Chapter 184: Summoning Ritual

Turin City, Bauhinia Bank.

"Miss Janna, your current account balance is eleven thousand nine hundred and ninety-three Gold Surrel."

Looking at the account statement handed over by the Gray-Skinned Goblin, especially upon seeing the account balance at the bottom right corner, Janna's eyelid involuntarily twitched.

The money in the account was the total after deducting the amount Janna had withdrawn from the card over the past few months, combined with her previously saved wages and year-end bonus.

Seeing the account balance break into five digits, Janna suddenly felt a sense of sweetness after hardship.

"Looks like the Nightingale Opera Troupe earned quite a bit this year—"

Back then, Janna had signed a revenue-sharing contract with the Nightingale Opera Troupe. In addition to the fixed monthly salary of five hundred Gold Surrel, the 2% profit share at the end of the year was the main part of Janna's annual income.

Because the investment costs in the opera troupe industry were significantly lower than other tangible industries—compared to the average 15% profit margin in alchemy manufacturing—the opera industry had a profit margin of about 20%-30%.

So Janna estimated that the Nightingale Opera Troupe’s profit this year should be around six hundred thousand to six hundred fifty thousand Gold Surrel after tax.

"Indeed, doing business is still the way to make money."

Although she thought this way, Janna, who was solely focused on the path of becoming a wizard, naturally couldn’t invest a large amount of energy like those businesspeople.

After all, given that Janna only worked on weekends twice a week, her hourly wage was already much higher than that of an ordinary potion maker.

When the contract was renegotiated this April, Janna was confident she could secure a higher share ratio.

"Miss Janna, would you be interested in trying our bank’s newly launched fixed-term deposit? Starting at five thousand Gold Surrel, with an annual interest rate of around 2.8%, it's far more favorable than the 0.25% rate of regular deposits—"

Upon hearing the fixed-term product rate introduced by the Gray-Skinned Goblin, it was impossible for Janna not to be tempted.

After all, with the regular deposit annual interest rate only at 0.25%, given Janna’s current savings, it wouldn’t generate much interest over a year.

But a 2.5% interest rate was different. Even saving five thousand Gold Surrel a year would yield one hundred and twenty-five Gold Surrel in interest...

"Thank you. I’ll consider it after I get back."

After a moment of thought, Janna still chose to decline politely.

After all, now was the time she needed money the most. A single apprentice-grade Witch Tool at the auction house could easily reach five digits—so her current savings simply weren’t at the level to afford fixed-term deposits.

"Alright, here is the three thousand Gold Surrel you withdrew this time."

Taking the pouch handed over by the Gray-Skinned Goblin, Janna checked the amount, then directly stored the money into the Thorn Bracelet.

Afterwards, under the guidance of the Gray-Skinned Goblin Kha, Janna quietly exited through the side door of the VIP lounge at Bauhinia Bank.

Considering Janna’s current popularity and the fact that her account balance had surpassed ten thousand Gold Surrel for the first time,

She had been directly upgraded to a VIP client at Bauhinia Bank.

Besides enjoying one-on-one service, Janna could now handle her banking needs in a relatively private VIP room each time.

After all, it was the beginning of the year, a time when many people received their year-end bonuses. So, unlike before, the Bauhinia Bank’s main hall was currently packed, and the queues were incredibly long.

If Janna showed up in such a crowded setting, it would undoubtedly cause a commotion throughout the bank.

Therefore, considering this risk, Bauhinia Bank had arranged a private VIP room to handle her transactions.

"【Raccoon Cat’s New Attire】 doesn’t seem to have released any new products yet— I’ll wait for the latest items before replacing this outfit."

The 【Raccoon Cat Robe】 on Janna and the 【Verdant Wand】 in her hand were both purchased back in May last year. Although their grade wasn’t high, they were quite cost-effective at the apprentice stage.

So until better new items were released, Janna planned to wait for more suitable gear.

"It was fine when I had no money—but now that I do, I’m strangely reluctant to spend it."

After leaving Bauhinia Bank and resisting the urge to shop, Janna returned directly to the academy and entered the Magic Tower to begin selecting materials for the 【Spirit Summoning】 ritual.

This time, the summoning medium Janna planned to use for the 【Spirit Summoning】 ritual was the top-grade Water Elemental Essence she had won as a prize in the Three-School Joint Examination.

Compared to the intermediate Flame Magic Stone she used last time to contract the Flame Guardian, both the magical purity and elemental affinity had increased severalfold.

Therefore, to ensure the success of this 【Spirit Summoning】 ritual, Janna also deliberately selected higher-quality auxiliary ritual materials.

Just the Spiritual Candle and the Sea Beast Hide for the ritual array alone were much more expensive than what Janna had previously purchased.

The main goal, beyond improving the ritual’s success rate,

"If the ritual fails, the Elemental Essence will definitely be ruined—so this time, I must succeed."

With this firm determination in mind, Janna placed all the ritual materials on the Magical Crystalline Wall.

"Miss Bell, I’d like to redeem these materials."

Looking at the rare early-rising Black Cat Bell, after confirming all the materials, Janna spoke softly to her.

"Still paying with Gold Surrel?"

"This time, I’ll use academic credits, Miss Bell."

"Alright, you may proceed."

Hearing this, Janna gently placed her index finger on the fingerprint scanner of the Magical Crystalline Wall. As the light shimmered and a faint sting reached her fingertip, the academic credit redemption was completed.

"Miss Bell, I’ll be going now."

"Mm, go on."

Whether it was just Janna’s illusion or not, ever since entering the Magic Tower, she felt that Black Cat Bell had been observing her with a probing gaze.

Even as she turned to leave, Janna could still feel the burning gaze from behind.

"Could it be… it already knows I’ve grasped the 【Law Fragment】?"

Because when Janna previously exchanged for a Magic Scroll at the Magic Tower, Black Cat Bell had already suspected some anomaly in her 【Plant Affinity】 talent.

From that point on, Janna noticed Black Cat Bell had an especially keen sense of perception. While it wasn’t quite at the level of 【Extraordinary Perception】, it was still a significant force to be reckoned with.

"If it’s only sensing the 【Law Fragment】, then it doesn’t matter. After all, when the new semester starts, I plan to tell the Headmaster about it myself."

Being able to comprehend the 【Law Fragment】 through "her own power" during the apprentice period would only further prove Janna’s monstrous wizard talent.

At the same time, it was also a bargaining chip for her to receive more resources from the academy.

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