Published at 11th of November 2020 05:02:45 PM
Chapter 47
The Academy’s Deceit
After his unpleasant encounter with Yuven, Lynn thought of an idea .
He remembered that he did in fact have one acquaintance in the nobility of the upper floors of the tower .
Why didn’t I think of this sooner . Someone from the nobility, who lives somewhere above floor 99- A master surely fits the bill, do they not?
Saying that, however, he wasn’t so naive as to think that Yuin would simply hand over the answers to his questions so easily .
He quickly set about devising a plan .
Master’s not the most helpful guy in the world, especially towards me . He never answers my questions, let alone comes to see me when I would wish to consult him for advice . Well then, if it’s going to be like that…
He would write a letter . He would write a letter, and put all of his resolve into it, so that even Yuin would be alarmed . He would do his best to shake him, pretending to be at his wits end- which was halfway true anyway .
‘To master,
Forgive me for contacting you like this out of the blue . The thing is, I have no one else I can trust with this but you .
This morning I received word that an acquaintance of mine, on floor 100, has died .
His name was Elios .
He was really good to me, and helped me out with more things than I can count, and so hearing this news was a shock to me .
Do you happen to know anything about this incident?
I still have trouble believing that he’s really dead . It must be some kind of mistake .
No matter who I ask, no one will tell me anything .
I can’t help but think that, surely, everyone’s deceiving me somehow .
No matter what anyone tells me, I won’t believe that my friend is dead until I see irrefutable evidence- with my own eyes .
That Elios has died- no, I shall not believe it . It must surely be some kind of deception .
I believe that you too, master, shall tell me it is so .
Regards,
Lynn .
Master has a mean streak in him . There’s something… Perverse, even, in the head of his . I’m sure he’d relish the opportunity to thrust before my eyes evidence of my friend’s death .
As it turned out, Lynn’s prediction was right on the money .
The timing also couldn’t have been more perfect . Yuin had just come down to Allfrid to take care of some business .
Lynn received word from him, I’ll meet with you, even though I’m really quite busy, but yes, I’ll do you the favour of meeting with you, in one of the waiting rooms of the wizard’s association .
Lynn entered the waiting room . There before his eyes, he saw his master, Yuin . He remembered the last time he had met his master in this room . It hadn’t been a particularly inspiring meeting .
Today Yuin wore an uncharacteristic smile on his face . He seemed to be in an unusually good mood .
“Hey there, boy . It’s been a while” .
“Master! Thank you for coming . If you hadn’t met with me today, I wouldn’t have known what to do” .
“Well, I was in half a mind to ignore you, truth be told . But you sounded so pitiful in your letter”, he said, with a sadistic grin on his face .
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“Thank you . I don’t know how to express my gratitude . I’m sorry, I’m still shaken by all of this” .
He did his best not to cut to the chase himself . In circling the issue, he hoped his master- who he knew would take pleasure in seeing Lynn upset- would give him the information he needed himself, without much coaxing . At the very least, he would have to be careful in approaching the topic .
“Don’t worry about thanking me . Anyway, your friend- Elios was it? You want to ask about him?”
“Yes, if possible . I did ask Kruga san, but he told me that it was safer if I didn’t know . He won’t tell me anything” .
“Is that so?”
Yuin’s grin spread a little wider . It became a little deeper, and he appeared as if he couldn’t resist spilling the truth much longer . Lynn sensed that Yuin was playing into his hands .
Just a little more, he thought to himself . Just another small push, and he’ll be able to ask the question outright .
He continued his desperate act a little more .
“Why did he,” he began, before letting his voice give out for several seconds, and eventually continuing, “Elios was a good student, he was always modest . He was always respectful of his elders, and set such a good example as a fine young man . He listened to the guidance of his teachers and his seniors, always…”
“There you have it” .
“Huh?”
“Elios… Elios swallowed everything the academy’s teaching staff told him . He sucked it up, like a baby to a teat- and that, boy, is why he failed” .
“What- what do you mean? What are you saying?”
“You didn’t think anything was… Off, about those asshats working in Allfrid?”
Lynn paused for a moment before answering .
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“Do you mean the teachers? They seem pretty normal to me… Why?”
“Getting good grades in the academy won’t help you if your goal is to climb the tower . As to why that should be the case, well, it’s because the teachers of the academy don’t know anything about floors 100 and above” .
“What?” Lynn burst out, forgetting his desperate kid act for a moment .
