Anerac was ecstatic after his big win. He didn’t get a tier 4 skill but managed to maximize his tier 3 driving skill and land several sponsorships. He was no longer a taxi driver and we had to get another ride to the training hall every day.
I was noticing a larger number of foreigners and younger people arriving in Undercraft. The inn we were staying at, The Roaring Furance, was filling up as well. The city was quite busy, but now it was becoming quite packed.
“Lots of new people,” I said to Healer Melon.
“Applicants,” he replied.
“Oh,” I said as I realized everyone was coming here to try and gain entrance to the College of Advancement. Most individuals were a couple years older than me. There were very few that were the minimum age like myself from what I could tell, or they were staying in a much fancier inn or were arriving closer to the application time.
“Mind if I join you two, not many open tables left,” a young human man asked us.
“Be welcome. I am Justin and this is Healer Melon,” I introduced the two of us.
“Karl, with a ‘k’. Soon there will only be standing room in the city. Even the regular citizens are trying to sell rooms in their homes,” Karl said.
“I would have thought that applications would have been done in other cities to lessen the volume of traffic,” I replied.
“Sure, there are some. But they tend to be in locations that are much further away. All the dwarven cities, elven cities, and nearby human nations come to Undercraft. The city likes it, they make a lot of money from everyone showing up here. You applying?” he asked.
“I have already been accepted, I am just waiting for enrollment,” I replied.
“Wow, congratulations. It isn’t easy to get one of those 100 spots unless you have serious connections. Unfortunately, I am just smart and did quite well in the dungeon. Even if you get accepted the tuition is brutal,” he said. I looked at Healer Melon who just shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“It is 500 gold a year,” Karl answered.
“That much? That is absolutely brutal,” I replied.
“There are banking consortiums for various nations. Once you fail or graduate they get so many years of employment from you. If you only make it 3 years, then you will struggle for the rest of your life unless you get lucky. But you make it 5 or more years, well you will be able to pay things back fairly quickly with the jobs you can get,” Karl explained.
“Thank you for explaining. Sorry if my questions are offensive. My parents handle the major expenses,” I said.
“I get it, no worries. The great thing about the College of Advancement is that they judge you by your progress, not your background. That might help you get in more easily and pay for your time there but ultimately it is about how quickly you can improve your skills. I am no slouch in that regard,” Karl said proudly.
“What is the entry test like?” I asked. I had asked this question of others, but getting another viewpoint didn’t hurt.
“An evaluation of your current skills compared to your age. Then looking at stats. That’s it. But the cutoff point varies, normally getting a bit higher each year, but people still believe they can make it in at the last moment with just one more stat point or skill level,” Karl said.
“At least it is objective with clear cutoff point. Are you using a training hall in the city?” I asked.
“You recommend one?” he asked.
“Thoron’s Training Hall is quite good. A bit expensive at a gold a day, but they definitely know what they are doing,” I replied.
“Ah, a gold a day, that isn’t that bad. I am more concerned about the quality than anything else. While I am confident, I really need to get my Mana Sense and Meditation skill levels up. I really want to learn spell skills,” he said.
“Which means you will also need Mana Manipulation,” I added.
“Exactly. It is a requirement for all those spell skills. Learning a couple of them I can go much deeper into the dungeon and earn a lot more and get more levels,” Karl said.
“Spellblade profession?” I asked.
“Not really. I am much better with a spear. I see you have a sword,” he said.
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“Yes. I find a spear is much harder to use in close range,” I said.
“You have descended?” he asked me, and I nodded. “I went to the 5th layer? You?” While I went to the 8th layer, my mother had cleared the Champion monsters. I cut that in half, which meant I could handle Champion monsters of the 4th layer, so technically I considered myself a 5th
layer adventurer.“I have gone to the 8th as part of a group, but can handle up to the 5th layer on my own,” I answered, and he nodded while looking at Healer Melon.
“A professional Healer. Sorry, if I am excluding you,” Karl said.
