Chapter 426: The Young Lady Blessed By Luck [Part 1] Astrea’s angelic voice echoed throughout the Music Room, drawing everyone’s eyes on her and only her. Alex was no exception and stared at the beautiful young lady with long purple hair, whose songs had touched him in more ways than one. Back in ELO, if Astrea was part of the party, and her song was played before a battle started, it would continue playing as background music. Even when fighting a high tension boss, it would still feel lively and fun, and the situation wouldn’t feel so helpless. She was also the singer of the theme song of the game called "Endless Leveling," which had become a very popular song, reaching the top 5 of the Billboard Charts. Alex felt a little guilty because he didn’t know who composed the theme song, and yet, he still used it in his Battle Choir against Melodina. Because of this, the Fairies were now saying that the song belonged to Alex, which made the young man feel truly guilty. He then promised to himself to compensate the true composer when he got the chance to meet them. "Beautiful as ever." The Fairy, Doh, sighed happily with her eyes closed. "If Alex’s song is Hell, Astrea’s song is definitely Heaven." "Right." Reh nodded. "It can’t get any better than this." Alex was too focused on Astrea’s song and didn’t pay much attention to the fairies beside him. When the song finally ended, a thundering applause echoed inside the Music Room, a testament to how talented Astrea was. Several minutes later, Professor Arienna clapped her hands. "Today’s session is over," Professor Arienna said. "Good job, everyone! Make sure to hydrate yourselves and rest properly. I’ll see you all on Monday." The Professor then gave Alex a glance, very thankful that the young man didn’t disturb their Music Session. The Professor had already planned the line up for the Inter-Academy Singing Competition, and Alex would also participate as the last singer of their team. Forget school pride or whatever. Professor Arienna wanted everyone to go through the same suffering she’d been subjected to. But that would have to wait until Astrea and the other participants had finished their presentations. Friendly fire would not be ideal, so she planned to set Alex as her trump card to eliminate their foes before they could even climb on the stage! It was a flawless plan, allowing them to win without letting the other teams sing a single song! "I’m such a genius," Professor Arienna muttered to herself. Her Teaching Assistant pretended to not hear anything and simply handed a few water bottles to those who had participated in this session. "You were amazing, Astrea!" Reh said as she flew toward the young lady, and handed her a hand towel. "We’re going to win this year’s singing competition for sure!" "Thank you, Reh," Astrea replied. "But you shouldn’t raise some flags, you know?" "Relax," Mii commented as she flew around Astrea. "This one is already in the bag. Also, we got a secret weapon this year!" Mii then pointed at Alex, who was leaning on the wall in the distance with his arms crossed over his chest. Astrea noticed the handsome young man from the start, but since she was focused on singing, she didn’t pay too much attention to him. Still, she was very curious about the young man, especially after the things he had pulled off in the academy, which had made him notoriously popular. Her brother, Cassian, had warned her to not get too close to Alex because he was a dangerous person. But, so far, Astrea didn’t see why he was being labeled as someone dangerous. All she knew was that Alex had done some things that no other First Years had done. In fact, if she wasn’t part of the Singing Club, she might have already tried to join Endless Horizon simply because she felt that they were very unique individuals. "Ah, by the way, Alex said that he wanted to talk to you," Sue said with a smile on her face. "He didn’t tell me why, but he said that he needed your help on something." "Need my help on something?" Astrea frowned, but her curiosity got the better of her. After making sure that she was presentable enough, she walked toward Alex, who smiled and walked in her direction as well. "Sue said that you need my help with something." Astrea eyed the young man with a solemn gaze. "Are you going to ask me to help you blackmail people?" Alex almost tripped after hearing the young lady’s words. For better or for worse, his title of Blackmail King had certainly made an impression on everyone. "I’m not here to ask you to blackmail people," Alex replied. "I am here to ask you to help me open some treasure chests." "T-Treasure Chests?!" Astrea’s switch had been flipped on. Aside from singing, one of her most favorite hobbies was opening treasure chests! "Indeed." Alex nodded. "I have eight chests here, and I would like your help in opening them. Of course, I’m not planning to make you do this for free. Out of the eight chests, I will allow you to pick one treasure from them." "Deal!" Astrea didn’t bat an eye and immediately accepted Alex’s proposal. The Fairies also grew curious about what kind of items would come out of the treasure chests, so they insisted that Alex and Astrea open them alongside them. Alex agreed, and soon, Astrea and the Fairies followed him in one of the private rooms in the Music Room, where no one would disturb them. As soon as the door was properly locked, Alex took out the eight chests Dim Dim had handed to him earlier. Six of them had the emblem of slimes embedded on the lid of the coffin, while the two other chests were Bronze Chests without any identification. "Let me just confirm our agreement," Astrea said as she placed her hand on the lid of one of the bronze treasure chests. "After I open them all, I can choose any item as my payment, right?" "Right." Alex nodded. "The Fairies will serve as our witness in this deal. Right, girls?" "That’s right!" Doh patted her chest. "This deal is Fairy Approved!" "We won’t allow any foul play to happen," Reh stated. "But if the treasures contain any sweets, we call dibs on it. This is non-negotiable." "Nice one, Reh!" Mii gave her friend a thumbs up. "Yes, all sweets belong to us!" Fah nodded. "Non-negotiable and no refunds." "Now, open it, Astrea," Sue said in excitement. "I want to see what treasures can be found in those treasure chests!" As soon as she said those words, Dim Dim and the Fairies all wore their gangster sunglasses to make themselves look cool. Astrea no longer hesitated and opened the Bronze Treasure Chest she had chosen to open first. As soon as the lid was opened, a shiny golden light lit up the surroundings. Alex and Astrea were forced to cover their eyes due to the blinding light. Dim Dim and the Fairies, however, were unaffected by it, and they all looked at the thing that was inside the treasure chest. "A pendant?" Mii took the harp-shaped pendant from the treasure chest and showed it to Astrea, who finally regained her sense of sight. "Wow, it’s so pretty," Astrea said as she looked at the pendant that was now in her hands. Alex moved closer and looked at the pendant before using his System to Appraise it. ——— < Melody Pendant > Item Grade: Super Rare Type: Accessory (Lyre-shaped Pendant) Stats: Magic Power +72, Charisma +35, Constitution +20 Active Skill: Healing Wind. Effect: This pendant can transform into a lyre, and when a song is played, the Skill, Healing Wind, will automatically activate. ——— < Healing Wind > "A gentle breeze that carries the touch of renewal. Soft, unseen, yet powerful enough to turn despair into hope." Skill Type: Support / Recovery Element: Wind / Holy Effect: Unleashes a soothing current of wind that restores 15% of Max HP to all allies within a 35-meter radius over 15 seconds. Removes minor bleeding and burn effects. Bonus Effect (when cast with a Song active): Healing potency increases by +10%, and the wind carries a faint melodic resonance that grants +5% Movement Speed to all allies for the skill’s duration. ——— ’What the..." Alex’s eyes opened in shock. They’d just started, and the first item was already a banger. The Melody Pendant was a support-type magical artifact that anyone with musical talents would love to have. The young man had once again confirmed that he made the right call in letting Astrea open the treasure chests for him. She simply opened a bronze treasure chest, and yet, a Super Rare item appeared, which he believed could only be obtained from Silver Treasure Chests. Astrea handed the Melody Pendant back to Mii, who handed it to Alex for safekeeping. She was quite fired up after opening a single chest, and now, she wanted to see what kind of goodies were waiting for her to discover.