[Time]: Day 32 of Enrollment, 08:32 AM[Location]: Yggdrasil Academy · Lecture Hall 7
The Ghost Witch, Spectra, was floating off the ground, her black lace dress defying gravity, that heavy, calculating gaze now fully locked onto her. The silent banker had finished her risk assessment.
Spectra floated closer.
She raised a pale, translucent finger and pressed it against her own lips.
Shhh.
A visible, grey [Sphere of Silence] expanded, wrapping only the two of them in a soundproof vacuum. To the outside world, they were just staring at each other silently.
She extended a pale hand.Between her fingers, two items materialized from the mist.
One was a Black Card made of unmelting ice.The other was a small, hexagonal [Blank Memory Crystal], glowing with a faint, hungry light.
She pushed both items into Hathaway's hand.
The moment Hathaway's skin touched the freezing surface, a voice, hollow and echoing like wind through an empty crypt, resonated directly inside her skull.
"You are going to Lucent's Lab," the voice bypassed her ears entirely. "Lucent doesn't talk to undergraduates. But you... you are the 'Miscellaneous Processing' staff."
Spectra stared deep into Hathaway's eyes, her face expressionless, but the mental voice was clear and urgent:
"I need the 'Artificial Pulse' data from the S-Class project. The Leviathan is generating a materialized concept of 'Rhythm'. I need that specific algorithm."
"Use this crystal. It is a [Void-Grade Container]. It can extract the 'Concept of Warmth' without shattering from the thermal overload. If you bring me the raw data logs, I can offer you 50,000 Gold Solars."
Hathaway’s eyelids twitched.She clutched the crystal. It felt heavy, like a black hole waiting to swallow light.
50,000 Solars.
That was nearly double her standard monthly family trust fund dividend of 30,000. For a task that essentially amounted to copying files, this was a massive premium. It could fund a stockpile of high-grade materials and stabilize her agonizing liquidity crisis.
Spectra paused for a microsecond, adding weight to the next offer:
"...Or a Favor."
Hathaway’s heart skipped a beat.She held the freezing card and the empty crystal, her mind calculating the exchange rate.
50,000 Solars was clean, safe, and liquid.But a Favor?
Hathaway knew the unspoken algorithm of the Witch World.In this rational, contract-obsessed society, a Favor is an Uncashed Contract based on Equivalent Exchange.
The formula is absolute: Risk for Risk.
Stealing data from under Nino Lucent's nose is a "High-Risk Action."If Hathaway took the Favor, Spectra would be logically bound, by pride and by magic, to perform a similarly "High-Risk Action" in return.
This was about Capability.And Hathaway spotted the nuance immediately.
If Spectra strictly followed the rules of efficiency, she would have just doubled the cash offer to 100,000 Solars to close the deal. Rational Witches hate open-ended debts.
Unless... she wants to leave it open.
Hathaway realized the truth.
This "Favor" was a Hidden Route.It was a High-Tier NPC deciding that Hathaway was a stock worth holding long-term.
And a Ghost Witch's Favor is the most dangerous currency of all.Why? Because they are Unstoppable Trespassers.
Ghost Witches are famous for their "Sheltered Lady" lifestyles, but they are also the only race that can walk through the walls of a Grand Witch's private vault just to steal a limited-edition pudding.(And yes, they leave payment, but the fact that they can get in is terrifying.)
To hold a Ghost Witch's debt meant having a key that could bypass 99% of the physical barriers in the multiverse.
Need to peek at a sealed exam paper? Need to slip a letter onto a rival's pillow? Need to know what flavor of tea the Headmistress is drinking right now?A Ghost can do it while sleepwalking.
Money is finite.But access to the "Ghost Castle's Network"?That is an entry ticket to the most exclusive, elusive circle in the Witch World.
Hathaway looked at Spectra's pale, delicate features and saw a Strategic Nuke waiting for coordinates.
She nodded, slipping both the Ice Card and the Memory Crystal into her pocket.
Forget the cash. I need an Accomplice.
Spectra smiled, a faint curve of her pale lips.
She released the psychic link. The [Sphere of Silence] dissipated without a sound.
To the rest of the class, it looked like a simple, polite exchange of contact information. But Hathaway’s palm was burning from the cold.
This was a Strategic Alliance delivered via an encrypted channel.
Spectra phased back into her seat, as if she had never moved.
"I'll... keep that in mind," Hathaway whispered to the air, slipping the freezing card into her pocket.
Great. I haven't even started the job, and I'm already being solicited for corporate espionage via telepathy.
She walked up the aisle, leaving the two monsters behind.The other students watched her go.
In Yggdrasil, respect goes to whoever proves she is worth corrupting.
