Chapter 11 - School

An hour had passed since Wesley passed the second test. The hall was almost entirely filled, with only a few seats remaining. The atmosphere was jubilant, as these students had all passed the extremely difficult tests, and the room buzzed with introductions. But while everyone was busy socializing, a few people didn’t bother mingling.

One was a white-robed youth who gave off an air of superiority, so no one approached him. Another was a tall, burly youth with a mean face who just glared at anyone who came near. There was also a blue-robed girl sleeping in her chair. Even though she looked really cute while sleeping, no one was heartless enough to wake such a beauty. Finally, there was a black-robed youth who looked like a beggar, simply staring ahead as if watching a play.

After a short while, a short, hunched-back old man in a blue robe walked into the room. The moment Wesley saw this old man, he almost spit out his heart. This was the second elder who had conducted Wesley's first test.

After walking to the front of the room, the old man cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, then spoke in a loud, crisp voice that almost seemed to echo:

"Congratulations on passing the entrance examination of the Four Moons Royal Academy. Now you are all officially students of the Academy."

The old man paused, as if to give the students a chance to cheer and jump around in excitement. After the shouting and cheering had passed, he continued with his speech:

"Now that you are official students of the Academy, there are a few things you should be aware of. First, this school is not subordinate to any of the four Kingdoms, so your titles and backgrounds hold no meaning here."

There were small murmurs here and there, but no one complained, as this was common knowledge. The elder then continued:

"Second, killing or otherwise permanently crippling other students is forbidden. Failure to comply will lead to severe consequences."

This time, the elder didn’t even pause for a moment, showing that there was no room to argue this rule.

"Third, harming people who are not students is forbidden and will lead to expulsion."

Expulsion from the most powerful and prestigious academy in the world was no simple matter. Everyone present simply nodded inwardly.

"Good. Now, are there any questions? Don’t be shy—ask away."

The hall was quiet for a moment, then someone raised their hand.

"Elder, what are our living arrangements?" This was one of the students' biggest concerns. Since most of them were nobles, they wanted to make sure they would be living as comfortably as possible.

"There are two living arrangements open to the students: first, the dorms, and if that is not satisfactory, they can arrange for their own lodgings in the city."

The questions continued for around thirty minutes, most of them rather dumb, such as whether the school would provide maids or how good the food was. The elder answered them all without complaint. Then, as the room was running out of questions, the elder spoke once again:

"Any more questions?"

It seemed like no one was going to raise their hand, but then suddenly the burly youth with the mean face raised his hand.

"Elder, how do we graduate?" His voice was almost like a growl as he spoke, his jaw clenched.

Although this seemed like a simple question, there was a reason no one had asked it: these students had just arrived, and who in the world was already thinking about graduating? The elder just smiled sincerely and spoke:

"The graduation requirements are simple. Spend a minimum of five years at the Academy and pass the graduation examination. Any more questions?"

Another hand shot up, this time from the sleeping blue-robed girl.

"How many classes do we have to take?" Her voice was melodious to the ear.

"There are nine classes available. Each student is required to take a minimum of five classes and no more than seven."

"And what are those available classes?"

This time, it was the white-robed youth who spoke. He didn’t even wait for the elder to ask for questions, but the elder didn’t seem to mind and answered with a smile still on his face:

"The classes are studies of the five elements: Water magic, Fire magic, Earth magic, Wind magic, and Light magic. There are also classes on Strategy and Tactics, Swordsmanship, History, and Geography."

The students all listened carefully to the elder's words, but everyone already knew what they were going to learn, so no one was that surprised. No one except Wesley, who was surprised that Dark Magic was not included in the curriculum. He was about to raise his hand to ask why it was so, but he restrained himself. Fortunately, another student already raised their hand:

"Why isn’t Dark Magic included? I heard that there are people who have affinities for it."

The elder seemed amused at the question, and spoke with amusement evident in his voice:

"It is true that there are people who have affinities for darkness, but they are very rare. In fact, almost one in a million people will have a dark affinity, and even then, it is most likely to be an average affinity, which is not enough to become a mage. However, occasionally, there are people with a high dark affinity, but if those people are not trained from an early age, the darkness will affect their minds and they will go insane. This means that dark mages are too rare an existence to waste resources on."

