Chapter 17: A Social Expert
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As Mia hugged her hammerhead doll to sleep, Baiyi was just sitting on the floor discussing the story he had heard earlier with the rest of the Voidwalkers. That group of problematic people were all uncharacteristically silent when they were listening to Mia's story. It was really rare for all of them to be quiet which was why they were now in high spirits exchanging their thoughts on this matter.
"Based on Mia's description, I can tell that Tisdale must be a student from the Golden Rose class. That class is the equivalent to an elite class only for outstanding students. The teaching method differs as well from the normal class. The teachers will specifically design lessons based on each of the student’s innate aptitude as well as their specialities. For the most part, the students in this class are allowed more freedom compared to the ordinary students," the Apprentice explained.
"There are a total of 7 classes that are similar to this class. All 7 of them are named based on flowers and plants. The students of these classes will each have an emblem on their collar showing the classes that they belong to," he continued.
A golden rose? Baiyi was quickly reminded of that elegant beauty that he encountered by the lake. That girl also had an outstanding appearance, gracefulness, a head of long golden hair and a golden rose pinned on her collar. Could she be Tisdale?
Baiyi tamped down his suspicion, he decided not to tell the rest of the Voidwalkers as he continued listening to their discussion.
"So, does this mean that all we have to do is to find a way to get Mia into that exclusive class? Erm.. but will it matter if the grade is different?" another Walker queried.
"Grade does not matter at all in this Golden Rose class. There's no segregation based on grade in all of these elite classes. Students that are of different grades will study together until they graduate. They will be grouped together in numbered batches when they graduate… for example, the third batch or the fourth batch, " the Apprentice answered again.
"Well, it’s just a small matter if we want to enroll Mia-chan in that class. I don't think it would be hard at all. Apprentice, you know the current president of the Celestial Fortress Academy don't you? Was he one of your students or something? Wouldn't it be easy for us to just go find him and ask him to place Mia in that class?" the Walker, who also had the nickname the Charlatan, said.
Sigh.. Why does this fellow always come up with such crafty ideas? Isn't this like sneaking in through the back door? Annoyed, Baiyi could not help but said, So, are you trying to say that MY STUDENT, or we could also say that the student of all of us 33 Walkers, have to enter a class through such a shady method? Even if we don't take Mia's thought into consideration, I, myself, will not do something so disgraceful.
The rest of the Walkers were protesting one after another as well. Despite the fact that they were of different backgrounds with different opinions or the fact that their minds were horribly twisted by Earth’s cultures, they still retained their sense of pride and dignity as a supernatural being. By all means, such an underhanded tactic would not gain their approval at all.
Without wasting another moment, the Charlatan immediately got banned from speaking any further as everyone else continued their discussion.
"Taking Mia's innate aptitude into account, even if Sir Hope is by her side, the probability of her entering the Golden Rose Class directly is practically zero. The only possible way is to make sure she placed first in the upcoming academy test that is going to take place in another two months time. This is also a plausible method for her to enter the Golden Rose Class," the Apprentice suggested.
The first place? This is... a little too easy don't you think so? With my guidance, this is like shooting fish in a barrel. Even if she's still a bit slow in mastering the Magical Formation but something as simple as dealing with tests and Magical Runes would be a walk in the park, Baiyi thought confidently.
"It's not as easy as you think! Yes, the end-of-term written test is easy. Anyone could get full mark as long as they pay more attention during class. The main problem here lies in the practical test, also known as the actual combat test. This is the main way used to differentiate the ranking among the students. Our Celestial Fortress Academy is not a school that focuses solely on theory, instead, we place great emphasis on the combination of both theory and practicality," The Apprentice corrected Baiyi's thought immediately.
Do you really think that you are a vocational school now? The students have to even learn manual operation after they have learned the theory? Tsk.. Why did you guys have to make it so difficult? So what now? Are you going to let the students battle it out in a ring next?
"Well, of course! The Mana Course students will battle among themselves and the Physics students will undergo the same thing too! It's simple and violent but it is an effective method," the Apprentice claimed.
Tsk tsk tsk, you really do that? Then how is Mia from the Soul Armature Course supposed to fight? Will I be going up to the ring and battle with the other students now? Baiyi challenged.
"Erm not really, not to that extent. The Soul Armature Course and the Mana Course are actually two parallel courses. A sorcerer can be a Soul Armature Practitioner at the same time and it will not contradict each other. When that time comes, of course Mia will be the one going into the ring to battle it out herself," the Apprentice stated.
As a result, after listening to his words, many Walkers could not help but interject, "Ahhh.. now this is a little tricky." Even Baiyi had the same thoughts.
It was not because Mia’s innate capabilities is at the Intermediate Level. Since she was only a sophomore student, there would not be a huge difference between her and her opponent because there was no doubt that her opponent would be a sophomore as well. The tricky part was that Mia had no magical tools at all. And that was where the main problem lay.
When two sorcerers are locked in a battle, it is very unlikely for them to have a huge gap when it comes to their innate capabilities, so the main factor that would decide one's victory or defeat lay in one's Mana and body gear as well as magical tools such as scrolls and potions. For two Intermediate Sorcerers, the gap between the Mana could be disregarded since both of them would possess more or less the same amount of Mana anyway.
