Chapter 477
Chapter 477
A white-haired horse with a fat, ugly young man in the saddle was approaching the best school in the empire – the order funded and supported by the government. Not only Elsa and Juno study there, but also the future deceased Rose and Roman.
The territory of the order is more than ten times larger than Cernos. It is fenced with five-meter walls and divided into three zones: external, internal and central, strictly separated from each other. They can be compared to elementary, middle and high school. 5000 students study in the external zone, 1500 – in the internal zone and 500 – in the central zone. As a rule, in 99% of cases, students start learning from the external zone. Within six years, they need to earn merit points, pass exams and open their way to a new zone. The higher the zone in which the student has passed the final exam, the more roads will be open to him in Rosarrio. However, only 10% of students manage to enter the central zone, and only every tenth of them successfully passes the final exam.
Since Kyon was given 1 year for everything, the zero general allowed him to start training immediately from the central zone, but in the next month he will have to pay not only for living in a house for a year in advance, but also for training. He hasn’t started yet, but he’s already in debt.
Kyon remembered the words of the zero general: “You will study in the guise of Dick”. He could not decide how to treat such a condition. Initially, he planned to study in the guise of Lovr, whom no one except Juno knows (it’s useless to hide from the girl anyway, because there is a spiritual connection between them). On the other hand, the personality of the fat man has an impressive passive skill “+100% to the earnings of darkness”. And this is usually tight.
However, this condition looks insignificant against the background of the others: a 95% penalty for earning “merit points”! This means that any achievement of Kyon will be divided by 20. Have you completed twenty tasks? Get points only for one! Have you passed 20 exams perfectly? I see only one exam here! Have you bet 1000 points with a student and won? Get a measly 50 points, you jerk! Or lose, as in 20 winning arguments!
Kyon has only one task – to pass the final exam, as a result of which he will become a direct disciple of the empress and a representative of Rosarrio in general. However, access to the main exam is closed until he passes the test in the rest of the subjects perfectly. But this is a trifle. The important thing is that the very attempt to pass the final exam costs not 100 thousand points, like others, but a million points! Ten times more expensive! And for the whole process he is given not 6 years, but 1 year. It turns out that the task was complicated for the messenger of the goddess by more than 1200 times relative to other students!
But that’s not all. Lovr is not allowed to take part in duels, but this is the main way to redistribute resources among students. It is also forbidden to buy points for money, however, no one has such an opportunity. Naturally, it is also strictly prohibited to engage in extortion or any other similar methods. No loopholes. At the same time “merit points” are the only currency in the order.
However, Kyon received a bracelet with a powerful protective technique from the zero general.
…
A little later, Kyon showed the formation at the checkpoint, and he was immediately escorted into the hall for registering new students and imposed the formation of a student of the order of «the central zone». He was given the address of the house where he would live for the next year, and assigned an escort: a young boy. The whole procedure went so quickly and simply that it was hard to believe. No entrance tests, no competition and no hate from others. It’s like he’s been studying here for a long time. Here it is, the force of authority.
On the way to his new home, Lovr decided to gather information: «Erema, how about telling me about the order for a modest fee of one hundred thousand spheres?» – he asked, holding out the ring.
The young guy checked the ring and opened his mouth in amazement. The hidden contempt on his face was quickly replaced by delight: «Sir, I will gladly tell you everything!»
«Fine. First, tell me what is the fastest way to earn points?»
From Erema’s explanations, Kyon found out that the most profitable way is to pass “the test pavilion”. It opens once a week. Anyone who wants to earn points passes mini-exams, where the role of the examiner is performed by a formation that asks multiple-choice questions. The more correct answers a student can give in the allotted time, the higher position he will take in the table of records, and the more points he will get.
The second way to earn points quickly is to conduct duels (which are forbidden to him), bets and deals. All this is officially controlled, so it’s not so easy to evade payment in case of defeat. It sounds promising.
All other options looked rather weak against the background of the first two.
«I see. Are there any other events besides “the test pavilion”?»
«Yes, sir. Once a year, a tournament is held for the students of the central zone. There are four months left until the next one. The rules are constantly changing, but they always give a lot of points for the first places. In addition, the participants who are in the top thirty will have the right to fight with each other, and the four leaders will be accepted by the empress as junior disciples!»
«Hmmm…» – Kyon chuckled thoughtfully. From the lips of the boy, “the empress’s junior disciple” sounds as if he is talking about the winners in life, about the great masters. It is clear that such people have a high weight in the empire. As for the older students, they are absolutely amazing personalities like Stein and Asagi. However, the zero general offered Lovr to become a direct disciple! The first in history. It will be beneficial to become such a weighty and unprecedented person with almost limitless possibilities.
«I see. And what can you tell about the local inhabitants?»
Erema enthusiastically told the fat man about the most popular persons of the order. He started with the director. It turns out that the authoritative personality of the head of the school is covered with a veil of secrets. Few people have heard his name or seen his face. It may seem that the order does not have a director at all, but there is someone who makes decisions about some issues.
