Inside the classroom, students nervously crowded around the neatly arranged display stands, cautiously examining the Arcana Artifacts laid out before them.
Judging solely by appearance and intuition, these artifacts were all genuine items. Though they didn't know their exact effects, given Master Holly personally chose them for this test, their quality couldn't be poor.
However, that itself was the issue.
Choosing correctly would grant them a powerful artifact to aid in the subsequent test, while choosing incorrectly would result in immediate elimination.
The simplest and most straightforward method would be to thoroughly dismantle and examine each artifact. While not foolproof, it would drastically improve their chances. But Holly clearly wouldn't grant students such an opportunity.
Above the classroom floated a magic screen counting down from ten minutes—clearly, anyone failing to choose or choosing wrongly within the allotted time would be eliminated.
Yet right now, most students weren't focusing on the artifacts; instead, their attention had turned toward Linen and Elena.
Or, to be precise—toward Linen.
Ten minutes wasn't enough for these students to accurately identify the artifacts; at best, they could only rely on luck.
But Linen had pointed out a genuine artifact crafted by Holly at a mere glance, even generously offering help to the rest. That temptation was huge.
Still, no one was a fool here—would they trust his claim that easily?
Before Linen and Elena had confirmed their selection, most students opted to watch and wait.
Thus, the pressure fell squarely onto Elena.
Although Linen had directly pointed out an artifact, ultimately, the choice to believe or not lay with her.
The girl's response was direct and immediate—without hesitation, she walked up, selected the silver box Linen had indicated, and approached the crystal orb on the podium.
"Are you certain? Each group has only one chance to submit. Your choice seems rather rash," Holly's voice rang from within the crystal, emotionless yet exerting invisible pressure.
"I trust Linen," Elena replied simply.
"Very well. Correct."
Holly's otherwise calm voice carried a faint note of helplessness. The artifact inside the silver box was indeed crafted by her own hands—not the most valuable, but certainly one of her personal favorites. Yet Linen had identified it instantly.
How did he do that?
Elena breathed a sigh of relief, returning happily to Linen's side and proudly offering him the silver box.
"Nicely done."
Linen gently rubbed her head, then looked around the room:
"So, anyone reconsidering their decision now?"
Several hesitant students immediately showed interest, though none directly stepped forward. Linen had indeed successfully identified one artifact, but it was still possible he'd just gotten lucky. Just as everyone hesitated, a petite girl gracefully stepped forward from the crowd.
"Allow me."
Surprisingly, she wore a Golden Court uniform. Elena recognized her—though they'd rarely interacted, the girl was among the few Golden Court students who'd never shown hostility towards her. Even Teri seemed to deliberately keep a distance from this girl.
"Kaya Mistry. I've long heard of you, Linen Norton."
The girl smiled politely, nodding at Linen, her voice quiet yet clear.
Hearing her surname, Elena suddenly understood.
The Mistry family was a renowned noble house in the imperial capital. Though not as influential as the former Eight Pillars—now the Seven Stars after the Empress had pruned away houses like South—they remained prominent aristocrats.
Unlike the South family, however, the Mistrys had close ties with the Empress, so Kaya openly currying favor with Linen made perfect sense.
As a daughter of the Mistry family, Kaya had always been shrewd and clear-eyed.
Her talent as an Artificer was decent but merely average in a class gathering the Empire's brightest. With only ten minutes, there was no way she'd successfully identify an artifact—she'd have to rely on luck anyway.
Since it came down to luck, why not rely on the Third Prince's instead?
If she succeeded, she'd move to the next round; if not, even better—she could earn favor with His Highness.
Though the Mistry family's current files still marked Linen as insignificant, Kaya trusted her instincts more than cold dossiers.
Given Linen's performance just this semester, she suspected that soon, it would be her family struggling for a chance to curry favor, rather than the other way around.
Spending this trivial exam opportunity to gain a prince's goodwill—definitely worth it.
Seeing Kaya's understanding, Linen smiled broadly and reached out his hand.
However, instead of pointing towards the artifacts, he extended it toward Kaya, palm open upwards.
"Linen, what's this?" Kaya tilted her head, confused.
"Five credits," Linen stated flatly.
"Cre… credits?" Kaya stammered, dumbfounded.
"Of course, I charge credits," Linen shook his head. "You didn't seriously think I'm some charity, did you? We're competitors here—I'm already helping you against better judgment. Taking a small fee shouldn't be excessive, right?"
"N-no, of course not!"
Kaya wiped sweat from her forehead, quickly pulling out her student ID from her storage ring to transfer five credits to Linen.
She'd planned to please His Highness anyway; might as well go all in!
Still, Eden Academy wasn't the outside world—no matter how wealthy or noble one was outside, it didn't count for much here. Kaya was still a freshman, and losing five credits stung quite a bit.
