The Last Day

They both assumed battle stances on opposite sides of the training hall and resumed their fierce exchange. Sophie and Kathleen took momentary breaks in the middle of their sparring session.

After multiple rounds, As the sun began to set, the day came to an end, and the two of them made their way out of the training grounds, exhausted but satisfied with their training.

Agreeing to resume their training the next day, Sophie and Kathleen arranged to meet each other at the same location next morning.

As Sophie appeared to be in a rush, Kathleen bid her farewell and appeared to be headed towards her own dormitory. Their living quarters were located in opposite directions, quite far from each other, requiring them to part ways and travel separately.

Sophie made her way back to her dormitory, but Kathleen's destination was the mission hall. With a smile on her face, she walked towards the entrance of the mission hall and entered the building, her demeanor remaining calm and collected.

Scanning the room with a discerning eye, Kathleen eventually spotted what she was looking for: a blue crystal situated atop a stand adjacent to the reception table. Without hesitation, she made her way towards it.

The crystal she had set her sights on was called an Exchange Crystal, a tool that allowed students to purchase valuable resources from the academy with their hard-earned contribution points. Kathleen needed to balance her advancement speed and acquire materials to begin practicing the Nine Blood Revolutions technique, so she wanted to buy some resources.

Since it was already dusk, only a handful of students were present near the exchange Crystal. After waiting a little, Kathleen walked up to it and placed her hand on the crystal, and in an instant, a holographic screen materialized, visible only to her. She marveled at the myriad ways in which magic could be used, she also liked that no one can see her purchases other than herself.

She quickly recalled the resources she required for practicing the bloodline technique, and began typing on the holographic screen. Unlike Earth, this world had a universal language known as Vaelac, making trading and communication very easy.

She searched for the first item she needed, which was a type of grass called dragon blood grass. This rare resource was highly valued by noble families as it could be used by mages up to the 5-Star and 6-Star Rank. As a result, its supply was tightly controlled.

Although dragon blood grass can be mass produced from already existing ones without dragon blood, it is still expensive and difficult to manage, so only powerful forces like academy will produce them. However, Kathleen knew that the Black Dragon Duchy also produced it since it was useful for people with dragon bloodlines.

But, even if she contacted the duchy for the dragon blood grass, it would take time to arrive at the academy.

As she looked at the price, her eyes widened in surprise and astonishment.

"The dragon blood grass costs 5000 contribution points for just one stack? That's too much!"

Kathleen was shocked to see that a stack of dragon blood grass cost 5000 contribution points. She couldn't help but curse out loud, realizing that she only had 5300 contribution points which were simply not enough to purchase the remaining items she needed.

In the end, she decided to skip buying the dragon blood grass and checked the prices of the remaining items before leaving the mission hall and heading back to her room. She was determined to earn enough contribution points within the next ten days so that she could start practicing the bloodline technique.

After taking a refreshing bath, she felt rejuvenated as she seated on her bed in the room, Kathleen reviewed her progress and identified areas where she needed to focus on. As she was fond of wielding a sword as her weapon, she knew she had to work on improving her sword skills, which she was already making progress on.

Next on her list was to focus on techniques that would actually be useful in combat, rather than wasting time on useless elemental techniques. The third area she needed to work on was her physical strength, which she knew would improve as she began to refine her blood by practicing the technique.

She took a deep breath and drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.

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From that day onwards, Kathleen and Sophie made it a habit to train together and take on missions in order to earn more contribution points.

Sophie's advance to peak level 2-Star on the 5th day of their training made it difficult for Kathleen to defeat her in their battles. Kathleen was impressed by Sophie's combat skills, which was not surprising considering she was the daughter of the Patriarch of the Sol family.

However, Kathleen was still stunned by Sophie's ability to keep up with her own skills. After all, Kathleen herself was the offspring of two powerful people with a strong lineage.

On the seventh day, while Kathleen was at the canteen, she met Lily, the little girl who always followed Princess Rowena around. Kathleen inquired about Rowena, but the little girl only mentioned that Rowena had returned to the imperial palace for work and would come back the day before the final exams.

As the days passed, the final exams drew near. The last day before the exam, Kathleen sat on her bed, exhausted from her intense training session with Sophie.

"Finally, I've gathered all the materials needed to start practicing the Nine Blood Revolutions technique." she exclaimed, letting out a deep sigh as she remembered the countless missions she had to complete to accumulate the required contribution points.

With a wave of her hand, four items appeared before her from her spatial ring.

First one was Dragon Blood Grass - A rare herb with potent magical properties that can enhance the user's dragon bloodline. When consumed, it can improve physical strength, stamina, and accelerate the healing process.

Second one was Radiant Violet Flower - A rare and magical flower that is known for its ability to activate the user's bloodline. It is said to be found only in the most remote and dangerous locations.

Third one was Dragon's Breath Mushroom - A type of mushroom that grows in areas where dragons are known to reside. When consumed, it can enhance the user's magical abilities and grant them greater control over their powers.

The fourth item was Silver Water - A rare type of water that was commonly used in potion-making and was also a key ingredient in many medicines.

With a smile of satisfaction, Kathleen started preparing to begin her training in the technique.