Chapter 21 : Principal, You Don’t Want Me to Be Poached Either, Right
Chapter 21: Principal, You Don’t Want Me to Be Poached Either, Right
Is this right?
After hearing Vivian’s words, the old principal felt like his mind couldn’t quite keep up.
At a time like this, shouldn’t she be flattered first, then modestly decline a little?
What was with jumping straight to asking for money?
The old principal felt that his thinking couldn’t keep up with the person in front of him.
But before he could react, Vivian’s voice came again.
“I’m not wrong, right? An outstanding student like me—it's not just your academy that wants me. Other academies probably want me too.”
“Principal, you wouldn’t want an outstanding student to be poached by another academy, would you?”
As Jiang Chen’s words fell, not only Lilith and the old principal, but even Vivian herself was stunned.
Wait… Lord Evil God, what are you doing?
But after hearing about scholarships and such, Vivian felt like… maybe saying it this way wasn’t a problem.
No… Vivian, something is seriously wrong with you!
…..
Hearing Vivian’s words, the old principal nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Asking for money so directly, so blatantly—this was not right. This student was very not right.
“Miss Lilith, as a noble, you should understand that compared to vulgar money, honor and prestige are what truly matter.”
“Our academy—”
Before the old principal could finish, everyone saw Vivian raise her hand to stop him.
“Old man, stop right there!”
“Don’t try to sell me big empty promises and moral lectures. I’m telling you, our company boss already pulled that trick before—it doesn’t work on me.”
“Just be direct. What do you want me to do, what’s the reward, roughly how much money, and how much will you give me if I join the academy?”
Hearing Vivian’s words, the old principal’s mouth twitched.
Although there were some terms he didn’t understand, he more or less got the point—the other party didn’t buy this kind of talk.
As for Vivian, the old principal felt he understood her less and less.
Where was the honor of a noble? The dignity? Not only was she asking for money in public, she also showed zero interest in the whole honor narrative.
Where was your noble pride? Your etiquette training? Did you feed it to a dog?
In the past, when assigning tasks to students, this line of persuasion worked extremely well. Every time he finished speaking, those students would act like they had been injected with adrenaline.
He had successfully used this trick to gain benefits without paying countless times.
So why did it suddenly stop working on this one?
But clearly, through the earlier exchange, the old principal had already seen Vivian’s personality.
She was someone who wouldn’t act unless she saw tangible benefits.
Even with such a short interaction, just based on her lawless personality, the old principal was certain—if he didn’t offer enough, she really would go to another academy.
As for asking her for help? No need to even think about it—without offering something first, she definitely wouldn’t lift a finger.
He took a deep breath.
“Miss Vivian, do you know what is special about the trial you just passed?”
Isn’t it just a Hidden Stage? Jiang Chen felt a bit puzzled.
But soon, he seemed to realize something.
For him, this was just a hidden map, but for NPCs in the game, it must carry a completely different meaning.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chen cooperatively shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“What you triggered just now was the Blood-Colored Trial. To trigger the Blood-Colored Trial requires many special conditions, and very few people have successfully activated it.”
“And the task I want your help with is also related to the Blood-Colored Trial.”
“Once the Blood-Colored Trial is triggered, after you enter the Eternal Tower, all subsequent floors will become Blood-Colored Trials.”
“If you can continue clearing the Blood-Colored Trial all the way to the 30th floor, then you will receive a blessing from the gods. In addition, you can also obtain one of the three treasures rewarded by the Eternal Tower.”
After hearing the old principal, Jiang Chen roughly understood.
“If I’m not mistaken, you want one of those three treasures, right?”
The old principal shook his head. “No. I want you, after clearing the top floor, to find a skeleton on the final floor.”
“This skeleton has a backpack. Inside the backpack is a box. You just need to bring that box back for me.”
Hearing this, Jiang Chen felt speechless.
What the hell is wrong with this NPC? You could’ve just said ‘go find a box.’ After all that talk, I thought you wanted one of the Eternal Tower’s rewards.
And in the end, you want something else entirely.
“So what’s the reward?”
“I can reward you with a magic item.”
“A magic item?” As she spoke, Vivian summoned Misty Moon Dream.
“Is it as powerful as this?”
Hearing that, the old principal carefully examined Misty Moon Dream, and his expression froze.
“No…”
Seeing this, Vivian turned around and left. “Farewell!”
“Hey, hey, hey… I was just saying, young people are too impatient!” The old principal hurriedly took a few quick steps and blocked Vivian’s path.
“If you’re not satisfied with the reward, we can keep negotiating, right? Why leave immediately?”
“Principal, at your price, it’s very hard for me to do this job.” Vivian dug at her ear. “And clearing 30 floors of the Blood-Colored Trial—I don’t even dare imagine how difficult that is.”
“This task is bound to be extremely hard. I’m not taking it. You should find someone more capable.”
Vivian’s words sounded nice, but how could the old principal not understand? The price wasn’t high enough.
“How much do you think is appropriate?” In the end, the old principal compromised.
Hearing that, Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up.
“Ohhh, I see now.”
Looking at the question mark reward displayed on the new quest, Jiang Chen finally understood the situation.
“So it turns out it’s not that the developers didn’t design this part—it's that the rewards in this game require players to negotiate for them.”
“How good the deal is depends entirely on your own ability.”
At this moment, Jiang Chen gained a clear understanding of what an open world meant.
“Freedom. This is way too damn free. Even quest rewards depend on yourself.”
As he spoke, Jiang Chen rubbed his hands together.
“In that case, it’s time for me to show my superior negotiation skills.”
Hearing Jiang Chen’s words, Vivian became curious.
“So… even negotiation is something an Evil God can do?”
Vivian was extremely curious about how a god would negotiate.
And then…
“Old man, the reason you approached me is because, right now, I’m the only one in the academy who has activated the Blood-Colored Trial, correct?”
Hearing that, the old principal shook his head. “The academy has been established for many years, so there have been others who activated the trial. But the only one who meets the conditions to clear it is you.”
“Conditions to clear it?” Vivian asked, puzzled.
“The strength of the monsters in the Blood-Colored Trial changes according to the challenger’s tier.”
“However, they will not exceed the challenger by more than five tiers.”
“So to clear the Eternal Tower’s Blood-Colored Trial, the challenger’s tier must not exceed Four-Ring. Because starting from Five-Ring, the enemies you will face will reach the level of gods.”
Hearing this, Jiang Chen fell into thought.
“I see.”
“In that case, I won’t ask for too much.”
“One hundred million gold coins. I’ll handle this matter for you!”
As Jiang Chen’s words fell…
Vivian: ???
Lilith: ???
Old Principal: ???
“One hundred million? Do you even hear yourself? Do I look like one hundred million to you?” The old principal’s voice rose several pitches.