As soon a Drew emerged from the arena, holding his uniform blazer in one arm, Drew was receiving some unwanted attention in the casino. It seems that everyone already knew what happened down in that arena. Once one person knew, the whole casino knew. Suddenly, two burly men, who Drew recognized to be Senior Neilson's guards 'escorted', in which one of them picked him up and swung him over his shoulder like a rice bag, him over to Senior Neilson's office. This just made things even more awkward than they were. Drew bit his lip. He wanted to cry from this embarrassment. 

A few moments later, Drew was now sitting face to face with Senior Neilson who had a scary expression on his face.  

"Listen...do you know what you just did?" Senior Neilson asked folding his hands together

"I just conducted a negotiation," Drew stated bluntly. 

"With the goddamn Weasel!" Senior Neilson added smashing the coffee table in front of them into two pieces. Some wood pieces flying off from it penetrating the nearby wall. One even whizzed past Drew's face, allowing him to see his life flash right before his eyes. That wasn't a good thing. "Do you know what could've happened if you lost?" 

Drew gulped down a mouthful of saliva before answering calmly. However, he still couldn't hide the quiver in his voice.  

"Weasel would've been able to gain more potential customers but as a result, he would have the whole entire Academy coming after him for which he would've pinned the blame on us for selling him that information, and eventually we could've been wiped out." 

Senior Neilson slapped his forehead and began to chuckle loudly like a madman. In fact, it was so loud that Drew felt as if his ears were bleeding. 

"Hahaha! Good job, kid." Senior Neilson praised. 

Drew froze. He thought he was in trouble but this was completely out of his expectation. 

"You caught a big fish on your first day and butchered him splendidly. He even gave you a good rating! I can't understand what's going through that head of his sometimes." 

Drew was still frozen. His brain couldn't process what just happened. 

"I knew you were fast at learning but not this fast." 

"I've been getting that a lot lately," Drew admitted. 

"Let me ask, how old are you?" 

This was rather sudden. 

"Seventeen. I'm going to be eighteen this year." Drew replied. 

"My lord!" Senior Neilson roared. "In a year or two, you could surpass me! No wonder why Teacher said you were exceptional. What kind of monster are you?" 

Drew laughed. 

"One with decent Otrio talent and a brain with common sense." 

"Don't give me that bullshit." Senior Neilson spat. "If you're being that modest by calling yourself average, then what am I? Garbage?" 

"I think you are undervaluing your capabilities. You have many years of experience while I just started today. I can't match that." Drew commented. 

"Kid, you're making this old man blush." Senior Neilson sighed scratching the back of his head.

A smile curled onto Drew's face. 

"What can I say?" 

"Nothing but I have something for you. It's a reward for that spectacular performance." 

Senior Neilson walked over to his desk, opening a drawer, and bringing out a steel cube the size of a ring box. Placing it down on the table, Senior Neilson pressed a button on the cube allowing it to reveal it's contents, a foamy white fog escaping from it. Inside there was a small vile of translucent green liquid sitting on a bed of dry ice. 

"What is this?" Drew asked curiously observing the vile. 

"This isn't my gift but Teacher's. The man did some scary research beforehand and hacked into Crow's Eye's system arranging for you to deal with the Weasel himself. I didn't even notice it until you were inside the arena." 

"I thought Crow's Eye's system was nearly impossible to break into." 

"Boy, do you realize that the man who served as both of our Teachers was the same man who designed most of the code that creates a majority the underworld's network? " 

"Then that explains why he was able to crawl in and out of Crow's Eye's systems without being noticed." Drew nodded no longer surprised at all the things Gerald has done in his lifetime. Is there anything he can't do? 

"Anyhow, this vial right here is a mid-ranking gene regiment. It will increase the amount of Otrio in your body by fifty Krasos. Since I'm not allowed to promote you until a couple of months from now, the most I can do is let you take the rest of the night off and a bonus." 

"That's fine. Honestly, I'm still shocked that I was able to pull off. My body is still shaking." Drew said lifting his hand that was still trembling. 

"Don't worry. That's completely normal. Plus, it's very rare for a new broker like yourself to handle such a large transaction on your first day. Although I'm strict, I know how to take care of my staff." 

"It makes sense why a lot of people want to work for you."

"Yeah," Senior Neilson huffed. "As for your bonus, you will be compensated with 20 million Kalas for your exceptional work. I expect great things from you in the future." 

Drew nodded as his balance increased another twenty million. 

"Will do." 

"By the way, leave the way you came in." 

