Academy 2

West of Maruya City's outskirts

Vast stretches of mountains were blanketed in dense, flourishing woodland. Between the mountains and hills ran a winding two-lane carriage road. The white road twisted deep into the blue-green forest, and after just a few bends, its end could no longer be seen.

By afternoon, the sky was gloomy and dim. Carriages passed one another along the road; some were still heading into the forest, while most were rushing out. When acquaintances happened to meet and their carriage windows passed each other, the owners exchanged smiles and nods, impeccably polite.

Inside one of the small white carriages heading into the mountains, an ordinary-looking brown-haired youth kept looking from side to side at the passing carriages. The elaborate and magnificent crests on their compartments made his eyes almost unable to take them all in.

He wore a clean white silk shirt beneath a small gray cloth vest, paired with somewhat tight blue trousers and black boots. He looked much like an ordinary minor country noble—trying to chase fashion without realizing that his outfit was a mismatched, rustic mess.

Driving beside the youth was a balding middle-aged man in gray servant's clothes. The two were Anglie and Henderson, on their way to register at the academy.

As the carriage sped onward, Henderson carefully began explaining Port Academy's situation to Anglie. "Young Master Anglie, Madam asked me to remind you that unless a course is absolutely necessary, it would be best not to take it. Otherwise, the fees would be rather burdensome for you..." He did not finish, but his meaning was obvious.

Anglie nodded. "I understand. But can anyone get into Port Academy as long as they have money?"

Henderson licked his lips. "I have not heard of anyone with money being unable to get in. I suppose so."

Anglie nodded in understanding. This Port Academy was essentially like a private academy on Earth: pay the money, and one could enroll. Its teaching quality was probably nothing exceptional. Still, compared with spending every day eating, drinking, and playing in the castle, or fumbling about in complete confusion on his own and relying solely on the Chip, even shallow instruction would be far better.

"Also, academy entrance fees are not particularly high. Some small merchants' children study there as well. Those who cannot bear the high tuition usually gather around students who have already taken courses and pay a certain price to have those students teach them the knowledge and lessons. Compared with what they would pay an instructor, the price paid to students is much lower. So this is quite common in the academy. You may consider this method as well," Henderson kindly reminded him.

"Thank you. I'll consider it." Anglie smiled and said no more.

There was no need to guess. To gain knowledge from other students, one clearly needed more than money; he would likely have to bow and scrape, swallowing his pride to curry favor with others. That was plainly impossible for Anglie. Though the knowledge was valuable, with the Chip, he did not need to humiliate himself like that.

The carriage soon followed the road deep into the forest. At the end of the road stood an iron gate more than ten meters wide, with tall walls stretching up the mountainside on either side. The gates stood open. Outside lay a broad empty lawn with four or five small carriages parked upon it, bearing all kinds of crests and drawn by horses both costly and cheap. Well-dressed people periodically emerged from the iron gates, boarded their carriages, and drove away. Carriages entering the grounds pulled over and parked on the open field, and young boys and girls stepped out from their compartments. Most were lavishly dressed, with only a few wearing plain clothes. They were presumably here to register for admission. These youths ranged from twelve or thirteen to fifteen or sixteen years old. The academy apparently had no lower age limit.

After parking the carriage, Anglie followed Henderson through the iron gates. Like many of the other youths who had come to register, he looked around the academy with curiosity.

Beyond the iron gates stretched a broad expanse of green lawn. A row of white buildings five or six stories tall faced the entrance directly. A cobblestone path led from the gates to the entrance of the white buildings.

Two rows of bronze statues stood along both sides of the cobblestone path. Inscriptions were engraved upon their bronze pedestals.

As Anglie passed, he casually glanced at one of the statues. Its inscription read: Count Albert Burlington, donated twenty thousand gold coins to Port Academy in 1307.

Speechless, Anglie looked at the other bronze statues and discovered that every one of them commemorated someone who had donated money. The smallest donation was around ten thousand gold coins. He withdrew his gaze and did not look further, following Henderson straight into the first-floor hall of the white building.

In the center of the hall, which was decorated as magnificently as a banquet room, a middle-aged man with a small mustache sat behind a desk, using a quill pen to register the students who had come to enroll.

