Will Knight Academy

Colin cut into his steak with a knife, then speared a piece of meat with his fork and chewed it. The steak was only medium-rare, tender and juicy. After swallowing, Colin picked up his glass for a drink, then reached into the bamboo basket for some bread.

Smith and Linda were also busily dealing with the steaks on their plates while chatting.

"How have things been at the Ministry of Finance lately? I've heard some bad news." Linda cut up a small piece of steak but did not immediately put it into her mouth. Instead, she turned to Smith with a worried look.

"It's not just the Ministry of Finance. Most departments in City Hall will be laying people off. They'll remove the incompetent ones to reduce spending. The Marquis's territory has been in poor financial shape for years. This is a reform ordered by the Marquis." Smith nodded, then said with a faint smile, "Don't worry. I'm young and capable. I won't be one of the ones cut."

"That's true. Our Smith is an outstanding graduate of Will University." Linda broke into a smile and reached out to pat Smith's head, but he turned aside to avoid her hand.

"Honestly, none of you are as cute as you were when you were little." Linda grumbled before popping the piece of steak on her fork into her mouth.

The Marquis in question was Marquis Kent, an imperial hereditary marquis with vast lands. Will City was one of his territories.

Colin's eyes flickered. Smith was far too confident. With government offices laying people off, he might really get caught up in it. If that happened, our family's finances would get even worse. How annoying.

"Colin, how are your studies going? Have your grades improved?" While Colin was lost in thought, the fire reached him. Smith turned and asked.

"About the same." Colin helplessly forked up a piece of beef, put it in his mouth, and answered.

"Ah." Smith sighed. It was not really Colin's fault. Their family had not produced a transcendent being for many generations. Their bloodline and family inheritance had both declined to an extremely low level; it was practically like starting from nothing. Colin's grades at school were neither high nor low, and he was already working very hard.

"Keep it up, Colin. You'll definitely become an important knight of the Empire someday." Linda quickly stepped on Smith's foot beneath the table, then gave Colin a blazing smile as she encouraged him.

Smith's foot hurt, but he did not show it on his face.

"Yeah, keep it up." He nodded.

"Mm." Colin nodded as well, then lowered his head and focused on his steak. The burden on his shoulders felt terribly heavy.

After dinner, the two brothers pushed back their chairs, patted their backsides, and went upstairs, leaving Linda alone to clean up the mess.

The next day.

Colin picked up his schoolbag, fastened his Training Greatsword at his waist, said goodbye to Linda, and headed out for school.

The Welsh Ministry of Finance was currently laying people off, so Smith could not afford to be late. He had already left, while Linda, being a House Tutor, still had plenty of time before work.

Will Knight Academy was located on Wright Street. Its students came from the middle class: impoverished nobles, wealthy merchants, and the children of rich farmers.

Most students possessed bloodline power, though some did not. No matter how impoverished a noble family became, it could still pass down a thin bloodline. The children of wealthy merchants and rich farmers were another matter.

That was why many wealthy merchant and rich farmer families hoped to marry into impoverished noble families, or bring impoverished nobles into their own families through marriage, in order to improve their bloodlines.

Students without bloodlines would be no more than physically strong after graduation. Those with bloodlines, however, often became transcendent beings after graduating.

If they were nobles, they would immediately become Lifetime Knights of the Empire, barely stepping into the circle of prominent nobility. The children of wealthy merchants and rich farmers, meanwhile, mostly became adventurers.

Of course, some nobles chose to become adventurers after becoming Lifetime Knights of the Empire. Danger often came with opportunity, and many great knights had begun as adventurers.

Will Knight Academy had a long history and covered a vast area. There were teaching buildings, training grounds, all kinds of artistic statues and oil paintings, as well as extensive green spaces.

The school's goal was not to train warriors who only knew how to fight, but orthodox knights developed in every respect. Its courses covered literature, art, mathematics, and etiquette.

There were around a thousand students at the academy, and the program lasted six years. Colin was a second-year student in Class Five, which had more than thirty students.

Before long, Colin saw many schoolmates dressed in the same uniform as him. Like rivers flowing into the sea, they converged upon Will Knight Academy.

Walking among the crowd, Colin was completely inconspicuous. He passed through the grand academy gates, entered the second teaching building, and walked into the classroom marked with a "5" by the door.

The classroom was large and simply arranged. At the front was a blackboard, with a lectern before it. Behind that stood rows of separate desks and chairs.

The seats were already full. Colin went to his own seat, stuffed his schoolbag into the desk, and leaned his Training Greatsword against it.

"Colin, something big is happening today." Bill Pitt, the student beside him, leaned over slightly and spoke with some excitement.

He had brown hair and a rather handsome face, lightly made up. Though he wore the school uniform, his accessories were somewhat extravagant. His voice was gentle, and his mannerisms were slightly effeminate.

At Will Knight Academy, the distinctions between nobles, wealthy merchants, and rich farmers were obvious, with a clear hierarchy. Put simply, nobles looked down on wealthy merchants and rich farmers, while wealthy merchants looked down on rich farmers.

Because of the way he spoke and behaved, Bill was distant from most noble children. Yet he also looked down on the children of wealthy merchants and rich farmers, so he had very few friends. Colin was one of the few.

Colin caught a faint scent of perfume on Bill. Many noble children had the habit of wearing perfume, but Bill's scent was unusual.

Colin did not know much about it, but he could make a basic judgment. Bill's perfume was expensive, and it might even have been intended for women.

"What big thing?" Colin asked curiously. Bill had few friends, but he was extremely well-informed, the sort who knew everything. If he was this excited about something, it was definitely no trivial matter.

"Our Bloodline Potions will be handed out during the first class today," Bill said excitedly.

Colin's eyes lit up. As students of a knight academy, his classmates were all sharp-eyed and keen-eared. They stared at Bill in surprise, then became excited as well.

That included even the students without bloodlines.

Bloodline Potions were one of the benefits offered by Will Knight Academy. The biggest reason for the expensive annual tuition was the Bloodline Potion.

A Bloodline Potion had a chance of raising one's bloodline by one level. Students without bloodlines, meanwhile, received potions that improved their personal attributes as compensation.