—–
The moment Ellergest offered us the opportunity to go to such a prestigious academy, the children were left speechless. Not only my childhood friends, but also Erdrich and Elizabeth who seemingly had no idea this was happening at all. I remained calm but I couldn’t help but feel excited about such an opportunity, without even doubting it any second after I had meticulously thought about it beforehand, I accepted the offer.
“W-What should we do?” Asked Erika nervously. “I don’t really know if we got the talent to be in such a prestigious place to begin with!”
“Y-Yeah, I am going to get bullied because I am a serf…” Said Chris.
“This is a great opportunity but…” Muttered Eric.
“We accept the offer.” I said stoically, without waiting for their response. There’s no way I am going to let them reject such an offer and an opportunity. There’s no point in worrying about bullies or something, I doubt there will be any if the school is composed of mostly well-behaved and taught noble children..
“Huh?! you decided it so fast…!” Said Erika.
“A-Are you sure though?!” Cried Chris.
“Ugh… No way…” Sighed Eric.
“Don’t be so cowardly! There’s no point in worrying about the details.” I said while waving my hand. The three wanted to argue with me, but knew I would easily beat them if it comes to a battle of words.
“Oho, you quickly went for the conclusion immediately, didn’t you, Blake?” Asked Ellergest while caressing his beard, he knew very well what I wanted and he nodded while realizing it.
“Yes, if we can go there and skip the annoyance of getting those licenses, the better. How long does it takes?” I wondered.
“The academy is prestigious but it doesn’t allow anybody below 10 years of age, so you’ll have to wait until then. There are four years that you must attend it, but the years can be shortened based in academic success, if you’re outstanding and always have good grades, you can skip years sometimes.” Said Ellergest.
“Hm… Interesting. Tell me more about what they will do each year.” I said as if I was interrogating him.
“R-Rather interested, aren’t you?” Laughed Ellergest. “The first year is mostly spent studying and doing written exams, but there will always be field tests and missions, and you can even recruit a member of the adventurer guild or the other guilds you’re interested to guide you through special quests to earn more points in the academy. The second year is about studying spirits and combat, there are many tests that will include trips to the dungeons and also fights between students to showcase their talents. Lastly, third and fourth year are mostly spent on dungeons and the field you want to specialize, so it is not boring at all if you were wondering.”
“Seems bearable.” I said while rubbing my chin.
I dislike the idea of attending classrooms, it all seems stupid, but if I can bear with it for the first year, the next years can be spent doing the things I am interested in the most. And even then, the first year will also include doing quests for the adventurer guild and more, so I can get used to these things. And of course, the ultimate price of licenses without any hassle are also very tentative.
“Ten years, huh? So in a bit over two years from now for the four of us.” I said.
“Elizabeth is also around your age, and Erdrich too, so you all can get into the academy together, children.” Said Ellergest.
“Hm, so this was your plan all along, Head Priest.” Sighed Seth. “Do you want to make the nobles angered by bringing such a big group of serfs into their prestigious academy?”
“Ohohoho! What are you talking about? This is all for their benefit!” Laughed Ellergest.
It seems the old man had underhanded motives now that I inspected things better. Maybe he wants to show the elitist nobles that there are also many talents within the serf and commoners? Perhaps this could all be an elaborate plan to make the nobles invest more into their citizens instead of hoarding all the resources for themselves. Or I am merely imagining things, whatever the case, Ellergest was up to something.
“Are you not putting Jack in there then?” Asked Seth.
“He’s already grown up and past 14, it would be weird to put him there. Even more, as he’s part of the church, it might get harder. He’s already registered as an apprentice priest, while Elizabeth and Erdrich aren’t.” Sighed Ellergest. “It’s better to get them there before they register, if they ever want to.”
“I-I was going to say that I wouldn’t really like to become a priestess…” Said Elizabeth. “I want to adventure like Blake and her friends as well!”
“I-I am not even sure about my own future but I can’t see myself becoming part of the church either…” Said Erdrich.
“Hm, expected responses from both of you. Be it your way then.” Sighed Ellergest.
“T-These are amazing news… My son is going to such an academy!” Cried my mother, she was freaking out and growing euphoric.
“Like this, his future does seem quite promising!” My father said with a smile.
“I couldn’t expect less from him, he works the hardest. Perhaps way too hard sometimes…” My grandmother added.
“Well, for now we should enjoy the food. We can talk more in the upcoming days.” Said Ellergest, quickly cutting the conversation from overextending. I was quite thankful was I was already getting bored and tired of it. without them annoying me any longer, I happily began to eat more, filling my hungry stomach. The act of eating and filling my stomach wasn’t something I could truly experience in my previous life. It is quite the bliss.
While I ate, I began to think about various things, especially my Status. Now that I got to Level 10 it should have changed a lot. Each level grants a substantial increase on Stats, and I can even acquire a Class and a Subclass now. I have never heard of people getting two Talents, so this is quite interesting. But I’ll have to wait until this feast ends and everyone go to sleep to final adress all of this, or perhaps tomorrow morning.
—–