Anglie stood at the back of the line and looked ahead. There were still twenty or thirty people before him. Henderson, meanwhile, took Aunt Maria's token and went directly to find Sir Shiva. Those in front of and behind Anglie deliberately kept some distance from him, their eyes carrying faint disgust and contempt.

Before long, Henderson returned behind a golden-curled man. He directly led Anglie out of the line and through a side door in the hall.

After swiftly paying the fee, Anglie received the identity form assigned to him. It was a sheet of white leather paper bearing his student number, year, dormitory room, personal information, and various other details, along with a red seal showing that the fee had been paid. Once Henderson had finished the procedures, he said goodbye on his own and left.

Holding the identity form, Anglie followed its instructions into a building on the left to find his dormitory. The dormitory building was crowded, and many rooms stood open, with students constantly moving back and forth among them. Every floor was noisy. It reminded Anglie of the Apprentice Knights at his father's castle. But compared with those trainees, most students at this academy dressed far more lavishly. Every one of them moved and spoke slowly, with an air of deliberately affected elegance.

Of course, Anglie himself was no longer considered a noble. The Rudin Kingdom was now battered by wind and rain, facing the danger of collapse at any moment. His father had decisively chosen to leave his homeland for the Andes, clearly abandoning his title. So Anglie was now merely the son of an ordinary commoner. Fortunately, in the Andes Alliance, restrictions on clothing colors as symbols of status were not very strict. Commoners could wear ordinary colors as well. Otherwise, the white clothes he wore alone would have been a grave crime.

The rooms were all individual rooms. The academy had presumably considered that nobles would probably be unwilling to share a room with others.

The bedroom was only large enough for a wooden bed, a desk, and a chair. All the furniture was unpainted brown wood, and a faint woody fragrance filled the room.

Anglie put away his belongings and was about to change clothes.

"The new course schedule is out!" A boy's voice came from the stairwell outside. "It has just been posted outside Building Five. This time, the price is five gold coins per person. No overcharging allowed!"

"We each have to pay at least a hundred gold coins! How are we supposed to make our money back at only five coins per person!?"

"This is Lord Banner's price. If you have objections, go find him. I'm only passing on the message."

The stairwell immediately erupted into noise.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on Anglie's door. He walked over and opened it. A black-haired boy with a face full of freckles stood outside, dressed in noble clothing with a red base and yellow trim. "New here? You heard the price just now?"

Anglie nodded.

"Good. This is the new price personally set by Lord Banner. If you want to earn money by teaching commoner students, you must follow this rule. No problem?" the boy said quickly.

Anglie nodded again. "No problem." He had never planned to make money that way anyway.

"Good." The boy nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave. "Oh, right. Since you're so sensible, don't forget to pay for your classes according to the course list on the back of the information form."

Anglie closed the door, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. He picked up the information form from the desk and turned it over. A row of rather unclear class schedules was printed on the back. It looked as though they had been stamped on all at once rather than written by hand, which was why they were so indistinct. That boy's reminder had been timely indeed.

The courses and their corresponding prices were clearly printed above.

Music—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins. Painting—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins. Dance—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins. Horsemanship and combat—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins. Unarmed combat—two lessons, one hour total, 30 gold coins. Alliance history—two lessons, one hour total, 10 gold coins. Tactics—two lessons, one hour total, 50 gold coins. Swordsmanship—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins. Saber techniques—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins. Two-handed heavy weapons—two lessons, one hour total, 30 gold coins. Archery—two lessons, one hour total, 50 gold coins. Languages—two lessons, one hour total, 20 gold coins.

Each course consisted of ten lessons in total, with the next round of courses arranged one month later. Fees had to be paid on the same day.

Anglie frowned. Calculated this way, each course would cost at least a hundred gold coins to complete. That was a huge burden for him. This time, he had brought two High-Gold Cards with him. They represented two thousand gold coins. High-Gold Cards were gold cards issued to represent the amount deposited after gold coins were stored with the academy. They could be exchanged for the corresponding amount of gold coins at the academy logistics office at any time.