Chapter 125

Congratulations on officially enrolling in the Sairisi Academy—this was a sentence spoken to Gao De by a student from the Potion Department after he handed in the final 3 magic clams.

And on the way from the Potion Department to the Committee, Gao De experienced once again the feeling of being watched by other students.

In these gazes, there was surprise, envy, appraisal, and confusion; all sorts of emotions were mixed in.

Although in his past life, every time exam results were announced, other classmates would look at him with such gazes, and Gao De was long accustomed to it.

But he found that in a different world, enjoying this "baptism" of gazes once again actually didn't feel bad.

As his thoughts drifted, Gao De had already arrived in front of the Committee's small building.

It is currently working hours, and the Committee's main gate is wide open, with no defenses set up.

After taking a deep breath, Gao De stepped into the gates of the Academy Committee once again.

This time, he is heading to the administrative hall located on the first floor of the Committee.

One can see that in the spacious and bright hall, there are several wooden counters, two of which are currently open.

Several senior students are queuing up honestly at the counters.

The student at the very front of the line hands their identity badge and a slip of paper into the counter.

After the staff member at the counter takes the identity badge and the slip, they begin to check them carefully.

They first put the slip into an alchemical creation on the side that resembles a "money counter," then press the lever at the very top, and the slip comes out from another opening.

"Dian, Potion Knowledge course passed, 2 credits earned, now recorded..."

The staff member also "swiped" the identity badge in that alchemical machine, then returned the identity badge to the student.

"Next."

"Tailun, breakthrough to mid-stage 1st-circle magic user, 7 credits rewarded, now recorded..."

"Pilai, Potion Studies third-stage course passed, 3 credits earned, now recorded..."

After the senior student Pilai, who was in front of Gao De, confirmed that he had earned 3 credits, Gao De could clearly feel him let out a sigh of relief.

"There are only eight days left in this academic year, and you only just gathered this year's 10 credits now," the staff member at the counter, an old man with a full head of white hair, raised his head to remind Pilai, "You'll need to hurry up next academic year."

"I know!" Pilai scratched his head in distress and asked again: "How many credits do I have left now?"

"Cumulative credits 53, 40 credits used, 13 credits remaining unused."

"Okay, thank you." Pilai sighed, put away his identity badge, and left looking distressed.

Seeing it was his turn, Gao De hurriedly handed over his identity badge.

"You are Gao De?" The old man behind the counter accepted Gao De's identity badge, then raised his head and scrutinized Gao De several times.

Gao De nodded, not surprised.

He knew that whether it was enrolling via a recommendation letter or just breaking Dean Jia Wen Hoge's record, neither made him a complete unknown in the academy.

"Wait a moment." The old man picked up Gao De's identity badge and walked into the small room behind the counter.

After about two minutes, the old man appeared again.

He also "swiped" Gao De's identity badge on the alchemical machine on the counter, then recited softly:

"Gao De, 2nd-rank magic apprentice, initial magic user rank calculation, 3 credits; enrollment task completed, 2 basic credits earned; completed in 19 days, breaking the original 25-day record, according to academy standards, an additional 5 credits rewarded."

"A total of 10 credits."

"Do you have any objections?"

"No."

"Good!" The old man handed Gao De's identity badge back to him.

"Congratulations, you have met the credit requirements for the first academic year."

"However, I still suggest that you should take advantage of the first year when there isn't much credit pressure to take a few more courses."

"Understanding what you are more interested in and better at will be very helpful for your future academy life," the old man reminded.

"Okay, I will, thank you." Gao De responded politely.

"Go upstairs and turn right, the second academic affairs office, to collect your class schedule and be assigned a mentor," the old man added.

Gao De nodded, left the administrative hall, and arrived at the academic affairs office on the second floor.

After a knock-knock-knock on the door, Gao De entered.

"Hello, I am the new student Gao De, here to collect my class schedule and mentor list."

A middle-aged man sat in the office with a very cold demeanor, casually throwing two scrolls over.

"One is the class schedule and an introduction to the course subjects, the other is the enrollment approval. You hold Dean Jia Wen's recommendation letter, so according to regulations, we will arrange for a senior mentor to be your mentor."

"All senior mentors in the academy are department heads."

"Your mentor is the head of the Rune Department, and also the academy's chief rune mentor, He Xi."

"Remember to go find Mentor He Xi to report as soon as possible."

"Alright, that's all, you may leave."

Gao De took the two scrolls, not minding the middle-aged magic user's coldness.

After bowing politely, he left the Committee and returned to his "dormitory" at No. 30 in the First District. As soon as he returned to his room, Gao De hurriedly opened the scroll introducing the class schedule and course situation to examine it carefully.

Courses at Sairisi Academy are divided into two major categories: required courses and elective courses.

Both major categories are further subdivided into main courses and branch courses.

And there are only a mere three required courses set by Sairisi Academy.

