Chapter 22: Board First, Buy the Ticket Later—Part Two
Chapter 22: Boarding First, Paying Later – Part Two
Xia Zuo glanced at his character profile and suddenly thought of a cunning trick.
His current free attribute points were insufficient to raise his mental attribute to the passing threshold.
But he could certainly board first and pay later.
He decided to allocate his free attribute points to Vitality, relying on high regeneration and endurance, attend the academy early, and then make up for the mental attribute deficiency afterward.
By then, he could redistribute the extra free attribute points into Mental, effectively becoming a genuine postnatal affinity mage.
[Health] 19/28 (corrupted by unknown forces)
[Regeneration Rate]
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.027 points per minute.
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.027 - 10 → -9.973 points per minute.
The rate at which health was draining increased from 3.03 points per minute to 9.973 points per minute.
A rough calculation showed that over two minutes, about 20 points of health would be lost, bringing his health down to negative one point. If he just added free attribute points to Vitality...
He chuckled to himself: as long as he didn’t die, he could pass the test no matter what.
Xia Zuo curled his body into a tight ball, locking his right hand and the bottle firmly between his legs, arching his back upward and pressing all his limbs against the ground.
Even if he fainted, his palm wouldn’t slip from the bottle’s mouth.
A tooth-grinding, sinister chuckle escaped from between his teeth.
The contents inside the elemental bottle seemed to sense the mockery and pierced his palm with even greater force.
Xia Zuo stifled a groan, straightened painfully like a hooked fish, then forcibly contracted his limbs back into a ball with his back arched upwards.
Within seconds, the blood vessels from his chin to his forehead bulged red, and the veins on his neck twisted like gnarled roots bursting from the earth.
His grimace looked eerie and menacing.
The health drain rate surged again!
13.3 points per minute, equivalent to 800 points per hour.
Dizzy and disoriented, his vision darkened, and his heart pounded like a drum.
What on earth was inside that bottle to have such a temper?
Gritting his teeth, Xia Zuo thought: I don’t want to wait another year!!
Golden Finger, boost me!!
[Vitality] 8 + 1 → 9
[Health] 21/28 + 2 → 30
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.027 → 0.034 points per minute.
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.034 - 13.33 → -13.29 points per minute.
Xia Zuo glanced at the hourglass on the table; one and a half minutes remained. Rounding off, he would lose another 20 health points, just one point short!
No, this wasn’t stable enough!
If this thing increased the health drain rate again while I’m unconscious, I’m done for!
Golden Finger, boost me again!
[Vitality] 9 + 1 → 10
[Health] 20/30 + 1 → 31
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.034 → 0.04 points per minute.
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.04 - 13.33 → -13.29 points per minute.
Damn it, Golden Finger, don’t fail me now! Why only add one health point?!
The stabbing pain in his palm intensified!
Xia Zuo groaned again, straightened up, then tensed all his muscles to pull his limbs back in.
The health drain accelerated to 16.67 points per minute, or 1000 points per hour.
He tried to lift his head to check the hourglass, but his neck felt locked by a strong man.
His face pressed to the ground, his view limited to the floor’s grain, he estimated about a minute and twenty seconds left.
The remaining 20 health points were utterly insufficient!
Golden Finger, add two points at once!!
[Vitality] 10 + 2 → 12
[Health] 18/30 + 5 + 3 → 38
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.04 → 0.063 points per minute.
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.063 - 16.67 → -16.61 points per minute.
...
The elemental bottle shook violently, as if something inside was going mad, desperate to burst out!
The health drain rate climbed again and again, fluctuating every few seconds.
20 points per minute!
22!
24!
25!
The rate of increase slowed, but the momentum remained.
26!
27!
28!
29!
30 points per minute!!
The health drain stabilized, no longer rising!
Xia Zuo was nearly dazed by the constant data updates, and his heart began to waver.
Then, the Golden Finger sent a message to his mind!
“Detected host possessing an attribute exceeding 10 points for the first time. A reward will be randomly drawn based on that attribute type.”
“Drawing…”
“Success! New specialty acquired: [Emergency Moment]!”
“[Emergency Moment]: When health drops below 50% of the maximum, Vitality’s regeneration speed bonus increases by 50%. When health drops below 25%, the effect of [Emergency Moment] doubles!”
Xia Zuo’s regeneration rate surged by 50% instantly!
[Health] 18/38
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.063 points per minute
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.063 * 150% → 0.095 - 30 → -29.91 points per minute.
([Emergency Moment] activated)
About 40 seconds remained!
He was probably still one health point short!
Xia Zuo lost count of time and health loss!
Golden Finger, boost me!
[Vitality] 12 + 1 → 13
[Health] 20/38 + 2 → 40
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.063 → 0.077 points per minute.
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.077 * 150% → 0.1155 - 30 → -29.88 points per minute.
([Emergency Moment] activated)
Only one free attribute point left!
As the test ended, only a sliver of health remained.
If you keep raising the health drain, I...
The elemental bottle seemed to hear Xia Zuo’s thoughts, increasing the piercing force on his palm again, but this time the health drain only rose slightly. The thing inside appeared to be running out of strength.
Drain rate rose to 30.5 points per minute.
