"First, the natural treasures from the garden will be split in the same way as last time. You guys will get paid by the Organization for your share. I hope you find out if Khodri and Paulini had any family members so we could give them some of their shares. I believe that should be enough to help them live comfortably for decades."
Felix wasn't being generous here or something. This rule was written in the contract by him.
In the case of them dying, their families would receive proper compensation, so they wouldn't need to worry about them.
As mentioned before, the slave contract in his hand was turned into a recruitment contract. He only had one term that he wanted, and that was to keep his secrets hidden.
"Secondly, this is the appearance of the treasure obtained from the hall." Felix showed them a holographic image of the black cube, then explained, "Due to the dangers revolving around it, I can not show the real thing."
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.
Felix didn't care if they believed it or not since he wasn't required to share with them anything about it in the first place.
"Do you know what it is?" Malak inquired in intrigue.
"No, but don't worry, the Organization will assess it carefully and give us proper rewards for our work." Felix comforted them.
"Honestly, I don't even feel like we deserve getting anything from it." Malisa sighed, "You did everything in the hall while we were merely spectating."
"I wish we were just spectators." Erik tightened his fist and said, "We were just a liability."
Felix knitted his eyebrows in displeasure and criticized, "When you say it like that, you completely void jones and Nicci's efforts to stabilize the hole, Pualani and Khodri's unfortunate death, and lastly, Elder Declan and Samir's hard work to keep us protected any other invaders!"
"Sure, your performance wasn't ideal but that had nothing to do with your capabilities. it was simply due to a gap in strength that couldn't possibly be bridged by mere skills!" Felix lowered the intensity of his voice and said, "If you feel bad about it, use the money given to improve your strength even further."
Upon hearing so, Erik pumped his chest with his fist in resolve and proclaimed loudly, "I won't disappoint you again!"
The rest didn't shout it like Erik, but they did show the same attitude.
That was all Felix wanted to see.
"You can expect your rewards to be wired within the next month or so." Felix suddenly stood up and laid out his final order, "For now, you are free to do as you please until I call you out on your next mission."
"Sir Felix, are you planning to return to the Witch Empire?" Malak inquired.
"Yes, I will be taking my spaceship. Make sure to link it with the Northern Sentinel in an hour."
The moment he was done, he walked out of the conference room and headed back to his room.
If it wasn't for being in a coma for fifteen days, he wouldn't have been this rushed to head back. After all, he still needed to attend the 2nd-semester exams.
'Don't worry about the exams, just focus on increasing your physical strength as fast as possible so we can start the experiment quickly.'
Abruptly, Lady Sphinx's impatient voice resounded in his mind.
'Is it alright to skip them?' Felix raised his eyebrows in surprise.
'Hah, you wish.' Lady Sphinx smiled, 'They will simply be delayed until we are done with the experiment.'
'I see.' Felix's eyelids twitched at her strictness. Though, he was still glad that the exams could be delayed.
…
Sometime later, Felix could be seen lying in a VR pod with closed eyes inside his Dark Deviant Spaceship.
He had just consumed a large number of natural treasures, forcing him to enter hibernation.
He made sure to eat just enough to wake up after reaching the 3rd mark.
While he was sleeping peacefully, he had no idea that the natural treasures were being consumed at a faster rate than usual!
Lady Sphinx was the first to spot the difference.
"Hmm, so making the devourer's heart as his main did help with the absorption. I believe that he should be absorbing 70% of the natural treasure properties instead of 50%." Lady Sphinx noted it in her mind with a faint smile and returned to reading her book like nothing happened.
She already believed that there was a high chance of it working like this but she didn't want to ask Felix to let go of his human heart to test a mere theory.
Luckily, fate took the wheel, helping Felix take advantage of that misfortunate incident.
….
Days went by quickly and the day of the 2nd-semester exams had finally arrived.
The atmosphere in the Royal Academy was tense as usual.
Gorgeous-looking witches could be seen walking back and forth with either stressed expressions or buried their heads in their holograms, trying to cramp as much information as possible before it was too late.
