Chapter 38

Leaving the slave trader's shop, the two wandered around Bujiadis's commercial street for a while, and William and Bulande each bought some cheap healing potions from a potion shop for backup.

After all, it's a potion shop in Bujiadis; even at the same price, the quality is far better than the healing potions sold in Mobius Town.

When their strolling was about done, William said to Bulande, "Let's go, let's familiarize ourselves with the route to Bujiadis Elementary Magic Academy, so we won't run into trouble tomorrow."

Bulande nodded, following William along the route he remembered; not long after, they arrived at the front gate of Bujiadis Elementary Magic Academy. Since they were temporarily not students of Bujiadis Academy, they couldn't enter to look around the campus.

Bulande exclaimed in awe at the magnificent buildings inside the academy, while William, looking at the familiar surroundings, recalled the various scenes from his previous life studying at Bujiadis Academy, feeling deeply moved.

"Alright, let's head back." Bulande still wanted to look a bit more, but William directly pulled him away.

Bulande reluctantly said, "William, do we really need to go back this early?"

William said, "Let's head back early to rest and recharge; tomorrow's registration involves many assessment items, and you don't want to fail the evaluation, do you?"

"Indeed, let's head back." Bulande nodded and jogged to catch up with William.

The two returned to William's home; just as they stepped inside, his mother Helena came out from the kitchen and said to them, "Dinner is ready; hurry up and wash your hands before eating!"

Indeed, the kitchen is a woman's battlefield; William admired his mother's lightning-fast cooking, went upstairs with Bulande to pack everything they needed for tomorrow into their waist pouches, then came downstairs to wash up and prepare to eat.

"You two eat a bit more; have you prepared everything needed for tomorrow's registration at Bujiadis Academy?" Helena, sitting opposite them at the table, smiled and asked William and Bulande.

William nodded, swallowed the beef in his mouth, and said, "Everything's ready. Hey, Mom, if we add another member to the household, would you mind?"

Upon hearing this, Helena's expression turned curious as she asked, "Huh? What kind of member? William, are you thinking of raising a small pet? I love being a mom to little cats and dogs."

"Not a cat or dog; I plan to buy a beastman. Today I and Bulande took a liking to one at the slave trader's shop, intending to bring him home to help you with chores. I don't know if you'd mind, Mom." William looked at his mother with a questioning gaze; if she didn't like it, even if he bought the catgirl back, there would be no place for her to eat and stay.

Helena was a little surprised, but still nodded and said, "Although the chores aren't hard and I can manage them alone, William, if you've made up your mind, I'll still support you."

Actually, David had previously told Helena in conversation that their son William had grown up; if he put forward any suggestions or requests, even if she didn't understand the reason, she should try to support him.

David couldn't reveal that his son was a Reincarnated Person, so he used this explanation when telling Helena; but Helena already doted on William greatly, so even without David's input, as long as William wasn't doing anything bad, she generally wouldn't object.

Seeing his mother agree, William also let out a sigh of relief.

At night, Bulande's snoring shook the walls beside him, while William found it somewhat hard to sleep—not because Bulande's snoring was too loud, but because thoughts about Bujiadis Academy from his previous life kept drifting through his mind.

Thinking of his mentor Richard, the roommate who dropped out after the first year due to noble bullying, and the hardship of enduring three years of aristocratic contempt, William lay still in bed, recalling everything from his past life, and only after a long time did he fall asleep.

The next morning,

Bulande, well-rested, stretched and woke up to find William already washed and dressed; he greeted, "Morning, William, you're up really early."

"You just slept too long."

In his previous life, William had trained rigorously for long hours every day, so he had grown accustomed to waking early.

After breakfast, each put on their own waist pouch and told William's mother Helena, "We're heading out!"

"Be sure to work hard to pass!"

Helena stood at the door, watching the two's receding figures grow smaller, silently praying for William and Bulande in her heart.

"May the true god bless William and Bulande, may their exam today go smoothly......"

Outside the gate of Bujiadis Elementary Magic Academy, people came and went, the area packed with carriages escorting registering newcomers, forming a stark contrast to the quiet street when William and Bulande had come the day before.

William and Bulande watched as newcomers just like them, dressed in expensive attire, stepped down from the lavish interiors of their private carriages; they were momentarily dumbfounded, and Bulande enviously said to William:

"My dad is the village chief of Bigen Village; I always thought our family situation was decent, but compared to these people I feel our attire is terribly shabby!"

William scratched his forehead with his index finger and said, "There's nothing we can do about it; originally such a top-tier school was meant for nobles, and commoners' children can't even afford the tuition, let alone meet the admission requirements—there are hardly any who can."

The admission method of Bujiadis Elementary Magic Academy, aside from William's previous-life route of receiving humanitarian care as an orphan from Bigen Village, basically consists only of the registration assessment process.

The application assessment process consists of two stages; the first stage measures magical aptitude, and Bujiadis College's minimum admission requirement is that the applicant's magical aptitude must be above month, which has already eliminated the vast majority of those who wish to become adventurers with star-level magical aptitude. William, after absorbing Kusala's magical power via the 【Devour】 skill, has just reached the requirement.

The second stage is practical combat; the number of applicants each year exceeds one thousand, and Bujiadis College, regardless of the exact final number of applicants, only admits the top one hundred in the competition. This approach aligns with the world's notion that values practical combat ability over magical aptitude.

Among these one hundred, the top ten will receive the privilege of state-funded study, meaning all expenses for food, drink, lodging, and travel at the college, as well as tuition, are completely waived.

William and Bulande had just arrived at the gate of Bujiadis College when they heard, not far away, a group of noble children gathered together pointing at a young man who had just stepped out of a carriage and saying:

"Look quickly, that person is Jerry Ron; his father, Duke Ron, is a newly ennobled noble who recently obtained his title, and it is said that he has recently gained the support of many other nobles and is very influential in the merchants' association."

Another noble child said: "I also support what my dad said; my dad also said that if we encounter the son of Duke Ron at the academy, we must definitely befriend him."

Bulande listened, bewildered, and asked William: "William, what are they saying? They themselves are noble children, so why do they still need to curry favor with other noble children?"

William explained: "Among nobles there are also ranks; for example, some nobles have great power and influence, while others merely retain the noble title and name but are actually penniless, even worse off than your family."

"William, I feel like you're indirectly belittling me," Bulande said, narrowing his eyes.

William chuckled and said: "Oh come on, you're overthinking it."

However, Jerry Ron, did such a person exist in my previous life?

In my previous life, William studied at Bujiadis College for three years, almost every day buried in cultivation, paying no attention to those matters concerning noble women.

However, these things are not really related to me; I should still focus on passing the application exam first.