Unedited*

"Are you done yet?" Lucius asked as he saw Kael look up from the ten rocks.

Kael gave him a meaningful look before nodding. "Done," he said.

"Let’s get started, then. We’ll go through them one by one. Sound good?"

"Sure." Kael proceeded to call one of the experts to ask him to carefully cut open these fossils to see what was inside.

Since these were rocks containing intact fossils, only an expert could cut them open. And the one he called was a member of the Morwen Family, who specialized in precise cuts using his own magic. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He was a man of trust. Kael didn’t want to cheat. He was going to win as fairly as possible.

Lucius said nothing about this. It was irrelevant.

The ten rocks were numbered by the person in charge of cutting them, and then one was placed in front of both competitors.

"You can start with this one. Each of you will have five minutes to describe the fossil’s contents or type. Once you’ve both had your turn, I’ll go ahead and cut it open. The one who guesses correctly wins," said the man who was now acting as the referee for this wager.

Although there were other bets in the room, this one immediately caught everyone’s attention as soon as it began.

’It’s a bit annoying to have to act like this. Looks like I’ll have to avoid drawing too much attention,’ Lucius thought, noticing that all eyes were on him.

Ever since he noticed Gerard and Sylph watching him, he’d felt uncomfortable; that discomfort had just grown.

They both looked at the rock, and Lucius spoke first. "It’s a sword-like tool, the simplest kind of sword. Its unique feature must be near the hilt—that’s what makes it special. A mana rune or a special mechanism that allows it to burst into flames." That was his answer.

His answer was so quick that it made Kael and the expert referee think he hadn’t even tried to get it wrong.

However, to Kael’s surprise, this was precisely the rock he had identified as a sword with special features.

He proceeded to explain his point a bit, though not as thoroughly as Lucius. Finally, he added, "The type of mechanism it has is related to heat, so it could be vibration-based or flame-based."

The referee nodded slightly. He had to admit he wasn’t surprised by Kael’s words. However, Lucius was the first to state it, and the explanation he gave was much more precise and delivered without hesitation.

That proved one thing: Either he’s a true expert, or he simply doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Even the world’s top experts wouldn’t dare to claim that something is specifically of one type until it’s been tested. They always leave room for doubt that it might be something else, as is the case with Kael.

The referee wondered which of the two was Lucius, now that both had given a fairly similar verdict.

He proceeded to examine the rock, and after the stipulated five minutes had passed, he began to cut into it.

The first step involved using his own expertise to study the rock and determine its internal structure—the only way to know exactly where to cut so as not to disturb the fossilized object inside.

This type of work usually requires intense concentration and meticulous effort that can take days; however, part of the rock layers had already been removed from this fossil, so it was much easier for him to complete the task quickly.

It took him about 15 minutes to cut it step by step. He used mostly his own magic, but he also used tools with special vibrations to chisel with precision and perfection.

In the end, the magic tool struck the rock fragments, and a powerful wave of cursed energy shot upward. The referee quickly cast a containment-type magic tool to prevent it from spreading too far.

Finally, the cursed energy was contained within a one-square-meter radius, allowing it to subside in a few seconds.

Then the magical tool finally became visible for examination.

Although most of its mechanisms were clogged with rocks or completely fossilized, it was still possible to see and understand what kind of magical tool it was. At least its shape.

It was, in fact, a relatively simple sword. But just above its hilt, there is a mana rune embedded in it, which gives off heat. At some point in the past, when this magical tool was still functional, pressing that mana rune would cause fire to ignite along the entire length of the blade.

Despite the gratitude he felt at having succeeded, Kael was also greatly surprised and looked at Lucius: How did he do that? That was the question that crossed his mind about 100 times in less than a minute.

Lucius, on the other hand, was more surprised by the tool’s age. ’Wow, this magical tool is over 500 years old, almost 600. What ruin did they go to, for the first one to already be so ancient?’ he wondered.

Although it was a sword-like tool and wasn’t particularly useful to him at the moment, it was still impressive to find something so well-preserved in the first fossilized rock they’d opened.

"I think you’ve both hit the nail on the head. The type of tool and its shape were the key factors, but you still managed to accurately identify its attribute. A point for both of you," said the judge, stating what both Kael and Lucius already knew.

Darius clenched his fists from the sidelines. ’It has to be luck. How could this bastard know so much? He clearly got lucky!’

Soon the second rock arrived... And a third quickly followed.

Suddenly, rocks number 4, 5, and 6 were revealed.

Both had "guessed" the contents of the six rocks with great precision.

The fact that Kael had been able to do it, while surprising as it demonstrated his astonishing talent, was understandable given his preparation.

But how on earth could Lucius have done it, when he doesn’t even have a basic reading tool on him?

All he did was watch them for a while and think it over a bit!

Could luck really strike that many times in a row?

Absolutely impossible!

In the minds of the powerful, Lucius had to have something else about him that allowed him to know so much. A tool or... true knowledge.

Although the young men, especially Darius and Kael, refused to believe that this had been achieved fairly.

However, the reality before their eyes was different from what they imagined, so they had to accept it.

At rock number 7...

As they approached the possible final stretch, they no longer had to state the type of tool aloud. Instead, they called upon two "judges" to bear witness to their words.

They had to write down on a blank sheet of paper what that magical tool would be, and then hand that same piece of paper to the judge in charge. Once the tool inside the rock was revealed, the judges would open the paper, and that would determine the true winner.

Lucius and Kael did as they were told.

But just as he was about to cut it open, Lucius stopped the referee in charge. "The result of this tool—is it possible to sell it?" Lucius asked.

The referee looked at him, stunned. "Sell it? I suppose so..." He nodded with a hint of confusion and glanced at Thalion in the distance.

Although Thalion was surprised by that sudden question, he nodded. "We weren’t planning to sell any of these until after your research. However, if the buyer is a student interested in research and is willing to conduct a thorough investigation of their purchase to share with us, we could sell it," he replied.

Lucius nodded at him. "How much?"

Thalion looked at the rock. It was considerably larger than the others. "In its current state, it could sell for less or more than it will be worth in the future. Its listed price is 5,000 mana credits."

’5,000?’ Lucius frowned immediately.

For a fossilized piece of this caliber, the price was fair. It was even cheap, considering the tool inside. However...

’I don’t have the money for it,’ he lamented.

But just then, a system notification popped up before his eyes.

[The Link Interbank System.]

| Clara Thorne is sending you 5,000 Credits.

| Subject: ...

[Click the button to accept them.]

Lucius was taken aback for a brief moment, but he didn’t turn to look at her. He simply smiled, accepted the money, and then spoke. "I’ll buy it."

Thalion smiled and handed him a contract for the transfer of a rock, in which the Morwen family sold him full rights to whatever the rock contained, in exchange for sharing with them the research on any magical tool it might contain.

Finally, Lucius smiled, and the referee proceeded to cut it open, but Lucius approached him before he could do so.

"Don’t cut this tool the way you cut the others. It’s special. It has irregular sections on the sides and also takes up the most layers both up and down," he said.

"Hm? Special, you say?" The referee was taken aback.

Did this boy really know that much? Even with his magic, he still hadn’t managed to discern what kind of tool it was.