Vincent handed over his quantum card to Jamie, motioning him to subtract 5000 contribution points out of it, and Jamie did just that, subtracting the cost of creating the equipment before handing the card back to Vincent.

"How long will it take?" Vincent asked after storing his quantum card in his inventory.

"I will start working on it right away. Under the love of my hammers, I will make sure to create the Bracelet of Strength out of them in several hours." Jamie replied with a smile, feeling happy to work on materials that no crafter has ever seen in their life, much less taste what it feels like to create an item out of them.

"Then should I drop by early tomorrow?" Vincent asked, wondering what a good time would be to come to this place and get his equipment.

"Just add me as your friend. I'll notify you once I create it." Jamie said, motioning the black-haired boy to give him his quantum card.

"Okay. Here you go."

A few moments later, once Jamie scans the code on the back of Vincent's quantum card and returns it to him, Vincent leaves the marketplace, calls for Leila, and goes out on a date with her.

Meanwhile, in a dark room of the alchemy building of the military academy, a crazed laugher rang out from the mouth of a disheveled young boy covered in ash and smoke.

"I have finally done it!"

Varth exclaimed at the top of his lungs, eyes shining brightly in glee.

"I've finally created the trump card that will help me flip any adverse situation in my favor," 

Varth said, looking at a globe of darkness made out of half the pool of darkness next to him. This thing didn't look a single bit unamusing as Varth had etched hundreds of inscription patterns on it, giving it a mysterious feel that wasn't without a reason as this item packed power great enough to shook combatants above level 100.

At the same time, in the boy's dormitory room opposite Varth's and Vincent's room, Peter talked about where he has been for the past few days and what he has experienced along the way, answering Nevis's questions.

"How could you guys go on and have all the fun by yourself?! Why didn't you invite me? We were supposed to be friends..."

Nevis cried out, gazing at Peter with a look that said that someone had done a great injustice to him.

"Everything happened too suddenly, and I didn't get the chance to tell you, nor did I think you'll be interested in killing monsters and get drenched in their blood," Peter replied in a calm voice.

"Next time, I want to come with you guys," Nevis said, a demanding look on his face.

"Sure, I will ask big brother whether or not you can join us," Peter replied, indicating that he wasn't the decision-maker and Vincent called the shot.

"Don't," Nevis said. "I will ask about it myself."

"As you wish," Peter replied, laying down on the bed to relax his sore muscles.

Ding, dong.

Just at the same time when Peter's head hit the pillow, Vincent, who happened to be in the opposite room, received a call from someone friendly.

"Since you called, I believe there's going to be a special class tomorrow. Am I right, instructor Theodore?" Vincent said after greeting him.

"You guessed it right." Instructor Theodore said with a smile.

"I'll join it. No hesitation from my side." Vincent asked, "When and where is it going to be held?"

Theodore's eyes hidden by a crimson scarf blinked twice before he responded, "Early tomorrow by the newly transfer magic teacher in her classroom."

"I am looking forward to it," Vincent said, knowing full well that he will earn something great by acing the competition held in the special class.

However, what he didn't know at this moment was that he has already given up his chance of participating in the contest by awakening and obtaining an ability.

"Wait, there's a special condition. Only unawakened combatants can join this special class. Have you undergone the awakening evolution process or not?" Instructor Theodore said, trying to clarify the situation for both himself and Vincent.

He possessed special eyes and could see that the glow of glory around Vincent has changed significantly, signifying he'll achieve something great in the future, and so has his hair, almost as if he lost a large amount of life force in a single night.

"I did a night ago," Vincent uttered in shock, feeling as if someone has dumped dog poop in his food!

Of course, he was devasted as he had lost the right to participate in a special class just because he tried too hard to awaken.

What damn luck!

Simply inconceivable!

"Then you can't participate as a contestant but still spectate it," Theodore said.

"Ah, shit." Vincent cursed out of anger.

"No cursing. That's bad manners." Instructor Theodore said, telling him to never curse.

"Sorry, instructor."

Without wasting any time, Vincent apologized, admitting his fault.

"I will send you some fruits and consumable materials with life force. Eat them to recover your vitality. White hair doesn't suit you, really." Instructor Theodore said.

"Ah, okay. Thanks!" Vincent replied, feeling happy that he would receive costly fruit for free.

"Well, that's all," Theodore said after a moment, planning to end the call.

"Wait. Before you go, can you tell me about what happened in Leslie?" Vincent asked in a hurry, wondering what happened in Leslie.

"Oh, you sure are curious," Theodore said. "The Federation resolved the tricky situation just perfectly. The people of Leslie are happy, the soldiers have rescued the orphans and raided every criminal base in Leslie, gathering dirt on everyone involved and punishing even those outside Leslie, and the city lords of Xavier are providing for the victims."

"What about the main preparations behind the kidnappings and the trafficking? What happened to them?"

"They are paying for their crimes in a pretty nice spot."

Doesn't that mean they are in jail?

"In the jail? Just that? Shouldn't they be punished far worse for their crimes, better yet executed publicly?"

"Don't worry about it too much. The federation nor its soldiers will let them off easily. They will die for sure after seven days."

"That's good to hear."

"Goodbye."

"Take care."

After talking with instructor Theodore, Vincent felt good that everything has worked out but something has changed within him for both good and bad.

He trusted the Federation and wanted to achieve its goal but couldn't come to trust its people, especially those unknown to him such as officials and law enforcers of any city under the federation's name.