Giles Academy

"Giles Academy? Grandfather, you mean..."

"School?"

Borne instantly perked up.

He had long known that the Count was the vice dean of Giles Academy. He had been bound to go there sooner or later; he just hadn't expected the surprise to come so quickly.

As for such idiotic questions as his age and the start of term, Borne certainly wasn't going to ask.

With a grandfather who was the vice dean, was that even a problem...

"When do I go?"

"Tomorrow!"

"..."

Was this what one should expect from the vice dean? Wasn't using the back door so openly a little inappropriate?

Damn nepotism...

Then Borne held out his hand.

Count: ???

"My bag..."

Giles Academy stood in the western outskirts of Seventon.

This was the main road leading to the academy, and the surrounding area was an extremely bustling market. Massive crowds passed through every day, making it exceptionally lively.

Early in the morning, the shops on both sides of the street had already opened for business and begun their busy day. When they saw neighboring clerks or shopkeepers, they smiled and nodded in greeting or traded risqué jokes. Carriages and pedestrians crisscrossed the road. From time to time, wagons laden with goods pulled up before the shops, their drivers shouting loudly for workers to hurry over and unload the cargo.

Borne sat inside the carriage with a brand-new enchanted satchel hanging from his waist. The combination of its lines and leather was both artistic and beautiful. An inconspicuous corner at the lower right bore an embroidered symbol, and in Seventon, anything marked with that symbol could be sold for a high price.

Through the window, he could see the bustling streets, shops selling local delicacies from all over, and stores filled with strange items.

The Ioulaum House crest was unique in Seventon. No fool would come looking for trouble. Before the carriage even drew near, passersby consciously moved aside from afar. Only then did Borne realize that, despite having been in Seventon for so long, he had never properly taken in this "renowned" city.

As Borne marveled, he soon saw a massive white Wizard Tower through the carriage window. It was the academy's landmark building!

The academy had been built in a style that leaned toward Elf culture. Its tallest structure was the Dean's Wizard Tower. Centered around it was a vast complex of subsidiary buildings, arranged in an orderly yet layered fashion.

The money invested in constructing every Wizard Tower was unimaginable, and the precious magical materials involved could not be replaced with money.

Calling it an academy would be less accurate than calling it a small town within the city. At least tens of thousands of people lived around this academy!

For once, the Count sat in the carriage with Borne and briefly introduced him to the academy's basic situation.

But more than that, he wanted Borne to discover things for himself later.

"In your first year, you'll receive one thousand gold coins each month for living expenses. That will be more than enough for food, drink, and course fees. It will be halved in the second year. In the third year, you'll have to cover your own course fees," the Count said. "Learning resources will also be provided free of charge in the first year. After that, you can purchase them from the family at half price."

Borne could not help clicking his tongue inwardly.

This was the Ioulaum House tradition. Or rather, every noble heir was raised this way. The older a noble house's lineage, the harsher its training of descendants!

Adult tigers were driven from their packs to temper themselves. Though Borne was still young, he was already a professional, and an Arcanist at that. And one should not forget that he had first advanced as a martial professional. Other than upperclassmen, few lower-year students could suppress him.

The academy was a small society, and also a circle. Besides, the things he had learned over these past two-odd years needed somewhere to be put into practice...

An Arcanist was not only an outstanding spellcaster, but also a successful merchant. Otherwise, how could they afford to support those costly spell experiments?

In the early stages of spell experimentation, many materials could be acquired "for free" at the academy. One thousand gold coins a month was already more than what most people had. If, after more than two years of academy life, Borne still could not solve his own financial problems, then the Count would have to consider forcing Gordon to have another child. No amount of family wealth would be enough to "burn." After all, the later one got, the higher the cost of magical experiments became...

After explaining the "arrangements," the Count turned around and vanished from Borne's sight.

Before leaving, the Count tossed a bag of gold coins into Borne's hands.

Borne weighed it in his hand. He hadn't expected a thousand gold coins to be this heavy. He then put this month's "meal money" into his enchanted bag. To bring all his "family assets" along, Borne had specifically asked the Count to make him an enchanted bag with an enormous capacity.

"What a simple and brutal way of raising someone. What a pain... I don't know anyone here. This really won't be easy..." Borne sighed as he stood before the academy gates.

The academy's enrollment age was generally between nine and twelve. Due to years of training and abundant food, Borne was much taller than children his age. Even if he said he was nine, no one would doubt him.

