"Ah, Terry's here!" the Principal greeted as Terry Yan entered. "Thank you for all your effort please, sit and have some tea."
Terry strode to his chair but didn't sit. "No time for tea, sir. I must brief you all immediately."
The Principal raised an eyebrow. "So urgent?"
Terry nodded gravely. "At the Dimension 2 portal, if I hadn't intervened, other schools' instructors would have swooped in to recruit Vincent on the spot. Vincent just set a new world record if he's poached, Godslayer Academy won't just lose a star student; our reputation will take a catastrophic hit."
The board members exchanged worried looks. Ever since Terry's call, they'd been locked in this emergency meeting, devising every possible way to keep Vincent here. They knew exactly how shameless rival teachers could be.
School Chairman Mr. Li spoke up, skeptical. "All right, but records aside: Vincent's bond with a C-rank hero isn't exactly a sign of limitless potential. Is all this effort really worth it?"
Terry's eyes flared. "Chairman Li, a hero match is only a starting point it doesn't define one's true talent. And when that red-rated student was trapped by a Licker, Vincent risked his life to save her and then escaped himself."
A stunned silence fell. Lickers were notorious thick-skinned, vicious, lightning-fast predators. To save someone from one, then evade it alone… that was almost unbelievable.
"So Vincent didn't just survive he outgunned a Licker?" another director asked, awe in his voice.
"Exactly," Terry confirmed. "For full details, speak with Class 3's monitor the very student who earned that red rating."
Nods of admiration rippled through the room. Mr. Song the retired Education Ministry official on the board leaned forward. "Such a student deserves more than praise. Let me leverage my contacts to cut off any official poaching bids."
The Principal beamed. "Thank you, Elder Song."
That evening, after dinner, Terry escorted Vincent to the Principal's office. The Principal fussed over him like a proud grandfather, offering tea and refreshments. Then he announced, "Effective immediately, all your tuition and fees are waived. On top of that, you'll receive a two-hundred-thousand-dollar annual scholarship. We want you to focus entirely on developing your skills and keep Godslayer Academy proud."
Vincent thanked him with a half-smile he knew exactly why they were so eager. He gave the Principal a reassuring nod but left the door open: if Godslayer Academy ever let him down, he'd walk away without hesitation.