As Hathaway felt the envious gazes of three thousand geniuses, her hand brushed against the items in her pocket: The freezing Ice Card (Spectra) and the warm Napkin (Heidi).
Worth corrupting, huh?
Hathaway let out a long breath, her mind clarifying the "Balance Sheet" of her life.
This is different.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.For the first time... someone is asking me.
If she pulled this off, if she stole the data, Spectra would owe her.She would stop being a student and become a Creditor to a member of the Ghost Castle.
This is my first step from "Consumer" to "Capitalist".But every Capitalist needs Seed Money.
Hathaway closed her eyes for a second, mentally reviewing the massive "Cap Table" that was backing her existence.
First, the Angel Investors: The Ludwig Family Trust.The 500,000 Solars tuition was blood. Her family was an ancient, eternal Corporate Alliance. The elders managed the fund, investing heavily in promising juniors.
The contract was implicit but full of ambition: We launch you to the sky. When you become a star, you shine back on the Clan.
Second, the Strategic Endorsement: Lin Zhaojun.Hathaway touched her chest, feeling the phantom weight of that signature. Money pays tuition, but only Reputation opens the gate. Without Lin, the Family would have burned a precious favor just to get a guarantor. But Lin signed on Credit. She bet the weight of her Three-Peat Dynasty on Hathaway’s potential.
It is a Joint Debt. And being allowed to owe the Only Grand Slam Champion in history is the ultimate privilege.
And finally, the "Glitch" in the System: The Lucent Sisters.Hathaway patted the stiff parchment in her pocket: the [Full Allowance Application Form]. Signed by Nino Lucent. 1,500 Solars a day.That napkin bought Victoria's tutoring. And now, that same napkin opened Nino's treasury.
Call it what it is: Nepotism.I am standing here because the Lucent Sisters decided to treat me like an interesting stray cat.
Hathaway gripped her bag tighter.She felt no guilt. In the cutthroat world of Witches, "Luck" and "Connections" were just another form of mana.
I am standing on a foundation built by Giants.My Family provided the Base. Lin opened the Door. And the Lucent Sisters built me an Escalator.
She was the tip of a spear, pushed forward by everyone who invested in her, whether they meant to or not.
I have creditors to repay.The Ludwigs want glory. Lin wants a favor for Rhode. The Lucents... they probably just want entertainment.And now, I have a chance to add a Ghost Witch to my portfolio.
She walked out of the lecture hall, her steps light and steady.She was ready to play the game.
At the threshold, a familiar figure was already waiting.Victoria tapped her foot impatiently against the stone floor.
...It's time to deal with my Partner.
[Location]: The Suspension Bridge Corridor
The sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the walkway.Hathaway walked beside Victoria.
"That was..." Hathaway started.
"Reckless." Victoria didn't slow down. Her heels clicked aggressively against the stone. "Your entry angle was 37 degrees. If you were 0.5 degrees shallower, the mana shear would have vaporized your wrist."
She stopped abruptly, whipping around.
"I don't care about your pain tolerance. But do you know the regeneration rate for a severed arm? 45 minutes."
She poked Hathaway's chest hard.
"I am not going to wait 45 minutes for my lab partner to regrow a limb. My time is expensive."
Hathaway rubbed her chest. "I solved it, didn't I?"
"You brute-forced it. Just like you brute-forced the admission."
Victoria stared at her. The "Judge's Gaze" from the classroom had softened, replaced by a resigned, calculating pragmatism.
"You have the Access (via Heidi). You have the Guts (via the Scalpel). But your Technical Foundation is a disaster."
She sighed, the sound of a manager realizing she has to train a talented but feral intern.She reached into her bag.
Thud.
She shoved a heavy book into Hathaway's chest.
[Modern Magitech Anatomy: From Dissection to Deconstruction]
Author: H.G. Wellington.
Hathaway caught it, staggering under the weight.Her thumb instinctively brushed the spine, checking for the stinging heat of a [Patent Spell].
Cold. Inert.Just paper and ink. A standard academic monograph. Her bank account stayed exactly where it was.
Hathaway let out a breath.
Safe. My 6,600 Solars remain intact.
"Checking for the Patent Spell? Smart," Victoria observed, her voice dropping to a whisper. "But do you know the joke about the Witch and the corpse?"
Hathaway froze. Everyone knew it. It was the first nursery rhyme every Witch child learned.
A Witch kills another Witch. She loots the corpse, stripping the gold, the gems, the ingredients. But when the victim's family reclaims the body, they find the grimoire and diary untouched in the bag.When asked why, the murderer shrugs: "I didn't pay for them. And they weren't a gift."
