"So, Principal, what you mean is…"
"You want me to participate in the Ranked Match as a student representative of the school?"
There was a hint of strangeness in Caelan's voice.
On the other side, the principal immediately nodded.
"That's right. After all, you've created the best instance-clear record in the entire history of Mylanne High School."
"So I hope you can represent the school in this Ranked Match. I believe that for you, this will also be an honor that will be useful in the future, won't it?"
Caelan's expression remained calm, but inwardly he sneered.
The principal made it sound so grand—talking about some 'honor useful in the future'!
After all that talk, wasn't he just trying to freeload off my labor?
Principal, compared to the empty promises I've seen before, your sales pitch is still far from impressive.
Caelan shook his head slightly, then calmly extended one hand.
"So… what's in it for me?"
The moment this question was raised, both the principal and the teachers present wore expressions of disbelief.
Wait—was this normal?
Shouldn't a high school student be full of passion, rushing forward the moment they heard about honor and glory?
As long as one achieved results in the Ranked Match, whether it was the military, military academies, or even the legendary large guilds, all would extend olive branches.
So why was Caelan only thinking about squeezing benefits out of the school?
Meanwhile, the principal immediately realized how difficult Caelan was to deal with.
But he wasn't inexperienced in handling students like this.
He looked at Caelan deeply, then asked with a genial smile,
"Caelan, do you have something you want?"
"If there's anything you need, feel free to say it. We can discuss it slowly."
"The Ranked Match is scheduled for three days from now. Time is tight, and the task is urgent. I hope you can participate on behalf of the school."
After thinking for a moment, Caelan calmly raised two fingers.
"Principal, I have two conditions."
Hearing that Caelan was actually setting conditions, the teachers nearby couldn't help but start lecturing him.
"Caelan, is this really your attitude toward the school? You're being given such a great opportunity, yet you're still making demands?"
"Caelan, not to put it harshly, but you should look further ahead."
"Caelan, the principal is letting you compete for your own good. You should understand that."
Hearing this, Caelan almost laughed out of sheer anger.
As expected—no matter which world it was, moral coercion was always a tried-and-true tactic.
But… you're really underestimating me.
Caelan unhurriedly raised a third finger.
"Principal, now my conditions have become three."
At these words, the teachers' faces instantly filled with suppressed anger.
But just as they were about to speak, they were cut off by the principal's dark expression.
"That's enough. All of you, shut up."
"Since Caelan is willing to state his conditions, no matter what they are, we'll listen first."
"And your style of education has problems. No wonder the school hasn't produced a single genius in recent years!"
"Starting today, each of you will write a weekly work summary for me."
Hearing the principal speak, the teachers all lowered their heads, acting like quails.
Yet their faces were filled with frustration.
They were clearly speaking on behalf of the principal—so why were they the ones being punished?
On the other side, the principal continued to look at Caelan with a genial smile.
"Caelan, go on. Tell me your conditions. Within the scope of my authority, I can offer you some help."
Caelan nodded. As expected, anyone who could become a principal was no simple character.
"First condition: I want the school to issue rewards based on my performance."
The principal nodded.
If good results were achieved, it would be a great thing for the school as a whole.
Providing some rewards was reasonable in both sentiment and logic.
So he nodded and agreed immediately.
"No problem. I can agree to that."
But Caelan had no intention of letting this condition pass so easily.
After all, he didn't want to miss such a rare chance to earn gold coins.
"Principal, I'm not interested in equipment or materials. Why don't you just convert everything directly into gold coins?"
"If I make it into the top three, how many gold coins can the school reward me with?"
The principal was momentarily stunned.
This Caelan was really… straightforward.
It seemed this guy truly had no sense of honor at all.
And yet, right from the start, he was talking about the top three—clearly, he was very confident in his strength.
"If you can secure a top-three position for our school," the principal said,
"then on behalf of the school, I can reward you with 50 million gold coins."
Caelan froze slightly.
In truth, even if the school was willing to give one or two million gold coins as a token gesture, he would have accepted it.
After all, this was a great opportunity, and he was also doing it to complete his own breakthrough quest. As for the Ranked Match, it was just something he was doing along the way.
But hearing the principal say this, Caelan immediately realized there had to be many benefits involved that he didn't yet know about.
With that thought, Caelan asked bluntly,
"Principal, then if I take first place, how many gold coins can you reward me with?"
The principal had never expected Caelan to have such enormous ambition.
The Ranked Match covered the entire human race.
To take first place meant becoming the strongest among all humans below level 100!
In fact, the principal even doubted whether, with Caelan's strength, he could rank first even within Mylanne City.
Almost instantly, he made a final judgment—that the promise he was making was most likely just an empty check.
The principal rubbed his smooth bald head and said with a smile,
"Caelan, if you truly can represent our school and take first place…"
"Then the school will provide you with a reward of 100 million gold coins."
Hearing the reward of 100 million gold coins, Caelan was momentarily stunned.
So as long as I get first place in the Ranked Match, I can claim 100 million gold coins?
If that's the case, then what does all my exhausting instance grinding even count for?!
Seeing that Caelan still hadn't agreed, the principal began to feel anxious.
"Caelan, what I mentioned is only the school's reward. On the city lord's side, there will be an additional reward of no less than 50 million gold coins!"