"Magic User Basics," "Spell Application and Combat," and "Basic Cultural Studies."

Branch courses under them include "Spell Essence and Principles," "Energy Conversion," "Practical Simulation," "Nolan Continent Geography and War Geography," and so on.

There are too many elective courses; main courses include: "Runology," "Potion Studies," "Alchemy," "Linguistics," "Scroll Studies"... and the branch courses are even more numerous.

For example, under "Alchemy," there are branch courses such as "Mineral Identification," "History of Alchemist Development," "Raw Ore Extraction," "Smelting Technology," "Rune Knowledge," "Alchemical Item Design and Manufacturing," "Energy Storage and Conversion Technology," and so on.

Under "Linguistics," there are branch courses such as "Ancient Misier Language Basics," "Misier Language Development," "Elemental Spirit Language Knowledge," and so on.

The moment he opened the course introduction scroll, Gao De was dumbfounded.

But it wasn't because he was shocked by the dazzling array of course designs at Sairisi Academy, but rather:

"Magic User Basics" (Required Course) Instructor: Bo Wei. Course Introduction: Understand the theoretical foundations of magic users, development history, magical philosophical thinking, understand the world system and plane system, general knowledge of earth-vein creatures, help students improve mental concentration, and enhance cultivation efficiency... This course is divided into three stages, one stage per academic year, with an assessment at the end of each stage. If the previous stage is not passed, one is not allowed to register for the next stage.

First stage: 1 credit, second stage: 2 credits, third stage: 3 credits.

First stage: 30 class hours, second stage:... Class time: First stage courses are scheduled for the mornings of the 3rd day of the Frost Gold Month, Mist Frost Month, and Ice Seal Month; second stage courses... Class location: Jia Wen Building. Course fee: First stage: 10 gold coins, second stage: 15 gold coins, third stage: 20 gold coins.

Credit requirement: None. — "Nolan Continent Geography and War Geography" (Basic Cultural Studies branch course) Instructor: Mo Sen.

Course Introduction: Understand basic geographical knowledge such as the natural environment, climate types, topography, political landscape, ethnic distribution, and national composition of the Nolan Continent, master the basic laws of war geography and strategic thinking methods, and master the methods of interpreting and drawing war maps... Total of 30 class hours; complete all courses and pass the assessment to earn 2 credits.

Class time: Scheduled for the afternoons of the 2nd day of the Frost Gold Month, Mist Frost Month, and Ice Seal Month.

Class location:... Course fee: 20 gold coins. Credit requirement: 10 credits or more. All courses at Sairisi Academy, whether required or elective, actually all require a course fee.

And the course fees are all very expensive.

For example, for the required course "Magic User Basics," completing all stages requires 45 gold coins!

Among them, a large portion of branch courses even have additional credit requirements.

If the credit requirement is not met, one cannot choose that course for study.

For commoners, the costs of these courses are simply an astronomical figure.

Those "second-generation magic users" are fine; their families have money, so they don't need to worry about course fees at all.

But those commoners who entered through the enrollment assessment will likely have a headache over these costs.

It's no wonder Gao De always felt that the students in the academy seemed to be very busy every day.

It seems that besides being busy with learning courses and cultivation, a large portion of students might also be busy "making money."

Gao De's first reaction was confusion.

That "knowledge is expensive and requires payment" in this world is something he can understand.

What he doesn't understand is why Sairisi Academy, as an academy for training magic users, sets such high learning fees for its courses.

Isn't this very unfair to those students who entered the academy through enrollment assessments, who are of commoner origin but actually have higher talent? These students will inevitably face situations where they cannot take courses due to lack of funds and have to spend a large portion of their time earning money.

According to the educational philosophy of his past life, students should only need to focus on learning.

As long as one has talent in learning, one basically doesn't need to worry too much about tuition fees.

How could it be like Sairisi Academy, setting up "paid courses" and adding obstacles to the students' learning?

After all, for a country, the importance of talent far exceeds that bit of tuition.

But soon, Gao De noticed a sentence written on the title page.

This sentence made him understand the academy's intention.

"The money in our hands is a tool to maintain freedom, while the money we pursue is a tool that makes us slaves."

The signature is the first dean of Sairisi Academy: Luo Nan Hori.

Money is a tremendous power and also the foundation of freedom.

If one cannot be financially free, all other freedoms are castles in the air.

The first lesson Sairisi Academy gives to all enrolled students is not some profound spell knowledge course, nor some magical skill course, and not even a brainwashing patriotic ideology course.

It is about money.

The academy wants all students to understand:

What attitude one should have toward money!

You can despise it, you can treat it like dirt, but the prerequisite is that you must have it.

The best attitude toward money is to first conquer it, and then trample it underfoot, with disdain.

Instead of being trampled underfoot by money while despising it.

The former is the posture of the strong, while the latter is merely the groaning of the weak.

(End of chapter)