Chapter 22
I heard that creating an identity from scratch was something Dybun had done quite often. He took me to a nearby imperial administrative office, also known as a simple community center in the middle of Seoul.
Judging by the way the person in charge at the office greeted Dybun, it seemed like they had already seen Dybun quite a few times before.
“Look who’s here again. At least you don’t look like you’re in trouble this time.”
“I guess it is my first time bringing a kid along with me.”
“Pfft, I didn’t know you cared about stuff like that.”
Since Dybun was playing the role of a guardian of a youth, he had dressed nicely and taken a bath beforehand. I, too, had done the same. Apart from the fact that he seemed clean, the officer wasn’t surprised at Dybun’s visit and didn’t give us much trouble.
We didn’t arouse any suspicion, nor were there any procedures that troubled us.
When I’d received the Dreadfiend’s ring, I’d pondered for quite a long time over how to set my appearance. Having a lot of hair was a given, so that was off the list. I didn’t want to look too handsome or too ugly. Of course, I’d imagined what it would be like to live as a handsome guy before, but I didn’t want to attract too much attention just because of my looks. Not to mention, Eleris had advised against it from the start.
So, I went with a reasonably handsome appearance—blond, slightly wavy hair, and blue eyes. I didn’t stand out too much, and my hair and eye color were just mild enough not to draw attention. I certainly looked better than the average teenage boy without being overwhelmingly good-looking.
“Name.”
“Reinhart.”
“Place of birth?”
“I don’t know.”
The officer sighed. “Don’t you even have a vague idea of the neighborhood?”
He looked at me in mild frustration.
“No. I was abandoned when I was young, so I don’t remember.”
“...”
He seemed to understand my situation, as though this sort of thing was common, and didn’t probe any further. He instructed me to place my hand on a magical stone on the table beside me. After a brief inspection, he nodded.
“Hmm... there really doesn’t seem to be any data about you... It seems like you’ve lived your life so far without causing any trouble.”
It was quite a random remark, but I could roughly understand why he’d said that.
Assuming that the stone was some kind of fingerprint recognition device, my data would have already been registered if I’d been previously caught by a guard for some kind of crime.
People like me who have no known family were more likely to commit crimes, so they must have assumed I’d lived a virtuous life so far because there were no such records.
Although my birthplace and address remained unknown, I couldn’t leave them blank, so I made educated guesses on both of them. I wrote down an old, vanished address for my birthplace, and the southern side of the Bronze Gate Bridge for my current address. The address made it seem like I owned and lived on a bridge, when in reality, I lived under it.
Given the empire’s advancement in magical devices, I was able to obtain an identification card with a photo as well.
The officer gave us a final reminder to renew the identification card periodically before it expired, after which Dybun and I left the office.
So, you see, it wasn’t much different from a modern local office in Korea. It was extremely fast and convenient, and it left me ecstatic! I liked this part of the world so far!
“The process was simpler than I thought.”
“As it should be, given what they received from us.”
I had a hunch that Dybun had bribed the office workers beforehand. It felt too easy, like having a free pass, but I guess it was a win-win situation for both sides. However, if the officials got caught doing this kind of thing, they were sure to be fired in an instant.
I checked my ID card, which was made of metal.
It had my photo, name, birth year, and a unique identification number. It wasn’t much different from modern identification cards, especially the biometric data registration.
The design had a medieval fantasy feel to it, but it was practically no different from the one used in the modern world.
I’ll say it once more, it’s a medieval fantasy genre. In this genre, it is what it is.
Anyway, that summed it up.
The streets were still buzzing with the aftermath of the victory of the Great War. I could tell that the celebration was going to last for a very long time.
Welcome-home events for soldiers who had participated in the war would be even more massive, I was sure of it.
The festivities would continue on and on.
With my newfound status, enrolling in the Temple would be a smooth process as well.
On the way to the Temple, Dybun raised a skeptical brow. “About the Temple... Can anyone get in just because they have the money? They don’t discriminate against commoners, do they?”
For some reason, he seemed doubtful.
“Well, from what I’ve heard, yes, the money is the most important part,” I replied.
Although children of landlords and merchants also attended the Temple, the tuition fees were exorbitantly high, and unless you were a noble, it was nearly impossible to enroll. One had to pay billions in tuition fees per year, and it increased significantly depending on one’s major and how far one had progressed; if one could afford it, that is.
50 gold per semester was just an average number. Depending on the student’s major, tuition fees could skyrocket to absurd amounts. Although rare, scholarships and exemptions for the tuition fee based on the empire’s merit system were sometimes given out.
Given the absurd number of medals of honor that would be awarded after the Great War, the Temple was bound to be bustling with more new students than usual starting the next year.
The Temple charged exorbitant tuition fees so they could afford to invest in the most talented children of the cohort. As a result, most students did not receive an education that was worth the amount they paid.
Dybun took me to the Erediain District. The Korean equivalent would be Gwanak district in Seoul, where Seoul National University was located.
