The Author's POV

Sitting down on a large white table, I nervously drank the cup of water in front of me.

...If I said I wasn't nervous at the moment that would be a lie. In fact, my back was drenched in sweat.

That was because sitting in front of me was—Melissa Hall, one of the main protagonists

Wearing the azure blue uniform provided by the academy, Melissa sat down in front of me.

She was currently elegantly drinking the hot tea that was provided by a servant standing behind her.

...which by the way was glaring in my direction.

Taking a quick look at her one word came into my mind.

'Beautiful'

She had smooth and milky skin that did not have any flaws. Most notably, her most dazzling feature was her pair of large enchanting light blue eyes that were further emphasized by her thinly framed glasses. As she sat in front of me, a cold and arrogant aura expanded from her graceful body making it seem as if anything was beneath her.

"What are you staring so absent-mindedly at?"

"..eh?"

Waking me up from my stupor was Melissa's annoyed voice as she put her teacup down.

"Had I known you were mentally challenged, I wouldn't have bothered meeting you"

"..."

Feeling a slight tap on her shoulder, Melissa's eyes slightly twitched "Oh my, it seems like my tongue has slipped. Please find it within your heart to forgive this pitiful lady"

"..."

"tch"

Clicking her tongue, Melissa slightly glared at her servant behind her. Seeing that he remained unfazed, crossing her arms and legs, she then proceeded to look at me

"When most guys lay their eyes upon me, they shower me with praises and tell me how my beauty is unmatched throughout the whole academy"

"At least it seems you're not one of those corny guys..."

"Don't worry, if you just state your purpose and leave right after, I might make a slight effort in remembering your name"

...yup, this prickly personality. It was definitely her alright.

This was exactly why I tried my best to avoid her.

If not for the fact that she was the only one that could provide me with cheap high-quality potions, I would've never for the love of God even have bothered talking to her.

"Ah but, If you're here looking for a chance to date me then you might as well pack up your stuff and leave. I don't talk to the delusional"

"No, thank you"

Stopping her right before she could continue speaking any further abuse, I went straight to the point.

"I'm here to make a deal"

"...oh? A deal? Is this your roundabout way of asking me for a date?"

"It's a business proposition"

Though she was skeptical, Melissa paused and allow me to speak

"...go on"

"I would like Melissa Hal-khuk"

Before I could finish my sentence a strong pressure started emanating from Melissa as her sharp eyes looked down on me. Because of how sudden this was, I was caught off guard. Raising my hand up, I said

"...let me finish"

"Watch your words carefully"

"I would like for you, Melissa Hall to sell me the potions that you've made"

"...oh?"

Carefully scrutinizing me up and down, she shook her head in disappointment.

"The only reason I came here was because you slightly interested me. I mean you were the guy that came up with the mana poisoning theory"

"...ah thank you"

"Funnily enough, I was also doing similar research—too bad I was only missing the experimentation phase"

...shit

So that's who came up with the mana poisoning solution...no wonder her servant was glaring at me. Honestly, since then professor Rombhouse has always pestered me non-stop regarding the theory. It was only after I thoroughly explained the theory behind it that he finally relented and let me be.

"I thought that you wanted to talk to me about something important...but it seems like I got the wrong idea about you. Let me be clear, I am not your potion salve"

Standing up, Melissa prepared to leave.

"It was nice knowing you..err, whatever you are called"

"Wait"

Seeing her leave, I immediately tried to call for her only to be ignored. Just as she was about to open the door, I finally decided to release the bait that I had planned to use from the beginning.

"...oh well it's really too bad...and here I was thinking of helping you solve Slovaki's monster energy transfer theory..tut, tut, tut, what a pity"

Halting her steps, Melissa looked back at me.

"You...you, what did you say?"

Gritting her teeth and clenching her hands, Melissa glared in my direction only to be left speechless as I laid my feet on the table and nonchalantly picked my ear.

Looking up, and seeing Melissa I said

"Ehh? I thought you were leaving? Shoo, shoo, if you're leaving then just leave. You don't need to take pity on me"

Seeing that I got a reaction from her, I continued with my act. With a person like her, if you didn't take the initiative then you would stand to lose more than you could gain.

Waving my hand to shoo her away, I took out my phone and started a game.

-Bam!

Smacking her hand on the table, Melissa smilingly looked at me.

...well her mouth was smiling but her eyes weren't.

"Oh? I thought you were leaving?"

"...I had a change of heart"

"Well isn't that great!"

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I returned to my serious self. If I really pushed her too much, then I wouldn't even know how I died.

"kheum..kheumm, so do we have a deal?"