"Unpaid knowledge breeds misfortune." Victoria quoted the ancient axiom. "Just because this book doesn't have a digital curse to drain your wallet, does not mean it is 'Free'."
"This is not a gift. I am not charitable enough to give you this. And you certainly cannot afford to buy it from me."
Hathaway looked at the book, then at Victoria."If it's not a gift, and I'm not buying it... then you are sharing it with me."
She opened the cover.But the moment she saw the pages, her breath hitched again.
The margins were filled with dense, elegant handwriting in blue ink.There were corrections to the printed text. There were scathing critiques of the author's logic ("Auntie H.G. is being sentimental here," "Redundant step"). There were complex derivation formulas scribbled in the corners.
This was Victoria’s personal study copy.
Hathaway took a half-step back, feeling the weight of the book differently now.The financial weight was gone. But a Social Weight crashed down on her.
She knew the unspoken hierarchy of the Witch World:Money is for strangers (Level 1). Data contracts are for colleagues (Level 2).
But raw, unfiltered mental notes?That is Level 3: Intellectual Nakedness.
To let another Witch see the architecture of your logic is a privilege usually reserved for Coven Sisters, Masters... or Life Partners.
Hathaway felt a cold sweat on her back.The A1 tutoring. The Life-Saving Grace. And now, the Personal Study Copy.She was drowning in debt to the Wellington family.
I can't pay this back with money. The value is too high.
For a split second, a naive, Earthly thought drifted through her mind: the cliché of the debtor who has nothing left to offer but themselves.
A romantic repayment?
Hathaway strangled that thought. Her face paled.
No. Stop.That is the First Taboo.Never sexualize a debt.
In a civilization of immortal scholars, implying a Witch should pay with her Body instead of her Magic is Bankruptcy.
To offer your body is to admit: "My intellect has no value. My potential is zero. I am just meat."
Victoria is investing in a "High-Yield Asset." If I tried to pay with sex, I would be telling her: "You have bad taste. You aren't a visionary scholar investing in a genius; you are just a shallow patron buying a pet."
That would destroy the relationship. It would lead to disgust.
Rationality. Distance. Respect.Do not insult her investment thesis.
"Victoria," Hathaway whispered, weighing the book in her hands, her voice carefully steady. "This... this has your notes."
"In standard social etiquette, sharing a personal study copy implies a Level 3 Intimacy. It implies trust."
Hathaway looked up, forcing herself to meet those blue eyes without flinching. "We are... not there. This is crossing a line."
"Do not flatter yourself, Ludwig."
Victoria cut her off.She stepped closer, invading Hathaway's personal space with the cold, precise elegance of a scalpel. Her voice held only unshakeable logic.
"I am not sharing my soul with you because of sentiment."
She pressed the cover of the book against Hathaway's chest.
"I am doing this because you are now a component of My Project."
"You used your 'Political Connections' to get yourself into the lab. That is your contribution. I respect that. But if you walk in there and fail to identify a mana valve, you will embarrass me. And I do not tolerate embarrassment."
She looked deep into Hathaway's eyes.
"So, I am providing the Technical Support.""Consider this a loan. A high-interest loan.""You are taking my personal notes. You are looking at the naked architecture of my logic. Yes, it is Level 3 Intimacy."
Victoria smiled. Cold, and honest.
"But we are Witches. We can monetize anything. Even Intimacy."
"I saw the interaction with the Ghost." Victoria glanced at Hathaway's pocket. "I do not know what she offered you, and I do not care. But the fact that you took it means you are already building a network of debts."
Victoria pointed at the book in Hathaway's arms.
"So, add this to the pile. Now, you owe me a Favor too."
Hathaway looked at the heavy book in her arms. The "First Taboo" warning faded from her mind.
She wants my future.She wants to own my potential.
Hathaway let out a small chuckle. She hugged the book tighter, meeting Victoria's gaze with a relaxed, conspiratorial smile.
"You know, Victoria... at this rate, I'll never be able to pay you off. My soul is practically mortgaged to you."
Victoria adjusted her gloves, turning back to the path.
"Good."
She walked forward, her voice drifting back over her shoulder, light and confident.
"I like holding high-value assets.""Read the chapter on 'Mana Circuit Nodes' tonight. I will quiz you tomorrow at breakfast. If you fail, the interest rate goes up."
Hathaway stood there for a second, watching her roommate's retreating back.Then, she smiled. A genuine smile.
"High-value asset, huh?"Hathaway patted the heavy book, feeling the warmth of the knowledge inside."I can live with that."
She walked forward, her step heavy but determined.She had the Ghost's Favor in her pocket, the Wellington's Grimoire in her hand, and a dangerous summer ahead.
She was a debtor. She was a cheat. She was a relationship hire.And she was loving every second of it.