Allen finally understood. This was the place where wealthy apprentices hired other apprentices to form guard teams and participate in the resource battle together.

  However, these noble-born apprentices were not lacking in learning resources at all.

  The magic crystals and mana potions they held were far rarer than anything that could be seized on the battlefield.

  Their participation in the resource battle was not about the resources themselves, but about establishing prestige within the academy and showing off their strength.

  Normally, Luminara Magic Academy strictly forbade private fights among apprentices.

  Even if these wealthy students relied on their family power to bully others, they could not be too blatant. Over time, they became unpopular and earned the resentment of many lower-tier apprentices.

  But the academy's rules did not extend to the resource battlefield. Those apprentices they had offended often chose the battlefield as the place to settle old scores.

  Thus, these wealthy apprentices hired other students as guards. Essentially, they were hiring fighters. Whether they could actually secure resources was not the main goal.

  The honest-looking apprentice beside Allen saw that he seemed only half understanding and hurriedly added,"You really shouldn't sit here. To sit here and hire guards, you need at least one hundred thousand Advanced Magic Crystals."

  "Many of the apprentices here don't want to join guard teams, but most of them come from poor families and lack learning resources."

  "To gain access to the resource battle and earn a few magic crystals and healing potions, they are forced to do this."

  "So their hiring price is very high. Ordinary people simply cannot afford it!"

  Hearing this, Allen immediately prepared to get up. He truly did not have any Advanced Magic Crystals, and he had no use for them anyway.

  He had only come to watch. Since the seats here were not for him, he could just stand to the side and observe.

  But just as he was about to get up, a scornful and arrogant voice rang out:

  "So it's you, the Max-Level Trash with full talent but useless in studies!"

  The words were followed by a sharp, mocking laughter that immediately drew the attention of everyone in the courtyard.

  Allen turned toward the sound and saw a young man, flanked and pushed forward by several apprentices, strolling slowly into the courtyard.

  Allen had seen him a few times before. He was said to be from the Hawke family, one of the noble families of Aetherlan City.

  Marius Hawke often acted arrogantly within the academy, relying on his family's wealth to bully lower-tier apprentices.

  Marius wore a teasing, contemptuous smile as he slowly approached and sat next to Allen."Allen, did you sit in the wrong place?" he said.

  "With your magic rank that can't even match ordinary apprentices, you think you deserve to sit here? Shouldn't you be up on the stage like the rest of the poor kids, waiting for us to choose to hire you?"

  Before Allen could respond, the lower-tier apprentices around him were instantly angered.

  They all stood up, glaring at Marius with fury. One could not help but shout,"What did you just say?"

  "Marius, do you have no rules? Allen is the headmaster's apprentice, and you dare to humiliate him like this?"

  Marius gave the standing apprentices a disdainful glance, a sneer forming at the corner of his mouth, his tone both arrogant and mocking.

  "A bunch of poor kids who can't even qualify to enter the resource battle, thinking they can lecture me?"

  Everyone present knew that although Allen was Berton's only core apprentice and held a prestigious status, he would never, like other powerful apprentices, bully lower-tier students.

  It was precisely because of this that Allen had always been well-liked among the lower-tier apprentices.

  Actually, even back when he was completing academy tasks, Allen could not stand Marius bullying those lower-tier apprentices.

  That was also the only time he, as the headmaster's core apprentice, had seriously reprimanded Marius a few times.

  At that time, Allen had not yet started slacking off or deliberately going through the motions. He had just been taken in as the headmaster's core apprentice, and no one in the entire academy dared to provoke him.

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  So even though Marius was full of resentment in his heart, he had no choice but to endure the reprimand.

  Although the Hawke family was quite powerful in Aetherlan City, rashly offending a headmaster's core apprentice was simply unwise.

  But later, as Allen's study progress slowed more and more, other apprentices pulled far ahead of him, and he even fell behind ordinary apprentices.

  The title of Max-Level Trash spread throughout the academy, and those who had once feared him no longer held back, gradually beginning to mock and provoke him openly.

  Marius's tone was sarcastic, and his contemptuous gaze was unmistakable."Allen, you, the headmaster's core apprentice, are really different from other apprentices with real skill."

  "If you were truly worthy, with the strength to match a headmaster's apprentice, then yes, I suppose you would have the right to participate in this hiring event, and to sit here."

  He leaned slightly forward, moving closer to Allen, his tone growing sharper."But what a pity, you're a complete waste."

  "I heard that the headmaster's core apprentice receives a large amount of rare resources from the academy every month," he continued.

  "But looking at you now, I suppose you don't even have the face to take those resources. Even if you did, it would be a waste. Better to leave them for someone capable."

  After Marius finished speaking, the few followers at his side erupted into harsh, mocking laughter. Their voices overlapped as they jeered:

  "Since Allen dares to sit here, he must be able to produce one hundred thousand Advanced Magic Crystals!"

