A long corridor leads deep into the campus, where falling yellow leaves fail to mar the pathway's otherwise untidy appearance; instead, they lend it a sense of quiet dignity. Just as the two of them, leading a white deer, reach the front of the reception, a short, plump man greets them with a smile: "I am Keli Abasi, the receptionist here. Friends call me Keli! Are you here to enroll in school?"

  Liu Sen steps forward: "Yes, Mr. Keli."

  Bosti stops as well.

  "Welcome, sir and the beautiful dy!" Keli is genuinely courteous: "I will process your enrollment so you can become official members of the Magic and Martial Arts Academy right away!"

  "Thank you!" Liu Sen breathes a sigh of relief, tearing up his father's letter, still worried about potential enrollment issues. However, seeing the plump man's confidence, he guesses enrollment must not be difficult.

  "Enrolling in the Magic and Martial Arts Academy is not difficult!" Keli smiles, sizing them up: "Which accommodation option would you prefer? By the way, all accommodation and meals at the Magic and Martial Arts Academy are free."

  Liu Sen: "We can choose?"

  "Of course!"

  "Is there a difference?" Bosti interjects: "Tell us about the differences."

  Keli expins: "There are two main options. The first is to stay in a small room with ten to forty people, eating buckwheat paste and maybe getting meat once every two years, but I can't guarantee that..."

  Liu Sen and Bosti's expressions darken slightly. Is this really school? Dozens of people in one room and meat only once in two years, with no guarantees, is more akin to prison.

  He didn't come out to enjoy luxury, but even this was a bit much to bear.

  Luckily, Keli offers a second option: "The other is a spacious room for one person, with beauties to clean regurly, daily meals prepared by the best chefs suitable for magicians' health, and the best wine once a week!"

  If the first option is hellish living, the second is undoubtedly heavenly. What's the catch? Is it a way to instill frugality in students? Liu Sen is puzzled: "Both are free?" The first option is naturally free, as no one would pay for such misery, but if the second is also free, that seems impusible.

  "Everything at the Magic and Martial Arts Academy is free!" Keli smiles.

  Bosti excims: "Definitely the second option, I want a single room, cramming twenty or thirty people together sounds terrifying!"

  "Sir must feel the same as this dy!" Keli turns: "Follow me this way!"

  He enters through a door on the left, one of two identical doors in the hall.

  "What about this white deer?" Bosti tugs at Liu Sen's sleeve. The deer cost her twenty gold coins, and bringing it into the Magic and Martial Arts Academy seemed inappropriate.

  Before Liu Sen can reply, Keli turns around: "No problem, we can buy it!"

  That's great; they know students come from all over and transportation is essential, even buying their means of transport, thinking of everything.

  "One gold coin!" says Keli: "I'll give you one gold coin!"

  "One gold coin?" Bosti excims: "I spent twenty gold coins, and so did he..."

  "If you don't sell... according to the academy's rules, it's ten gold coins per deer to enter the campus!"

  "This... this is too expensive!" Bosti is furious: "We'll take it out and sell it first, it can sell for at least fifteen gold coins outside!"

  "Of course, beautiful dy... but taking it out incurs another ten gold coins exit fee!"

  "You... you're robbing us!" In and out, just like that, the white deer is gone, and Bosti is heartbroken and angry.

  Liu Sen, however, is intrigued and calmly faces Keli: "No problem, one gold coin, right? Let's just say one gold coin!" This might be the Magic and Martial Arts Academy's entrance exam; he needs to show his worth. In some higher institutions, students' values are tested. To them, the value of magic cannot be equivalent to gold coins; is this the lesson Keli is trying to impart?

  Bosti, unable to stand alone, finally hands over the deer's reins to another young man, receiving one gold coin from Keli. Just entering the campus, they're already fleeced, and the young girl is sullen.

  However, her mood quickly improves with the warm welcome ceremony inside. The doors open to reveal rows of dancing beauties, making her feel like she's entering a royal banquet. The doors quietly close behind them, Keli turns with a smile, and at that turn, all the beauties stop their singing and dancing, and the hall falls silent.

  "Is it time to pay the tuition fee?" Liu Sen suspects this isn't a free lunch.

  "Yes!" Keli says leisurely: "The accommodation conditions differ, so do the tuition fees, which vary by gender. For the standard you chose, dies should pay 231 gold coins... men should pay 274 gold coins!"

  Liu Sen is stunned. Is it because of the high price? Partly, but here, three gold coins could buy a girl from an ordinary family, so 274 gold coins mean nearly a hundred girls' worth. But the cost isn't the issue; magic, if mastered, can easily earn any amount of gold. What shocks Liu Sen is that the 274 gold coins exactly match the total amount he has, including the coin just given by Keli! How could it be so precise?

  Looking at Bosti, her mouth finally closes: "How... how did you know I exactly had 231 gold coins?"

  Admiration! Liu Sen is impressed, not just for himself but also because Bosti's exact amount of gold was guessed too!

  "Magic and Martial Arts Academy instructors have their unique skills. I'm one of the less talented ones! Because my special skill is the least useful... counting money!"

  So he's also an instructor! Bosti is dumbfounded, while Liu Sen bows deeply: "Such a skill is far from trivial, how could it be useless? Congratutions, instructor, on your windfall today!" He hands over his rge bundle to Keli: "Here are 273 coins, plus the one the instructor just gave me."

  Keli takes it and turns to Bosti: "Your turn, beautiful dy!"

  Bosti recoils: "Can I change my option... to sharing a room with two people? I'll pay 150 gold coins!" Spending all her savings on arrival leaves her feeling vulnerable.

  "That's possible!" Keli's response is swift: "Alright, take her 150 gold coins and send her to Joseph's room... Joseph might waive the room fee, considering you're a girl."

  Bosti is stunned. Why consider her a girl?

  A girl takes her bundle, reassuring her: "Don't worry, Joseph may be older, but he loves women!"

  Bosti snatches back the bundle: "He's... a man?"

  "Yes! What's the problem?"

  "Take it all! Isn't that enough?" Bosti's face is red with anger: "I've never seen such robbery, taking everything!" She throws the bundle at the girl.

  Keli ughs heartily, and Liu Sen joins in, understanding now. Keli's job is to strip newcomers of everything, sending them into the academy with nothing. This method, akin to robbery, might be precisely why the academy maintains its purity, dedicated solely to magic, unmarred by other interests.

  "Though you're penniless now, you have opportunities to earn money!" Keli hands them each a jade card: "You can rely on your magic to hunt magical beasts. By the way, we offer fair prices for magic crystals!"

  A girl adds: "You can store your personal information in these cards, and if you earn gold coins, you can deposit them here!"

  Liu Sen smiles, accepting the card: "Alright, but I have a question. If we're living in the academy with everything provided, how should we spend the money?"

  The girl smiles seductively: "If you have gold coins, there's plenty to spend on. You can buy the best magic wands, enjoy the finest food anytime, and if you have enough coins, even do... other things!" Her gaze conveys a meaning everyone understands, clear to any normal man.

  "Got it!" says Liu Sen: "Too bad I have nothing now!" He whispers to the girl: "Though I don't have it now, I will in the future. Can we... do some of those other things in advance, with the gold owed..."

  The girl giggles and runs away!

  Bosti pouts: "Respected Instructor Keli, we've given you all our money, can we enroll now?" Her respect for this instructor is cking, seeing his eagerness to collect money and allowing such libertine behavior. Has the serious theme of the academy changed?

  Keli smiles like a sly fox: "Yes! Yes! Follow me, don't worry, all expenses are now covered."

  Damn! As if not being free was an option? They're so broke they're left with only a few clothes!