Chapter 88: Unexpected Problems
After things were clarified, Neri became much more communicative with Dixon and the rest of the group. She answered every question without reservation, completely changing her previous cold and distant attitude.
"I’m a second-year student," she explained as they walked. "My performance... can be considered average, or perhaps a little below. Unfortunately, to improve, you need resources, and although I gathered some mana stones before coming, it’s useless since everything costs Black Points."
"What are Black Points?" Dixon asked, curious.
"They’re the academy’s currency; you can think of them as mana stones in the outside world," she said. "They’re used to buy any resource within the academy. The problem is, they’re hard to get. Although, if you want to buy some basic resources, there’s an exception: a small market where direct use of mana stones is allowed, but that’s more of a space for private exchanges. Everything truly worthwhile requires Black Points... and they can only be used in the official market. No one would dare sell academy potions or spells for mana stones unless they wanted to die."
Cedric raised an eyebrow.
"And how do you get those points?"
"By doing missions or exchanging them for skills and products. If you’re good at herbology, engraving, alchemy, or enchantments, you can sell what you make or your time in exchange for points. We also receive a monthly amount based on our performance in exams... but it’s very little if you don’t excel; only the best get a large amount of points."
"And how much does the best of all receive?" Dixon insisted.
"I don’t know. Nobody says. But it must be an absurd amount, because they can get anything within the academy. However...," she added bitterly, "nobles always win it. They bring resources from their homes or their families get them through... questionable means. Damn rich people, it’s impossible to compete against them!"