Is It Weird for a Guy to Apply to a Witch School?-Chapter 555 -

Chapter 555: The Core Skill for Attending an Exhibition - Food Mania

After a brief introduction, I realized that this Heart of Cold Tide did not seem to belong to the Wan Shi Wu Club.

I had heard the Shop Manager say that the Wan Shi Wu Club possessed one of these items, which was part of the crown, and the absence of that part led to the shattering of the [Transcendent Knowledge].

I initially thought it was only that one fragment.

Now it seemed that was not the case, but there were many fragments.

This particular fragment was not the one belonging to the Wan Shi Wu Club but was consigned by a seller to the Wan Shi Wu Club for auction, with an interesting story behind it.

The Wan Shi Wu Club wanted to buy it directly, but the seller did not agree and insisted on maximizing the profit through auction.

I would say this action was the work of a master provocateur.

If the two Children of Destiny of the Witch Academy wanted to compete to gather the complete [Transcendent Knowledge], this would only be an internal competition.

But putting it up for auction made it public.

If all other factors were disregarded, this would be a clash of financial resources, which perfectly aligned with the Wan Shi Wu Club's attitude toward Destiny and the Script.

Furthermore… through the Great Tree of Knowledge's sharing, I had learned that Lucianne received her investment from the Wan Shi Wu Club, which was the Heart of Cold Tide.

They originally had a Seed of Great Knowledge too, but they hadn't expected me to beat them to it.

For this auction, Lucianne and Tan Han were both invited to attend, and what would happen next was self-evident.

What the Wan Shi Wu Club wanted to do was to elevate Lucianne step-by-step, gradually replacing Tan Han's position and seizing her opportunity bit by bit.

Although the Grand Spellbook was something they couldn't touch, the competition and ownership of [Transcendent Knowledge] could influence too many things.

This could be said to be a microcosm of the Struggle for Destiny, embodied by the word "struggle."

In fact, even if the Wan Shi Wu Club hadn't encountered the so-called Script or the existence of Children of Destiny, would they not compete?

They definitely would!

The Wan Shi Wu Club was not the only powerful force within the Witch Academy.

There were many other organizations of comparable or even more formidable size, such as the Witch's Secret Realm Club.

Although the two clubs often cooperated, competition still existed.

The appearance of the Children of Destiny merely changed the form of their competition.

However, all this was just an ideal state.

One should not forget that the Main World currently had an external enemy—those Players.

I'm sure the information I revealed to them a few days ago made them realize how dangerous it was to auction this item now, right?

Even though this was an invitation-only auction not open to the public, there were no impenetrable walls in the world.

I hadn't paid too much attention before, but now I glanced around and noticed that there were still many senior students in the main hall of this hotel.

Dressed in uniform, they were intentionally or unintentionally patrolling the surroundings.

It seemed the Wan Shi Wu Club had indeed taken my words seriously, but this was probably still not enough.

Then, I turned and looked at Jiao Xiaoshuang, who was still introducing items beside me.

I truly admired her eloquence, and although I could tell her discourse was formulaic, she also had excellent observational skills.

“Thank you. Let’s stop here for now,” I said, gesturing to interrupt her introduction.

“Alright.”

“By the way, is it convenient to ask you some personal questions?”

“Of course, Teacher Little Han.”

“I saw that you have a good relationship with President Xing Anlei. She takes good care of you, right?”

“Yes. Senior Xing Anlei is my mentor and she takes excellent care of me, but I am not the only junior she takes care of.”

“Since she had you participate in the planning and arrangement of this auction, she must have briefed you on some things, right? Did she tell you that this Heart of Cold Tide is a big trouble?”

I asked, pointing to the asymmetrically shaped gem on the display stand.

The moment I leaned toward that direction, I could clearly feel the temperature in this area dropping significantly, and it was also accompanied by an inexplicable pressure diffusing outward.

“A big trouble… is that what Teacher Little Han is worried about? Senior Xing Anlei naturally briefed us on this matter, and she specifically instructed us that the security forces deployed by the Wan Shi Wu Club are sufficient to guard the Heart of Cold Tide during the exhibition period.”

“Is that so? It seems I was overly worried then,” I said with a light smile, not saying anything more.

I didn't offer any more warnings.

Otherwise, I would be overstepping.