>>>

Thanks to Gerald's risky move, arranging Drew to negotiate with the Weasel, Drew was able to make 280 million Kalas from one deal. Top it off with the bonus Senior Neilson gave him, he had made a total of 300 million Kalas in one night. Drew was only forty percent away from his goal of 500 million Kalas but that's not all. Drew had never seen so much money in his life. It's no wonder why working in Yerburn could reap massive profits, especially as a broker. There was a high-risk high return factor involved. In short, working as a broker in Yerburn is a double edge sword if you didn't consider your moves carefully. 

After this first deal, Drew believe that he could reach his goal of 500 million Kalas within these six months. Who knows, he could even make more. It was ten o'clock. The alleyways have become more dangerous than before. Sketchy groups of people leaned against the mold-covered walls wit their bottle of alcohol, cigarettes, jules, and bags of crack. This was the time where most of Yerburn's activities would be active. Drew kept his head down as he walked passed these people but they dare not to attack him. Why? He was still wearing his uniform from the Borealis and these low life gangs dare not to mess with people from larger organizations. If they did, it was basically the same as having death knocking at their doorstep but of course, there was always that one impulsive idiot who knows no better. That very idiot tried attacking Drew from behind but it was futile. 

Drew sidestepped and grabbed the guy's wrist. Thanks to his E-Rank physique, he snapped the guy's wrist with ease, causing him to let out a shrill scream. The pain was unbearable. His fellow gang members didn't help him. They knew that even if they did intervene, they would end up having their bones broken so they avoided Drew making a path for him as he went back to the Tavern where Gerald was waiting. 

When he arrived, Gerald smiled at him as Drew removed his mask letting out a heavy sigh. 

"You're back early, Young Master." Gerald greeted as he was polishing a glass. 

"Thank you," Drew said placing his mask on the bar countertop. "However, you should tell me in advance when you pull these kinds of stunts." 

"My apologies." Gerald bowed. "This old butler wanted to test you. It seems I had gotten ahead of myself-" 

Drew raised a hand, stopping Gerald from speaking. 

"It's okay. I was able to handle it. Thanks to that, we are 200 million away from our goal." 

"It seems that we might be able to meet the deadline earlier than expected." Gerald laughed. 

"Good, that means I can invest more time into my studies later down the line." 

"Very well. Tomorrow, we'll do some more physical training. I will also train you in basic etiquette and from there, we'll review your existing Alchemy skills." 

"Sure." Drew nodded. "Same time?" 

"Same time." 

>>>

The next day, classes resumed as normal. Luckily, Elias hadn't suspected anything yet about Drew's whereabouts last night. Then again, Drew came back to the dorms around 11 which was an hour earlier than Elias. However, by the time Elias got back, he collapsed on his bed without saying a thing. It seems his first day working at the restaurant had mentally and physically drained him. Oh well, it was nowhere near as bad as what Drew had to go through last night. If it was going to be this way for the rest of the year, then Drew had nothing to worry about. 

Drew looked over at Sylvia who was still silent. The only time Drew would hear her speak was when the teacher called on her in which she would give. one or two-word answer before falling silent again.

What happened to her? Drew wondered as he finished typing another line of notes. 

During the break before the Academy started, Sylvia was more talkative but now, she wouldn't even speak a word to Drew or the others. He couldn't help but dwell on it. After all, being her seat neighbor it felt strange having a neighbor who doesn't talk too much. 

The lunch bell rang. Drew followed Elias and Wan to the dining halls where they met up with Rider and Brix who had reserved a table for them. Everything went smooth sailing until the sound of a tray dropping on the tile floor resounded throughout the whole dining hall. All eyes averted to where the sound came from. There, there were four girls. One of them was Sylvia! She was kneeling on the ground, her tray had fallen beside her, food spilling all over the ground. Her crimson hair was dripping with soup and speckled with peas and carrots. In front of her was a black-haired girl with over hairspray chest-length black hair, her long fingers twirling strands of it. She had pitch-black eyes that reflected no light and a curvaceous body, that any man could fall for, that was punctuated by her tight-fitting modified uniform which was paired along with her silky long legs and six in heels. The other two girls beside her had no defining features to them and seemed to be her followers. Looking down at Sylvia as if she were inferior to them in every aspect. 

"Apologize to her!" One of the black-haired girls demanded.

"That's right you fake!" The other one chimed. 

"What did I even do?" Sylvia cried. 

"Your sin," The black-haired girl began, steeping on Sylvia's hand with her heel letting it dig into Sylvia's skin. "Was being in my presence. With you around, my beauty and reputation are damaged. You are a nuisance to my perfection. Pouring that peasant food on you is a way to cleanse my eyes, you filthy girl." 

The three girls cackled but no one came up to defend Sylvia who was on the floor. 

Sylvia couldn't find the words to retort. 

"Why isn't anyone helping her?" Drew asked while Wan, Brix, and Elias nodded in agreement. 

Rider tapped his shoulder. "Do you know who that black haired girl is?" 

