"You're charging... how much?"
The speaker was Ren, head of the Student Merchant Guild, clutching his chest like he'd just been shot. However, since Sunny had been the one to clear the Glacial Lake solo, it couldn't be considered price gouging. Moreover, if anyone was to be accused of ripping students off, it should be Ren.
Yet, before Ren could calculate the profit margins, Jett had already nodded directly, "No problem, name your price!"
Sunny did not hold back. He was indeed in dire need of money right now. Apart from upgrading the Thermal-Shock Siege-Stag, he also had to stabilize the new fusion core for Nova, who was currently throwing a tantrum in his inventory.
Nova, unlike other Molten Sprites, required volatile fire crystals to maintain his new Tier 3 potential.
Moreover, Sunny needed to buy defensive artifacts for the semi-finals, all of which entailed considerable expenses.
"Let me make it clear," Sunny began after receiving Jett's affirmative nod, "I will only be responsible for enhancing the Attack Speed of your Tiger. I won't touch its defensive stats or mana capacity!"
He then stated his terms, sitting on a crate in his courtyard like a king on a throne, "To advance Attack Speed from 'Standard' to 'Accelerated', it's 2,000 Credits. To advance from 'Accelerated' to 'Blitz', it's 8,000 Credits. As for reaching 'Supersonic'... well, I haven't decided yet. It also depends on how much your Tiger screams."
Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly startled.
Even Instructor Vex, who had been silent until now, pushed up her glasses and said, "Cadet Sunny, this isn't how enhancement fees are calculated. It should be based on material cost plus labor. If you charge by the tier of improvement..."
She didn't finish her sentence. If charged by tier, and the speed never improved, would the student keep paying indefinitely? Clearly, this was impossible.
And Ren, seemingly having found a weak point to exploit for a discount, said, "Sunny, my friend, you must not have undertaken this kind of biological modification before. But that's normal. Achieving a Dual-Core fusion is already quite impressive. You have a bright future ahead. However, speed enhancement requires intricate rune carving, and it seems there's still much for you to learn in this area! The Merchant Guild usually hires specialized Alchemists for this."
Sunny snorted lightly, patting the massive, cold cannon of his Siege-Stag. "This greasy merchant shouldn't compare me to those mediocre Alchemists. If I say I can make it fast, I most certainly can! Unless you would like to put it to the test?!"
Jett frowned slightly, but Ren, on the other hand, seemed to be instantly energized. "Oh? I won't speak of anything else, but I, Ren, do have some insights into speed enhancement potions. Currently, most of Jett's Tiger's stats are high, but its Velocity is stuck at 80km/h! If Jett trusts me, I am confident I can elevate that to 100km/h within a week using my Guild's premium 'Gale-Force' elixirs! Are you challenging me to a bet, Sunny?"
As he spoke, a confident, gold-toothed smile truly appeared on his face.
However, the others were a different matter. If Ren had looked at the Siege-Stag at that moment standing silently behind Sunny, vibrating with restrained power he would have seen in the monster's glowing eyes a gaze that seemed to view him as a snack.
A week? From 80 to 100km/h? The problem was, just yesterday, the Siege-Stag had upgraded its own projectile velocity from Mach 1 to Mach 1.5 in a single fusion session! Although modifying a biological Tiger might be different from modifying a semi-mechanical beetle, the difference was still significant!
Sunny smiled too. He truly loved betting. The previous bet with Jett had ended with him getting 5,000 Credits. But now, with a Merchant Guild leader landing right at his doorstep, why not grab his entire treasury?
Besides, this was the result Sunny had intentionally guided things towards! He had just heard Ren claim his Guild had a supply of 'Volatile Fire Crystals.' Crystals, as the name implies, are the exact fuel Nova needed to stop throwing tantrums.
With the [Fusion Resonance], Sunny didn't need to worry about intricate rune carving. He could just link Jett's Tiger to his Stag and share the passive [Iron Flight] skill, which boosted speed significantly.
And he could guess that the man before him probably had a greedy eye on his Dual-Core Fusion method!
Thinking of this, Sunny's mind stirred, but a disdainful smirk touched the corner of his mouth. "A week? Don't even mention a week. If I can't get the Tiger to break 120km/h within three days, then I'll consider it my loss!"
A greedy light flickered in Ren's eyes. Without waiting for others to speak, and just as Sunny began, he responded decisively, "Good! If Sunny is so confident, then let it be three days. How about this: if Sunny can't do it, we'll make the blueprint for the Dual-Core Reactor the stake. What do you say?"
As soon as these words came out, Sunny sneered inwardly, his face remaining calm. Even Jett and Vex furrowed their brows.
This Ren's behavior is quite unseemly, isn't it? Trying to steal a student's invention?
Seeming to sense the displeasure in Vex's eyes, Ren hurriedly added, rubbing his hands together, "Of course, if you can do it, I'm willing to accept the loss! If Sunny has any demands, just say the word!"
Sunny's expression remained unchanged. "Alright, in three days, if I haven't raised the speed to 120km/h, it's my loss! The question is, what can you put up? Could it possibly be those 'Gale-Force' elixirs you just mentioned? Never mind how much value your potions have; even if they have some, they're far from comparable to a Unique-Tier Fusion Blueprint, right?"
If it were any other monster, Sunny wouldn't dare make such a boast, but the Hellfire Siege-Stag was different. At this very moment, its [Iron Flight] skill was fully optimized. Sharing it would be child's play.
Upon hearing these words, Jett glanced at Sunny. In this moment, Sunny looked exactly as he had in the arena calm, terrifying, and completely in control.
Something stirred in Jett's mind, a memory of his Tiger being pinned down effortlessly, and he followed with a cold snort, "Exactly. I've already experienced what those 'Gale-Force' potions do. They make my Tiger vomit for an hour. Besides, you need a week to get a 20km/h boost, while Sunny has chosen to do double that in half the time. The difficulty is clearly not on the same level. Such an unequal contest might as well not happen."
Instructor Vex nodded in agreement, looking sternly at Ren.
However, Ren's eyes narrowed behind his monocle, his mind racing. Although he was a bit uncertain, a thought emerged Is this young man bluffing with this kind of reasoning, merely seeking a way to back out of revealing his secrets!?
Yet, thinking of the Dual-Core Fusion method, greed flashed in Ren's eyes again.
The Dual-Core! What massive benefits could the Guild rake in if they controlled the technology to fuse opposing elements? They could monopolize the weapon market!
With this in mind, Ren gritted his teeth, determined to make this youngster agree.
Thus, before everyone's gaze, Ren reached into his magical storage bag and plainly said, "In addition to the Gale-Force potions, I have another stake! It is a crate of Volatile Fire Crystals (High Purity)... and the deed to a private storefront in the Student Plaza!"
In an instant, it wasn't just Jett and Vex; even Sunny could only think one thing:
Has this guy lost his fucking mind?
A storefront? In the Plaza? That was prime real estate worth millions!
Sunny stood up slowly. The dopamine hit was so strong he felt dizzy.
"Deal," Sunny extended his hand, his grip crushing. "Prepare the deed, Ren. You're about to lose your shirt."
[Ding!]
[Bet Accepted.]
[Reward: Unlimited Fuel for Nova + A Business HQ.]
[Failure Penalty: Loss of Dual-Core Blueprint.]
Sunny looked at Jett. "Bring your Tiger to the backyard. Class is in session."
Ren watched them go, clutching his abacus, sweat dripping down his forehead.
He can't do it, Ren told himself desperately. 120km/h in three days? That's physically impossible.
But as he looked at the Hellfire Siege-Stag powering up its engines, a terrible feeling settled in his gut.