Wesley was listening closely to the elder’s words, but he was very surprised. He didn’t expect dark mages to be so rare. In fact, he was hoping to meet some other dark mages and compare records with them, but now it seemed that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.

The elder finally spoke again:

"Now, we should get going to have you register for your classes. Are there any more questions?"

Wesley, who had been thinking about something, raised his hand.

"How often are we required to attend classes?"

His question caused the people near him to shoot him looks of disdain. After all, they thought that he, who looked like a beggar, now also had the work ethic of one. But Wesley didn’t pay them any attention and just looked at the elder, albeit somewhat fearfully.

"You are expected to attend classes once a month. Anything more than that is voluntary, but keep in mind that you are expected to take the end-of-year assessment and pass more than half of your classes."

Wesley only nodded his head and didn’t say anything back. The elder, seeing that there were no more questions, smiled brightly and spoke:

"Good. It seems there are no more questions. Please proceed to the door on your left, where you will register for your classes and receive your uniforms and identification tablets. And once again, congratulations on being admitted to the Four Moons Royal Academy."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Wesley was currently walking in the Central District of Blackreach City. He had opted to arrange his own lodgings since he definitely didn’t want to live in the Academy. First, he wouldn’t be able to refine if he was in a dorm with roommates, and second, the Academy had those annoying elders, especially that old monster from the first test. Wesley really didn’t feel comfortable being around them.

As for the classes he chose, they could only be described as a waste. He picked strategy and tactics, swordsmanship, history, geography, and, finally, light magic studies. Swordsmanship was an obvious choice since he needed to improve his sword techniques so that he wouldn’t be forced to use dark magic. As for light magic, since there was no dark magic curriculum, his second-best option was to learn about the opposite of darkness and strengthen his weaknesses. The remaining three classes were simply chosen to fulfill his required number of classes.

Now, all he had to do was find a proper place to live. After a short period of thinking, he concluded that he only had three options. First, he could live in an inn for five years. Second, he could rent a house. And third, he could buy a house. Wesley had been told he would only receive around five thousand gold for living expenses each year, so he had to be mindful of his spending. Five thousand gold was more than enough for a small family to live off for a year, but in a metropolitan city like this, it was a rather measly amount.

The first thing Wesley needed to do was visit the housing department located in the Central District. Anyone who wanted to live in Blackreach City for an extended period had to visit the housing department to search for a place to live and register.

After reaching the housing department, Wesley was glad there wasn’t a long line. He was tired of waiting in lines for the day. Wesley simply walked in and was greeted by a small reception desk with a pretty dark-haired lady sitting behind it. Seeing Wesley walk in, the lady smiled and spoke to him before he even reached the desk:

"Are you here with your parents?"

Wesley only smiled and didn’t answer. He wasn’t angry that she assumed he was here with a parent, given that he was just ten, and he didn’t want to shout across the room, so he kept walking toward the desk. The moment he was within two feet of the desk, Wesley spoke:

"I am here to search for housing options. Mind helping me, please?"

Wesley showed her the identification tablet from the Academy and smiled at her sincerely—she was rather pretty, after all. Looking at the tablet in his hand, the receptionist lady was shocked. She recognized the Academy and knew it was attended by nobles, meaning Wesley was also a noble. She immediately straightened up, smiled at Wesley, and spoke in a respectful manner:

"Yes, sir. Please go into the room on your right. Inside, you will meet a representative who will show you all available options."

"Thank you."

Wesley walked toward the door. As he entered, he noticed that it was a small office with a small desk in it. Behind the desk sat an elderly man who seemed to be sleeping. Seeing the sleeping old man, Wesley cleared his throat to wake him up and then sat across from him. The old man instantly awoke and, seeing Wesley, had a clear frown on his face. He immediately spoke in an annoyed voice:

"How can I be of service?"

Wesley noticed that the old man was annoyed, but he understood since he had just woken him up, so he didn’t mind. He then spoke while showing his identification tablet to him:

"Please show me all available listings for houses for rent and purchase in the city."

