It jumped straight to 150 million gold coins already?!
Caelan was completely stunned. He suddenly felt like he had been walking down the wrong path all along!
Isn't being a hired gun for the school way better?!
As for whether he could take first place—come on. He could one-shot a level 360 monster with a single slash.
No matter how outrageous humans under level 100 might be, in Caelan's eyes they were nothing but weaklings.
At the same time, on the other side, the principal saw Caelan being shocked by his "generosity" and couldn't help but show a trace of smug satisfaction.
Kid, you're stunned, aren't you?
You may be clever, but you're still just a youngster who hasn't seen the world.
A mere 150 million gold coins— that's just a few months' worth of… gifts I receive—
Cough, cough.
The principal cleared his throat lightly, feeling that he should give Caelan even more encouragement.
"Caelan, in addition to the school's and the city lord's rewards, I'll also apply to the church for a special subsidy on your behalf. That should be another 50 million gold coins or so."
At this point, the principal paused and secretly glanced at Caelan. Seeing that Caelan still looked completely dazed, his vanity was instantly satisfied.
Damn it… when did I start feeling this ridiculous sense of competitiveness toward a student?!
"Ahem. Besides that, I personally am also willing to reward you with another 50 million gold coins, along with targeted resource support from the school."
"However, all of this is premised on you winning first place in the Ranked Match. Do you understand?"
"And since the Ranked Match includes not only individual matches but also team matches, you'll need to pay attention to the school's overall ranking as well."
By the time Caelan snapped back to his senses, the reward had already risen from 150 million to 250 million gold coins.
At this moment, even though his storage space contained over a billion gold coins, he still couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
The principal is a good man!
He'd never seen someone this generous before!
As for team matches and such, Caelan didn't care in the slightest. With his strength, he didn't need any teammates at all. As long as his winning streak was long enough, first place would be his for the taking.
Thinking this, Caelan looked at the principal with eyes full of gratitude.
The principal was practically handing him gold coins on a silver platter.
"Thank you, Principal. I will definitely work hard and bring honor back to Mylanne High School!"
Hearing this, both the principal and the teachers present showed strange expressions.
You've already secured all the benefits, and now you're talking about honor?
Don't you think that sounds a bit hypocritical??
On the contrary, the principal smiled warmly and patted Caelan on the shoulder.
"Well said, Caelan. Mylanne High School needs diligent young people like you."
"Keep it up. I have great expectations for you!"
At this moment, both Caelan and the principal felt like they had struck gold.
Caelan was thinking that he had to complete his breakthrough quest anyway—Ranked Match was just a side task.
Yet he could earn 250 million gold coins from it. It was simply too good to pass up!
Meanwhile, the principal also felt he was making a guaranteed profit.
Not only had he secured Caelan's participation, he didn't even need to spend a single gold coin—just issue a bunch of empty promises.
If Caelan failed to make it into the top three, the principal wouldn't have to pay even one gold coin.
And even if Caelan somehow managed to reach the top three, the principal would still be making a killing.
With such outstanding results, the city lord, the school board, and the church would all happily hand out rewards on their own initiative!
As expected, I became principal purely because I'm smart enough!
"Caelan, three days from now, at 8:30 in the morning, be sure to come to the school on time and depart with the lead teacher."
Without even turning his head, Caelan waved his hand and vanished from the office in an instant.
"Youth is truly wonderful—so full of drive…"
...
After leaving the school, Caelan didn't return home.
Time was tight. Before the Ranked Match, he had to clear the Unstable Zone instance first.
Following the markings on the instance map, he headed toward the nearest Unstable Zone.
With [Flashstep], traveling barely took any time at all.
In just about ten minutes,
Caelan appeared at the outer perimeter of the Unstable Zone.
However, the moment he arrived, he noticed watchmen guarding the entrance.
Why had this Unstable Zone been sealed off?
Caelan frowned slightly and walked up to one of the watchmen at the entrance.
"Excuse me, has something special happened in this Unstable Zone? Why has the entrance been closed?"
The watchman glanced at Caelan, saw that he was just a student, and waved him off impatiently.
"Kid, I suggest you stay far away from this place!"
"This Unstable Zone has undergone some kind of mutation. By the time we received the intelligence, twenty full adventurer squads had already lost contact."
"Even our own watchmen's search-and-rescue team went in—and none of them came back out!"