Drew, Elias, and Wan turned their attention to Rider. 

"I guess not..." Rider said. "That girl is Miranda Dutchfang. She's the 27th Princess who rules over the Prigath District here in Ozwarth and part of Star's Genius Class. She's known for being a Witch both figuratively and literally." 

"What do you mean by that?" Elias asked. 

"Ms. Dutchfang is the Genius Caster of the Dutchfang family. A family belonging to the powerful Witch race which can be identified by the birthstone planted in the back of their necks. Thanks to the birthstone, they have a high affinity for Dark Otrio and to the Caster Position. That's what I meant by literally. As for figuratively, you can tell just about now as this scene is playing out." 

"What a bitch." Wan commented. "Thinking she's all high and mighty just because she's a Princess and she's part of the Genius Class. Is there anything else that's needed to boost her ego?" 

"Doesn't seem like it..." Brix added. "If she became Queen the whole planet would fall into shambles." 

Suddenly, Sylvia stood up. Her eyes burning with rage. 

"So what am I 'filthy'? I may be 'filthy' right now on the outside in contrast to you but what about on the inside?" 

"Ooh." The crowd of students nearby erupted. Seriously, but where are the teachers when you need them? 

Miranda and her company flinched. 

"You..." Miranda swayed not being able to handle this insult. "You lowly Exception dare to insult me! A genuine Princess! Don't make me laugh." 

"But you aren't." Sylvia retorted. 

"How dare you!" Miranda swung her arm back. Her hand was covered in a dark purple Otrio. 

Sylvia couldn't avoid this but she knew if she used Otrio, she wouldn't be left off the hook by the administration unlike Miranda who had the privileges of a Genius Class student. Drew, who was witnessing this from the sidelines couldn't stay still any longer. No one was going to help her so someone had to. If Miranda's hand made contact with Sylvia, Sylvia could potentially be hospitalized. Drew couldn't let that happen. Bursting up from his seat, Drew ran over as fast as he could as Miranda prepared to deliver the final blow. 

"Drew!" Elias called as Drew had disappeared from his seat. 

"That idiot!" Rider said rubbing his temples. 

Drew was almost there. Miranda's hand was only inches away from Sylvia. Sylvia was in a daze. She couldn't move until she felt someone push her out of the way, catching Miranda's hand coated in a malicious Otrio. Snapping out her daze, she recognized the figure in front of her. 

"Drew!" She exclaimed. 

Drew had grabbed Miranda's wrist, stopping her in her tracks. 

"Stop this immediately." He commanded his grasp on Miranda's wrist growing tighter. 

"Or what?" Miranda snorted. "You're going to call administration on me? What can a Low-Class student like you do to a perfect Genius like myself?" 

She still acts high and mighty in this situation? How shameless is she? Drew thought. Miranda was seriously getting on his nerves. 

"No," Drew responded to Miranda tossing down her wrist. "I won't call administration." 

Drew grabbed a half-full bottle of apple juice sitting on a nearby table and poured the golden colored liquid on her, letting it drench her hair and smudge the five tons of makeup slabbed onto her face. The sweet scent of the apple juice was still not enough to cover up her foul personality. Everyone was stunned. No one expected a Low-Class student to go against a Genius Class student and Princess. He's got some balls to do that. 

"My make up! My beautiful face! What have you done? Do you know who I am!" Miranda yelled in agony. She was ticked. 

Drew stared at her emotionlessly not caring one bit about her ranting. 

"Miranda Dutchfang." He scoffed as he handed Sylvia a napkin. Sylvia accepted it. She didn't think anyone would stand up to her like that. "I don't care about your status whatsoever but what I do care about is your rotten personality. To be honest, the girl who you just called an 'exception' is a billion times better."  

"Ha! So you're saying this piece of 'filth' is better than me?! Are you blind?" Miranda spat. 

"That's right." Her two cronies chimed. "Can you not see that she's much better than her." 

"I'm not blind. My eyes are perfectly fine. I think you three might want to see an optometrist." Drew retorted coldly. 

"Oh shit!" One guy yelled. 

Sylvia snickered from behind. 

"His sharp tongue sometimes is useful!" Elias laughed. He thought Drew was going to get screwed over by Miranda but who would've thought Miranda was getting screwed over by Drew. What a godly reversal. 

Veins were popping out of Miranda's forehead as her black mascara smudge all over her face, making her seem like a ghost. The crowd began to laugh. 

"Just you wait." She stomped. "I will have you buried into the ground." 

"Any day," Drew replied holding up his middle finger. "You vile Witch."  

Flipping her hair at Drew's face. She left the scene. Her two followers, chasing after her. She had suffered a humiliating defeat in front of everyone. 

