The Academy Opens

As the Hurricane Bandits incident continued to stir up attention, more and more people came asking about Drew, and more and more people came asking about his academy.

Drew, however, had holed up at home again to study alchemy, leaving everything to Joseph to manage.

Drew felt that taking on this follower had been a truly wise decision.

He could help Drew handle all the miscellaneous tasks, and although Joseph didn't seem particularly talented at cultivation, he appeared quite capable when it came to handling affairs. He could deal with everyone who came to see them with ease.

Joseph handled anyone who came to them with other matters. Today, he had compiled the names and information of those interested in studying at the academy and brought them to Drew.

At present, eighteen people were interested in studying at the academy. Ten of them were noble youths, all of whom had mage talent. Some were mage apprentices, while others were full-fledged mages.

Drew knew these people had good lineages and access to proper instruction. They had no need to worry about how to advance.

They were only coming to study so they could build a good relationship with Drew. In the eyes of these noble youths, strength wasn't the most important thing. A good network of connections was the foundation for getting ahead.

Some even became mages just to secure a more advantageous place in their social networks. Being nobles was their main occupation; being mages was merely a side occupation.

In this world, advancing to a high-level profession was a bottleneck that stopped most people.

As long as you had talent and worked hard, you could generally become a mid-level professional.

Just look at Karen. Even with a missing soul, he had managed to advance to the mid-level, but no matter what, he couldn't reach the high level.

That was why high-level professionals were rare. The high level was like a dividing line, splitting people into two groups.

High-level professionals rarely appeared in the ordinary world. They had their own circles and their own little worlds.

The mysterious worlds ordinary people knew little about were where they lived.

In the ordinary world, high-level professionals were generally affiliated with an organization. They were either key figures in various associations or people recruited by great nobles or the royal family to serve them.

For unaffiliated professionals out in the world, the mid-level was generally the ceiling.

And a mid-level professional like Drew, who could take on five opponents alone, was at the peak of the mid-level.

With no high-level professionals around, people like him were usually the best there was. Naturally, these noble youths wanted to get on his good side.

Another six people were like Joseph had been: low-level mages who had been stuck for a long time and couldn't advance.

They had heard that Joseph had advanced and confirmed that he had indeed done so by using a particular method.

They wanted to try their luck and see whether they could advance the same way Joseph had. They were the most enthusiastic, with the clearest goals and the purest motives.

The remaining two were actually ordinary people. One had been found to have mage talent but hadn't officially begun training yet, while the other was simply an ordinary person with no talent.

Drew casually crossed the last ordinary person's name off the list and said to Joseph, "There's no need to admit this person. What would someone with no talent be doing here?

"They'll never manage to cultivate anything in the end. Wouldn't that damage our academy's reputation?

"As for everyone else, no matter their reasons or intentions, as long as they mean well toward us, we can admit them all."

"But some of them aren't even here to study."

"It doesn't matter whether they study or not. We're not promising that everyone will succeed.

"There's no such thing as guaranteed success. Someone among them is bound to succeed. Just one successful case will become a living advertisement for us.

"The others don't matter. They can all serve as background.

"And what do you think the purpose of running this academy is?"

"To spread your method far and wide."

"No. I don't care whether it gets spread.

"First, you're passionate about education, and I'm helping you make that happen.

"If you want to devote yourself to education, you can't teach only good students. It's only natural to have both good and bad students.

"Only by teaching bad students can you discover the shortcomings in your teaching. If you have only good students, you can just give lessons and let them take care of the rest themselves. That wouldn't be a true educational endeavor.

"Education is for everyone.

"Second, although we aren't running this academy for the money, there's no reason to turn down easy money.

"Third, running an academy is also a way to expand our network. Schools are excellent places to make connections.

"Teachers and students, classmates and all that—they're the best kinds of connections.

"So many of these students are noble youths. If we ever need help with something, wouldn't it be easy for a student to help their teacher?"

"Understood. Our academy will open its doors to everyone who wants to learn.

"Should I go tell them when classes begin?"

"Go ahead. There's one more thing: treat everyone equally, but also distinguish between them."

"What does that mean?"

"On the surface, everyone must be treated equally.

"Benefits, rules, and everything else should be standardized and made public in writing.

"But you should still make distinctions between them. For example, you could set up a scholarship for whoever comes first in the exams.

"Also, treat everyone equally in class. You don't need to go into too much detail when teaching, and you shouldn't give special attention to some people or ignore others.

"After class, you can have your apprentices act as study assistants and interact with them. For the noble youths, send some of the more tactful ones

"who know what they should and shouldn't say. They're here to build connections and gather information. Tell them some unimportant things to keep them satisfied without revealing anything confidential.

"Build good relationships with them. A lot of things that are difficult to handle openly can be discussed privately through them.

"For those who genuinely want to learn, have your most capable apprentices spend time with them. They're here to study and won't care whether you get along with them. They want practical knowledge.

"As long as you can help them get what they want, they'll welcome you."

"All right, I understand. I'll divide the work among my apprentices."

"Also, find out more detailed information about them. Especially that ordinary person and this one." Drew pointed at one of the names on the list.

"Is there something suspicious about those two?"

"Why hasn't this ordinary person started training?

"Did they just discover his talent, or is there some other reason?

"Why would someone his age get tested for talent, and happen to be found to have it?

"And what about the other one, an eighteen-year-old low-level mage? His talent speaks for itself. Why would he come study with us?

"Wouldn't a high-level mage be scrambling to take on a child with that much talent?"

"You mean they're both here for ulterior motives?"

"Not necessarily, which is why I need you to investigate."

"Understood. I'll use my connections to find out.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go work out the opening date and course schedule."

"Mm, go ahead." Drew then returned to his research on Cure Potions.