“Don’t worry, I am much older than the two of you. Don’t worry about me. Descending is for young men…and women as well, of course,” Healer Melon hastily added on that last part. I could tell he had a deep fear or respect of my mother. After a certain point it was the same thing.
“Perhaps we can form an adventuring team once we are in the College,” Karl said.
“I would have to see how that would work. Isn’t the College year round?” I asked.
“Yes. But most students take a month off along with the Professors each year before the next enrollment. A lot are returning right now. To get levels, raise funds, visit home. Others use the time to try and get further ahead.”
“That long of a break?” I asked.
“There is no official break, and grading is done twice a year. But some people find it beneficial to try and gain some opportunities outside the college, especially in the dungeon,” Karl explained.
“You know quite a bit,” I said.
“Daring, but if you are aiming for the top spot, that is what is required. The higher tier skills are absolutely brutal with their leveling speed. Empowered Spear is incredibly slow to level, despite having used it quite a bit in the dungeon,” Karl said with a shake of his head. “At least I made it to level 40 before entering the College of Advancement. The stats should help me speed up my skill leveling.”
“Impressive to get so far, only going down to the 5th layer,” I said.
“I was on my own. I wanted to push more, but the Champions were a huge struggle. I almost didn’t make it back. I didn’t want to get trapped on the 6th layer. Going down is easy, getting back out is the real challenge, especially at the passages,” he replied.
“Especially when the passage is broken or poorly made. With a spear, which has to be even more difficult, since that is a two-handed weapon,” I said.
“The trick is to rush up in one go. And I am quite good with a spear. But that is why I hesitated to go deeper on my own,” he said, and I nodded at that.
“Finding a soul fruit is impressive,” I said.
“It is and that is going to pay for several years in the College of Advancement. Already deposited with the College’s bank. They accept natural treasures of the dungeon instead of payment. A red soul fruit is worth 5,000 gold. I plan to commission some gear with the extra money. A really good spear,” he replied.
“A tier 2 weapon?” I asked.
“A good one. That should cost around 2,000 gold. Commissions are discounted for students. I need to take advantage of that while I can,” he said.
“You really do have it all planned out,” I said, a bit impressed.
“Thanks. I have been working hard to make all of this happen. But everyone else is as well. I hope to make it all seven years, keep the pressure up on the top entrants,” he said.
“Just have to wait and see how the rankings sort out. I believe everyone is ranked publicly every six months,” I stated.
“Yes. It is a big deal. It will be interesting to see where you land on the list, Justin,” he said. I could tell he was teasing me a bit but that was fine. I had a tremendous advantage over everyone else. I wouldn’t brag, but I wouldn’t downplay it either.
“Well if don’t do well, I can always turn to sweets and gambling,” I joked.
“Please don’t joke about that,” Healer Melon said. Karl gave me a questioning look.
“He is worried about my mother getting upset. But I have decided to not focus everything around her expectations. She will never be happy,” I said while rubbing one of the rings on my finger.
“Ah. My parents are both adventurers. Not great ones, only managing to reach the 14th layer and just below level 80. They had high expectations for me as well. Unfortunately, I am much better at fighting than book learning. I am not bad, but compared to the true prodigies, I am better with a spear in my hand. If I can become a legend and make it to the Last Bastion, I will be quite happy,” he said.
“Admirable goals. For now, I will just be focusing on the top spot in the College of Advancement. After that, there are some personal things I need to deal with. Long term, well, I am in no rush planning decades into the future,” I said. I had enough to worry about in the moment.
With all the skills I had to work on, I was had stuff to do for the next century at the very least. I wasn’t about to worry about the far future when so many things could happen or change. Even just planning out what skills I wanted to focus on first at the College of Advancement was a huge headache.
When I did graduate, I would then have to work on soul skills and track down the individual who cursed me before I could level. I thought it might be my mother or someone arranged by her, but after everything I saw, she was straight forward to a fault. If she expected me to do something, she would say so. Scheming didn’t come naturally to her in the slightest. My father would be a different story with his social skills and noble background, but my mother was a one-woman wrecking ball. I really hoped he wasn’t behind the curse skill.