Vice Principal Keith smiled, having already guessed that Jiang Lin likely wouldn't agree to the first two tiers of the special scholarship.
After all, a youth from a major family naturally wouldn't bind his next seven or twelve years to Saint Brilliance Magic Academy just for those resources.
"The benefits for the final tier of the specific scholarship are quite a bit lower."
Vice Principal Keith began to explain to Jiang Lin:
"The academy will provide you with fifty gold coins per month as a living and cultivation subsidy. You will have ten free uses of all public cultivation facilities per week, with a limit of 3 hours per use. You will be assigned at least one rank-4 senior teacher as a mentor for regular guidance, and you'll enjoy borrowing privileges in the library's high-tier area.
"As for the cost, you must guarantee that you only attend Middle Magic Academy at Saint Brilliance Magic Academy and may not transfer or leave for long periods. However, if there are special reasons, you can apply to the school, and we will grant leave as appropriate."
Jiang Lin thought it over and felt that only this last option was acceptable.
After a moment of reflection, he said, "Vice Principal Keith, I'll take the last tier of the scholarship."
In truth, a subsidy of fifty gold coins a month wasn't small. A son-in-law who married into the Castrot family only received 30 gold coins a month.
Additionally, the thirty hours of free use for public facilities per week was plenty; if he really needed more, he could just spend some money to buy extra time.
"Won't you discuss it with your family?" Vice Principal Keith asked with a smile.
Jiang Lin shook his head.
"There's no need. Your school is indeed among the top in the kingdom. However, after I graduate from Middle Magic Academy, I'll likely have other arrangements. Unfortunately, I won't be able to continue my studies here further."
Jiang Lin replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Vice Principal Keith and Director Edwin became even more convinced of Jiang Lin's background from a major family.
What he meant was likely that once he finished Middle Magic Academy, he would have to return home to inherit the family business, right?
"Here, this is the contract containing the detailed terms related to the scholarship. Check it over, and if there are no issues, just sign it."
Director Edwin pulled out a thick roll of parchment from somewhere and placed it before Jiang Lin.
As Jiang Lin unfurled it, he found the parchment scroll was three or four meters long, densely packed with various clauses.
To be safe, Jiang Lin began to check the terms one by one.
Time passed slowly. The steam from the hot tea rose in the sunlight streaming through the window as the two school leaders waited for Jiang Lin to review the special scholarship terms.
The terms were written in great detail, covering many possible scenarios and providing thorough explanations for the school's promises.
After reading it through three times, Jiang Lin found no issues. He figured they wouldn't resort to trickery on such a contract, so he followed the procedure and signed it.
"The contract is in duplicate; one for you to keep and one for the school."
Collecting the signed contract, Director Edwin stood up. "Student Jiang Lin, welcome to Saint Brilliance Middle Magic Academy!"
Vice Principal Keith also stood up. "Welcome to Radiant Middle Magic Academy!"
Jiang Lin quickly stood as well, placing his right hand over his heart in a knight's salute. "It is my honor to join your school!"
Director Edwin said, "Next are the matters regarding your dormitory and class. Student Jiang Lin, please follow me. I'll take you to complete the remaining procedures and introduce you to your classmates."
"I'll be in your care, Director Edwin!"
Vice Principal Keith added, "I'll be taking my leave then. I hope you get used to life at Saint Brilliance Magic Academy. If you need anything, you can come find me; you'll be able to find my office just by asking around."
"I've taken up too much of your time, Vice Principal Keith."
Vice Principal Keith was quite satisfied with Jiang Lin. Besides the boy's great talent and polite demeanor, the student had consistently addressed him as 'Principal.'
He wasn't like those greenhorn students who always insisted on emphasizing the 'Vice' part.
After all, calling both the principal and the vice principal 'Principal' was perfectly fine. However, being called 'Principal' directly just felt more comfortable.
Director Edwin told Jiang Lin to bring his recommendation letters and then led him to the office for registering personal information.
After that, he led Jiang Lin back and forth to finish all the enrollment procedures.
