Chapter 32 (1/2)
Chapter 32: A Glimmer of Sunlight in a Cold, Cruel World (Part I)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
This gatekeeper certainly calls it like he sees it.
Fortunately, Link was prepared for this kind of outcome. His current Maximum Mana limit was now 24.1—a very low figure, no different from that of an average Magician’s Apprentice. It would take a miracle for him to get accepted into this academy.
Of course, he still had 105 Omni Points left, and he could spend all of it to increase his Maximum Mana. Even if Ailing Mana had a 90% effect on him, by exchanging one Omni Point with 10 Points of Maximum Mana, he could increase his Maximum Mana to 129.1 Points. That was equivalent to that of a typical Level-2 Magician, and enough for admission into the magic academy.
But that would be a silly thing to do. Yes, he might possess the power of a Level-2 Magician, but his knowledge would be nowhere near that. And if he did enter the academy this way, he would naturally be assigned to classes for Level-2 Magicians—classes that would be completely incomprehensible to him. What would be the point of that?
Admittedly, Link was only here to try his luck. He knew that if he was rejected he would just have to go back to the inn and teach himself the basic foundations of magic, and then he’d try again. He wouldn’t feel too bad about being turned away, so he responded to Eliard’s sympathetic stare with a smile, signifying he was fine.
Nonetheless, this experience had taught him a valuable lesson. He would never have guessed that one could enter the East Cove Higher Magic Academy with just a thesis. Nothing like that was ever mentioned in the game on Earth.
In fact, in the game, once you reached a certain level, you could just pay a certain amount of money and bam—you were now a student of the Higher Magic Academy.
“How could my friend prove his skill in magic then?” asked Eliard.
Vincent snickered as he scrutinized Eliard’s appearance from head to toe. He gave the young man’s attire the once-over and said jeeringly, “Worry about yourself, boy! The tuition fees of the Eastern Cove High Magic Academy aren’t cheap you know?”
Vincent had seen all walks of life, and this had allowed him to accurately judge a person’s situation in life just based on their appearance. With a mere glance, he could clearly see the disparity in quality between these two young men’s clothing. This unremarkable young man might have been wearing a plain grey robe, but it was made of fine squirrel fur, the value of which was at least ten times higher than that of the shiny new clothes on the pretty boy’s body.
By his estimation, he was sure that the ordinary looking young man must be of the noble class. His companion, on the other hand, was nothing more than a simple commoner.
Regarding funds, Eliard had naturally come prepared. Before preparing for magic training, he had thought over and over of various ways he could make money. Fortunately, he had a decent brain between his ears, and that allowed him to find a way to save up 200 gold coins—the exact amount, from what he had heard, needed for the academy’s tuition fees.
“Oh, you mean the 200 gold coins? I’ve got it right here,” Eliard said with a laugh.
To the young man’s surprise, Vincent shook his head and laughed. He held up two fingers and said, “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong my boy. It isn’t 200 gold coins for you, that is the price for a student who came from a noble family. For a commoner, it’s 300 gold coins. Unfortunately, though, the academy received too many students this year, so there isn’t any space left. If you do enter the academy, you will be an extra member of the student body, and as such, you will be charged for the extra arrangements and extra materials—and these, of course, will cost money. As a commoner you won’t be entitled to benefits or discounts, so all in all, the total fees will amount to 2000 gold coins.”
Eliard was stunned, and his brows furrowed. “It can’t possibly be ten times the usual amount! That’s ridiculous!”
How many commoners in this world could fork over 2000 gold coins!? Only the rich merchants of the Northern Free District could ever afford such a ridiculous sum of money.
This is nothing more but a barely masked effort to prevent commoners from learning magic!
Link, however, knew that the magic academy wasn’t just trying screw them over. Money was essential to a Magician. What commoners might view as a large sum of money could easily be spent in a heartbeat on a random piece of magical gear.
Take this New Moon wand in his hand, for example. This single wand alone would’ve cost him 1000 gold coins. And if it’s the Crystal Fire Staff we’re talking about, then the price could easily go over 3000 gold coins!
He had encountered a similar situation like this in the game back on Earth. You had to spend money immediately after choosing to become a Magician! The price to pay for magic skills training alone was already more expensive than the other professions, let alone the various other gears needed to practice magic.
From Vincent’s perspective, 2000 gold coins wasn’t just a random number he coughed up. It was roughly the calculated cost needed to study magic, but of course, he knew that this explanation alone could not conceal the academy’s unfair treatment towards commoners.
But Eliard was unfamiliar with the world of Magicians, and this caused him to erupt in anger.
Vincent’s countenance was relaxed and unmoved. He spread out his hands, leaned back into his seat and glibly said, “There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not the one setting the price, after all. These are orders from the academy dean. I am simply the messenger.”
However, Eliard still had another trick up his sleeve. He pulled out a letter. “I’ve got a recommendation letter from Duchess Alice.”
Vincent glanced up and saw a wax seal on the letter and immediately recognized the blooming rose insignia—it really was the seal of the Norton Kingdom’s one and only Duchess.
He looked at Eliard’s strikingly handsome face, then laughed. “Oh, what a blessing to be born good-looking!” he mocked. “You could even get a noble to write you a recommendation letter! Well, according to the academy dean’s orders, with a letter of recommendation from a noble, fees are cut down by 500 gold coins, making it 1500 gold coins!”
Seeing this letter, Link suddenly saw how clever this young man really was. No commoner could earn 200 gold coins even if they worked their back off their whole life. Yet, this young man had somehow managed to earn that much by the age of 17. He had even obtained a letter of recommendation from a duchess to boot! Link knew that such things could have only been achieved through great sacrifice.