Right on cue the air suddenly stirred. The students looked towards the sky in awe. A group of men and women had suddenly appeared. Aside from a few younger looking guards they all stood in the sky without any support.
Basking in the admiring gazes they slowly descended and came to a stop on the small stage.
Tepo eyed them from the back, but he only recognized Tapharn, the guard's vice-commander. The metal pieces sewn to her leather uniform shone under the sun, appearing harmless yet threatening at the same time.
The vice-commander kept some distance to the four men and women in pristine, high-quality white robes identifying them as bigshots within the forum. From Tepo's guess one of those should even be an elder but the woman kept herself in the background.
Since the bigshots arrived, the crowd had quieted down. Even the students close to the portal didn't dare to quarrel.
A middle-aged man stepped forth elegantly as his colleagues sat down on the chairs prepared on the stage.
"Dear students. I welcome all of you to the much-anticipated Dungeon Clearance Event!"
The man made a small pause, prompting the students to cheer with smiling faces.
"We of the dungeon committee have designated another dungeon for clearance.
Although I have to admit that this case is somewhat special. As the challenge this time will be to clear the infamous Ghost Temple Dungeon."
Low whispers went through the crowd, but most people already knew which dungeon they were dealing with beforehand. Even Tepo had heard about it.
"As many of you know this dungeon has quite an interesting reputation.
It is of common difficulty but has only been cleared by a single team. Fortunately, they never disclosed their strategy, so we have a fair competition in front of us."
Some people scoffed secretly. If the strategy would've been leaked it would of course have been the aristocrats who would've bought it at any price.
"But it isn't like no one ever attempted the dungeon. From our statistics we know that close to one thousand tries have been recorded over four years.
You can imagine how difficult this dungeon will be. Thus, we have naturally prepared a generous reward!"
With those words many students' eyes lit up. Since this dungeon was of commoner difficulty only aspirants would be allowed to compete.
Those were mostly new students, their foundations not settled yet. They were eager for whatever the forum gave out.
"Whoever manages to clear the dungeon… will get… one chance to pick something from the spell storage for free!"
Immediately loud cheers erupted. A fire burned in many hearts.
One has to know that the Forum of All Knowledge has one of the most comprehensive spell storages in existence. This was the reason why even the youths of powerful organizations came to the forum. Depending on the branch and your luck you might even find forbidden spells!
The aristocratic youths wore confident smiles, certain that the competition was already in their bags.
"Since the reward is this generous, we decided to make the entrance fairer as well."
Frowns formed on the faces of the students pushed away by the aristocrats earlier.
"After long discussion we have decided on a lottery format. Everyone of you can buy lots. You will find a random number of points on them. Afterwards we will let you enter the dungeon in groups according to your points."
The students were somewhat confused, conversing in hushed whispers. Most felt that this concept was not too bad as long as the draw wasn't rigged.
"Ok. Now I have talked enough. Why don't we begin the draw? Guards!"
Movement came into the crowd. A few guards on standby carried large bags as they approached the students. Suddenly surprised voices could be heard.
"What? 15 credits or 30 crystals?! Are you insane?"
Immediately a wave of complaints hit the guards. But they kept stoic faces.
"If you want to buy, buy. Otherwise keep quiet!"
Tepo frowned heavily as he observed the scene. His facial expression was mirrored by Tapharn on the stage.
The vice-commander hat to watch her precious subordinates get scolded for something outside their responsibility. She would've liked to speak up, but she knew the elder not far away kept a close watch on her although she didn't look like it.
In the end the guards had to follow orders. Their situation only improved during the few times the headmaster took control.
Tepo observed the scene skeptically as a guard also approached him. He thought about his options for a moment but ultimately, he decided to pay for one lot.
Reaching his hand into the bag the young man didn't delay much, grabbing a random small ball. It showed the number 23.
Only when the guard left without a word did Tepo noticed that Konstan had already disappeared at some point.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"What? That's cheating!"
Suddenly anxious voices sounded from near the portal. With one look Tepo understood the situation. The aristocrats indeed never intended to play fair.
While the poorer students honestly bought their lots, Kalmin was the first to take out a large bag filled with crystals. With a broad grin he directly bought one hundred tickets.
Tepo could only shake his head. That was a full three thousand crystals gone just so he could enter the portal a little earlier.
But others couldn't stay that calm. They complained loudly, anxious as they felt the coveted price disappeared before their eyes.
"NO! Kalmin, you can't do that!"
"Right, you can't buy more than one lot!"
"Haha, why? Who said I can't do that? If you complain I will just buy a hundred more!"
"Elder, teacher! Please speak up! How is this fair?"
Malian Redswan, the teacher representing the dungeon committee, kept a straight face. He looked at the commotion as he spoke with a nonchalant attitude:
"Where does it say you can't buy more than one lot? I told you: You will enter the dungeon in groups depending on your points.
If you want to enter earlier, you can buy more lots as well."
The newer students almost choked on their own words. How was this fair? An average student can barely cover their expenses. Where would they take three thousand crystals from?!
Meanwhile the older students could only shake their heads. They knew that the aristocrats took up the majority of the forum's decision-making positions.
Either you adapted to their rules, basically becoming a subordinate, or you had to be prepared for hardships.
High up in the sky unbeknownst to anyone two men faced each other.
Their appearances were in stark contrast.
One was an old man. With well-groomed, short gray hair and a pristine white robe with golden hemlines. He wore a diadem on his head inlaid with twinkling emeralds.
Facing him was a middle-aged man with unkempt red hair. Although he technically wore the same robe as the older man, it was barely recognizable. It was covered in light grey dirt with its collar linting strangely. Who knew how he even accomplished to wear out such a robe, which could block the attacks of some weaker world lords.
"Don't you think you are going too far this time?", asked the younger man with a fed-up gaze.
When he accepted the position of vice-headmaster, Ritton R. Porter thought it would allow him to procure more resources for his research.
But instead, he was constantly forced to appear each time the aristocratic families tried to play tricks.
His opponent wore an unperturbed face.
"I don't know what you are saying. I didn't know that the dungeon committee made changes to the clearance event. But from my evaluation none of the forum's core rules have been violated."
"Really? What about providing the same chances for all students?"
"Why? Everyone has the same chances. I scanned the lots beforehand. Some of them give up to a thousand points. With only 30 crystals you can get first place."
Porter stayed silent for a moment. He knew arguing with the old man would lead him nowhere.
"I know what you are coveting, Greencharm. But the Raunarum has been our reward, granted by headquarters. Don't think I will just stand by and watch you embezzle it. If you stop playing by the rules, I will be forced to wake headmaster from seclusion."
Suddenly an enormous pressure spread. Greencharm's face stayed unperturbed, but his anger almost visibly manifested.
Porter wasn't to be outdone. With the same attitude he blocked the pressure.
At the same time the situation on the ground tensed up again. After the aristocrats bought their lots the black-clad warriors accompanying them suddenly did the same!
Immediately the students around them were enraged.
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
"Only students can participate in this event!"
"Stop it!"
A few students again turned towards the dungeon committee with hopeful eyes.
The representative cleared his throat before explaining.
"We decided to strengthen the core values of our honored forum. Thus, everyone is allowed to join the clearance event this time. This will make our forum even more welcoming in the eyes of the public."
"What? You can't f*cking be for real?"
"Shameless! Hypocrites!"
The mood was boiling, but the indignant students had nowhere to vent. As they started hurling insults, Malian frowned. Pressure was spreading quietly.