Those words struck Axel like a hamr. For the first ti, he truly felt that Lana was painfully naïve. "Where did you even hear sothing like that?"
Lana scratched the back of her neck, her gaze drifting away.
’I heard it from one of my teammates in my previous life,’ she thought, but naturally, she couldn’t say that out loud. Instead, she replied, "From a friend."
Axel let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You heard it wrong."
His tone softened slightly, but the disbelief remained. "An average talisman practitioner can only make about a hundred talismans a day, and out of those, fifty to sixty usually fail."
Lana was stunned. ’Only forty usable talismans?’ She had never even considered that possibility.
Axel continued, "That number is for geniuses. We shouldn’t even talk about average talent practitioners." He shook his head. "Most of them can only make five or six usable talismans a day."
Hearing that, Lana seriously began doubting herself. ’Am I really that abnormal?’
Unable to hold it in, she called out silently, ’’Zephyr.’’
’’What is it?’’ Zephyr’s calm voice echoed in her mind.
’’Why didn’t you tell I’m a talisman genius?’’ she asked inwardly, feeling oddly wronged.
Zephyr replied unhurriedly, ’’I did call you a genius. You were the one who didn’t believe .’’
Lana fell silent at once. ’...Fair enough.’
anwhile, Axel looked back at the bag of talismans. "It’ll take at least two days to sell all of these," he said. "I’ll transfer the money to you directly."
Lana nodded. She stood up and added casually, "Don’t forget about the commission." Her lips curved faintly. "Otherwise, I’ll have to use underhanded thods and sell them myself."
With that, she turned and walked out without looking back.
Axel shook his head helplessly. ’Between the two of us, she’s the one acting like the boss.’ After a brief pause, he corrected himself. ’No... she really is the boss.’
....................
Lana returned to the classroom, only to realize that it was empty... except for Fay.
And Fay was... crying.
There were no sharp remarks, no mocking laughter. Instead, quiet sobs echoed faintly in the room.
Lana paused for a mont, sighed inwardly, and turned around. ’Trouble.’ She had no intention of getting involved.
Just as she took a step away, Fay noticed her presence. While wiping her tears, she suddenly shouted, "Stop right there!"
Lana didn’t even glance back. ’Just because she tells to stop, I should obey?’ She found the thought ridiculous and continued walking.
Fay’s expression twisted with anger. She rushed forward, her footsteps hurried and uneven. Lana hadn’t intended to run, hence Fay quickly caught up and stepped directly in front of her, blocking her path.
Glaring fiercely, Fay demanded, "What did you tell Axel?"
Lana frowned slightly.
Fay’s voice rose sharply. "He’s ignoring ! You must have said sothing about , didn’t you?"
Lana’s patience thinned. "I don’t have ti for this." She moved to leave.
Fay imdiately blocked her again, her eyes blazing. "If you won’t tell while I’m asking nicely, then forget about leaving."
That was the final straw.
Lana’s gaze turned cold as she stared straight at Fay. "What’s wrong with you?"
Her voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge beneath it. "Why are you suddenly treating like your enemy?"
Fay pointed at her accusingly. "Aren’t you a GA mber?"
Her voice trembled with anger and hurt. "How could I ever be friends with you? If I had known earlier, I would’ve never had a good impression of you!"
Lana looked at her as if she were looking at a fool. "Have you ever used your brain?"
Those words made Fay’s face flush with rage, but Lana didn’t stop.
"If you had, you’d realize others are far smarter than you." She continued coldly, "Take Axel. Take Principal Troy. If I were truly a GA mber, don’t you think they would’ve noticed by now?"
Fay frowned deeply. "Then why did we encounter so many ghost portals?" She glared. "Wasn’t it because of you?"
Lana burst out laughing. "If I were really a GA mber and wanted you all dead," she said lightly, "I wouldn’t have lifted a finger. I’d just let you walk straight into the ghost portals and die."
Her smile faded. "So doesn’t calling a traitor sound stupid?"
Fay fell silent, her grip loosening.
Lana looked at her for a long mont before asking casually, "Or is this reaction because you’re jealous?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Jealous that Axel and I are close?"
Fay imdiately denied it. "No." The word ca out too fast, too sharp.
Yet, in that fleeting instant, a tiny glint flashed through her eyes, sothing restless and uneasy, and Lana caught it clearly.
A soft chuckle escaped Lana’s lips, light but knowing, breaking the tense silence between them.
"If that’s what you’re really thinking," Lana said calmly, her voice low and steady, "then I’ll tell you sothing."
She leaned in slightly, the air between them growing heavy, as if even the dust motes had stopped drifting.
"There ’is’ a GA mber in the Mystical Departnt."
Fay’s entire body stiffened. Her fingers curled unconsciously at her sides, nails biting into her palms as a chill crept up her spine. The color drained from her face.
Lana watched her reaction and chuckled again, this ti with a faint edge.
"That GA mber is extrely smart," she continued. "So smart that they almost fooled even ."
Those words landed like a hamr. Fay fell completely silent, her mind buzzing loudly as she struggled to process what she had just heard.
’A GA mber... here?’ Her breathing grew shallow without her realizing it.
Lana didn’t stop. "I was stunned when I found out," she went on, her expression turning serious.
"Before I could even start investigating properly, you already made such a huge scene."
She sighed softly. "Now, even if I want to do sothing, I can’t." Her gaze sharpened. "By this point, that GA mber would’ve already been alerted."
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