Chapter 19 The Female Writer and the Tuition Fee

[You've come into contact with 'Whisper'.]

Just one glance at the exquisitely crafted snuff bottle was enough to deeply captivate Shard.

Shard had seen more intricately crafted objects in his world, but at that moment, he felt an overwhelming desire to possess this one. Fortunately, the woman's voice pulled his thoughts back on track, and Dr. Schneider simply smiled at Shard's lapse:

"Even a Poet-Level 'Relic' can affect ordinary people, which is why the Church and the Academy try to contain and control 'Relics' as much as possible. However, you have really recovered quickly... Once I open it, you will fall into a dream. The dream will last for 7 minutes and 23 seconds, during which you will understand the past and present of the Academy. This will help you believe what I have told you."

"Such a precise time?"

Shard asked, then leaned back slightly on the couch under the doctor's guidance, assuming a comfortable position conducive to napping.

"Almost every Circle Sorcerer who joins Saint Byrons via correspondence goes through this 'Relic' to confirm the information they have received. It has been used countless times without fail,"

the doctor said with a smile.

This "never failed" phrasing, on the contrary, caused Shard some worry, but he did not voice his feelings and instead signaled the doctor to begin.

"Alright, please prepare—"

The doctor stood up, covering his mouth and nose with a wet towel to prevent himself from falling asleep as well, and took a step back:

"Begin."

The lid of the pot was opened, and a rainbow-colored smoke billowed out, causing Shard to lose consciousness immediately.

Shard had a dream, in which his spirit left his body and ascended into the distant sky above the bustling Steam City shrouded in grey fog, observing steam factories puffing out thick smoke in the distance...

He then flew northward, over cities, over mountains, over grasslands, over forests, until he saw snow-capped peaks and, beyond the tallest mountain, the immense ice cap of the Far North.

Perhaps it was only a moment, or perhaps it was several hours or even days, but the sky in the Far North grew dim. In that dark night, beneath the colorful aurora borealis, behind the luminous glacial mountains, emerged a huge complex of buildings.

It was a strange dream like none he had ever had. When Shard woke up, he only remembered walking through the vast Academy, strolling through ancient castles, looking up at the starry sky from the top of spires. He weaved through amphitheaters with rows of seats, searched for herbal medicine recipes in the basement, and checked the list of contained 'Relics' in the library...

Mysterious, ancient, profound, secretive—that is Saint Byrons Integrated Academy, but also a meeting place for Mystery Seekers. Standing from the remote past to the present, behind the ice glaciers of the Far North.

When he opened his eyes, his vision was still blurry, but Dr. Schneider's figure across from him on the couch slowly came into focus. The doctor was frantically closing the lid of the snuff bottle and placing the Poet-Level 'Relic' back into its box.

"So, do you now know the Academy truly exists?"

After putting away the snuff bottle, the doctor asked Shard with a smile. Shard let out a wistful sigh, finding himself missing the strange dreamland.

"Indeed, it is true. What the doctor said is indeed true."

Even though it was just a dream, this special dream was enough for Shard to make the right decision.

"The only side effect of this Poet-Level 'Relic' is a very mild addiction,"

Dr. Schneider's voice was soft, carrying a strange power, as if trying to completely pull Shard back from the world of dreams:

"Forget that dream, Shard Hamilton. But sooner or later, you will, as a Circle Sorcerer, join us on a steam locomotive to the northern cities, walk through the auroras over the ice cap, huddle through the long nights of blizzards, and together we will assist in climbing the highest glaciers, and then enter there, Saint Byrons Integrated Academy, the place for Circle Sorcerers... my dream is to secure a lifelong teaching position at Saint Byrons after advancing to the Ten Rings level in the Academy. Shard, if you liked it there, then join us."

The dream, both real and surreal, took some time for Shard to come to his senses. When the doctor once again formally inquired about his decision, this time, Shard nodded without any hesitation:

"Yes, I hope to join the Academy and become a Correspondence Circle Mage."

Dr. Schneider's face revealed a heartfelt smile:

"Then congratulations, Shard, please allow me to call you that. You are about to become the fifth Circle Mage of our team. Just wait a moment, Miss Dorothy Luisa just visited, and she will join me in presiding over your enrollment ceremony. I can introduce you two and let her know that I'm not always so unlucky. The enrollment ceremony requires at least two team members to be present to prevent new Circle Mages from being deceived."

Even though the doctor had been quite enthusiastic since his visit to No. 6, Saint Delan Square this morning, his enthusiasm seemed to grow even stronger:

"Oh, Luisa is a fourth-year Correspondence Four-Ring Sorcerer, whose main profession is a novelist. I know you've just 'awoken' from Blind Foolishness, so you probably haven't read her work, but she is somewhat famous. 'Dream of the Snail' and 'Midsummer Night's Wish,' two short stories of hers, won the Kingdom's literature award three years ago, and she even received an audience with His Majesty the King along with the other 35 awardees."

"Actually, there was no need for you to mention the total number of awardees back then."

The door was pushed open, and the blonde lady he had seen earlier stood outside. She was dressed the same as before but seemed somewhat annoyed:

"Doctor, is it necessary to divulge all the unimportant details every time you introduce a friend to someone else?"

It seemed that the atmosphere among the doctor's group of four Correspondence Circle Mages was quite good; they were all friends, at least, and Shard was happy about this. But he also guessed that this blonde novelist lady might have been listening in on the conversation outside the door.

"It's really not possible for everyone to be completely off guard."

He thought to himself, preparing to stand up and greet her.

The doctor sidestepped the blonde lady's question with a laugh and gestured for Miss Luisa to take a seat:

"Hamilton Detective has already accepted my invitation, and now our group finally has five Circle Mages."

"Doctor, are you sure you didn't use some strange Relic to overdraw your luck?"

She voiced her suspicion but still came in and extended her hand to Shard:

"Dorothy Luisa, novelist and part-time journalist."

Miss Luisa seemed very adept at what she was doing, so Shard also stood up and shook her hand lightly:

"Shard Hamilton, I guess you could call me a detective."

"That's a rather fine profession, isn't it?"

As they sat down again, the doctor cleared his throat, hinting that he had some business to discuss:

"Shard, please allow me to call you that. There's one last thing before your formal enrollment, I need to talk to you about the tuition fees."

A jolt went through Shard's heart, and the blissful feelings were once again dispelled by the sad reality; he blinked:

"Yes... tuition fees."

He realized that when the doctor introduced the Church and the Academy, he hadn't mentioned the significant downside of the Academy; for surely, the True God Church wouldn't charge money to accept members.

"The school's fees are based on the academic level. Just a second..."

Dr. Schneider took a document from behind a bookshelf at his desk, and the blonde lady didn't speak, instead looking on with interest at the two of them.

"This is the fee schedule. Since we are correspondence students and don't communicate directly with the Academy, these documents were made by the Academy to prevent group leaders from overcharging... apparently, such incidents were quite common centuries ago."