Defying the Fate of Beheading

Jino felt really uncomfortable today.

He felt as if he had made a very foolish maneuver.

His master sent a message today, basically saying, "His Highness Louis is quite promising, and from now on, he is my student."

Upon hearing this, Jino immediately jumped up.

"What do you mean he's your student?! I was the one who taught him first, whether it's the breathing technique or the instruction of the nine sword skills, it was me!"

Jino could only silently pray that Louis, that rascal, wouldn't be bamboozled by Old Deng.

His swordsmanship can't compare with the grand path opened by yours truly, Jino!

No way, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Seems like the only thing to do is to fight it out with the master.

Jino made a decision that perfectly matched his logic.

His gaze fell on the scroll in his hand.

"Luckily, now I have something better. Master, you don't even understand what that kid Louis wants."

"His thirst for extraordinary knowledge goes far beyond the average person's desire."

Jino displayed an exceedingly kind smile.

Looking at the special legacy he obtained from Marquis York, he just couldn't believe that Louis wouldn't be tempted.

After all… this is a special profession that nearly paved a unique path of its own!

"I was originally planning to learn it myself first, and then charge that brat a guidance fee."

"But now, looks like to keep my status as 'the first teacher,' I have to let that brat get it for free!"

...

"Huh? You mean, this time I'm basically letting that guy get it for free?"

Upon hearing Lumi praise her for becoming more sensible, Olivia instinctively puffed out her chest to receive commendation.

After soaking in the praise, she finally asked Lumi why she said that.

Then, under Lumi's slightly subtle gaze, she received another piece of news that made her feel some heart palpitations.

Remember the 10 Gold Coins deal between the little swan and Louis?

Previously at Dragonbone Prairie, Louis had personally witnessed the maid chief demonstrating prowess by stepping on a huge bow and annihilating enemies from ten thousand meters away.

At that moment, Louis was seized by a strong desire to learn.

So knowing Louis's idea, the little swan planned to make the money-greedy guy experience some heartache.

The simplest way was to extort a bit of money from him.

So she made a promise that as long as Louis gave her 10 Gold Coins, she would persuade Sister Lumi to teach him that technique.

The little swan herself had almost completely forgotten about this affair.

But Lumi remembered it vividly.

She had been preparing relevant teaching materials and organizing the fruits of her cultivation over the years.

Since this was something that her little swan promised His Highness Louis, then logically and emotionally, she should do her utmost to show her attitude.

The little swan cautiously said:

"Sister Lumi, you mean the market price for a paradigm-level teaching is at least 15 Gold Coins?"

Lumi was somewhat surprised and said:

"You didn't know? I thought you were intentionally saving money for His Highness Louis."

The little swan wanted to cry without tears:

"No way, just teaching him for a week costs 15 Gold Coins?"

She thought 10 Gold Coins were already a lot.

That's 10 Gold Coins! Even in a place as expensive as Tino City, 10 Gold Coins aren't small change.

Adventurers in the Adventurer Guild work in a high-risk profession, which is why the number of adventurers is so high—it pays better than other professions.

But even a bronze-level adventurer might not earn 10 Gold Coins in a whole year of taking on arduous tasks.

With vacant eyes, the little swan looked at Lumi:

"Sister Lumi, are you made of gold? Teaching for one week costs 15 Gold Coins, that's beyond my understanding."

Lumi looked at the little swan and said:

"Training someone like me costs a lot more than the equivalent weight in gold."

The little swan opened her mouth and dryly muttered:

"Fair enough."

In her past life, when she had just escaped the Imperial Palace, she worked as an adventurer for a few days.

—It's that painful bronze-level adventurer formula of not earning 10 Gold Coins in a year, translated from her own adventurer earnings.

Thanks to that experience, she fully understood the purchasing power of 10 Gold Coins.

(Note: Roughly equivalent to the purchasing power of 10 million RMB)

So she set that price based on what she thought was affordable to the country, but would definitely feel the pinch.

Who could have thought, she believed she was being outrageous, yet reality was even more so.

No, have I actually made Sister Lumi suffer a loss?

Seeing that the little swan indeed had no concept of this, Lumi said:

"It's said that in earlier years, hiring a level 11 paradigm-level adventurer for a week's teaching cost only 3 Gold Coins."

"For some small asset businessmen, it was affordable."

"So back then, not to mention the wealthy merchants, even families with slightly better conditions would bite the bullet and pay up to invest in their child."

"But Your Highness, you should know, even the lowest paradigm-level people have incredibly valuable time."

"In a week, 3 Gold Coins, if faced with a not-so-bright student or the paradigm-level person isn't very good at teaching..."

"In such a short time, it's unlikely to teach anything significant."

"Even though they're paid to teach, there's a responsibility to not half-heartedly conduct lessons."

"Thus, it led to a very awkward situation."