HOPE FOR THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT.

     *The Upper sector of the Outskirts of 'Eclipse of the Ocean', Clingford's Academy.

     After stating and proving the purpose for his visit, Navi was finally let through the gates while being escorted by the female guard.

     Navi was not given a tour of the entire Academy grounds but the little he've seen were up-to-par with his imaginations. The main training grounds he encountered as he enters is over six foot beneath the floor surface.

     There were sets of stairs all around the training ground with different students in official martial robes performing their forms in Unison.

     Arranged in neat rows and columns, these martial students covered in sweat, dirt and pride made noise backing their powerful movements as Cultivation Masters walked amidst them for inspection.

     *HAH*...*HAH*...*HAH*...*HAH*...

     Wit each uniform sound, they changed their poses in harmony while mirroring each other without the need of thoughts.

     Beside the training ground that is below ground-level lies another row of dozens of martial students with their legs crossed in meditative positions and their eyes closed. Completely unbothered by their background noises these specific set of students breathed calmly and stealthily as they practiced in a ground-zero level of harmony.

     Tearing his curious gaze away from the outstanding scene he is witnessing, Navi dutifully follows behind the female guard who soon drops him off in front of a small and neat traditional building.

     "Registration is done inside..", The guard says before walking off as she's completely uncaring about his next steps from there on.

     Navi is also completely unbothered but the knight as he walks straight into the building without any form of hesitation. The inside of the building is poorly illuminated by sunlight as inside the room lies a simple couch with a brown parlour table in front of it.

     A fancy wooden work-table with piles of documents on it lies lonely at the centre back of the Registration hall. A high chair lying behind the table and a cabinet row in the wall tells Navi that he is in the right room.

     *Ruggle* *Ruggle*

     The sounds of flowing water comes from the other door of the room followed by a relieved sigh. The other door soon slides open as an old man with wipes in his hands walks out happy while humming a soft tune.

     The man's body pauses midway as he notices the new addition to the room. His face twitches mechanically in slight embarrassment that someone has heard his private bathroom business.

     His embarrassment quickly gets expressed as anger. With a deep growl he tosses the wipes in his hands away as he asks in anger.

     "Are you a pervert?..", The old looking man asks with pursed lips as he eyes Navi's robed figure from up to down.

     "I just got here for registration..", Navi says calmly under the intensity of the Old man's gaze as he redirects the uncomfortable question.

     The old man hold his tough gaze for a while before maturely swallowing down his some of his embarrassment as he walks to the chair behind his work table.

     "Can you afford the bills or are you just here to waste my time?..", The man asks with a growl still in his tone as he takes his seat.

     "I need to know what I'm getting into first..", Navi responds while keeping his tone calm and polite as he walks forward until he's just in front if the Old man's work table.

     Clearly too lazy to go on lengthy explanations, the old man shuffles through the documents and books on his table where he soon finds an information slip.

     About to give the slip to Navi, the old man pauses then asks with raised brows, "Can you read?..".

     "Certainly..", Navi responds calmly while the Old man shows a small nod of approval.

     He gives Navi the slip containing the academy tuitions and their programs as then he waves Navi towards the empty couch by the wall of the room.

     With a polite bow to the feisty old man, Navi takes up the slip to the couch. He puts down his Hikers bag on a side of the couch and takes a seat.

     *Flip*

     Navi begins to read through the Slip in his hands while the old man turns his focus the documents on his desk.

     A couple of minutes passed and it becomes more and more evident that the old man is just pretending and he has absolutely no work to do. Dropping the meaningless act, the old man gives a nonchalant long yawn as he rest comfortably on his chair while slowly turning left and right repeatedly.

     Navi ignores this as he scroll through the Slip where he sees all the tuition plans the academy offers. Plans for those who have not detected mana is completely different than for those who have and even those who fall in the same category have different segments.

     As someone yet to detect mana, this segment is obviously for him. The first tier in this segment grants him access to four hundred normal lessons per year, Thirty elite lessons and ten practical experience lessons.

     Navi doesn't know much about the lessons being implied but he can already make a rough mental guess that normal lessons are just as they are called - normal - but elite lessons are more than a grade higher with more benefits.

     The tier two of this segment grants Six hundred normal lessons per year, seventy elite lessons, Twenty-five practical experience and fifteen practical experience lessons as well as twenty free passes to Tier One Mana Chambers!.

     It was a lot more in comparison to the tier one but the price for booking it compared to tier one is almost three times as much!.

     The tier 3 holds limitless access to normal lesson, limitless access to elite lessons, Fifty-two  practical experience chances as well as One hundred passes to Tier One Mana Chambers and ten chances to tier one affinity pools.

     Although very lucrative and attractive, the price of Tier 3 booking compared to tier one is eight times as much!!!.

     The price for tier one tuition is forty bronze pints!. In the Upper parts of the outskirt this money is an above average man's one year salary!!!.

     Ten rumen equals one pence and one hundred pence equals One bronze pint!. Ten pence is enough to feed a family of three for a day so One bronze pint is enough to feed a family for ten days.

     About Fifty bronze pints would feed and cater for a family of three for a year and here it's just the tuition fee for tier one of the most basic segment .. Outrageous!.

     With no change on his expression, Navi looks at the price of Tier two tuition package which says.. One hundred and twenty bronze pints!. Navi almost swallowed a mouthful of saliva even though his face remains calm.

     The tier three is even more outrageous with a sky high tuition fee of four hundred bronze pints per year!

     Navi's eyes lightly trembles as he looks at the figures before him. No wonder they called the academy a place of hope for those who can afford it, turns out hope is very expensive.

AUTHORS NOTE: MARTIAL IS USUALLY USED TO REFER TO PEOPLE OR WEAPONS THAT HASN'T BROKEN INTO RANK ONE. E.G;- *MARTIAL DISCIPLE AND *MARTIAL WEAPONS.

THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS ARE *MARTIAL ARTS THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ALL RANKS AND *MARTIAL MASTER.