Perhaps because he had lingered too long and was wearing academy robes, he soon drew strange looks from those around him. Helplessly, Borne lifted his feet and entered the academy.

Looking at the carefully trimmed trees lining both sides of the road, Borne began doubting himself. Had he agreed too quickly? He should not have enrolled so early. He should have laid low for another year or two before coming.

Though he had become an Arcanist, the only spell he truly knew was lighting a lamp. He had a body full of magic power but barely knew any spells. As for combat strength... it was merely "average." Although Netheril would be the safest place on Faerûn for the next several thousand years, that was only relative. What if some lunatic, or one of Ioulaum's enemies, came after him because they could not defeat his grandfather...

Having arrived in a new environment, Borne's wild imagination began running rampant again, giving him the illusion that everyone is out to get me.

"What if I run into some brain-dead idiot at the academy who likes stepping on other people's faces..."

"Or what if I accidentally make an enemy, and they suddenly say, 'Do not bully the poor youth,' then what?"

Watching Borne walk inside, the Count, observing in secret, quietly let out a breath. Letting him enroll early was a decision he had reached only after careful consideration.

Although Borne's magical talent was relatively low, he had been precocious since childhood. Not only could he endure hardship and remain patient, his thought process and comprehension were astonishing. He was neither arrogant nor impetuous. He was simply born to be an Arcanist.

What should have been five or six years of coursework had been largely mastered by Borne in less than three. He had even comprehended spellcasting on his own and successfully cast a spell, greatly exceeding the Count's expectations.

And that was without studying incantations or runes. He had merely listened to theory, formed a new magic circle from diagrams, and successfully cast it. It was even Primal Magic!

Even when Dean Concinnio was young, nothing like this had ever happened.

Such talent would have been considered pioneer-class talent even in ancient times!

He immediately realized that Borne should not be trained according to conventional methods. True geniuses all had their own ways of learning, their own ideas and lines of thought. What suited oneself might not suit them. This was something he had concluded over his decades-long academy career.

So the Count decided to throw Borne into the academy. It was not merely because the academy had abundant resources. More importantly, he could keep an eye on Borne and provide "corrections" at the appropriate times. Of course, he also wanted to see just how far Borne could go in a "free-range" environment...

Giles Academy was no small place.

As Netheril's first academy, it did not merely have Arcanists. It trained all kinds of professionals.

And according to the timeline in Borne's memories, its dean, Borne Concinnio Ioun, was an absolute legend!

He created the Concinnio Crystal, influencing the history of all Netheril!

People might not understand what the Concinnio Crystal was, but it had another name: the Ioun Stone!

It was the first magical item created by the people of Nether using the knowledge recorded in the Scrolls of Netheril!

The magic stone floating above the Count's head was an Ioun Stone. Each possessed various special powers!

They allowed the people of Nether to break free from their dependence on Elf magic and create magical items belonging to Nether's people themselves.

Not only that, Concinnio promoted trade with the Danzon Dwarves, directly changing the Elves' influence over Nether.

He formally distinguished between spellcasting mages and Arcanists. Of course, the Elves still did not recognize Arcanist as a profession.

Later, he overturned the traditional model of one teacher teaching several apprentices, established a new academy-based educational system, and gave even commoners at the bottom of society the chance to access extraordinary knowledge.

The teachers who had taught Borne had mentioned this legendary figure many times and regarded him as an idol!

He was practically the protagonist of an era. Borne thought of someone named Liu Xiu, a cheat-powered bastard.

Beyond the gates lay a lush forest. A white road stretched into the sea of trees, winding onward for who knew how far. This place was even larger than he had imagined.

As Borne ventured deeper, he could vaguely see a white obelisk in the distance through gaps in the trees, appearing and vanishing in the mist.

This was completely different from the Wizard Tower he had seen outside!

Visual deception!

There was clearly magic at work.

And as Borne went deeper, he could sense that the magical elements were becoming increasingly active!

So that was how it was. No wonder every spellcaster was so fond of Wizard Towers. This was only the surrounding area; the elemental energy inside the tower must be even more active. Active magical elements were immensely beneficial to spellcasters. It was somewhat like the blessed cultivation grounds in the novels from his previous life!

The farther he walked, the more crossroads appeared. Borne headed toward the Wizard Tower. After passing several intersections, the road became much wider, and there were more students on it.