After all, I was an invited guest, not their security expert.

If the Wan Shi Wu Club were to stumble in front of the Players, it would be a lesson learned the hard way.

After all, this was the first time Witch Academy students had encountered such enemies.

But rationally, I still hoped those Players would be the ones to suffer a setback.

“Yes. Please don’t worry too much. Since our Wan Shi Wu Club is responsible for planning this auction, we naturally consider unforeseen circumstances.”

“Alright. Then, let's stop touring here… hmm?”

Just as I was about to say something else, I suddenly noticed that another area in the distance had become quite lively.

“What is going on over there?”

“That area… oh!”

Jiao Xiaoshuang was taken aback by my question, but then checked the time.

“That area is a special food section that we planned for this hotel's preview, opening at specific times over these two days. After all, we can’t let our esteemed guests starve. The food there is complimentary and is prepared by the hotel's top chefs. Of course, the hotel's dining service will still be available during this period. If one doesn't like dining in this atmosphere, they can still…”

“No, I am very interested.”

“Uh, alright.”

Jiao Xiaoshuang didn't say anything more and followed me to the food area.

This area was clearly a temporary setup.

Exquisite food was placed on the counter, and catering staff were continuously bringing food from the carts and arranging them beautifully on the tables.

At this moment, I could only sigh that in this somewhat boring auction preview, only these gourmet foods seemed to be able to comfort my spirit.

However, upon looking closer, I noticed that these foods were mostly exquisite desserts and carefully arranged dishes, and hot tea was also provided.

It made sense… after all, this was not a formal dining area, so there wouldn't be much heavy food.

This setup felt more like a tea break, but it was much more abundant.

It seemed that the area had just been set up.

The people there were immediately divided into two groups.

One group seemed a bit reserved or not hungry, only glancing at the food and then ignoring it.

The other group had absolutely no reservation and immediately started eating, even picking and choosing.

Their demeanor was that of frequent visitors.

They didn't care that this was an exhibition.

Some were carrying bags and directly stuffing convenient items inside.

Others carried plates of food away and shared them with their gal pals in the distance, looking like model gal pals.

Sure enough, although there weren't many people with social phobia in a place like this, they could still be seen.

Those people were some of the invited students, not much older than me.

Some even seemed to be in the same year as me.

It seemed they were also first-time attendees like me, arriving so early.

I also walked over to the counter, my gaze sweeping over the exquisite foods, and finally selected a small cake on a paper tray.

I gently scooped a spoonful into my mouth.

It was cool and melted instantly.

Although I really didn't want to mention this again, tasting gourmet food was indeed a very efficient way to practice taste sensation enhancement.

So, without realizing it, I had sampled every dish that looked good as I walked through.

Jiao Xiaoshuang, who was following me, looked quite shocked.

But I didn't care.

Having a receptionist following me helped deflect a lot of trouble.

I didn't encounter any amusing attempts at flirtation or any drama of showing off and being slapped in the face.

Most of the people who could attend here were individuals of status, either geniuses from various academies or wealthy individuals famous in the outside world.

The only social class disparity was between ordinary people and students who mastered Transcendent power.

And I noticed that those wealthy people who could attend here all kept a very low profile.

This auction had been held twice a year for an unknown number of years.

Those arrogant, second-generation rich types must have been filtered out long ago.

Just as Jiao Xiaoshuang once again blocked a male attempting to talk to me, my attention was drawn to a middle-aged man passing by the other side of the dining table.

It wasn't because the man was handsome or charismatic.

I wasn't even looking at the man himself, but rather… a strand of Destiny attached to him.

However, I didn't keep my gaze on him for too long to avoid drawing his attention.

Just as I moved my gaze away to look at Jiao Xiaoshuang, the middle-aged man seemed to sense something, turned sideways, and his gaze swept over.

The moment his eyes landed on me, his pupils instantly contracted!

But he quickly pretended that nothing was wrong and hurried away, assuming I hadn't noticed him.

“Thank you. I really don’t like those men trying to talk to me,” I said with a smile.

Forget about just coming over to chat or anything else.

This was a hotel.

If he was lost, he should have asked the service staff here.

As someone who was once male, how could I not know what they were thinking in their hearts? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

However, the people who could enter here were generally those who had been vetted, so they should be more pure, meaning they were more purely interested in business.

