Chapter 139. Magic Academy
After praying for the survival of the mixed race and hoping their population would grow to diversify intelligent races in the Crystal Cube world, Cedric started assessing the situation with the demon cult.
The Temple’s relentless pursuit has significantly worsened the demon cult’s situation. Two more members of the Magic Association's radical faction have been discovered and killed by the Temple.
Although most potential Magic Association members are at Level 3, they still cannot withstand the overwhelming numbers of inquisitors and knights sent by the Temple.
Like gamblers who have lost most of their money, those who remain alive now lie low, striving to expand their demon cults in hopes of changing their fate.
Finally, he focused his attention on Catherina.
Shortly after the construction of the fortress began, Catherina devised a strategy to maximize profits while pursuing a personal plan.
She invested heavily in the elven, dwarf, and even the human fortresses through the human territory’s adventurer guild branch. Her goal was to secure a share of the lucrative trade route connecting humans and other races.
Additionally, she funded the construction of an academy on a mountain range near the valley between human and dwarf territories.
By investing a large sum of money, she has secured the right to construct an academy in the mountain range that borders the valley between human and dwarf territories.
Catherina paid various earth element users to connect multiple mountains, forge a tunnel linking the valley and the academy for goods transfer, and recruited teachers from the Magic Association, Adventurer Guild, and other skilled elves, humans, and dwarves she knew.
She even shamelessly poached several teachers from Elisa’s elven school by promising a much higher salary and extra benefits such as prioritizing their research.
Once most of the academy building was completed, Catherina also hired many elves to establish internal and external networks, enabling connections to the elves’ internet.
After decades, her efforts finally bore fruit.
“Should I name this academy H*gwa*ts?” Catherina rubbed her scaly chin while glancing at the academy.
Then she shook her head, saying, “Hmm? That doesn’t seem to reflect my greatness. So, how about I call it the Great Dragon Academy?”
“Great Dragon Academy sounds perfect.” Catherina nodded confidently, “If I play my cards right, I can establish a monopoly over the academic affairs of the three races through this magical academy.”
Catherina flew around the academy’s large, castle-like structure made entirely of stone. Although new, the academy is bustling with Catherina’s subordinates and some civilians from the three races' territories.
Besides the main castle, there are two other notable sights within the academy grounds. The first are factory buildings that are currently inactive. The second are the outer walls surrounding the academy’s perimeter.
Along the outer wall, there are rows of cannons facing outward. These cannons occasionally fire at demons, magical beasts, or dragons that attempt to enter within the academy’s range.
Apart from the rows of cannons, the academy wall also features four gates in the four cardinal directions. Outside each gate is an entrance to tunnels leading to the valley between the human and dwarf fortresses.
After flying around her newly constructed, castle-like school several times, Catherina entered one of the tunnels and started signing some letters. Once finished, she summoned one of her subordinates and asked, "How is the situation with the academy?”
The subordinate replied, “Most of the main building has been completed. We now just need a month or two to finish the residential zone around the academy.”
Catherina inquired, “How is the progress on the mass-produced magic talent testing tool factory? Have we verified its accuracy, and when can we begin manufacturing the testing tools?”
“The magic talent testing device has been upgraded with the latest technology available in the world. Although it occasionally yields errors, it is currently the most advanced version that we can make.”
“Good. Then you can start production and begin testing for suitable student candidates. We’ll proceed according to the plan.” Catherina nodded. “While we're preparing the magic-talent testing tools, send these teaching invitations to the addresses listed. Ensure the letters are sent to the correct persons.”
“Yes. According to the plan, I will use the adventurer guild to spread the word that the academy will be recruiting students and to send these invitation.” The subordinate took the letters and bowed before leaving.
***
Cedric has seen the magic talent testing device that Catherina mentioned.
They call it a magic talent testing device, but the so-called magic talent is, to some extent, influenced by potential.
Therefore, this device actually enables them to assess a person's potential even before the target awakens as blessed.
The Temple also has a similar device that Lacius discovered centuries ago. However, the device used in Catherina is several times more effective and has a lower margin of error.
Although it couldn't determine the exact potential level, those identified as highly talented by the magic talent testing device have over an 80% chance of possessing high potential.
Cedric studied the device and understood how it operated.
It works by combining various magical materials from all elements, then adding a substance that triggers the mana within them to react. This reaction releases a small amount of mana, which can be forcefully injected into the tested individual.
Still, the individual couldn’t absorb all of the mana. The excess mana then entered another mechanism that can gauge the amount of mana after being absorbed by the tested individual.
The machine measures a person's talent in a specific element based on the amount of mana absorbed from a specific element.
For example, if the machine indicates someone has absorbed most of the water element released by the water element magic material, it means the target is highly talented in the water element, with a chance they possess high-level potential and will awaken as a blessed water element user.
The challenges in building this machine stem from several factors. One major issue is developing materials that can trigger other magical substances to release their mana, as well as collecting materials suited for testing lightning, healing, and divine power.