Without Director Edwin, Jiang Lin figured he would have had to run around himself with the enrollment regulation forms, potentially facing cold shoulders from staff in various departments.
With the admissions office director personally accompanying him, many procedures were much more convenient.
When asked if he wanted to upgrade his housing, Jiang Lin shook his head. At the dormitory management office, Director Edwin handed the dormitory key to Jiang Lin.
It wasn't a key in the strict sense, but a high-quality metal card with the number 123 written in beautiful copperplate script.
"This card has the unlocking magic runes for the corresponding dormitory door. You know how to use it, right?"
Jiang Lin hadn't seen a metal card like a hotel room key in this world before, but he figured it wouldn't be much different.
He took it and said, "If all goes well, I should know how to use it."
Director Edwin nodded. "Then I'll take you to meet your classmates."
Due to his outstanding performance, Jiang Lin was directly assigned to the fourth-year elite class.
Director Edwin's intention in bringing Jiang Lin there was obvious; he wanted to personally hint to the students and teachers of the elite class that Jiang Lin was not a genius without a background, so they wouldn't go looking for trouble with him.
The elite class wasn't in their classroom for this period, so Director Edwin first took Jiang Lin to find their homeroom teacher.
The homeroom teacher was a relatively young man wearing glasses, looking quite refined.
"Teacher Phineas, this is a new student who will be joining your class, Jiang Lin."
Director Edwin introduced him to the teacher.
Then he introduced the teacher to Jiang Lin. "Jiang Lin, this is your homeroom teacher, Phineas Stern."
"Hello, Teacher!" Jiang Lin greeted politely.
He felt the surname Stern was somewhat familiar, as if it were the name of one of the three major families in Clearwater City.
Seeing that Director Edwin from the admissions office had personally come to introduce the student—and directly to the elite class at that—the homeroom teacher didn't underestimate Jiang Lin. He greeted him warmly.
"Haha, Student Jiang Lin, welcome to our elite class family."
After saying that, he looked at Director Edwin, seemingly wanting to hear about the transfer student's background.
To be able to transfer into the elite class at this time, one was either a genius among geniuses or had a powerful background.
In his perception, Jiang Lin was only a rank-10 student, so he speculated the boy might be a young master from some major family.
Sure enough, Director Edwin began the introduction.
"Student Jiang Lin is quite exceptional. During the enrollment test, he achieved a gold rating in all three tests. Furthermore, the light from the induction crystal was something even I, as the admissions office director, have rarely seen.
"Just now, under Vice Principal Keith's supervision, Student Jiang Lin was admitted to our academy with a special scholarship."
Hearing this, the homeroom teacher was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Jiang Lin to enter based on his own strength.
Then again, looking at the boy's rustic clothing and the black cat in his arms, he didn't look like a scion of a major family at all. He looked more like a poor kid who had appeared out of nowhere.
However, Director Edwin continued.
"Student Jiang Lin comes from Boulder City. His family helped him obtain recommendation letters from the Temple Master of Boulder City, the City Lord of Boulder City, and the principal of their academy. The first two are rank-7 powerhouses who rarely write recommendation letters.
"It's clear that Student Jiang Lin's talent is obvious to everyone."
At these words, the homeroom teacher's heart jolted.
Endorsements from two rank-7 powerhouses?
Just how massive was Jiang Lin's background?
He had actually judged the boy by his appearance for a moment; that was truly improper.
Thinking this, he cleared his throat. "Student Jiang Lin, let me take you to the class to pick a seat."
...
The corridors of Saint Brilliance Magic Academy were spacious and bright, with magic runes carved even into the walls, causing them to emit a natural faint glow.
When Jiang Lin arrived at the classroom, he asked the homeroom teacher for a seat in the back row by the window.
"I'll take you to get your textbooks and school uniform in a moment," the teacher told Jiang Lin.
"The school requires students to wear their uniforms while on campus. If your uniform is damaged or lost, you can buy a replacement at the school shop.
"Their class right now is Basic Magic Potions; they should be in the magic potion room doing experiments.
