Chapter 403: Treasure Advancement

"Bigfoot, Shyra, Nyxa, Pryde, come forward," Leo called, summoning the beasts as he retrieved orange-coloured jade slips from his spiritual space. These slips were marked with intricate runic patterns created by Tavian.

One by one, Leo took a slip and pressed it against a beast’s body. The moment it made contact, the slip burned away, the runic pattern rising briefly into the air before imprinting itself onto the beast’s body. A faint glow lingered for a moment—then vanished without a trace.

Leo then proceeded to do the same for the others who hadn’t been marked by Tavian—Bigfoot, Shyra, Nyxa, and Pryde. These were the beasts kept hidden even from Tavian, now officially registered as friendly units within the arrays and formations spread across the territory. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He also set aside 20 extra engraved jade slips for future guests or permanent members, ensuring he wouldn’t need to trouble Tavian every time.

Damn... one low-grade jade slip costs 25000 AC! Leo grimaced at the total cost of 600000 AC.

Thankfully, jade slips could be carried around and applied when needed, making them reusable and saving future costs.

Currently, all of them had climbed down from the plateau and gathered for a collective meeting.

"Now, even if you’re safe from the arrays made by Tavian, there are still many physically triggered traps—pitfalls laced with spikes, tripwires, and a few more," he said, subtly hinting at the traps made by Bigfoot without mentioning him. Only the core territory members knew of Bigfoot’s existence—not even the three girls, the siblings, or Brok.

"So keep those in mind. I’ve already told you the general locations of these traps."

"Second, the moment you hear a command directly in your mind, follow it without hesitation. Because at that point, no one will be responsible if you’re found with countless holes made by arrows in your body."

"Directly in our mind?" Aina tilted her head, confused, unaware that Aeila—the Peak 1-star elf who had ranked up to Low 2-star—possessed the [Spirit Link] skill.

Of course, Leo had no intention of revealing that. Instead, he directly spoke into her mind.

Aina felt something reaching into her thoughts, and the moment she allowed it—

"Like this."

"Ahh!" Aina yelped at the sudden voice echoing inside her head, her shoulders jerking before she looked at Leo and nodded nervously.

"Additionally, there will be a beast attack on our territory alongside the Bounty, so I want you to prepare accordingly. Though..."

"Beast attack? Why?" the three girls murmured, but Leo continued.

"Though you don’t need to worry about it. I will handle all of them." Leo glanced toward Kaelion, who nodded in response.

Kaelion had already been instructed to keep an eye out for a suitable beast core for Miho.

Kaelion cast a glance at Miho, who seemed lost in thought.

How do I tell her...? Kaelion found himself at a loss for words. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t care whether she was strong enough or whether her growth matched his, Leo’s, or Lily’s. But he simply wasn’t good with words. With a quiet sigh, he decided to leave it for another time.

"But to think defeating me would grant someone 10000 prosperity points," Leo said incredulously. That alone was enough to elevate an affiliated territory straight to the Low-blue tier.

"That’s because if you’re the 1st-ranked student, no one should be able to defeat you. In other words, an impossible reward for an impossible task. If I had a territory, as the 2nd-ranked student, defeating me would grant 9000 prosperity points," Kaelion explained.

"What if people gang up on me?" Leo asked.

"And in the end, a single person lands the finishing blow?"

"No. That’s what the overseer professors are for. They’ll properly distribute the rewards among all contributors."

"On that note, 99% discount on temple charges? Do they want people to keep coming back to attack our territory?" Leo said.

"Just because you deal in millions of AC doesn’t mean others do the same. Ask them." Kaelion gestured toward the three girls, Virat, and Brok.

They all made awkward faces.

"Yes, boss... even I, as a sophomore, have difficulty saving just 10000 AC a year—and that includes what I give back to home. So even after the 99% discount, paying 1000 AC is still painful."

Leo nodded in understanding. In that sense, only the top 100 students could afford to repeatedly spend 1000 AC to attack his territory. Among them, a small percentage would likely refrain, unwilling to incur his hostility. As the 1st ranker, if Leo chose to ruin someone’s life, he could do so with a mere flick.

Though Brok wasn’t allowed to participate or remain inside the territory during the bounty, he planned to leave at the last moment and observe from afar, intrigued by the event.

"On that note, I’m issuing an order—no one is to be killed... or rather, sent to the temple. I don’t want to hand out freebies to the attackers. The moment you encounter a strong opponent, report it and fall back immediately. Sylrael and Elirin will handle such cases as backup."

"As a reward, I will distribute magic fruits that enhance physical stats after the bounty ends to those who perform well."

Everyone’s ears perked up at that. Stat-boosting magic fruits were far too valuable to ignore.

As Leo continued giving instructions, his head suddenly snapped toward a specific direction.

"What happened, Leo?" Lily asked.

"They’re starting to arrive..." His gaze shifted again, scanning another direction.

"Oh? They’re forming a planned encirclement."

Through his [Geo Resonance Sense], Leo could feel movements within the forest. People were already gathering outside the territory, setting up camps in preparation for a coordinated attack the moment the bounty began. They had to wait until the clock struck 00:00—until then, Leo’s territory still had immunity, and any premature attack would be dealt with by the hidden professor who may or may not have already arrived.

It seemed even the freshers were eager to bring down the 1st-ranked student and prove themselves.

What they didn’t know... was that Leo already had something planned for them.

Time passed, and—

11:50 PM, 6 Feb 501 AP