I’ve already spent five free attribute points—why care about the last one?
Audrey doesn’t want me to leave yet!
What’s wrong with staying another year to grind experience!?
Golden Finger, give! Me! More!
[Vitality] 13 + 1 → 14
[Health] 25/40 + 5 → 45
[Base Regeneration Rate]
0.077 → 0.1 points per minute.
[Real-time Regeneration Rate]
0.1 - 30 → -29.9 points per minute.
(Health above 50%, [Emergency Moment] deactivated)
The elemental bottle showed no new changes; the health drain remained at 30.5 per minute.
Now it was completely stable—he might never even drop below 25% health.
Ha ha ha ha~
Xia Zuo curled into a ball, trembling with pain and excitement.
Tylus gaped, clutching his hair with his right hand, his face full of astonishment.
He glanced at the hourglass on the table, smoothed his hair, straightened his attire, and smoothed the wrinkles on his robe before speaking slowly:
“Time’s up. Xia Zuo, congratulations on passing the test.”
“Ah, it’s over already?”
Xia Zuo slightly loosened his thighs, creating a small gap between his right hand and the bottle. The bottle fell silent, and the pain in his hand vanished like a mirage.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, examining his right hand.
Except for large red marks from the pressure and the imprints made by his clothes, not a single puncture mark was visible.
He stuffed the bottle back onto the table and slumped weakly into the chair to rest.
About twenty minutes later.
Tylus saw color returning to Xia Zuo’s face and took a wooden token from his robe, handing it over.
“You passed thanks to astonishing willpower. Well... in any case, you did survive five minutes.”
Xia Zuo reached out to grasp the card but couldn’t quite take it.
Tylus held the other end between his fingers, his lips moving as if to say something.
“Xia Zuo, because your situation is special, I have a suggestion for you...”
He changed his tone, releasing the card to rest his fingers on the chair back, gesturing with his arm:
“Forget it, forget it. Your will is so strong, there’s no need for me to say more. Go on, give the card to the person who brought you here.”
“Thank you, Lord Tylus.”
Xia Zuo took the wooden token and headed for the door, muttering to himself:
Is my willpower really that strong?
He looked at his character profile.
[Willpower] 3
One point lower than Keli, two points lower than Xiao Mo.
This was the quantified Willpower attribute, determining one's resistance to abnormal effects, whether mental or physical.
Willpower could help against both.
Tylus had clearly misunderstood.
Xia Zuo shook his head, giving a bittersweet smile.
It wasn’t all bad—it saved him the trouble of explaining.
He guessed that for a long time, he’d be wearing the mask of high willpower, doing what only high mental talent could do, when in truth it was all thanks to his high Vitality.
Xia Zuo returned to the hall, facing the main door, waving the wooden token above his head.
Audrey stood in the doorway, giving two enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Mars Morton, who had earlier escorted Xia Zuo into the room, happened to be walking down another corridor holding a book.
His gaze paused briefly on the token in Xia Zuo’s hand, he swept his golden bangs aside and smiled broadly:
“As expected of a flamethrower who can spew colorful flames. Follow me, I’ll introduce you to the Starry Night Academy.”
Xia Zuo gestured to Audrey that he still had to stay here a while longer.
Mars followed his gaze to the door and nodded in greeting to Audrey.
The two entered a quiet corridor.
“Was that Audrey just now?” Mars asked as they passed closed doors.
“Yeah, she’s my lifesaver—the big sister of the circus,” Xia Zuo replied, casting a probing spell.
[Character Name] Mars Morton
[Identity] Member of Starry Night Academy
[Health] ??? (Healthy)
[Resistances]
[Water Resistance] 2%
[Wind Resistance] 2%
[Earth Resistance] 2%
[Fire Resistance] 0.5%
[Strength] 3
[Agility] 3
[Endurance] 3
[Vitality] 3
[Perception] 6
[Willpower] 5
[Mental] 15
[Charisma] 6
[Specialty] ???
His Mental attribute, like the stout mage from the Piek fortress, stood at 15.
Among other attributes, except for Charisma being one point higher, the rest were slightly lower than the stout mage’s.
“Xia Zuo...” Mars said hesitantly.
“The academy covers daily expenses for postnatal affinity students and doesn’t charge tuition. But... your close relatives probably can’t accompany you to Starry City. So, Audrey, she—”
Xia Zuo bumped him playfully with his elbow.
“I’ve already discussed it with Audrey. She’ll stay here in Rosak to continue running the circus. I’ll go alone to study in Starry City.
“When I enter the academy, I’ll need your care, Senior Mars.”
Mars was touched by these words; his smile grew as warm as his pale golden hair.
He stopped before a wooden door.
“This is the testing station’s library. It’s small, dedicated to books about Starry Night Academy. Every new student must spend some time here.”
Mars pushed the door open a crack, and they stepped inside quietly.
Xia Zuo scanned the shelves with his probing spell, a joyful expression spreading across his face.
All the books were treasures that boosted Mental attributes!
All free to read, at will!
This ticketing station came just in time!
Mars took a heavy tome and approached.
Seeing Xia Zuo’s bookish obsession, he felt a kindred spirit.
(End of Volume One)
(End of Chapter)