Then he told about famous teachers and masters, among whom Kyon liked only the master of formacy, Julius Russell, who also holds a high position in his profession in the government, and the master of alchemy, Feng Russell, who is almost as influential as Albert Clinton.
Then the young man talked about the students. The first, as expected, was the name of Rose: the son of the patriarch Monty Valentine (1). The pride of the order and the most popular guy among girls: handsome and elegant, like a flower of the same name, noble and polite, studies well, and also has a huge talent. If he had been born 5 years earlier, he would have already overtaken his older brother Stein and would have become a patriarch in the future. And the personality of his girlfriend corresponds to his position.
Speaking of Elsa, as expected, she is the brightest star in the order, almost a living embodiment of the goddess: an indescribable beauty and an excellent student, an all-round genius, an example to follow and admiration of students and even teachers. She is the best formacist and alchemist after the masters Julius and Feng. Besides, she is also a powerful fortune teller. Her reputation is spotless, except for one thing…
Then Erema reluctantly told about Roman – the son of patriarch Horace Clinton. He’s such a bully. He looks like a bully, and behaves like a bully, in addition, he is also damn talented. No one wants to mess with him, because at the slightest sign of an insult, he can beat almost any student to death without consequences.
«Everyone despises the scoundrel especially for the fact that he bought a wedding with Lady Juno for Tokens! In four months, she will officially become his wife. He could not win the heart of the goddess by his own efforts, so he resorted to a vile method! How low! He took advantage of his father’s influence!» – the young man muttered through clenched teeth with special hatred.
When Erema mentioned the little devil, the reason for his hatred of Roman became obvious: he is a fan of the girl! As it turned out, the two Stone sisters have their own fan base, as Kara once had in Cernos, even though they are both already actually engaged. Although Juno arrived only a year ago, the number of her fans is not inferior to those of Elsa. The reason is not only in the unearthly beauty of the angel and not in her huge talent for development, but in the amazing way she earns money.
When Kyon heard the answer, a smile played on his lips: {So is this how you feed your “Divine lotus of development” in your soul? Which I will soon rip off… Not bad.}
«There are three more students worth mentioning: Timothy, Clementine, and Seraphim. They appeared in the order a little more than six months ago and immediately entered the central zone without even passing the exams. Obviously they are supported by the Russells. If the rumors are true, then they are exchange students from Saturn, but even so this does not explain their monstrous talent!»
{Dark and light ones!} – Kyon guessed right away.
«Two girls, by the way, are twins, and besides, sworn enemies. They say that the patriarch Asagi Hunter is interested in them (3)! It’s better not to stand in their way.»
{It is clear that Asagi wants to enlist support for the future.} – Lovr suggested.
Erema could not say anything useful anymore. All this time they were walking along a gravel path, but they did not meet anyone. As it turned out, everyone was in class at the time. Small two-storey houses similar to each other were scattered throughout the territory of the central zone. They had angular roofs, like cottages, and were surrounded by a fence. As the attendant explained, not only students, but also teachers live in them. Each house has its own protective measures. You can hire guards and servants if you have “merit points”. In the very center of the territory there is a wonderful park with flowers, statues, a lake with wildlife and reading benches. In the distance, a boulder as huge as a rock could be seen, not far from it was a white building with columns in the Greek style: the test pavilion. On the opposite side was a three-story rectangular school building, where free lectures and exams are held. Right now everyone is there. It is worth noting that each zone of the order has its own school and attractions.
«Here is your house at number three hundred thirty-three. Good luck.» – Erema left with a bow.
Kyon went to the door in the fence and applied the formation to the circle. The protective formation formed a temporary gap, and the door swung open. The newcomer got inside. After a short inspection, only two words came to mind: comfortable and cozy! There are two rooms in the basement: a training room and one for experiments, apparently in alchemy and formacy.
Comfort is comfort, but the primary goal of Lovr in the order is to earn “merit points”. He needs to earn more than 1 million, or to be more precise, 20 times more, since 95% burn out upon admission. Only 20 million. Any student from such a number would immediately exclaim – “it is absolutely impossible!”
As soon as Kyon sketched out the first points of the action plan, there was a ringing outside. The lectures ended. And a minute later, the screams of the students were heard.
«The great Master Zheng has arrived from Saturn! He wants to meet Lady Juno!» … «Master Zheng?! The fourth legendary master?!» … «It can’t be! Isn’t there too much honor for some girl?!» … «Some girl?! Come here, you bastard, I’ll show you who the girl is here…»
Kyon raised an eyebrow in amazement: «Is Master Zheng interested in Juno? It will be interesting!» – with a slight smile, he left the house and went to the place where all the students of the central zone of the order flock. He was going not only to enjoy the spectacle, but also to explore the situation, as well as to see firsthand how his «investment» earns money for itself, thereby becoming an even more valuable «investment».