Princess Ravenna confessed her cheating in the competition.

The reaction was swift and unforgiving. Gasps, whispers, and murmurs of disbelief filled the air. Ravenna lowered her head, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

As expected, she was disqualified from the competition While Maruti was officially declared the winner.

For Ravenna, this was the beginning of another storm. Her already fragile reputation took a devastating hit. The rumors of her dishonesty will spread like wildfire, tarnishing her once-pristine image.

But what could she do now?

Ravenna walked out of the meeting hall, her steps heavy with regret but also a sense of resolution. She had chosen this path, and now she was determined to face the consequences head-on.

----------

After the meeting, the students dispersed, returning to their daily activities.

Maruti, on the other hand, had a very specific task ahead of her: distracting Ethan Rothslayer.

According to Esdeath, Violet Vondarion was in grave danger today. In the original timeline of Free Life Fantasy, Ethan had kept a close eye on Violet, but his attention had been diverted by Caramel, who had become infatuated with him. This distraction had allowed Violet to be kidnapped.

But in this timeline, Caramel was obsessed with Maruti instead of Ethan. Maruti's actions had caused a shift in the chain of events, leaving no one to keep Ethan preoccupied.

Maruti had decided to take responsibility for her mistake.

----------

Meanwhile, Esdeath returned to her dorm room, her mind sharp and focused. The duel competition was later today, and she needed to prepare.

Closing the door behind her she put her hands on her storage type essence stone.

Her collection was staggering—hundreds, possibly even close to a thousand essence stones. A treasure trove like this was unheard of for a student. If the academy ever discovered it, they would stop at nothing to claim it for themselves.

Esdeath's lips curled into a sly smile as she picked out a Rank B essence stone. Its radiant glow illuminated the room, a clear testament to its incredible power.

In the open market, even Rank C essence stones were considered a luxury item. Their prices were so high that only the wealthiest could afford them. Rank B stones, on the other hand, were far more elusive. They were treasures only found in high-profile auctions attended by royalty and the elite. Entire fortunes could be spent just to obtain one.

And Rank A essence stones? Those were beyond priceless. They were national treasures, a measure of a kingdom's strength and influence. Only Rank S awakened individuals could dream of wielding them.

Esdeath placed the Rank B stone back into her storage type essence stone. She sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers tapping her chin as she thought.

"Even though I have more than a thousand essence stones, thanks to the ones Lortell gave me," she muttered, her voice tinged with frustration, "I'm still far behind someone like Seraphine. She has tens of thousands of stones, and most of them are time-path stones. Meanwhile, I barely have a few, and that too because of Lortell. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have a single one."

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Her gaze fell to the floor, and she sighed again. Time-path essence stones were critical for her because, based on her star constellation might being a time path, it seemed that her path was aligned with time. If she could properly refine and use them, they would provide immense help.

But essence stones weren't her only concern.

"What I truly lack is experience," she murmured, her voice quieter now. "Unlike Ethan, who's skilled in refinement, sword arts, and using essence stones, I know almost nothing. I'm just fumbling through."

The only advantage Esdeath had was her knowledge of the future. However, even that was becoming less reliable as events slowly began to change. She was losing her edge, and her challenges were growing more difficult with each passing day.

Still, a small smile played on her lips. "The harder the challenge, the more fun it is to overcome," she said to herself with renewed determination.

Reaching into her chest, she pulled out a small, pink-colored essence stone shaped like a puppy's head. It was adorable, almost out of place among the other powerful stones in her collection.

"Rank C Loyalty Essence Stone," she whispered, holding it up to the light.

This stone was one of the most important ones she owned, not because of its power but because of its purpose.

Essence stones, once refined, fused with a person's body. However, there were rare and sinister methods to extract these stones, even from living people. These methods were mostly used by criminals and dark practitioners, and the danger of having essence stones stolen was always a looming threat.

When someone died, their essence stones could be retrieved if the body was found within a week. Experts from kingdoms often extracted the stones and returned them to the deceased's family. However, the same techniques could be abused to steal stones from the living.