That was why magical tools would be the determining factor in victory or defeat. It would be too easy for an Intermediate Level student that was equipped in full gear to inflict damage on Mia but how about the other way around? Erm... all she had was just a hammerhead doll... and what else? A basket -? What use were they?
We need to have magical equipments or MONEY! Baiyi announced directly without mincing his words. I remember that there are a few of us who died leaving behind great fortunes or a treasure vault or something right? Who are those people again?
"I left behind a treasure vault that could feed a whole country. It contained an inexhaustible supply of treasures," the Archmage offered.
Well, I'm sure your past life as an Emperor must be loaded with tons of money but... Don't you think that in order to open up that vault that is more than 5000 years old, we would have to study archaeology first?
"When I sensed that I was about to be sacrificed, I decided to give away all my belongings to the Church..." the Paladin interjected suddenly.
Urghhh you useless creature! Just scram!
"I have countless of weapons in my vault. There's even the Commander's Horn that could command the Abyss' Devil Battalion," the Devil responded helpfully.
Well, that sounds quite interesting BUT how do you expect us to enter an infinite abyss to unlock the vault of the lord of the abyss?
"I have left behind an innumerous number of underground cellar in order to escape from humans. Although I can't say I have much money inside but I do have a vast amount of raw ingredients of the Undead element. If you use that to exchange for money, the amount that you'd get would probably allow you to buy a small country," the Lich claimed out of nowhere.
Excuse me? I'm sure your cellars would have already been emptied out by the Church, don't you think so? Well even if there is still a few left, how am I supposed to handle those dangerous things?
The rest of the Walkers offered up their fortunes one by one. It turned out that almost every one of them had left behind some sort of hidden treasures or legacy. Sigh, are you guys.. a hamster or something? Why do you guys like to hide your stuff so much? Unable to restrain himself, Baiyi jeered.
Instead, this group of hamsters became defensive and retorted back, "You as an Earthling should know better than us the importance of having a saving. We don't have banks here, nor do we have credit cards! What else were we supposed to do?"
Alright alright...! They did have a point there. But still, they were still left with one problem. Most of the vaults they had were either too old to trace back or situated in a miniature private realm where there was absolutely no way for Baiyi to enter.
In the end, it was the Walker, with nickname the Caveman, who came up with the most practical suggestion, "Well, I used to have a cave that I dug out in the mountain. In the cave, there is an abundance of preserved meat and carcasses of the animals that I have hunted."
W-wait.. WHAT? What the hell should I do with preserved meat? And, don't you think that all these meats would already be decomposed after so many years? Besides, what do you expect me to do with the carcasses of these anim... Wait a minute! If it was animals that the Caveman hunted, then could it be that these animals are actually something worth collecting like mammoth, Behemoth and who knows, maybe even WarGreymon or Metal Garurumon (T/N: in reference to Digimon)? If it really was this kind of animals, then even the skeleton itself could fetch a fortune!
As expected from the person who was given the nickname Huskar the Sacred Warrior (T/N: in reference to DOTA 2)! As one of the most lethal Strength Heroes, there was no doubt that his collection would be impressive as well. But, then again, are you sure that it would be safe by simply digging a hole and then hiding it there? Aren't you scared that they would be stolen by other people?
"No, not at all! There are many dragons living near that mountain so usually nobody would go near it. Whoever wants to steal my collection would have to beat my giant lizard first," the Caveman smirked proudly.
FNMDX! 1 ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? Digging a cave around a freaking dragon clan? Why don't you make your life easier by digging a cave next to the demons' lair instead?!
It looked like none of their treasure would come in handy after all...
Sigh, alright guys! I guess there's absolutely no inheritance that could be of use to us then. Well, in that case, we'll have to earn the money by ourselves. But of course, I'm sure this would be easy for us, Baiyi announced to the rest.
"No doubt! With the knowledge that I have, money is just a number," a Walker with the title the Alchemist responded. In fact, he was not at all bragging. Yeah! That's true! With the nickname God's Right-Hand (T/N: in reference to God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand), he's basically a walking money printing machine.
"Please don't use a nickname from a movie for me. I find it pretty weird to be honest. You might as well call me God's Alchemist! I think I'm quite worthy of that title actually," the Alchemist responded.
Tsk tsk tsk, what a narcissist! So, can you create human body now as well? Or perhaps, a real Philosopher's stone?
"Errr... I.. I'm sorry.. I was too hasty with my words," the Alchemist cried as he fled covering his face.
Alright fine. Even though he can't create the Philosopher's stone at least he can create pills and potions that could fetch quite a hefty sum of money. But then again, we have one major problem. How are we supposed to get the start up money for this project then? Wanting to build an alchemist workshop would require a large investment! And I don't think we have the time to look for investors, do we?
Guys! We barely have two pennies to rub together. We could only do things that doesn't require any investment. Let's think about it seriously and come up with something practical, shall we? Baiyi said.
As expected, the suggestions he received were all absurd.
"Robbery!"
"Swindling!"
"Theft!"
"Blackmailing!"
"Crowdfunding!"
"Writing web novel!"
"Bank loan!"
"Get a sugar daddy!"
What's with these modern suggestions? AND WHO THE HELL CAME UP WITH THAT LAST SUGGESTION?