Chapter 358 : Scholar’s Guild

Chapter 358: Scholar’s Guild

Not to mention the newly established position of Vice President of the Scholar’s Guild—even if it were the presidency itself, Oscar would not have cared.

Jeffrey’s intention was nothing more than to bring him in and use Oscar’s reputation to better promote the Guild.

Although Oscar was called “the Mad Dean,” he was, after all, the dean of the monastery directly under the Church of the Sanctuary, and his prestige among the scholars was not low.

As for why Jeffrey, as a councilor, wanted Oscar’s help to form a guild, Oscar quickly understood.

It was simply because the times had changed. Now was the New Testament Era—it was no longer the age of the Old Testament, when nobles and the powerful could do as they pleased just because they had knights under them.

That was also what Oscar had concluded after the students collectively blocked the monastery gates two days ago and after reflecting on what Bishop Corleon had told him before.

Hence, many methods that worked in the past were no longer suitable now.

Especially when it came to restraining those scholars—

They were far more troublesome than the bards.

When bards disobeyed, one could still make them “disappear” quietly, but in recent years, those scholars had cultivated many apprentices. One could even say that the rapid development of Greenwood, changing with each passing year, was largely due to them.

Even for a councilor, to try and forcibly restrain the scholars would only invite chaos.

Thus, Jeffrey was indeed, as he had said, “bringing trouble” to Oscar.

But Oscar was not afraid of such trouble.

He straightened his posture and said, “I am, after all, a devout believer. To help the councilor make the world a better place is something I should do.”

Excitement flickered in his eyes, and seeing that light, Jeffrey suddenly began to doubt whether coming to ask this man for help had been the right choice.

Oscar quickly entered his stride, continuing, “When His Holiness the Pope first planned to establish the monastery, he once said that children between the ages of twelve and sixteen could choose to enter it. Back then, the academic term was set to one year.”

“But in truth, since it was the beginning stage, the monastery’s scholars were limited in energy. Thus, the first batch of apprentices had plenty of free time to explore and verify knowledge outside their studies. When they graduated, though a bit inexperienced, they still survived and went on to become senior officials who greatly contributed to Greenwood’s progress.”

“However, now the monastery possesses far too much knowledge. A single year is clearly not enough for apprentices to finish their studies—not even to fully grasp a single subject.”

“You are a noble councilor, and you once studied under Scholar Caleb, so you must know that much knowledge can only be truly understood when combined with practice.”

Of course Jeffrey knew this. In fact, his own “practical verification” had been playing with the Northern War. Though the Church’s intervention forced him to end that “experiment” hastily, the earlier confrontation with the unseen King of the Northland had taught him much.

Moreover, in the first three years of the New Testament, the Northern War waged under the new Supreme King of the Northland, Aen, had proven Caleb’s final words to him:

“Only wars filled with blood and cruelty can define political relations.”

After three years of chaotic war, Aen’s prestige in the Northland reached its peak. No one doubted that a man born in Greenwood was fit to become the Supreme King of the North.

Thus Jeffrey replied, “So you mean to extend the apprentices’ academic years?”

Oscar said, “Of course. The purpose of scholars teaching their apprentices is naturally to make them truly learn—not merely drift through a year.”

Jeffrey nodded. “You are quite right. But that seems to be a matter for the academies, does it not? Isn’t it beyond the Guild’s scope?”

Oscar rose to his feet, visibly disappointed. “Councilor Jeffrey, it is already the New Testament Era. Do you mean to recreate an Old Testament-era Scholar’s Guild? If your so-called guild exists merely to restrain and serve scholars, then it would be nothing more than an Old Testament relic hidden in a New Testament age.”

Oscar’s voice grew lofty, even carrying the cadence of a bard’s hymn.

The words shocked Jeffrey so much that he leapt from his seat, as if he had been sitting atop a volcano ready to erupt.

He hurriedly said, “No, what I mean is—I am the councilor responsible for academic affairs, so of course I can merge the academy’s matters into the Scholar’s Guild.”

Cold sweat trickled from his forehead, and beneath his wide councilor’s robe, his legs trembled.

He cursed inwardly—Oscar truly lived up to the name “Mad Dean.” To speak of reviving Old Testament remnants—if other councilors heard that, he would surely be put on trial!

As he spoke, he kept thinking over Oscar’s words.

Did he mean to use the Scholar’s Guild to seize some authority over the academies? Or something else?

