"Woah.... Did Lady Cendral just look at me," a boy standing before Vlad gasped.

"Hah! Who are you kidding? My father is the close friend of the son of the older brother of the butler that serves House Cendral. She was definitely looking at me," the other boy beside him boasted proudly.

"Pfft... even my dog is more related to a monkey than your family’s connection with House Cendral."

"Y-you dare disrespect the Roosevelt family!"

While the two began bickering, Vlad was lost in his own thoughts.

"No-no-no, did she recognise me? She definitely recognised me. She must have realised that I fooled her that day. Just my darn luck. Why does she have to be my senior in the academy, not to mention she is the President. What if she throws me out of the academy? Her father was the one who helped me join here," Vlad mumbled rapidly, facepalming himself with both hands. "Maybe... maybe... she still considers me Hero Vlad and will actually look out for me."

He tried to reassure himself even though he had already seen it. The predator’s eyes with which Seraphina had looked at him.

At the stage, Seraphina continued, finally shifting her gaze away from Vlad.

"Inside the Academy, taels are useless. The Academy has its own currency, named Credits. Everything from your class fees to the food in the cafeteria will require Credits. There is an infamous phrase here, said by the Principal many years ago.

If there is something you can’t buy in the Academy, it just means that you do not possess enough Credits.

To conclude, if you want to survive here, you need Credits."

Every fresher was now looking at her intently, their faces screaming a single question.

Seraphina’s lips rose into a satisfied smile at their reaction.

"You must all be wondering: how do you earn Credits? There are many ways. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

You can earn them by exchanging something valuable with the professors or other students.

Professors might also give you Credits for performing well in their classes. Oh, and they can deduct your Credits for indiscipline as well.

You will also receive Credits for passing exams and practicals and for successfully completing your assignments.

However, the primary method is by accepting quests offered by the Academy, though you are ineligible for that in the first semester.

But... but... but... today, on the Orientation of our lovely juniors, we have prepared a very~ special and fun game to let you earn Credits."

Another familiar figure appeared on the stage that Vlad instantly recognised.

"Our Vice President, Miss Sophia Leone, will brief you on the game," Seraphina announced before retreating from the podium toward the curtains behind the stage.

A male student walked up beside Sophia carrying a wooden stool. As she reached the podium, he placed the stool before her. She climbed it to reach the height of the podium and announced while tugging her curly sea-green hair behind her ear.

"All of you must have met me on the day of your registration. Still for those ignorants who still couldn’t recognise me, I’m your cute senior, Sophia Leone."

"Kyaaa!! She is so adorable," a girl from the freshers gasped.

"She is so short that she might need only one popcorn," another added.

While the freshers had been mesmerised by Seraphina’s charisma, listening in near silence, they erupted in excitement the moment Sophia arrived on stage, drawn in by her easy-going personality.

"Now... now... behave yourselves or I will get reallyyy scary," Sophia hissed, her cheeks forming a cute pout. It did nothing to restore order.

In the end, Sophia decided to continue regardless. They would quiet down on their own once they realised they might miss something important.

"The orientation game we have decided on this year is Treasure Hunting!" Sophia announced in a loud voice, squeezing her eyes shut to force the words out.

The chaos finally died down at the exciting announcement. Now that they were ready to listen, Sophia continued.

"Across the campus, we have hidden various treasures. You need to find them by the end of the day. Each treasure contains a uniform with your name tag, books for the subjects you wish to enroll in, and some special secret items. When a fresher finds something that isn’t theirs, they don’t have to return it for free. They can negotiate directly with the rightful owner for Credits, hold it hostage until the owner meets their price, or trade laterally, such as swapping an unwanted book with someone who has yours. For each treasure found, you will earn Credits:

5 Credits once your own uniform is secured.

3 Credits per book.

10 to 30 Credits by exchanging the hidden treasures with your seniors, depending on their value."

While she was explaining, two senior male students began distributing treasure maps among the freshers. Vlad carefully read his.

Several different symbols and labels were marked across it with no description of the items whatsoever. Some areas had many markers clustered together while a few remote spots had only one.

"Thank god they didn’t include the whole campus and the main building in the treasure hunt," Vlad sighed in relief. The map covered only a quarter of the actual campus he had seen in the academy’s miniature, and there were no markers placed on the Main Building.

"There are special rewards for the top three treasure hunters," Sophia announced. She raised her hand with three little fingers extended.

"Third place will receive fifty Credits."

One finger went down.

"Second place will receive seventy Credits and one month of special access to the Arcane Archives."

Another finger went down, leaving only her index finger raised.

"First place will receive a hundred Credits, the title of Crownbearer, and a one-on-one meeting with our President!"

"A one-on-one meeting with Lady Cendral. It’s basically a date!" someone from the freshers exclaimed.

"I will win first place no matter what!"

"First place is mine. Lady Cendral, wait for me."

The crowd erupted in excitement, their attention fixed entirely on the meeting with Seraphina, overlooking the other crucial reward that came with first place.

"One more thing before you all start. This will be your only chance to claim your uniforms and books. If you fail to claim them, you will have to use your Credits to purchase the books. And if you fail to find your uniform, boys will be made to wear the female uniform and girls will be made to wear a maid dress for a whole week."