Seeming to sense her pain, Linen generously added:
"Alright, since you're my first customer, I'll throw in a bonus. Second row, fifth from the right—that one's quite decent."
Kaya chuckled lightly, somewhat indifferent, but still followed Linen's instructions, selecting the indicated box and approaching the crystal orb.
"Passed."
This time, Holly's judgment was reduced to a terse two words.
He actually got it right again?
Kaya, already prepared to fail, was genuinely astonished this time. She quickly opened the box, pulling out a small silver orb. As soon as she injected mana, countless miniature hexagonal shields unfolded, completely enveloping her.
"It's actually Arcana Mage Armor!"
Exclamations of envy immediately rang out. Arcana Mage Shields were basic Artificer creations, essentially forming a defensive barrier. But Arcana Mage Armor was far superior—while seemingly similar, it comprised dozens of miniature shields independently layered or expanded at will, each calculating damage separately.
In theory, with sufficient micro-control, constantly shifting undamaged shields into position, Mage Armor could withstand dozens of times the damage of a similar-level shield.
Of course, the manufacturing difficulty was exponentially higher, as was the risk of failure. Many Artificers avoided crafting something so troublesome, but if Master Holly crafted it, that clearly wouldn't be an issue.
Five credits for Master Holly's personal Mage Armor?
This wasn't merely profitable—it was absurdly profitable!
"Many thanks, Your Highness!" Kaya thanked Linen again, sincerity now clearly audible.
"No need. It was just a trade," Linen replied casually, then turned toward the remaining students.
"So, have you made your decisions yet? You have only five minutes left."
At Linen's reminder, everyone suddenly realized—they'd spent all their time watching Linen rather than examining artifacts.
Then again, one correct guess might've been luck, but two in a row?
Moreover, Kaya had indeed received a high-quality artifact exactly as Linen described—what was there to hesitate over? It was only five credits...
"Your Highness Norton, let me go next!"
Before anyone else could act, a male student quickly stepped forward, student ID already in hand, ready to transfer credits. Everyone else groaned in frustration, angry at themselves for hesitating.
"Hold on."
Unexpectedly, Linen reached out and gently pushed the boy's ID back.
"Your Highness, is there a problem?" the boy asked, puzzled.
"Ten credits," Linen declared.
"What?!" The boy's voice shot up a full octave.
Although Eden Academy's students received a stipend of five credits per month, experiments, magical materials, spellbooks, and even daily expenses all cost credits. Five credits might be manageable, but ten credits was already pushing it.
For a freshman like this male student, who wasn't good at budgeting, saving ten credits over the entire semester was already his limit.
"Why are you yelling so loud?!" Linen frowned, covering his ears.
"Sorry, Your Highness… but wasn't it just five credits earlier?" the boy said, feeling wronged.
"I raised the price. Is that a problem?"
Linen responded calmly, adding casually:
"If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to buy."
"No, no! I'll buy it!"
Gritting his teeth, the boy reluctantly transferred another five credits to Linen, who, as promised, pointed out an artifact for him. Although it wasn't as practical as Kaya's Mage Armor, it was still Holly's craftsmanship, so it wouldn't be too shabby.
Elena watched thoughtfully as Linen completed his second transaction. Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, and she deliberately asked, "Linen, isn't ten credits a bit too much?"
"How is that expensive?"
Linen immediately understood her intention—teaming up with Elena really is comfortable. He shrugged exaggeratedly and said, "One is willing to buy, the other to sell. It's not like I forced them."
Elena nodded, then asked the question on everyone's mind:
"Then… will the price keep increasing?"
Linen simply smiled wickedly.
"That depends on my mood."
Turning around, he glanced at the students who were secretly eavesdropping on their conversation and raised his eyebrow:
"So, are you buying or not? The next person's price is fifteen credits now."
The remaining students looked at each other in shock for a few seconds.
"I'm buying! Of course I'm buying! I was here first!"
"What do you mean 'buying'? That's so impersonal! This is simply my humble offering to Your Highness Linen—please point out an artifact for me. It doesn't need to be expensive—just something similar in value to Mage Armor will do!"
Suddenly, the previously empty area around Linen turned into a crowded mess, as students rushed forward.
Everyone was afraid the better artifacts would be claimed by others—or that Linen might raise the price again. Fortunately, Linen did not push his luck any further.
Thanks to the experiments he'd run using Her Highness Hysteria as his guinea pig, Linen knew that fifteen credits was roughly the maximum a typical student could save in one semester. Some inattentive students didn't even reach that much.
Master Holly truly was a master planner—the importance of teammates became clear here. If you lacked credits, wouldn't you just borrow from teammates?
If everyone was short ten credits, the teams would collapse, but one or two credits each? Doable.
Inside Sorgana's office, even the three powerful women—who'd seen plenty in their lives—were momentarily stunned as they watched Linen rack up over a hundred credits in mere minutes.