One key difference was that the Temple was a massive educational institution that encompassed the entire area of Gwanak district. So it was no surprise that the number of students was enormous, and the money they collected was astronomical.
That was not all.
To prevent people other than students from roaming around, there were massive barriers and physical walls around the different branches of the Temple, barring the entry of those without permits. The security and defense systems, along with the barriers set up around the Temple, were identical to those at the imperial palace.
The students all belonged to noble families in their home countries. The school had to ensure a safe environment for these children to focus solely on their studies.
This was why the noble families were able to send their children away to study such a long distance away without worry.
There were families that were concerned that their kids could be kidnapped or subjected to harassment by unexpected troublemakers in the area around the Temple, so it only made sense that safety measures were crucial.
Of course, an incident had to occur for all their safety protocols to be tested. If security measures and precautions were overly perfect, no incidents would happen. No one really wanted that, especially not me.
Anyway, the Temple was practically a neighborhood in itself, so it was not entirely appropriate to say that we arrived at the Temple, since magical trains could not even enter the Temple’s interior.
We arrived at an admission counseling office located outside the Temple’s grounds.
“This is my first time here. Why are there so many people?” Dybun couldn’t help but comment.
The admission counseling office alone was massive, almost like a school in itself. Even more astonishing was the crowd of people waiting near the entrance.
The people waiting with their numbered tickets were mostly kids and their parents. Dybun seemed baffled by the sheer number of wealthy parents wanting to send their kids to the Temple.
I knew what this phenomenon was all about.
“Maybe it’s because of that.”
“Because of what?”
“Kids with exceptional talent can get into the Temple for free. Maybe they’re here to test that.”
“Do such cases exist?”
“Who knows? They might.”
I made it seem like an educated guess, but it was true.
Just receiving an education at the Temple significantly raised one’s value. So even if they couldn’t necessarily afford the tuition, some parents held onto the hope that their children could be admitted for free, as they believed their children might possess special powers or be geniuses.
The reality was that most of them would leave disappointed in their child, but there were certainly cases where children discovered their talents and gained admission solely through it. The chances were extremely low, but it was possible.
In this world, there were four major forces.
Combat, magic, divine power, and another form of power, newly discovered not long ago: supernatural powers.
Combat wasn’t just about physically running around; it could grow a power close to that of a superhero as the individual grew stronger and stronger. Heroes like Artorius and even the knights of Duke Salerion who had chased after me had probably honed these abilities.
However, in the Demon Realm, the mightiest beings had probably been in the Demon King’s castle as well. There must have been good reasons for why the gargoyle had been able to dispatch the veteran knights with a single blow.
Anyway, those with the potential to become superhumans would likely be educated in martial arts and combat.
Kids with exceptionally clever minds or talents in magic would probably specialize in magic.
Those showing talent in divine power would most likely become priests or holy knights.
And a tiny minority would awaken strange abilities from time to time. This power, called supernatural powers, had yet to be fully understood. Since it wasn’t something one learned and used, like magic, most did not have full control over it.
That’s why the empire kept special control over these superhumans. Their powers could be extremely dangerous, and so they hadn’t been allowed to use them to their fullest in the Great War. Furthermore, superhumans who were considered extremely uncontrollable were ultimately discretely exterminated.
For superhumans, the Temple served as an institution to help them develop their supernatural abilities, while also being a place to exert control over them, and help them live safe lives.
Of course, most of the kids gathered here probably didn’t even fall into any of these four categories.
Talent was rare.
“There are so many people here. Is it going to be our turn anytime soon?”
Dybun seemed to be thinking about more practical issues. There were so many people in line that it was uncertain if we could get in before they closed.
But it was a needless worry.
“We came here for enrollment applications, not for enrollment advice, so we should be fine.”
We hadn’t come to the Temple for consultations regarding free enrollment options.
“Oh, I see.”
We walked past the enrollment advising area and straight into the entrance for enrollment applications.
Unlike the advising area, the application area was less crowded. Of course, there were people waiting there as well, but even the waiting area was luxuriously decorated.
Some parents, perhaps those who had come from afar, seemed to be wiping away tears as they were made to part ways with their kids, while their kids whined about not wanting to go to the Temple due to a fear of separation.
No matter how great the Temple was, for those who didn’t want to be there, it was nothing more than an unpleasant place. Kids wouldn’t understand why their parents would suddenly send them to a distant school and leave them there.
“Sorry, but this is the enrollment application counter...”
Clean and neat as we may have looked, we didn’t exactly appear wealthy. Thus, the counter staff assumed we were at the wrong counter and politely directed me and Dybun to a different counter.
“Oh... uh, um...”
Dybun froze, seemingly overwhelmed by the amount of rich people around us.
What is one supposed to do when their guardian is more nervous than them?
“No, we’re in the correct place. We’re here to pay the tuition.” I said.
Surprise flashed across the staff member’s face as I casually stated our purpose.
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