“But, doesn’t the academy exist in order to train and develop wizards? So that they can go to floors 100 and above, and participate and contribute to society up there?”
“That’s right” .
“So then why wouldn’t the teachers know anything about floors 100 and above? They’re the ones who are supposed to teach and prepare us . They’re the ones in the position of bestowing knowledge” .
Yuin let out a deep sigh .
“Lynn, do you know the words ‘honne’ and ‘tatemae’? [1]
“Those teachers of yours, who work in Allfrid and Renryll, they would have at some point ascended above floor 99- yet here they are . Why is that? Why, they came running back down of course! Shamelessly at that! If they were competent enough to live above floor 99, they would be up there now working as either lecturers or journalists, or something, whatever, but they wouldn’t be twiddling their thumbs down here” .
“In that case, then, the things they’re teaching us… What on earth can they teach us?”
“They’re teaching you only what’s required by the curriculum set by the association . Whether or not the curriculum is set up for the student’s future success or not is a separate issue” .
Lynn was silent as he took a moment to processed this, and so Yuin carried on talking .
“What those good-for-nothing teachers are interested in is themselves- they only care about looking good in the eyes of the association . Of course there are exceptions to this rule, such as some of the classes that charge fees . They can teach things outside of the curriculum freely, and the skills you learn in such classes are often transferrable later on . It’s in the teachers interest to do a good job, because the better their class is, the more they can charge for it . Even amongst the wizards above floor 99, there are many who are enrolled in courses with fees . They can often be valuable for anyone seriously interested in climbing the tower .
Even from the Association’s standpoint, it’s only natural to encourage these types of classes that generate revenue . The free content of the free classes can’t have changed at all for decades now, even though many aspects of the tower have changed” .
Lynn didn’t know what to say . He was dumbfounded .
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“It seems Elios didn’t take any classes that had any charges, did he? That was a mistake . Nowadays, trying to climb above ‘99 without taking any paid classes may as well be an act of suicide . Material Generation is particularly important . That’s best to take straight away from your first year, because it can take as many as 5 or 6 years to learn . Taking it from your second year onwards would only pointlessly prolong the time it would take you to graduate” .
“Elios said that there were lots of bad courses with fees, that it was silly to pointlessly increase your student loan” .
“Exactly . That’s why you need a master or advisor who can advise you on the classes that would enable you to survive on the upper floors” .
Lynn recalled what Yuven had once said .
‘For a commoner like yourself, without even a proper master to guide you, can you really get much further?’
So that’s what she meant .
“It’s a truth hidden well by society in general, but to make it to the upper floors, talent, disposition and hard work alone isn’t enough . It’s often said that in order to survive above floor 99, you need to be able to pay for one million legika worth of classes first” .
“One million…”
“It can also be said that Elios bit off more than he could chew . While he struggled, on the verge of death in dungeons on floor 100, most of the nobles cleared such dungeons easily, efficiently, using just the magic that was necessary- almost as if they knew exactly what was required before they even entered . The thing is, it’s common wisdom to join a guild founded by the elite, which has been running for years, and work as a subordinate, but I guess Elios had a bit too much pride . He tried to go independent and set up his own guild, and let’s not forget that he even criticized and looked on as hostile the nobility, and because of that, he cornered and isolated himself, unable to escape the corner he painted himself into . He was stubborn, he didn’t accept that even those who’s grades weren’t as good as his own had surpassed him, and before he gave in and changed his philosophy, he unfortunately ran out of money . Exhausted of money, and eventually of magic even, he was hunted down, like a dog .
Lynn was silent .
“Look, there are some people who just don’t want to accept defeat and return below 100’ . Instead they cling on desperately . At any rate, there’s quite a difference in how wizards from the academy and wizards who are independent are treated . Wizards up there are given duties, but also certain rights . From my perspective, wizards in the 100’s are pretty lowly, but I digress… Anyway, the ones I’m talking about, the washed up gutter trash, they form groups, and they hunt down the fresh faces who are out of their depth and alone . That’s how these groups survive . They’re a bad bunch . They wouldn’t dare touch a noble though” .
“My god…”
“In any case, your grand aspirations- much like Elios’s- are something you’ll never achieve . You’re not going to be able to come up with a million legika anytime soon, are you?”
“Master, I’ve already taken out loans for my tuition fees…”
“Lynn”, Yuin said simply, “those who can’t think for themselves will be spit out by this tower” .
Next time… Chapter 48, ‘A second Meeting’ .