The absence of these materials contributes to the machine's relatively high error rate.
Additionally, some talented people have individual physiological differences that can cause the machine to produce errors, preventing their talents from being detected and further reducing accuracy.
Still, Cedric is genuinely tempted to use a [Divine Intervention: Urge] to persuade Catherina to share the core technology of the machine and allow other races to discover their talents.
However, after some thought, he decided not to proceed with this idea. In any case, being held by Catherina isn't much different. Given her love for money, Cedric is confident that other races could also purchase the completed product from her.
Even if she didn’t sell it, the academy Catherina has is enough to nurture those talents.
Thus, he silently watched Catherina’s progress and attempt at creating a magic academy.
Soon, Catherina's subordinate began moving.
They spread across the continent, sending invitation letters to teachers Catherina had previously contacted and who agreed to teach at her academy.
Although some have died from accidents or old age, or changed their minds and declined, most still chose to accept.
Some agreed out of fear of Catherina's wrath, others because of her knowledge, but most simply accepted because the benefits she offered were simply too great.
No matter their reason and goal, those who've accepted Catherina's invitation followed Catherina's subordinates to reach the academy.
Once all of the teachers had gathered at the academy, they looked in awe at the fortress-like academy building.
Those who lived near the academy and arrived early would rest and wait for those coming from distant places.
Once all the teachers had gathered, Catherina made her appearance and said, “Everyone, thank you for accepting my invitation to teach at this academy I've built. You are the finest teachers in your fields that I could find.”
“Everyone must have been tired from the journey, but we're running out of time. I'll skip lengthy greetings and focus on discussing and preparing the curriculum for your students. Once that's done, we'll hold a welcome party to celebrate your arrival at the academy.” As Catherina and her new teaching staff discuss the curriculum, the magic talent-testing tools have just finished production.
Catherina’s subordinates once again moved across the continent, this time bringing the magic talent testing tools to begin student recruitment for her new academy.
Before the new batch of subordinates left to take the test, the adventurer guild displayed the academy’s study materials and hosted free lessons in reading, writing, and mathematics.
As the wealthiest person in the world, offering free literacy lessons barely affected her wealth.
Additionally, thanks to the influence of summoned heroes, the literacy rate in the Crystal Cube world is much higher than during Earth’s Middle Ages, when only the clergy or the ruling class had a certain level of literacy.
Elves have the highest literacy rate at around 90%, with dwarves close behind at about 80%. For humans, their literacy has declined significantly.
From nearly 80% during Yuma and Tsukiko’s era to just about 40% now, either due to wars, noble suppression of education for commoners, or other factors.
The Temple’s school has actually played a major role in preserving literacy among humans. Otherwise, their literacy rate would’ve decreased even further.
The academy test day finally arrived, drawing many participants from elven and dwarven territories.
The event was especially exciting because some test-takers saw the academy instructors' lists, which included many famous names.
Meanwhile, in human territory, only commoners and low-ranking nobles are interested in taking the admission test due to scholarships for high performers during the test. High-ranking nobles mostly adopt a wait-and-see attitude toward the academy.
Because of the differing backgrounds and knowledge of test-takers, Catherina's test primarily assesses memorization, logical thinking, problem-solving skills, and magical talent.
As long as the examinee can read, they can generally complete the initial part of the test. Only the magical talent test requires the examinee to leave everything to chance.
By the time the academy admission test is over, half a year has passed. During this period, Catherina and the teacher she recruited have completed their preparations.
The first batch of students consisted of more than a thousand people of varying ages.
Considering there may be geniuses among the older generation, Catherina plans to lift the age restriction for the initial batches of students. As a result, the first group includes students of varying ages, from teenagers as young as 15 to older individuals nearing the end of their lives.
After this first batch, the academy continued to send out recruiters every year to enroll more students.
Six years had elapsed by the time the first students graduated. The once deserted Great Dragon Academy has become bustling, now housing nearly ten thousand students.
Along with the civilians living nearby, the academy's population can rival that of a town. When the first graduates returned home, even the weakest had awakened their blessed power and reached peak Level 0, while the strongest had reached the peak of Level 1, just short of Level 2. That doesn’t include the top students who choose to remain at the academy as researchers or teaching assistants.
When the world saw how quickly the academy could produce blessed, everyone focused on it, even sending people to investigate its curricula.
The two human empires also established their own magic academies by merging the noble school with several smaller institutions they already owned. However, they couldn’t replace the Great Dragon Academy founded by Catherina for a single key reason: the academy’s complete neutrality and Catherina’s insane financial backing.
Unlike their schools, mostly populated by humans, the Great Dragon Academy is led by a dragon, has staff from various races, and admits students from all social classes and backgrounds.
As a member of the Magic Association’s council, Catherina can also easily recruit talented teachers from the organization. This further increases its capability compared to the other hastily built academies.