To counter this, many people refined self-detonation essence stones, a common Rank E stone. These stones allowed the user to destroy all their refined essence stones with a single thought. It was a drastic but effective way to deter thieves, as no one wanted to risk stealing from someone who could obliterate everything they had.

But Loyalty Essence Stones were a step further.

The Loyalty Essence Stone ensured that no one but the owner could use their essence stones, even if they were stolen.

The Loyalty Essence Stone was specially designed for expenditure-type essence stones, particularly those that didn't require mana to use. These types of essence stones were usually placed outside the body and were highly vulnerable to theft. Stones already filled with mana could be used by anyone who managed to get their hands on them, even for a moment.

Esdeath thought back to the teleportation essence stone she had received from the shopkeeper in Colac Village. It was already filled with mana, allowing her to use it immediately, even though she hadn't refined it herself. That convenience, however, came with a risk—if someone else had grabbed it, they could've used it just as easily.

This is where the Loyalty Essence Stone came in. It acted as a safeguard, ensuring that even if someone else held an expenditure-type essence stone, they couldn't use it without the owner's permission. It was like setting a password on a smartphone.

Of course, the Loyalty Essence Stone wasn't perfect. Skilled individuals could bypass its protection with time and effort. However, that delay could be enough to regain the stolen item or foil their plans.

Esdeath had already refined her Rank C Loyalty Essence Stone a long time ago. To do so, she used a special time-path essence stone called "Hours Pass Like Months"—a gift from Lortell. This stone accelerated her body's time, allowing her to refine the Loyalty Essence Stone faster.

The process wasn't easy. Refining the stone took Esdeath four hours, but with the time acceleration effect, her body experienced it as if four months had passed. Her hair grew longer, her nails extended, and her body felt slightly worn. She had to cut her nails and hair afterward, but thankfully, her face remained unchanged—after all, four months of aging wasn't enough to leave a visible mark.

Although the price was steep, it was worth it. The Loyalty Essence Stone gave her peace of mind. Now the only question was—where would she use it?

Esdeath wasn't planning to use it on a typical essence stone. Instead, she intended to use it on her ZK-20 weapon, a unique and highly valuable piece of equipment.

The ZK-20 was no ordinary weapon. It had its own mana circuit, allowing it to absorb and utilize essence stones. By infusing it with mana, Esdeath could activate various powerful functions. However, this also meant that if someone else got their hands on it, they could easily use it for themselves.

That was a risk Esdeath couldn't take.

--------

After binding the Loyalty Essence Stone to her ZK-20 weapon, Esdeath decided to explore more items that might prove useful.

She sifted through the countless gifts from Lortell. There were piles of jewels, gold, and even a strange erotic set of clothes made entirely of elastic gold. Esdeath's face turned bright red as she held it up.

"Urghh...." she muttered, quickly tossing the garment behind her like it burned her hands.

Moving on, she inspected the rest of the items. Most of the essence stones, aside from the time-path ones, weren't particularly helpful since she already possessed the most important ones. Her eyes then landed on a golden letter with red borders, shimmering faintly in the light.

Her expression changed as she realized what it was.

"A Rank B Golden Flying Letter Essence Stone," she murmured, picking it up carefully.

This essence stone didn't require mana to use but demanded an enormous amount of mana during refinement. What made it stand out was the Third Division Commander's official stamp engraved on it.

"Lortell Mariette," Esdeath whispered.

She stared at the letter, recalling how Lortell must have included it as a way to stay in touch. A smirk crossed Esdeath's lips as she thought about how unnecessary it was now.

"But at that time, She didn't know that, that academy will force all students to live in dorms? And that she would end up being in the room next to mine?" Esdeath let out a dry laugh before sighing.

"But honestly, is she an idiot?" she grumbled, holding the letter up. "If I sent this to someone with a message written on it, they'd think it came from Lortell herself. Why give me something so valuable if it can be used to stir up trouble?"

Shaking her head, she flung the letter behind her like trash, not caring where it landed.