บท 3: 3. All Debts Paid

With 1,000 bronze and 90 silver coins in his pocket, Kent walked out of the Goblin house. The manager personally escorted him, apologizing several times to get on the good side.

As compensation for the trouble, the manager linked Kent's golden piggy card with the sky orb in his possession free of charge.

Before buying anything with the card, Kent decided to pay all his school debts. With a confident stride, he began walking towards school.

_____

Inside the school, Thea was teaching a class to the 3rd-level mages. Her gaze occasionally drifted to the empty seat in the last row.

"Where did this idiot go without coming to school?" Thea muttered while trying to finish the lecture on types of potions.

Just as the class bell rang, Thea closed the book and called Mona who had been eyeing the new sword in Ric's hands.

Mona hurriedly responded and went out to meet with Thea. "Elder, why did you call me?"

Thea felt contemplated for a second, but she finally spoke. "Do you know why Kent is absent today? I saw you with Kent in the morning."

"Yeah… I met him in the morning to collect my money. Kent said he is going to look for some part-time work today. I don't know where he went though," Mona replied while closely observing Thea.

Thea sighed after hearing her reply. "By the way, how much does he owe you?" she asked, picking up some bronze coins from her pocket.

"100 bronze coins, Elder," Mona said, directly increasing the amount from 20 to 100 upon seeing that Thea was prepared to pay.

Without thinking much, Thea placed 100 bronze coins in Mona's hands.

"Kent is a poor disciple. Don't pressure him for money. I heard he can't even afford a pet," Thea spoke modestly before heading towards the elder hall.

_____

Just as Thea walked halfway, she saw Kent walking towards the classrooms with a smile on his face. She waited until Kent reached the corridor and stopped him and asked, "Where did you go? Don't know that you have a class?"

Kent ignored Thea and walked past her, showing no care. Thea immediately grabbed his robes to stop his advancement.

"How dare you ignore me… Don't you know who fed you all these years?" Thea questioned angrily in a hushed tone.

"Thea, it's none of your business. I will go wherever I want. Stop acting like you care about me," Kent replied confidently, not backing down from her angry glares.

Thea was left speechless. In all these years Kent had never talked back to her. Even when she slapped him, he never showed any resistance. But his newfound bravery made Thea angrier. "You… How dare you talk back to me? Let's see how you survive without my help. If I ever see you at my doorstep, I will kick you like a dog."

Thea lashed out while keeping her tone low. No one in the school knows about her relationship with Kent.

Kent was fed up with her behavior. Since childhood, she had always bullied him and insulted him without caring about his feelings. When Kent got a fortune of money, he had considered convincing Thea to live with him.

"I'm not going to stay with you anymore. From now on, I'm on my own," Kent declared angrily and walked away.

"She thinks that I will beg her like always. Now I own 5,000 gold coins. Thea's entire wealth, including the house, doesn't even reach 500 gold coins," Kent thought while walking away from her.

Thea's fists clenched as she stared at Kent who was walking away with a smug on his face. "Hmmhh… Let's see how many days survive outside. Soon, you will be begging for my mercy."

_____

Just as Kent stepped inside the classroom, murmuring about him spread like wildfire. Some students even laughed at his face, trying to raze him up.

With only five minutes left before the next class began, Kent moved through the crowd of disciples and paid his debt.

As he consecutively paid more than 50 coins to three people, everyone's attention turned towards him. Ignoring their comments, Kent distributed his debt amount to those who helped him in the past.

"Ohh… Kent, where did you get all this money?" a slender girl asked in surprise while taking coins from him.

However, Kent ignored her question and continued to settle his debts, but his actions drew even more attention. Soon people began asking more questions and some began commenting in a mocking tone.

"Sia, he must have robbed someone… you better report it to the elder," Ric who always takes fun in bullying Kent, shouted.

"Yes… yes… these coins are not legal. How can he afford hundreds of bronze coins? You guys should report it to the Elder. Otherwise, you will also be blamed later," another person added, stirring up trouble.

Kent stood on the bench and announced, "This money belongs to me. If any problem arises, I will take full responsibility. If anyone thinks otherwise, please return my money."

Hearing Kent's confident declaration, the disciples shut their mouths. Kent finished paying up everyone, including Mona, unaware that Thea had already paid her on his behalf.

Still, being someone who wouldn't avoid free money, Mona didn't reject it, much less say anything about Thea, who had already paid her.

After settling his debts, Kent left the class to buy a new house. He urgently needs shelter after breaking all ties with Thea.

As he walked towards the property dealer's stores, Kent took out the heavenly elixir and gulped it down in one go.

By the time he reached the store of the property dealer, his clothes were drenched with sweat and impurities. His meridian bindings were shattered and for the first time, Kent felt the free flow of Aura inside his meridians.

"For all these years I have missed this feeling. How refreshing…" Kent muttered in a delightful tone as he absorbed the pure aura inside the store.