"Mark. My. Words. You won't be so lucky next time." She spat before storming out of the lunch area.

Drew was satisfied. As she disappeared, the crowd had begun to cheer wildly in the cafeteria.

"The Witch has been defeated!" 

"Good going! I respect you!" 

Turning to Sylvia, he noticed she seemed better once Miranda left. 

"Are you okay?" Drew asked. 

"Yeah," Sylvia nodded. "It's okay, I get this all the time." 

Drew smiled and gestured over to his group. 

"Are you sure? Want to talk about it with us?"  

Sylvia shrugged.

"Sure, I mean there's no point in hiding it anymore." 

The crowd surrounding the duo dispersed as the authorities entered the building. Blending in with the rest of the crowd, Drew and Sylvia made their way over to Drew's table where Sylvia recognized some familiar faces, except for Rider who took the initiative to introduce himself first. Sitting down, Sylvia told another part of her story. 

"Miranda and I met each other during the Princess Selections. My first impression of her was that she was charismatic but when I got to really know her, her true colors were revealed. Once I mentioned that I was from the Burnstone family, she began to bully me. At first, it was just harmless pranks but those pranks escalated into acts of violence and public humiliation like today. Not only that, she'd gotten the rest of the Royals to turn against me while half of them, basically all the Princes, are dancing at he fingertips. I don't know what she did to get them on her side but I'm quite positive she slept with some of them." 

"All because you were from the Burnstone family..." Brix commented with a crestfallen look. 

"Yeah and the fact that I'm an exception to the Selections. To be honest, Miranda just wanted someone who she could toy with easily and I just happened to be that victim of her foul play." 

"That's rough," Elias said. "It kind of makes sense why you were down in the dump this past few days." 

"Correct. Also, she's been blackmailing me as well." 

"Like what?" Drew asked. 

"Well to be more accurate, she had some evidence fabricated that I had been doing some foul dealings. She planned on releasing it to the public if I said anything. Of course, knowing how influential she is, any lie she makes up could be called the truth. You can verify for yourselves." Sylvia added opening up a holographic screen large enough for the group to see. 

It was a picture of Sylvia receiving a case of illegal arms but Drew could obviously tell that her face was photoshopped onto there.

"That's a terribly photoshopped picture." Rider said running a few scans on it with his communication device. "However, from a distance, it looks real." 

"That's not all," Sylvia continued. "She also had images of other Princesses that she can blackmail them with later in the competition." 

Wan gasped. 

"That's messed up." 

"Now you understand part of the reason why she's called a Witch." Sylvia sighed closing the holographic screen. "Because Drew had stepped in to help me, I'm afraid she might start targeting you guys as well. That's why I didn't want to say anything-" 

"Then we let her," Drew interrupted. 

Rider slammed the table. 

"Are you nuts?!"

"No," Elias commented. "Knowing her personality, it's actually a brilliant idea."

"If she comes after one of us, we can have one person catching her in the act. There are only so many misdemeanors she can have before she’s suspended.” Drew elaborated. 

“So hidden camera?” Wan added. 

“Exactly. We’ll purposely isolate ourselves on campus to draw her attention.” 

“Sounds cool, count me in. If it’s for the greater good I’ll take part.” Brix said folding her hands behind her head. 

Rider sighed. 

“I don’t have a choice don’t I.” 

“Why are you doing this?” 

“This’ll sound cliche but you’re part of our group. After seeing what happened, this Witch obviously deserves to be taken down.” Drew replied. 

Sylvia was moved. She thought this group would’ve automatically surrendered knowing what they were up against. But instead, they decided to stand their ground. Instead of looking at the smaller picture, they also considered what might happen in the long run if Miranda is left to her own devices. Since they’ve all agreed to follow through with taking down Miranda, Sylvia won’t mind helping! 

“Okay.” Sylvia nodded. “If that’s what we’re agreeing on let’s begin. I have a better idea than this.” 

Elias waved his hand

“What is it?”

“There is an event held every year in September for the Royals. It’s a ball to see how each of the Royals are doing. It’s also the time where many of the Royals will attempt to get prominent businessmen and women as their sponsors for their projects. Each Royal has to give a presentation during the ball and it’s required by the War of Royals.” 

“So your saying, we hack her presentation as a grand finale but expose her smaller acts here at the Academy.” Brix concluded. 

“Correct.” Sylvia nodded. 

“It’s not that hard if we have access to her devices.” Rider said. “What are going to do in the meantime then?” 

“I’m going to proceed with Phase 2 of my project. Drew, Elias, and Wan know the gist of it so you can ask them for more details. I’m also going to need all of you to meet up with me this weekend at the Viridiana Hotel.” 

“What for?” 

Sylvia smiled. 

“You’ll see this weekend.”