Most wore robes similar to Borne's, mainly white and gray. Most gathered in groups of two or three. Some laughed and played, some discussed things with one another, and some reviewed and studied. It was somewhat like the universities in Borne's memories from his previous life.

It was long past the academy's enrollment period. Since Borne had joined midway through, he did not want to draw attention to himself, so he simply wandered around on his own.

Before long, he reached a place resembling a library. The people coming and going here moved with hurried steps, or pondered slowly, or wore delighted expressions. Some also looked disappointed.

Borne walked up the stairs. The library entrance was an arch supported by four marble pillars, carved with exquisite patterns.

The moment he entered, he saw a huge reading area in the middle. Above was a twelve-sided dome, and around it stood rows upon rows of bookshelves packed with all kinds of books. An ancient and noble academic atmosphere washed over him, making people instinctively lower their voices and slow their steps.

Borne walked to a shelf and casually pulled out a book. It was written in the language of the Kadamir Race, which had been exterminated over a decade ago. During his Enlightenment, more than ten languages and scripts had been instilled in him, including that of the Kadamir Race. However, this book was not extraordinary knowledge. It was more like a missionary rite praising ancestral gods.

Borne pulled out several more books and skimmed through them. They were either praising someone, recording mundane accounts, or even love letters. Naturally, there were also scripts that Borne could not recognize. In any case, it was all "useless" information.

Judging by the condition of the books, Borne concluded that these had been collected by Netheril from all over the continent. Some were copies, while others were even originals. Yet the information was disorderly, and some were written in languages no one even knew. As the vice dean of Giles Academy, the Count's knowledge was surely among the best. Even Borne, who had inherited the Count's Enlightenment, could not understand them, so there were likely even fewer people who could.

But Borne also noticed a problem. These were all "common" books. There might be books recording extraordinary knowledge, but they were probably very scarce. Either they had not been discovered, or no one could understand them. The books that truly recorded extraordinary knowledge should be somewhere else!

A magic academy without magic books? What kind of joke was that? The only explanation was that they were stored elsewhere, and perhaps the price for borrowing or reading them was different as well.

But Borne was not in a hurry. He would find out eventually. Right now, what he needed to do was familiarize himself with the "map."

Soon, Borne spotted his target in an inconspicuous corner. This person was not very old. From his clothes and mannerisms, Borne could tell he was a commoner who had spent several years at the academy. He was reserved and unassuming, but he had ideas and independent opinions. Due to his social class, he was used to making himself less noticeable.

This kind of person was best. A noble would not do. If Borne asked one in the morning, the entire academy would know about him by the afternoon.

Someone too lowly would not do either. Those who were bullied, and those who liked showing off, both attracted too much attention. And the chance of some melodramatic incident happening around them was extremely high.

Borne had no interest in playing that kind of "slapping faces" game either. It was fine if he was the one "slapping" people, but if someone "slapped" him, that would be utterly humiliating. Though the world's rejection of him had disappeared, still...

What if?

His luck did not seem to have improved either. Those "protagonists" loved slapping the faces of people with backing like him. "Vice dean" sounded impressive, but the backers of villainous characters seemed to always be people like that: they had some authority, but not enough to cover the sky with one hand, leaving the "protagonist" room to grow before eventually striking back...

Naturally, all of that was merely Borne wildly imagining things in his head...

The boy had brown hair, neatly groomed without a strand out of place. He was someone who cared about his appearance, but his gray robe had been washed until it was somewhat faded.

He should make a decent guide.

This was a commoner student, and an "upperclassman" at that. He perfectly met Borne's requirements for a guide. Most importantly, he was only a magic apprentice. Even if he harbored ill intentions, Borne could teach him how to behave on the spot.

Borne softened his footsteps and walked toward the young apprentice. Unexpectedly, before he even came close, the apprentice turned around and looked at Borne with a wary expression.

The apprentice frowned. He had clearly recognized Borne's noble identity.

Borne tried his best to reveal a friendly smile. He sat down across from the apprentice, took out ten gold coins from his robes, placed them before him, and said quietly, "I need to take up a little of your time. I'd like to know some information about the academy. As you can see, I'm also a student here, but I arrived late. I hope someone can show me around and help me get to know this place. This is merely a deposit. If the information satisfies me, I'll pay you double this amount."

The apprentice was initially dumbfounded, then stared at him in shock.

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