"...How do I know you're not lying?"

Squinting her eyes, Melissa once again exuded her pressure over me.

...to be fair, it wasn't actually that much. She was probably around the same level of strength as me at the moment...maybe I was stronger? But well...it wasn't something that I should be proud of since combat wasn't her expertise.

"How about this, I'll give you half of the theory beforehand and the other half once the deal is done"

"hmmm...but what if the second half doesn't work?"

Rolling my eyes, I said

"Do you really think I have the balls to give you some nonfunctioningtheory?"

"...Good point"

Gesturing her servant behind her, Melissa took out her tablet and started writing a contract. We soon spent the next fifteen minutes agreeing on the terms of the contract.

"This okay?"

"yup, everything seems good"

Looking at the contents of the contract, I nodded in satisfaction.

Basically in exchange for my research Melissa would provide me with intermediate potions, provided that I would pay for the cost of the raw materials. The potions that she would make included [Stamina recovery potion] [Muscle recovery potion] [Strenght enhancement potion] and so on...

Potions were graded from Low, mid, intermediate, high, advanced, and premium, with each grade being a major improvement on the last.

Before, the potions I always used were low leveled ones, hence why they were cheap. But now thanks to Melissa's fine skills, I could use Intermediate potions at prices far below the current market price.

"Then sign it"

Seeing the smirk that had appeared on my face, Melissa's mouth twitched as she urged me to sign the contract. She could hope for nothing more but to wipe the smile off my face.

Tapping on the tablet, a holographic paper appeared before me. Using my finger I swiftly signed the virtual paper.

"...alright hold your end of the deal"

"Okay"

Taking out a small USB from my bag I handed it to Melissa. Inside of the USB was the first half of the Slovaki monster energy transfer theory.

To summarize what it was, it was basically a theory that proved that monster cores were created by monsters accumulating energy inside of their bodies.

Though what I handed Melissa was not perfect it had all the correct concepts and data to prove the theory...a lot of scientific terms and data were missing, but with the aid of the web I made the research somewhat presentable. Plus a genius like Melissa could easily understand what was inferred from the paper.

This theory was extremely important to Melissa and the world because if she could somehow, with the aid of theory, produce an artificial core it would create a major scientific breakthrough.

Cores would no longer be something that could only be found if someone was lucky...just the levels at which humanity would develop would drastically increase the chances of the world surviving.

...well, to be honest, even though she was one step closer to her dream of creating an artificial core, she was still missing the crucial piece...but I wasn't going to help her with regards to that.

If she pushed through the full theory regarding the creation of artificially created cores, then she would undoubtedly die. When she pushed this theory forward in the novel, it was already the late stages of the novel and she was strong enough to defend herself against S ranked villains.

Because of how world-shaking artificial cores were, demons did everything they possibly could to try to kill whoever was responsible for creating them. They used every means possible to eliminate any traces of this theory from existing...It was that much of a threat.

...if Melissa were to be subjected to this at this point in the novel then god knows what the consequences would be.

I had already taken a huge risk by giving her the Slovaki's monster energy transfer theory. Though this would have little to no impact on the story, it was better to reduce any possible liabilities.

...yup. I scammed her.

"Tch, what did you say your name was?"

"Ren Dover"

"...Ren Dover"

Repeating the name a few times, Melissa looked at me dead in the eyes and said

"Do you know what's the scary part about women?"

Feeling the atmosphere become tense I took a step back

"...what if I don't want to know?"

"It's the fact that we never forget our grudges..."

"Personally, I always pay my debt back...with interest"

-Gulp!

Hearing her words, I involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva. As I was the author, I knew she wasn't lying. If she set her mind to something she will try to achieve it regardless of what stood in her way.

"Hehe, I had heard the famed name of Melissa hall, the most beautiful, charming, and generous woman in the whole academy."

"Oh my, would you look at that, it seems like time is tight and must go to my appointment. Let's get along with each other and not hold grudges haha"

Pretending to look at my watch, I came up with an excuse and immediately left. Staying any longer would only spell bad news for me.

...

Watching Ren leave, Melissa's face darkened.

Arriving next to Melissa and noticing her expression, her servant asked

"Miss, do you want me to deal with him?"

Thinking for a moment, she shook her head

"...forget about it, I still need my second part of the theory and it's not like I didn't benefit from this deal"

Though she said that, Melissa was fuming.

To actually dare take advantage of her like that...

Melissa suppressed the fury rising from her heart and engraved the man's name in her head.

Ren Dover, Ren Dover.

Congratulations, you have succeeded in making me remember your name.