I was very clear about my self-awareness: I had no financial dealings with these ordinary people.

It was better to cut off their fantasy from the beginning than to get entangled.

Perhaps it was due to the influence of Witchification, but I had absolutely no interest in men now, even though I was male in my previous life.

But then again… even as a boy, I still didn't have many friends.

Perhaps I was simply incompatible with men.

Maybe I should have listened to Big Sis Bai and come later.

Coming so early meant I could finish viewing the exhibits in half a day, and I was constantly running into people who wanted to establish a connection, which was indeed troublesome.

“This is what I am supposed to do.”

When I said this, Jiao Xiaoshuang quickly spoke, not taking any credit for herself.

After I first directly rejected a man’s attempt to flirt, she had proactively blocked everyone else afterward, and I had tacitly approved her actions.

She had good judgment.

Furthermore, she knew better than anyone what kind of people the others were.

They were all outsiders carrying money, planning to lure unsophisticated students into their money traps here.

Not all students in Transcendent Academies were wealthy.

The saying "money makes the world go round" was very applicable here.

Money could corrupt too many people.

Not all students in Transcendent Academies had the goal of achieving the Transcendent promotion.

They didn't even know that there was a wider world outside the world.

A person's mindset was truly a difficult thing to change.

Power allowed them to taste the sweetness of acting rampantly in this world.

Status allowed them to enjoy the satisfaction of being flattered by others.

This was the unavoidable temptation of ordinary people.

It was like in my previous life: everyone knew that studying hard could lead to becoming a scientist or a doctor, and that they could design and manufacture powerful weapons or even national strategic equipment, but this was not something everyone could achieve.

There were too many details that led to failure: study habits, unrestrained laziness, and so on.

They ultimately converged into the single excuse, "I don't have the talent," which took the blame for all the failures.

Therefore, neither Jiao Xiaoshuang nor I felt there was anything wrong with such a cold rejection.

Perhaps the rejected men were secretly calling us pretentious and self-absorbed, but so what?

These were not things I should be concerned about.

Finally, I picked up a freshly arranged ice cream cup and a small wooden stick from the side, preparing to leave.

Now that I had locked onto a target, I naturally needed to go and watch a good show.

I hadn't expected a Player to actually become a wealthy person and sneak in.

Should I commend those Players for their excellent intelligence work?

“Teacher Little Han, where are you going to…”

“I saw something interesting…”

I said casually and followed him.

I also used the Earth Vein Appraisal Spell to acquire information about the opponent.

Since the opponent hadn't made a move yet and was operating under this assumed identity, I didn't directly attack.

When I saw him suddenly stop at the display stand for the Heart of Cold Tide, I understood.

As expected, he was blinded by the [Transcendent Knowledge].

Seeing the opponent remain motionless, a Casket appeared in my hand.

I held it in front of me.

With a single thought, I could instantly suppress most trouble.

Afterward, I did nothing but simply put on the look of someone watching a good show.

I was watching to see if he would directly make a move.

Based on their previous reckless behavior, I thought he might act directly.

Even though they had been somewhat low-profile recently, who could truly tell the nature of a person?

At this moment, Jiao Xiaoshuang also noticed my small movement.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do.

She didn't know what that box-like object was.

Although she wanted to speak up to warn me, the opponent didn't look like he was going to make a move.

Just as she was struggling with her dilemma, I heard my own voice.

“Tsk Coward… how boring.”

At this moment, looking at the opponent’s restrained demeanor, and seeing him quickly walk away, I muttered a complaint.

Then, I watched the opponent instinctively glance around, clearly checking the surrounding situation.

He probably felt unsafe being alone.

However, I did pay attention to this person's movements.

With the information lock provided by the Earth Vein Appraisal Spell, once I brought up the local area model, the person's whereabouts would be updated in real-time as long as they were recorded by the Earth Vein.

Now, everything was finally settled.

“Little Shuang, quick question: is there any quiet place in the hotel that is suitable for reading?”

“Of course, there is. There is a book lounge on the upper floors of the hotel. That place can provide you with a comfortable reading environment, and the collection of books there is equivalent to a floor of a library. Let me take you there.”

“Sure, then I’ll trouble you to take me there.”