Chapter 37: The Price of a Drop of Blood

"Your brother?" Daniel was surprised

Although he knew that they were from the save village, he didn't think they were related by blood.

"So this is Aran's little brother as well, I see. Your family seems to love attracting attention"

Gina who could sense Rowen's change in attitude also became serious, her hands moved closer to the blades on her back.

The three Imperial guards also became wary of the two's actions

Although they were protected by the academy, within the academy, there was a clear biased for the Rizon faction. If Daniel intend to cause trouble, there is a large possibility that the academy would turn a blind eye.

'Why would they need 3 guards with them?' Rowen pondered and assumed that this 'business' was not a friendly one

Seeing the tense atmosphere Daniel let out a cough and spoke

-Cough- "We were ordered to take some of your brother's blood, a drop will do"

"You want to spill my brother's blood? Lets see if you can try"

Rowen's hand grabbed her sword's handle and quickly gathered elemental energy. She was ready to go all out.

Gina also grabbed her blades' handles, Windle and Lia were behind and watched as well. Lia prepared her sword as well and Windle started gather elemental energy. Only Teo was standing there at the back, looking at the fight that was about to explode.

"Rowen, Gina, calm down. We just want a bit of blood, we'll even pay you. How much do you want?"

Daniel was not scared of the two women because he had 3 Imperial guards with him but if word got out that the Rizon faction attacked other students because they wanted a drop blood, not only him, but also the academy might lose face. Besides, if his uncle still insisted on inviting this failure of a pure generalist, it was best to handle it peacefully.

"How about I cut your face up, we'll pay you too" Rowen retorted

Daniel's face twitched

-Sigh- ' this damned woman.. I give her face but is too stupid to take it'

"Since you are not going to cooperate, we can only do this by force" Daniel said pridefully.

He signaled the 3 Imperial guards with his gaze and they slowly moved forward

Seeing the guards move, Rowen and Gina started unsheathing their weapons. Mist started forming around Rowen.

With the fighters' speed, the fight could break out any moment.

They stared at each other and blocked out all the surrounding sounds to focus on the opponents in front of them

Like a kettle slowly reaching its boiling point, the tense atmosphere rose

Suddenly...

A hand grabbed onto Rowen and Gina's arms

They flinched but their eyes could see that their opponents haven't moved yet.

Rowen and Gina quickly moved their gaze at the owner of the hands

It was Teo.

"Sister Rowen, Senior Sister Gina, its okay" Teo let out a smile and Rowen and Gina slowly returned their weapons to their sheath

Daniel who saw this was slightly disappointed but he signaled the guards to stop with his hand

"Finally someone who is not so hot blooded" He gave a fake smile

William from the back gave a look of disdain, he did not bother to hide it as well.

Zachery was aloof, as if he was not involved at all

The guards took a step back but did not drop their guard

Teo walked in front and said

"You are going to pay for my blood?"

He knew that these guards were from the Imperial city. He didn't know how strong they were but it was easy to assume that their strength was much stronger than 2 student's strength

Teo didn't want trouble for him, his sister or his friends. Plus there was a possibility for a profit. He recently bought a bag that seemed ordinary, but was expensive.

"Yes, we just need a tiny bit" Daniel kept his smile

"20 gold coins" Teo said

When they heard the number Daniel's face fell. William looked at Teo as if he was looking at an idiot. The Zachery's aloof face cracked and couldn't help but break out in laughter

"HA HA HA HA"

Teo saw their reaction and felt puzzled

'Aren't the Rizon family rich? they should be able to afford this much' Teo thought

The Rizon family with Imperial guards? They should be rich right?

Rowen and Gina who stood behind Teo both gave a grin

Windle and Lia was amazed. If Teo's blood was worth 20 gold, they would setup a store in Emerald Road and sell them until he was dry

Daniel felt as if he was slapped in the face

"Little brother seems to be a little greedy, 20 gold for a drop of blood? Who would sell that much for it?" He maintained a respectful tone, but inside his heart he wanted to teach this kid a lesson

"Oh, is it too high? I thought the Rizon family was rich" Teo replied

The Rizon family was indeed rich, but it was the main family that was rich. Daniel and even Zachery, was from the branch family, so 20 gold was not a small sum for them. When Daniel graduates, he would be invited to the main family then maybe he could afford to throw away 20 gold, but as of now? No way he could part with 20 gold!

But Teo's question was referring to the Rizon family as a whole. If word got out that the Rizon family could not pay 20 gold for something they offered to buy then his invitation might be revoked even if he was an elementalist.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He could easily flip the table and drop all formalities but he could not predict what his distant uncle would do.

Teo didn't intend to force Daniel into this situation. He was clearly asking if the price was too high. If it was, he would naturally lowered it. But that was from his point of view. To others, it was as if he held Daniel in hostage.

'My little brother is quite clever' Rowen thought. Although Gina and her sheathed their weapons, they did not drop their guard, especially when Teo asked this.

They knew that Daniel could forcefully attack and take Teo's blood, but for some reason Daniel did not.

A crooked smile was on Daniel's face

"Of course my Rizon family can afford it"

He looked towards Zachery and William and approached them and whispered

"Lend me some money. I will pay you back later"

Zachery's laughter instantly stalled. William was aghast. They would have to pay the 20 gold? They could not understand Daniel's decision. Although William was older than Daniel, right now his position was much lower.

'When will you pay us back?' both Zachery and William asked in their hearts

This "later" could mean any length of time. It could be until they entered the Imperial city which would be a very long time. Although splitting the cost of 20 gold among themselves was doable, it was still a large chunk of money for them.

An average student can earn a little over 3 and a half gold per year if they worked part time. This was fairly high and could only be done within the academy. As for the same jobs outside, it might around 2 gold coins a year.

20 gold is around 6 years of work for a student inside the academy! 10 years if they worked the same job and hours outside the academy!

Although they come from their respective branch families, the allowance they get from the family was not much. They were reluctant to give the money.

They argued among themselves in whispered voices. Daniel explained why they didn't just forcefully take the blood and the two understood as well.

William had mixed feelings. He was regretful that he did not befriend this young kid. If he did, maybe he could get a drop of blood for free and if the rumors were indeed false, he would have some relationship with him but thinking about how this kid was after his sister. He also felt disdain towards the kid. If the rumors were true and he was a failure of a pure generalist, there was no need to befriend him at all.

After Daniel gathered the money he placed them in a small bag and threw it towards Teo.

Teo caught the bag and opened it.

He dropped the coins on the ground and started counting.

When Daniel and the other 2 saw this, their faces twitched.

'This kid...'

The act itself showed that Teo didn't completely trusted them

Rowen and Gina could hardly keep their laughter at bay

Windle and Lia were jealous and astounded! Teo just made 20 gold!

They have never seen so much money in their life before!

After counting all the gold coins, Teo pierces his thumb and took a piece of cloth. He placed the drop of blood in the cloth and threw it towards Daniel.

Daniel and the other 2 could no longer stand the humiliation and quickly left along with the 3 Imperial guards

Rowen, Gina, Lia and Windle approached Teo who was carrying a bag full of gold coins and was smiling with glee.

Teo looked at everyone. It was the first time he had made so much money before and was feeling generous

"Lets eat at somewhere expensive tonight, my treat!"

[Author's Note: This is for tomorrow, I don't think I'll be releasing one tomorrow but we'll see if I get enough time to write the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed!]