing, knowledgeable eyes.

“Well, I was wondering if I could get in on this bet of theirs,” I explained, still heading toward the platform.

The instructor’s eyes narrowed. “Arena matches are typically one on one. If you have a grievance with either of these students, it can wait until after their match.”

“Well, the prizes will be gone by then,” I muttered.

“You dare interrupt our match?” Huntington glared hatefully at me.

“Well, you both talk so fervently about being top three, but I couldn’t help but recall that I was first place. So if Brandon and Sammuel were the undisputed victors, wouldn’t that still place both of you under me.”

“You cheated!” Huntington snarled.

“I think we’ll need to agree to disagree on that one, but if you think the match was unfair, we can fix that now.” I held out my hands.

“You think I’m a fool? You’ll just use your same tricks again.”

“No, no… no…” I laughed. “I have all new tricks. I promise I won’t use poison. I’ll defeat you with just my sword.”

“You have nothing we want.” Jordan crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, a devilish smile on my face.

I waved my hands, and a book appeared in them. The two couldn’t help but look curiously as I walked over to the bald man and dropped the book in front of him.

“For your consideration, a special technique.”

“A technique?” Jordan’s curiosity disappeared. “What technique could a commoner have? I can get C-ranked techniques from my father with ease.

The instructor frowned and opened the book. However, the moment his eyes glanced at the words, his demeanor completely changed. His entire body tensed, and his mouth fell open. He looked up at me in shock.

“H-how did you find this technique?”

The two contestants glanced at each other and then moved quickly to the side. All the spectators could only mumble in curiosity. Once the two were close, the instructor glanced around and then waved his hands. A barrier of magic wrapped around us, blocking out sound and turning all of us into blurs. This only caused those outside to talk more, but once the barrier was finished, the stage became quiet.

“What is this?” Huntington asked, not willing to swipe the book from the instructor’s hand.

“Alright, you can explain yourself. What you say will remain between us.” The instructor’s eyes were on me.

“You all should know that arrived in this city in a Schrodinger’s box, correct?”

The instructor hadn’t heard of this, but a nod from the other two, and he quickly accepted it.

“Well, that box led to an immortal’s abode. He left his legacy behind. The immortal who left it was a bit of a romantic. After meeting his conditions, he gave me this skill.”

“Sir, what is it?”

“This is an A-ranked technique. Even I’ve never seen one this impressive. However, it’s not the rank that shocks me, but the implications behind it.”

“The implications?” Jordan asked, prompting the instructor to glance at me.

“A man who practices this technique with a virgin woman will cause an additional mutation to initiate within her upon their first coupling,” I explained the technique.

The two men stared in disbelief. It was several breaths before they recovered. At the time I received the technique, I had thought it was useless. It wasn’t until I encountered the paragon families that I realized its true value. If every man was taught this technique, every generation would spawn more and more additional mutations. It was a cheat allowing any family who possessed it to rapidly increase strength every generation.

“Is such a skill even possible?” Huntington breathed.

“This technique… the entire providence… no multiple providences could go to war if they knew such a thing existed.” Jordan looked at the book and then all three of them glanced at me.

I had wanted to pull something that they wouldn’t refuse. Had I still underestimated the potential of this technique?