"Senior Froya, how did it come to this?" Roland was at a loss.
Skord and Yvonne looked at her in surprise, equally bewildered by her sudden declaration.
"She's drunk. Yvonne, help her back to her room to rest." After a moment's thought, Roland gave Yvonne a meaningful look. "People are coming and going here. This doesn't look good."
"I... I'm not drunk!" Froya suddenly wrenched herself free of Yvonne's supporting hand and said indignantly, "I feel so cooped up. I want to walk around."
"How could we possibly let you wander around in this state?" Roland and the others exchanged helpless glances. "Fine, let's just get some air and take a walk after dinner."
Before long, they had left the lobby and were getting some fresh air on a spacious lawn outside.
This was an upscale neighborhood in the upper city, well policed and brightly lit.
Magically powered streetlights lined the streets, the magic crystals inside casting a soft yet bright glow that dispelled the darkness.
Night deepened, but the area remained lively. Now and then, they saw affluent citizens or traveling merchants out for a stroll, walking the streets or taking their dogs out, enjoying a lifestyle comparable to that of a modern metropolis.
The three accompanied Froya with a certain helplessness, left with little choice but to expound their grand views on international affairs and economic development and living conditions in other planes. The discussion quickly broadened to class divisions and inequality, before concluding with the meaning of life and philosophical thought.
"Actually, outside Atrelin, in other corners of this world, and across still more continents, worlds, and planes, war, unrest, disease, hunger, and poverty are the eternal themes." Froya really did seem to have drunk too much. Her thoughts leaped rapidly from topic to topic as she launched into sweeping narratives she had never mentioned before. "Scenes like this might be far rarer and more precious than you imagine."
That was certainly true. Even Skord, who came from nobility, understood that the lower city presented an entirely different, darker picture.
"I was an orphan from a war-torn region. Being able to pass the entrance exam for the Mage Tower and study Arcana was already an incredible stroke of luck.
"Sophia was an orphan just like me. We grew up together and were as close as sisters. But the biggest difference between us is her ambition to keep climbing. Who knows when she'll ever be satisfied?"
Froya took off her glasses, rubbed the space between her brows, and sighed softly.
The evening breeze stirred her twin ponytails. Despite her small body and childish face, she seemed to radiate a profound weariness.
"We once dreamed of achieving something in Arcana and producing a breakthrough together. But I never imagined she'd suddenly run off as if possessed to become some agent and cultivate stars.
"You probably don't quite understand how that feels. But Roland, Skord, imagine the two of you going your separate ways. One stays in the Mage Tower, while the other goes out to become an adventurer or an unaffiliated mage, even staining his hands with blood for money and wealth, doing all sorts of things against his conscience. That should give you some idea."
"Surely it's not that serious?" Skord asked in surprise.
"Don't just look at the glamorous side of being a star. Plenty of stars actually have backgrounds as arcanists and only perform on the side!
"For instance, Lord Ovesto is also a famous musician, but that's his hobby. If you only see the surface and impulsively run off to make music, do you think it'll be that easy?"
"Well..."
Skord hesitated.
Roland, however, heard something more in her words.
Behind its glittering facade, Atrelin's entertainment industry apparently harbored plenty of filth, too.
She was worried about Sophia and Polina.
"Sophia used to be an Arcana prodigy, too. I thought she was certain to shine in some field. Ah..." Froya sighed.
"What's that supposed to mean, Froya? Are you pitying me? Anyone who didn't know better would think we'd fallen into depravity while you'd already won some grand prize."
Suddenly, Sophia's voice came from beside them. Her trench coat was as crisp as ever, her appearance stylish and striking.
The woman behind her, wrapped in a coat and wearing sunglasses, was naturally Polina.
There seemed to be attendants and guards following at a distance, but they did not approach.
"I'd say you're the truly pitiful one, stuck in the Mage Tower, drawing that measly fixed salary every month. You're still only a junior teaching assistant, and you'll never manage to win a proper award in your entire life."
"Sophia!" Froya ground her teeth. "Why do you always haunt me like some restless ghost?"
"This isn't your private property. Can't we come here for a walk?"
Sophia and Polina had actually come out looking for Roland, hoping to take the opportunity to ask for his contact information. Seeing the group chatting here had infuriated them.
"Senior Froya won't stay like this forever. With me, Roland, around, she'll at least have new research projects."
A flat-chested little girl stood no chance against a busty, mature woman. Roland hurried to step in and back her up, lest his senior end up the loser yet again.
"Oh, please, Junior Roland. I already know you're a first-rate genius. But have you ever considered that it's precisely the existence of geniuses like you that blocks everyone else's path? No matter how hard Froya and the others work, they'll never catch up to you.
"You've already brought out Oracle. What else is there for you to do besides delve deeper into this field?
"And if you keep delving into this field, won't all those Arcana drudges just end up working for you?"
Her words shook everyone. Even Roland could not help wavering.
Indeed, the world of Arcana was that cruel.
It even stirred a faint worry within him. Was the world of Arcana destined to be a breeding jar of venomous creatures, slaughtering one another until only the strongest remained?
But Roland's thoughts raced, and he soon grasped the crucial point.
"Not everyone is as ambitious as you, Ms. Sophia."
"Ambitious?" Sophia paused.
"Yes. What you say sounds reasonable, but when talent and ambition aren't too far apart, people feel much more balanced. There's no need to be so extreme and make it sound as though it has to be one or the other.
"Besides, my Arcana is very different from everyone else's."
"Tch. How is it different? Isn't it still winner-takes-all?"
"Of course it's different. When I work on Arcana, I only pursue blue-ocean, positive-sum opportunities, not red-ocean, zero-sum or even negative-sum competition.
"I've never wanted to be some academic superstar or god of scholarship-a king of show-offs. If I'm going to be anything, I'll be the founder of a new discipline-the patriarch of show-offs!
"There are so many frustrated people in this world that I can't promise anything for all of them yet. But at least in the Runes School, when I become Legendary, everyone will have achievements to their name-a chance to flex-and everyone will win awards and reap real benefits!
"I'll keep my word. That is my path to becoming Legendary-and showing off!"
Froya, Sophia, Skord, Yvonne, and Polina were all stunned by what they heard.
They sensed an indescribably magnificent spirit emanating from Roland, as though a brilliant light had shot from the crown of his head into the heavens, illuminating the dark night sky.
At that moment, they all believed in the light once more.
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