After the stressful time at the knightling camp, the cadet's immediate future depended mostly on the path they wanted to follow.
Those who aimed to join the military would receive a small, one-time pension and a total of a month of free time. During that time and with that money, they were free to do whatever it was that they wanted. Be it touring brothels, going back to the family to share their first taste of crown-guaranteed money, or doing whatever it was that they deemed worthy of that precious little money and time they had left before joining the disciplined life at the military's barracks.
The few exceptional cadets that qualified to join the knights would have their free time cut by half to just two weeks, while their pension increased by over three times. It was done to accommodate all the nobles that opted to join the order the true and tested way, as opposed to some of the modern aristocracy that, in their pure pursuit of the title, would use their connections and bribes to insert their spawns directly into the more decorated yet less militarily valuable knightly organizations. Yet, just like with the military, what the young cadets would do with that time or money was entirely up to them.
Finally, there were those who both qualified and then expressed the desire to join the academy. Those cadets would gain no pension or time limits of any sort, leaving them free to decide when to join the academy or what to do with the score tokens they'd gained back in the camp. Contrary to the first two options, however, they couldn't count on any form of support from the military, their knightly order of choice, or even the kingdom itself.
Some would join the academy right away, more than happy to enjoy the benefits of the dormitory-based lifestyle. Others would follow the same path, not for the dormitory-backed boons, but out of pure desire to start their curriculum, taking a first step on the long and arduous yet extremely rewarding path of mastering their field of expertise. Then there were some who would keep their score tokens close to their chest, opting not to use them right away but to take some years to go back home or back to their former job, only using their tokens when they were ready to pursue their path of personal growth.
Theo, however, didn't pick any of those paths. And while there were as many possible routes for a camp's cadet to take as the camp had cadets in its entire history, Theo's choice… it was still something so extraordinary, so out of the norm, it was bound to attract a lot of eyes to it.
That is, if anyone in the academy had a single clue Theo even existed to begin with.
'I need to hurry it up,' Theo thought, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, struggling to hold the one and only feeling he never fully mastered control over.
The feeling of powerless frustration.
But how was he supposed not to get annoyed when his grand plan was currently put on hold… all because the queue to his smithy of choice was so damn long?!
"Take a deep breath and calm down," one of the fellow victims of the long line attempted to spark a conversation. "This wait is the true prize of this place, given how cheap their weapons are," a middle-aged man—an adventurer from the way he looked, dressed, and talked—revealed while shrugging his shoulders. "No matter what it is that you desire, between getting something quickly, getting something of good quality, and getting something cheaply, you can only ever pick two."
This adage rang true not only in this world… but also back in the modern reality Theo originally hailed from.
Yet, if there was one soul that Theo could actually blame for his current problem, it would be the author of the novel that this world was all about!
'That damned bastard…' Theo cursed under his breath while pretending to take the stranger's advice, taking deep breaths to act as if he attempted to calm himself down. 'He just had to set this world to be right at the dawn of the industrialization era!'
The reason why this particular smithy was so cheap yet offered weapons worth much more than their asking price was simple. It was the first business in this border town that implemented some of the new metallurgic processes, allowing for much easier and thus cheaper refinement of metals. Along with the change from forging to casting, they managed to bring the price of simple weapons down by a huge margin, making them the busiest smithy in the entire area, constantly swarmed with low-level adventurers and fame-seekers who sought to replace their worn-down gear for cheap without compromising on the quality of their armaments.
Ten years ago, this option wouldn't even exist, forcing Theo to come up with another solution. Ten years later, and those inventions would inevitably spread so much that all the surviving smithies would offer their weapons at a relatively affordable price. Right now, however, with the better smelting, refining, and casting methods still in a heavily experimental phase, this particular smithy was the best and…
And only choice Theo really had.
In theory, with the small fortune Theo obtained by exchanging the score tokens directly for money, he could go to any other smithy in town and just splurge on his weapons…
That is, he could do it if he remained in the kingdom's capital, a week of travel by carriage away from the nearest frontier. Now, however, after paying for the spot on the coach and saving enough money to pay for the trip back while keeping just enough for his living expenses… Theo had no other choice but to seek his equipment from the "Smith and Besson" business, a smithy popular enough that it even earned a mention in the novel itself!
"Thanks. As simple of an exercise as it is, it helped," having absolutely nothing better to do than cry over this massive waste of what little precious time he had, Theo opted to just engage with the man. "And I guess you are right. I've heard their weapons are cheap and good enough for what they are to be used for, so it only seems right for all of us to wait our fair share for a chance to get our hands on them."
"That's the spirit, young man!" the adventurer grinned before turning his head towards all the people in the line still ahead of him. And seeing the line indicating there were still some hours before he would reach the smithy's counter, the man's expression soured in a mere instant. "But yeah, knowing it's fair and then standing around for hours on end…" he shook his head before heaving an exasperated sigh. "While they are about the same thing, they are entirely different things in their own right, aren't they?"
"They sure are," Theo nodded his head, fully aware of where the man was coming from.
For an adventurer like his newly made friend, a day spent in the queue was a day he didn't spend hunting. Or, in simpler terms, it was a day he didn't get a chance to earn his keep, putting a heavy strain on any low-rank adventurer's pouch, given how hard it could be to make a living when hunting small fry kind of monsters.
For Theo, however, the pressure came from an entirely different angle.
His special class privilege came with a month-long time limit. If he failed to show up to claim it in time, he would lose the right to attend whatever lessons, lectures, and exercises he desired, regardless of the standard progression of topics assumed within the academy curriculum. He had already spent a week to reach this frontier town and had to be ready to spend another week getting back. Adding three days of buffer in case of some unforeseen incidents, the month Theo had already shrunk down to less than two weeks.
Less than two weeks to prepare for all the hardships and challenges of surviving within the royal academy without the benefits of the dormitory. Less than two weeks to grow the foundation of his strength to the level necessary for the development of his core abilities without access to proper combat and monster materials.
He only had thirteen days to prepare for everything that awaited in the capital, from the rush through the ranks, through the bullying of the upper-class students, the inevitable investigation from the inquisition, and likely interference from the camp's intendant…
'Just like always, everything starts with making a first step, though,' Theo thought, pushing his thoughts aside not to let them overwhelm him while he tried to keep breathing deeply, desperate to find something to calm his mind.
Yet, as the line finally moved, allowing Theo to make a single damned step, his face still ended up darkening.
'I know it's just a first step and all… but why does it have to be so damn slow?!'