  "That's hard to say. After all, he is the headmaster's core apprentice. Maybe the headmaster has secretly prepared enough magic crystals for him!"

  "But even if he does have the crystals, it's probably a waste!"

  "Allen's magic rank has barely reached the mid Fifth-tier Senior Mage."

  "Whereas Marius has already advanced to Ninth-tier Senior Mage, just one step away from Archmage!"

  "If I'm not mistaken, Allen entered the academy three days after Marius! Same entry period, yet such a huge gap. Calling him trash is not an exaggeration!"

  Hearing the praise and ridicule from his followers, Marius smiled smugly, lightly waving his hand in feigned modesty, though his words were even more cutting:

  "You all are speaking too absolutely. No matter how many magic crystals or mana potions the headmaster has, he wouldn't waste them on a waste like him!"

  "Besides, even forcibly boosting magic rank with mana potions isn't for everyone. You need sufficient talent."

  "For a waste like him, no matter how many mana potions he drinks, he will remain a Fifth-tier Senior Mage for life. He will never advance!"

  Allen remained calm, watching them as if their ridicule had nothing to do with him.

  But the lower-tier apprentices nearby were completely enraged. Each clenched their fists, glaring at Marius and his followers with fury.

  "Shut up! Even if Allen's magic rank isn't high, he is a hundred times better than all of you who rely on family power to bully the weak!"

  "Even if Allen's learning progress is slow, he would never try to take our resources!"

  "Unlike you, who rely only on your family's wealth and influence..."

  The lower-tier apprentices had not finished speaking when Marius and his followers could no longer contain their laughter.

  Marius laughed uproariously, leaning back and pointing at the apprentices, his tone cutting and mocking:

  "He wants to grab resources, wants to act all high and mighty, but does he have the ability? Does he have the capital?"

  "Headmaster's core apprentice? I think it's a joke! Just like you poor kids, he might even sell his dignity for a mana enhancement potion!"

  As he spoke, Marius's expression suddenly darkened. He glared viciously at Allen sitting beside him, calm as ever.

  "If you've got the ability, produce one hundred thousand Advanced Magic Crystals and you can keep this seat."

  "If you can't, then get lost now. Don't block the way or embarrass yourself here!"

  With that, Marius waved his hand lightly over the stone table in front of him.

  The next moment, a faint glow appeared, and from a ring engraved with spatial runes, a pile of Advanced Magic Crystals poured out onto the table with crisp clinks, radiating a strong aura of magic.

  Seeing the dazzling, magic-infused crystals, the lower-tier apprentices around them all looked helpless.

  That many Advanced Magic Crystals could sustain them for years of study, even enough to qualify for multiple entries into the resource battle.

  Even more shocking was the spatial ring on Marius's finger.

  A magical storage item capable of holding such a massive quantity was not something ordinary apprentices could possess.

  Even some mid-tier apprentices could only have standard spatial storage pouches, which could never contain so many Advanced Magic Crystals.

  The fact that Marius could easily store one hundred thousand Advanced Magic Crystals showed that the ring's internal space was immense and of extremely high quality.

  Seeing everyone stunned and envious at the pile he had produced, Marius's pride grew, a scornful smile curling at the corner of his mouth as he slowly said:

  "Poor fools with no worldly experience, this is just the spare I use to hire guards…"

  Before he could finish, he was stunned into silence by the scene on Allen's table.

  A pile of magic crystals had appeared out of nowhere in front of Allen.

  The magical aura was several times stronger than Marius's Advanced Magic Crystals. The quantity was at least as much as Marius's, and the quality was clearly superior by a whole tier.

  "Ultimate Magic Crystals!"

  A collective gasp erupted from the crowd. Both lower-tier apprentices and Marius's followers widened their eyes in shock.

  Some even stepped forward to make sure they weren't seeing things.

  "This is insane! I've never seen so many Ultimate Magic Crystals!"

  "Everyone knows one Ultimate Magic Crystal is worth ten thousand Advanced Magic Crystals!"

  "There are ten thousand here? That's equivalent to a hundred million Advanced Magic Crystals!"

  "Oh my god, how much wealth is this? Even the Hawke family couldn't produce this many Ultimate Magic Crystals!"

  Allen himself was completely stunned, staring blankly at the Ultimate Magic Crystals that had appeared in front of him.

  He turned to look at the man who had just waved his hand by the table, leaving the Ultimate Magic Crystals behind.

  Seeing the man's face clearly, Allen, usually so calm, twitched at the corner of his mouth and said:

  "Keller? Why are you following me again?"

  It was Keller, who had been secretly following Allen, loyal and devoted.

  Keller folded his fan, bowed slightly, and said to Allen:

  "Sorry, I don't carry low-grade stuff like Advanced Magic Crystals around me."

  He gestured toward the Ultimate Magic Crystals on the table and asked:

  "These are all I brought. Are these enough for you? If not, I can send another batch over."