Seeing the tablet, the old man was startled and regretted his tone earlier, but he still kept his professionalism. He pulled out two long sheets of paper and handed them to Wesley. Looking at the rental sheet first, Wesley was startled. The cheapest house for rent was five hundred gold a month. He could never afford that, so he put the rental listings down and looked at the buying one. This was even more startling—the most expensive house cost two hundred thousand gold.

But one thing caught Wesley’s attention. At the bottom of the houses for sale listings, there was a house priced at three thousand gold. This was by far the cheapest house, as the next cheapest house was fifteen thousand gold. Wesley immediately turned to the old man and asked, pointing at the listing for the house:

"Tell me about this house."

The man, seeing what Wesley was pointing at, nodded and then rummaged through some paperwork and pulled out a file. Looking at the file in his hand, the man's face changed slightly, and he spoke with a shaky voice:

"Uhm... This house's old owner died recently without kin, so the city took ownership. Only, sir... This house is located in the seventh district. I don’t think it’s suitable for you."

Wesley had heard about the seventh district from the bartender at the inn he had first stayed in. It was the outermost residential district and was occupied by the poorest people in Blackreach City. It was also the most lawless, since the people who lived there were not even considered by the rulers of the city, and no effort was expended to enforce the law.

Hearing this, Wesley was pleasantly surprised—an affordable house, far enough from the stench of nobles. He spoke without a hint of hesitation:

"I'll take it. What do I need to do now?"

The old man was startled; he hadn’t expected this young child from the noble Academy to pick such a shabby place. But he still had a job to do, so he simply nodded and spoke:

"I see. Well, you first need to pay the price, and then I’ll transfer the deed of the house to you."

Wesley immediately paid the price for the house, received the deed, and was given directions to the house. Since the house was in the Seventh District, he was accompanied by a guard.

After almost half an hour, Wesley reached the Seventh District. However, he was extremely disheartened by the scene in front of him. This was exactly the same as all those towns he had passed through before coming here. Sad-looking people sat all over the roads with empty looks on their faces. Even in the most prosperous city in the world, to see such poverty and pain was extremely depressing.

Unlike those towns, however, the majority of these people were men. So, Wesley wasn’t as depressed as before, but he still felt the anger in his heart burn even more. What was the point of all the wealth that Blackreach City boasted of if there were still people like this living next to it?

Wesley hated the unfairness that was so ingrained in the fabric of this world. What was the point of kingdoms, communities, and governments if there were so many people living as if they were animals? Who gave the nobility the right to govern? Where did this right come from? Who decided that one person should be a noble while another should be a beggar?

Wesley was engrossed in his thoughts, which seemed to be happening far too often lately. It seemed that, as a noble, he had been shielded from the realities of the world. Just like him a month ago, all the nobles must live in a false world full of happiness. But that was a false world, and the true world was the one he saw with his own eyes. The true world was filled with pain, suffering, and perpetual agony, and every aspect of it reinforced and deepened these harsh realities.

Wesley came upon a thought. If one were to end this cycle of pain and agony, there was only one way: break the systems of this world and forge a new world.

- - - - - -

While Wesley was engrossed in his ponderings about the reality of this world, he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder by the guard who was escorting him.

"This is the house, Sir."

Wesley jerked at the guard's words and was awakened from his daze. He then looked up to see that they were standing in front of a giant two-story house with a seven-foot-tall wall surrounding it. Wesley was extremely surprised. Given the price of the listings and its location, he had really expected a shack. But in front of him stood a house that was not one bit inferior to the homes of nobles.

Wesley immediately walked toward the gate and pushed it open. He was very interested in this house. The moment Wesley stepped inside, he saw five children sleeping on the grass of the courtyard. They were young—around five or six years old—and each of them wore rags and looked malnourished, on the verge of dying.

The guard who was with Wesley, seeing the kids, reached for his sword and was about to chase them off the property. But Wesley frowned and raised his hand to stop him. The guard halted and looked at Wesley questioningly. Wesley then spoke:

"I’ve got it from here. Leave."

The guard was startled but simply bowed his head and left, shooting one last scornful look at the sleeping children.

Wesley walked behind the guard and then shut the gate. As soon as he finished closing it, Wesley turned toward the sleeping children and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Wake up!"