"We of cour—"

Theodore had just let loose his raspy voice when Luo Wei shot him a cutting sidelong glance. That threatening look jammed the rest of his sentence in his throat.

What—why was she threatening him!

Seeing Theodore shut up, Luo Wei nodded, satisfied. "You want to save some too? All right, then you two drink the Holy Water first to purify the dark aura clinging to you."

She went back to the low table, picked up two bottles of Holy Water, and handed them over.

Theodore's hand trembled as he reached out, incredulous. Luo Wei wasn't helping them—she was sending them on their way.

Laura also didn't understand why Luo Wei was doing this. Still, some instinct told her Luo Wei wouldn't harm them; conflicted, she accepted the Holy Water.

Seeing Laura take hers, Theodore squeezed his eyes shut and took his.

Luo Wei's smile was bright and pleasant. She gently reminded them, "Holy Water's rare. A little sip is enough. Seniors, you might as well save half—if you meet Monsters later it'll still be useful."

Laura stared at the crystal bottle in her hand as if something clicked. She lifted her head solemnly. "Thank you, Miss Luo Wei."

She pulled the stopper, tipped it back, and took a small swallow. More than half remained.

The other Death Penalty Squad members held their breath, eyes locked on Laura. One second. Two. Three. Nothing.

Stunned, Theodore looked at Laura, then at the potion in his own hand. Enlightenment dawned. He bit off the cork and took a cautious sip.

He smacked his lips. "No wonder it's Holy Water—my whole body feels lighter. So refreshed!"

Laura nodded. "Yes. Holy Water is amazing."

"Holy Water personally bestowed by His Holiness the Pope is naturally extraordinary," Lilith said, turning helplessly toward Theodore and Laura. "But you're both so badly injured. Are you really not going to drink the potion? The third round is the day after tomorrow."

It was understandable that commoner students, having their first Advanced Healing Potions, treated them like treasures.

But going into a match injured just to save one?

Especially when both were seriously hurt: one had an arm severed, the other's right hand injured. Even if they didn't have to fight—didn't it hurt?

Lilith urged, "Drink the potion. Once you become mages you'll have every kind of potion. No need to be stingy with this bottle."

"You said 'once we become,'" Theodore muttered, cupping the crystal bottle. "That's future us. Right now we don't have any!"

Laura tugged his sleeve and said softly to Lilith, "Thank you for your kindness, Professor Rossetti. We'd like to wait until we're back at the Academy."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"As long as you remember to drink it." Lilith did not press.

When their talk ended, Luo Wei went on distributing crystal bottles.

"Jack, this one's yours. Hol, Gladys—yours. Axina, here."

She gave each of the five Junior Division members—including herself—one bottle of Holy Water. "Drink up. Once it's down, you're fine."

"Thanks, Captain." Jack downed it without hesitation, then carefully stowed the empty—an empty crystal vial was worth dozens of silver coins.

Hol and Gladys also drank their "Holy Water," clutching the bottles, exhaling long-held breaths.

Axina hesitated a long moment, opened hers, and sniffed. The frankincense and myrrh scent was so heavy she couldn't tell if there was potion inside.

Suspicious, she glanced at Luo Wei. Catching it from the corner of her eye, Luo Wei smoothly pulled her own stopper and tossed back the liquid in one motion.

After some internal wrestling, Axina finally frowned and drank the Holy Water.

She certainly wouldn't dare expose herself—doing that would drag the wolf girl down with her.

After the Junior Division team finished, the solitary Sebastian Noel suddenly spoke from the side. "Junior, give me half a bottle of Holy Water too."

Before Luo Wei could answer, he pointed at the half‑full crystal vial in Theodore's hand. "I want that half."

Luo Wei followed his finger, eyes narrowing. "Senior, that bottle belongs to Senior Theodore. You need his consent first."

Realizing, Theodore instantly clamped the bottle to his chest. "It's mine! You have your own—why drink mine, you pervert!"

Sebastian smiled. "Junior, you misunderstand."

"Once Holy Water's unstoppered it's hard to seal tight and it evaporates. Why not share one bottle and store the other? If you're worried, the spare can stay with you."

"I won't!" Theodore scowled. What would he even do with Holy Water—blow up an outhouse? The stuff wasn't drinkable anyway.

Sebastian's smile stiffened; he shifted his gaze to Luo Wei. "Kind and beautiful junior…"

Luo Wei had watched enough. Lifting an eyebrow, she said, "Senior, I imagine Senior Theodore prefers Healing Potions. Why not trade half your potion for half his Holy Water?"

"I can," Sebastian replied. "I'll trade."

Luo Wei looked to Theodore and gave him a look. "Senior Theodore, why not agree to Senior Noel's offer? Half a bottle of Holy Water for half a bottle of potion—you don't lose."

Theodore gaped. "You're serious? You really want me to trade?"

Never seen such a foolish octopus, Luo Wei sighed. "Trade. I'll vouch for you both."

"Okay…" Theodore reluctantly handed over the bottle, his brown eyes sweeping Sebastian up and down.

"Much obliged, juniors." Face unchanged, Sebastian drained the remaining "Holy Water" in one gulp.

The two professors, having overheard, exchanged a silent glance.

They truly couldn't understand these kids—bartering half bottles of Holy Water and potion back and forth. If other academies heard, they'd mock Siria as a slum again.

Thump, thump, thump—

Footsteps approached; a hand lifted the sheer drape.

"I'm back." Professor Phil strode in with a ceramic jar. "Did you wait long?"

"Not at all," Lilith stood and teased, "but you ran for nothing—Luo Wei already separated the Holy Water from the potions."

"She did? How?" Professor Phil was stunned.

"By density," Lilith repeated Luo Wei's words with a smile. "That simple. In under a minute she picked out the Holy Water. The rest was potion."

Professor Phil frowned skeptically. "And you're sure it's accurate? No mix‑up between potion and Holy Water?"

"No problem, Professor Phil," Luo Wei answered courteously. "We've already drunk the Holy Water, and Senior Calansis drank the potion—her injury is improving."

"Correct," Lilith agreed. "The body doesn't lie. These unconscious students are about to wake."

As if on cue, movement sounded along the plank bed.

Hessel's eyelids fluttered; she pushed herself upright. "Wh—where am I?"

"See? Awake."

Lilith turned to her. "The match is over. You're in the treatment room."

"Treatment room?" Hessel's gaze cleared; she looked around, face pale. "We were eliminated?"

"No. You held out till the end," Lilith said.

"Then our—" Hessel pressed her lips—"what rank?"

"Fifth," Laura answered softly. "We're fifth."

"Only fifth…" Hessel was not pleased.

"All right, the match is over—stop dwelling on rankings." Lilith picked up a bottle of Holy Water and placed it in her hand. "Now that you're awake, drink it to dispel the dark aura."

"Holy Water?" Hessel's pupils tightened.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ patreon.com/BZDXG - Unlock a HUGE stash of advance chapters now! Dive deeper into the story ahead of everyone else!

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