“No, no, no,” Oscar waved a finger, “you must understand—the academies’ affairs should naturally fall under the management of the Scholar’s Guild. Of course, since both are under your supervision, one could say that it is from the foundation of the academies that the Guild was born.”

Jeffrey paused. His trembling legs gradually steadied, and his eyes grew thoughtful. “So, you mean that the apprentices in the academies are, in fact, scholars as well?”

Oscar let out a snort. “Though those idiots are far from the level of true scholars, they can indeed be regarded as preparatory scholars. In the Old Testament Era, when scholars trained new scholars, it was much the same. Though, in those times, it was mostly one-on-one, or at most one-on-three, and the minimum period of instruction was five years.”

“In those days, scholars shunned the Morning Star—or rather, they could only move under the shadow of the Sun. They were few in number, and crudely divided into four ranks: Apprentice, Junior Scholar, Senior Scholar, and Legendary Scholar.”

“Apprentices studied for at least five years. After completing a certain exploration, they would be acknowledged as Junior Scholars. Later, when they could no longer pursue exploration and chose to become administrators, they were called Senior Scholars. As for Legendary Scholars—they were those who achieved something in the field of scholarship that only gods could accomplish.”

“Of course, that was all in the Old Testament Era, and it no longer suits the needs of today. But the tiered system is still worth referencing.”

“For example, apprentices graduating from the academies should have to meet certain requirements—such as passing specific tests issued by the Guild. Only those who pass could be officially recognized as graduates, much like Junior Scholars.”

“Most apprentices study to become officials, don’t they? But if an apprentice cannot even pass a graduation test, how could he ever be a qualified official?”

Excitement gleamed in Oscar’s eyes.

As for those “tests” he mentioned, Oscar believed that, as the world’s foremost monastery dean and the vice president of the Scholar’s Guild, he was naturally qualified to create them.

And through the Guild, these tests could be distributed to every academy and every apprentice.

Jeffrey’s eyes lit up with equal excitement. According to Oscar’s proposal, he realized he might use the Guild to infiltrate the entire kingdom’s process of selecting officials.

“Truly admirable, Dean Oscar. Your wisdom is inspiring,” Jeffrey flattered him. “Then we might also classify scholars themselves according to a similar four-tiered evaluation system.”

But as soon as he finished, he realized that was the Old Testament’s standard.

He quickly added, “I mean—we could take that as reference to create a new system of tiers. After all, this is the New Testament Era; continuing to use the Old Testament’s system would be inappropriate.”

Oscar had only invoked the Old Testament to intimidate him a bit; now that his goal was achieved, he did not press the matter further.

He continued directly, “The monastery’s classification for the warrior path is already set at nine tiers—from Tier One commoners to Tier Six heroes, as you surely know, Councilor Jeffrey. The Seventh Tier is, of course, demigods. Beneath Adrian Academy of Magic lies the corpse of one such demigod—oh, perhaps you didn’t know that, but it’s not a fatal secret.”

“...” Jeffrey took a deep breath. Were it not for Oscar’s visible excitement, he would have thought the man was trying to get him killed.

“The Eighth Tier is deities—and, naturally, those powerful phantasms comparable to gods. The might of that Frost Giant back then—you should have felt it even while staying in York City,” Oscar said.

Jeffrey nodded, remarking in awe, “That time, it was so cold the Senate had to light furnaces; councilors wore thick furs, and even Puniel couldn’t withstand the chill. Had the Lord not soon descended with a miracle, many might have frozen to death that winter.”

“And since even a trace of a deity’s will can become a holy relic, Tier Eight is already that powerful—so what of Tier Nine?”

Oscar’s expression turned devout. “Tier Nine represents the greatness of the Lord Himself.”

A chill crept through Jeffrey’s heart; he wished he could slap himself for asking.

Seeing Jeffrey’s reaction, Oscar felt a perverse satisfaction.

“So I think the new Guild’s classification should follow this model—from Tier One to Tier Nine. That would be fitting for the New Testament Era.”

After a pause, Oscar added, “This hierarchy was established after the founding of the monastery—and it has been approved by the Pope himself.”

That statement immediately silenced Jeffrey’s attempted objection.

He could only sigh in defeat and say, “I think nine tiers might be too complicated for scholars—perhaps eight would suffice.”

Oscar said nothing more.

He had only recently been struck by lightning; though he seemed physically fine now and could move normally, it was only because he had suppressed his pain. If it happened again, he doubted he could endure it.