Inside Aurelian Academy’s dormitory.

The dorms housed two students per room, fully furnished, but now only Locke was present.

His roommate, another Anjouan and son of an earl, had already withdrawn due to financial strain.

The room was silent, perfect for Locke’s task.

He retrieved the Level 2 synthesized item from the Horadric Cube. With a grip in the air, the cube spun, sparks flying like a bursting galaxy, dazzling and magnificent.

Rays of light converged in his hand, forming a fist-sized sapphire.

The sapphire’s description appeared before him:

[Level 2 Item: Sapphire, velvet blue, medium saturation, shimmering like water in sunlight, a noble’s favored luxury, suitable for crafting valuable jewelry, rings, or ornaments, worth approximately 10-30 gold coins.]

Locke’s expression turned subtle. He had placed three sapphire fragments in the cube, cheap trinkets bought for three gold coins at a market.

Even jewelers wouldn’t bother using them for ornaments.

Yet, through the Horadric Cube, their value had multiplied dozens of times.

The cube lived up to its reputation as a supreme artifact from his past life’s game, transforming low-grade resources into high-grade ones.

In the game, he had barely obtained the cube and hadn’t studied its synthesis guide or recipes.

But that didn’t matter now.

This was a different world, not a game.

He needed to carefully study how to best use the synthesis magic.

Locke mused, “With the cube, I can at least solve my financial crisis, though it’s a long-term solution.”

“I need to secure my place in the academy first, which means getting the Outstanding Graduate quota to counter Professor Alder’s schemes.”

A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. “Why did copying textbooks for that old man lead to the original’s death? In the week before, he grew exhausted, drained, weaker each day.”

“How did he do it?”

He had observed that Aurelian Academy and the continent of Corfu lacked supernatural forces.

It was an ordinary medieval world.

Even knight breathing techniques didn’t exist.

Locke decided to continue synthesizing, this time with a new recipe.

Instead of three same-level sapphires, he used a Level 2 sapphire, a Level 2 gold ring, and a Level 2 natural ruby, all rated as Level 2 synthesized items by the cube.

The cube could synthesize same-type, same-level items or different types of the same level.

But the outcome of mixed items was unpredictable.

Thus, players had to experiment with synthesis recipes.

The cube indicated a two-hour wait for the Level 3 item.

“The best way to use the cube,” Locke thought, “is to create high-quality gemstone jewelry, sell it as a genius designer, and fund my tuition.”

“Take it step by step.”

“Maybe I’ll find better uses later.”

Locke turned to the notebook Dean Tongus gave him. Flipping through, he found the problems were several times harder than the previous homework.

At his level, completion was impossible.

After checking, he found nothing special. On the first page, he wondered, “What’s Mr. Tongus’s purpose in giving me this?”

“Just to complete it? The difficulty far exceeds the current curriculum, so he wants me to self-study.”

Locke flipped through his thick textbook.

“But history class is in two days. I can’t self-study in time. If Tongus is testing my self-learning ability, I can’t finish this in two days.”

“There’s a workaround, though.”

“If one path fails, try another.”

Locke left his dorm for the common lounge.

In the dormitory common lounge.

Patty Aisa leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, raising an eyebrow at the runic textbook Locke handed her.

“Locke Augustine, we’ve never been friends or spoken. Why come to me?”

“To tutor me!”

Locke looked at the blonde girl, rubbing his nose. Patty Aisa, a commoner student, was among the best in language class.

Unlike him, she had a good relationship with Dean Tongus, who often gave her extra lessons. Rumor had it she’d already mastered the semester’s ancient language curriculum.

He couldn’t finish the assignment in two days, but finding help was another matter.

He could have someone proficient explain key textbook points, allowing him to “learn the language” quickly enough to pass.

Locke wasn’t rigid. He chose Patty because of her academic excellence, her connection to Tongus, and her commoner background, which made her short on funds.

Commoners only had tuition waived.

They wouldn’t pass up earning opportunities.

But noble heirs had low graduation requirements, rarely attended classes seriously, and thus didn’t seek tutoring from commoners.

Locke said, “I can pay for tutoring.”

“I really want to complete the assignment Professor Tongus gave me.”

Patty nodded, considering, then said, “Fine. Noble money is free to take.”

“Two hundred gold coins. Not expensive.”

“Tutoring you costs my study time.”

Locke agreed, “Deal. I’ll pay after the lessons.”

He wasn’t worried about debts.

If he could stay, he’d find a way to pay the two hundred coins.

Patty looked at him with an odd smile. “Fair warning: I’ll tutor you, but if you don’t learn, don’t blame me.”