Meanwhile, in the elite class for the 2nd semester, the atmosphere was heated with intense competitive stares but no one seemed tense about the exams.
They had the utmost confidence in their abilities and preparation to be on top of the semester.
"When is that idiot coming?" Naima murmured while watching the door, hoping that Felix shows up any second.
It wasn't just her who was interested in Felix's arrival but most witches in the classroom. Especially when Felix had missed almost all courses this semester.
Even when he attended some of them, it was in the UVR.
'Hehe, did he forget that there was an ongoing competition to claim the throne from him?' Kamil snickered to herself.
She disliked Felix very much after he forced her into 3rd rank during the first semester exams. Considering that she had a Sage Witch as a teacher, this result was too way humiliating.
Thus, she prepared endlessly to take back what was rightfully hers! The 1st rank!
Meanwhile, the quiet beauty Lara didn't even glance at the door, knowing that Felix wasn't going to make it to the exams.
She heard from Sage Dalilia that Felix was granted a postponement to his exams due to some special circumstances.
She didn't know what they were but she knew that the Headmistress was way too lenient with him.
'Even students of sage witchers do not get this special treatment in the academy. If the Headmistress keeps this up, there will be an uproar that might result in her removal from her position.' Lara thought calmly.
Unbeknownst to her, the Sage witches wouldn't dare let out a fart if they knew that the Headmistress was simply moving based on Lady Sphinx's orders.
Ding-Ding!
Abruptly, bell noises rang through the academy, snapping all witches back to reality. Soon, the teachers entered the classrooms and closed them shut behind them.
The moment Kamil, Naima, and the rest of the girls saw this, they were left stunned in their seats.
They knew that the moment the doors get closed after the teachers, no one was able to enter anymore.
In other words, a guaranteed F in the exam!
"Alright, let's begin." Teacher Djamila glanced at her AP bracelet and said, "You have two hours to finish the written exams."
Whoosh Whoosh!
Holographic papers manifested before everyone, forcing them to drop the matter about Felix.
Only Naima was still out of it, feeling mixed emotions about Felix's absence; Worry, disbelief, and most dominantly was fury.
'Daring to miss exams huh? You prick better be dead!' Naima huffed all her anger away and immersed herself in the exam, not knowing that Felix was snorting peacefully inside his spaceship that was parked in one of the capital's space stations.
He was asleep for months now and the day he wakes up was drawing closer…The day he opens his eyes, would be written as the day of the first-ever being to host two perfect elemental manipulations…Hopefully.
…
A week later, the exams were over and the witches were sent on a seasonal holiday, emptying the campus.
The exam results had already been posted both in the academy and online, creating many ripples in social media. Especially, when it was possible to bet on the results of those exams.
[Sigh, I was prepared to go all-in on Felix to clutch 1st rank again.]
[Same, I earned a fortune last time from my bet on him!]
Because Felix missed them, the gamblers who were planning to go all-in on him were left disappointed, unlike the witches.
[I am just glad that tumor didn't take part. One humiliation was already enough for me.]
[Tsk, why would anyone get antsy about him? He most likely cowered in front of the practical exams since he missed most of his classes.]
[True, not mentioning the top three, I doubt he would have passed them successfully. His elite classroom had received an even more challenging exam than the rest of us.]
This was one of the most upvoted comments in this discussion section, receiving many agreeing responses from the readers.
It was to be expected since the practical exam for the elite classroom required them to concoct two unique rank 2 potions of their choosing in measly two hours.
Teacher Djamila had mentioned during the demonstration months ago, that she needed one year of effort to reach a 10% success rate in concocting the demonstrated potion!
Yet, the students were required to learn how to concoct two unique rank 2 potions in six months?
They were truly asking too much from them!
But in the eyes of the Academy, that should be doable by anyone in that classroom since they all had Grandmaster or Sage witches as their teachers.
"Waking up to doubters. Heh, the usual I guess.." Felix smirked sarcastically while getting dressed.