"Do you want to go straight to class now, or would you like to tour the campus?"
Hearing this, Jiang Lin pondered for a moment before answering.
"I'd better familiarize myself with the campus first."
At the same time, he realized a serious problem.
What if he couldn't keep up with the theory classes?
For subjects like mathematics, the two worlds weren't that different; with the knowledge accumulated from his previous life, he could handle it easily.
But for subjects like 'Basic Magic Potions,' 'Introduction to Basic Array Formations,' and 'Principles of Magic,' it might be difficult to keep up with the group's pace.
For instance, Basic Magic Potions was somewhat similar to the chemistry classes of his previous life.
Even if he might not use it in the future, he had to learn it. Otherwise, it would be easy to make a fool of himself, like not knowing what dihydrogen monoxide was.
And now, his learning progress was a full year behind the current fourth-year students. Catching up would be somewhat difficult.
However, Jiang Lin was only lost for a brief moment.
He was the man who brought light to Boulder City!
He could pull all-nighters without stopping!
With the support of his limit-broken breathing technique, it was like the technique was constantly running in the background, helping him restore his spirit and allowing him to function without sleep.
These elite class students slept seven or eight hours every day; they really couldn't learn that much in a day.
He, Jiang Lin, could easily surpass them!
Afterward, Director Edwin handed Jiang Lin over to Phineas, the homeroom teacher, to let him show Jiang Lin around the campus.
As they walked through the school, the teacher began to inquire.
"Student Jiang Lin, I wonder what your family's surname is?"
Jiang Lin shook his head. "Teacher, I'm just an orphan. I don't have a surname. If you don't believe me, you can check the records in the Boulder City Temple."
Hearing this, the teacher was somewhat confused.
Hadn't Director Edwin just said that his family helped him get those recommendation letters?
Why had the story changed?
Yet, looking at Jiang Lin, he didn't seem to be joking.
However, seeing that the teacher seemed to actually believe his honest words, Jiang Lin spoke again.
"A respected elder told me that when away from home, I should act with humility and treat others with kindness. I shouldn't use my status to bully others or be arrogant because of my talent..."
Upon hearing this, the teacher had a 'sudden realization.'
It seemed Student Jiang Lin didn't want to reveal his identity, or perhaps the elders of his family wanted him to come out and experience the world as an ordinary student!
However, this teacher's level of insight wasn't as high as Director Edwin's or Vice Principal Keith's. He only saw this first layer and didn't connect that the recommendation letters were meant to deter other families.
Thus, he led Jiang Lin around the campus, introducing the functions of various public facilities.
"This is the gravity room. It has a large-scale gravity control array with a range of one to ten times normal gravity. Each small room is equipped with complete exercise facilities and can also be used to practice skills. Of course, many students use it to condense their magic power intensity. If you want to use it, you need to purchase cultivation time yourself at 1 gold coin per hour.
"This is the elemental tower. Some magic is difficult to master; you can go to the elemental tower and find the corresponding elemental room where the relevant element will be very abundant. This makes mastering the magic much easier. There are also some special breathing techniques that can be practiced with twice the result for half the effort if you have a higher concentration of a specific element. The price here is slightly more expensive, at 5 gold coins per hour.
"This is the school's large-scale magic gathering array. It has rooms with magic essence concentrations from one to a hundred times normal, which can accelerate the speed at which you condense magic essence and help you level up faster. The price per hour ranges from 10 silver coins to 10 gold coins.
"This is the projection training ground. You can select recorded skills, and the mimetic training ground can condense projections of skill proficiency ranging from initiated to superlative. These projections are left behind by previous teachers or students when they used these skills, allowing you to quickly become proficient in new skills and learn others' techniques for using them.
"The price here is 1 gold coin per hour. If you can add a new skill projection to the projection training ground, you can receive a reward of up to 100 gold coins. The specific reward amount depends on the proficiency of your projection."
Jiang Lin had only been listening silently to the previous facilities, but when he heard about the projection training ground—especially the part about the reward for adding skill projections—he suddenly perked up.
"Teacher, can I go see what skills it has?"
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