After all, the final reward for the Spring Cup finals had only been twenty-five credits, yet Linen's tally had already soared past one hundred and kept rising.
"Don't even say he's like you," Sorgana shot a quick glance at the crystal ball, "You'd never have that kind of brain."
Interrupted mid-spellcasting, the Empress in the crystal ball merely snorted disdainfully, pretending not to care about such trivial matters.
Holly's expression, meanwhile, turned quite complicated.
The fingers gripping her wine glass had already turned white.
She was having trouble processing the situation.
This is my classroom, my exam—I'm the one recruiting disciples!
How did it suddenly become Linen's auction house?!
The students were taking her artifacts, enthusiastically throwing credits at Linen, and even thanking him sincerely!
For the first time in a long while, Holly felt the urge to curse out loud.
On the screen, Linen had now progressed to openly auctioning off the remaining high-quality artifacts, with a silver-scaled breastplate fetching as much as twenty credits…
This, Holly thought angrily, taking deep breaths that made her chest swell considerably, is precisely why I hate these crafty, opportunistic males!
Just as Holly was about to explode in fury, she felt a gentle poke at her elbow. Sorgana, seizing a moment when the Empress was engrossed in the screen, had snuck closer and whispered mischievously in her ear:
"Hey, pointy-ears, did you also slip the artifact distribution map to that little dragon? Regretting it now, aren't you?"
"I would never do something like that," Holly shook her head, controlling her anger. "He's the one who'll regret it soon enough. By the next round, he'll know just how terrible a mistake he's made."
Then, suddenly noticing something, she frowned:
"What did you mean by 'also'?"
"Cough cough, watch the exam… Tsk, I thought Teacher Teri would hold out longer. Didn't expect she'd cave this quickly."
...
Linen furrowed his brows, looking at his last customer standing before him—Teri South—with clear disappointment:
"Teacher Teri, I truly thought someone of your pride wouldn't stoop so low as to deal with someone like me."
"Hmph!"
Teri's face alternated between shades of blue and red.
In truth, she originally didn't need Linen's help. Given her expertise, identifying three artifacts within the time limit was manageable.
Yet, whether due to awful luck or the universe itself conspiring against her, the first two artifacts she identified were not Holly's creations, causing her confidence to waver significantly.
If her third attempt also failed, she'd really be eliminated. How could she—the instructor—be the only one to fail, while the students passed? Neither Teacher Teri nor House South could afford such humiliation.
She had no choice but to swallow her pride and buy a correct answer from Linen.
"Fifteen credits, correct? I'll transfer now," Teri said impatiently, pulling out her teacher's ID.
"Nope. Price went up. Don't worry—not by much," Linen shook his head.
"Hmph!" Teri sneered, as if she'd long expected Linen's petty revenge. "How much then?"
"Fifty-one."
"Fifty-one?!" Teri's expression froze completely. "You call that 'not by much'? Why don't you just rob me outright?"
"It really isn't much. I haven't even changed a single digit." Linen shrugged innocently.
Teri nearly spat blood.
True, he hadn't changed the digits—he'd just reversed their order…
"Teacher Teri, if you want to bargain, I can certainly make a small concession," Linen offered patiently, smiling politely.
Teri snorted coldly. She'd seen through Linen's intentions. With less than two minutes left, if she wasted time arguing, it'd be too late anyway.
Fifty-one credits wasn't beyond her means as a senior instructor.
"There, transferred. Now tell me," Teri demanded icily after sending the credits.
"First row, first artifact," Linen answered cheerfully.
Hearing such a casually indicated spot, Teri hesitated briefly:
"Are you sure? Isn't that a bit too random?"
"No choice. The others were already picked clean by classmates, leaving just these few. But if you don't believe me—"
Before Linen could finish, Teri had already turned away, ignoring him completely. Her remaining time was too short for nonsense.
Picking up the first artifact from the first row, Teri approached the crystal orb, handing over the box just as the timer hit five seconds remaining, sighing with relief.
At that precise moment, however, her teacher's ID suddenly notified her she'd regained fifty-one credits.
Caught off guard by the unexpected alert, Teri froze in confusion. Before she could even grasp the situation, Holly's amused voice sounded from the crystal orb:
"Unfortunately, this isn't one of my creations. My dear student, you're eliminated."
"Linen Norton, you son of a—!"
After a brief, stunned silence, Teri spun around furiously, glaring daggers at Linen.
Only now did Linen leisurely complete his previously unfinished sentence, eyes gleaming with mockery:
"…Not believing me was the correct choice."
You didn't seriously think I'd help you pass, did you, dumbass?
---
T/N: LMAOOOO WHAT A DUMBASSS
was gonna update earlier but got lazy, so im just doing 4 chapters for today's update, should be an update tomorrow too maybe 4 maybe not
Hello. I'm Enkidu.
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This is a fan translation of 拒绝我啊,可恶的女人 by 帝国の咕咕鸽. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!