Book 2, Growing Up, Chapter 23 – A Wonderful Surprise

Hillman was standing in a corner near the gate. Smiling, he walked over. “The Ernst Institute has extremely strict management. They actually denied me entrance and just had a guard go looking for you. I didn’t expect you would actually be outside.”

“Yale, you guys go on ahead, I’ll join you later.” Linley turned his head and said.

Yale, George, and Reynolds all smiled at Hillman, then entered the Ernst Institute.

“Uncle Hillman, why are you here? I thought you would only come here to pick me up after the semester ends?” Linley said questioningly.

“Let’s talk over here.” Hillman pulled Linley off to a side, a look of irrepressible excitement appearing on his face. “Linley, I have wonderful news for you, extremely wonderful news.”

Linley’s eyes shone.

“What news?” Linley urged him.

Hillman smiled. “Linley, do you remember little Wharton’s date of birth?”

“Of course. January 3rd. What, does this have something to do with his birthday?” Linley questioned.

Hillman laughed. “It is December right now, so little Wharton is almost six years old. Just last night, your father tested little Wharton for the density of Dragonblood in his veins in the ancestral hall. And the test result was...haha...” Hillman once again began to laugh.

Linley’s heart rate sped up dramatically.

The Dragonblood density test result was...

Could it be...

Linley asked, “Did the Dragonblood density in little Wharton’s veins reach the cutoff?”

Hillman laughed loudly and nodded. “Right. Your father was absolutely ecstatic. He excitedly drank wine with me until midnight. Your father said that his two sons are the absolute prides of his life. One is a mighty magus, and the other is a Dragonblood Warrior. Haha...”

“Wonderful.”

Linley’s heart was full of excitement.

The five-millennium old legendary Dragonblood Warrior clan’s prospects, prior to Wharton being tested for the Dragonblood density, had previously been carried on Linley’s shoulders alone. The greater their former glory was, the heavier the burden Linley had been carrying.

But now....

His own little brother’s Dragonblood density was sufficiently high that with just a few decades of hard work, he could become a world-renowned Dragonblood Warrior.

“I came here today to tell you this wonderful news. Your father said to me that right now, the strongest people in Wushan township are myself and him. We are both warriors of the sixth rank! Our level of expertise isn’t enough to provide good tutelage for your little brother, and the training methods of your clan are written down but unclear.” Hillman’s face grew solemn. “Thus your father has decided to send your little brother to the O’Brien Empire’s ‘O’Brien Academy’ to study. In that mighty military Empire, in the finest military academy, your little brother will receive the best tutelage available.”

Linley agreed as well.

A person who only had tremendous brute strength but lacked in technique and experience could only be considered a big, dumb ape.

“Wait.” Linley frowned as he looked at Hillman. “Uncle Hillman, that O’Brien Academy’s tuition must be extremely high. Although they will allow their own students to study free of charge, no doubt they are extremely merciless in charging out-of-empire students.” Linley clearly remembered how much Reynolds had paid to be admitted to the Ernst Institute.

Hillman nodded. “The O’Brien Academy’s yearly tuition is approximately five thousand gold coins. Your father intends to have Housekeeper Hiri escort Wharton there and take care of him. The tuition fee really is high. In ten years, it’ll be fifty thousand gold coins.”

Fifty thousand gold coins would approximately equate to the entire value of all of the Baruch clan’s possessions, if sold off.

“Right! Uncle Hillman.”

Hillman looked questioningly at Linley as he watched Linley withdraw a magicrystal card from his pockets. Hillman was shocked. “A magicrystal card?” Previously, when he was a soldier, he had seen magicrystal cards before.

“Linley, how do you have a magicrystal card? Not even your father has one.” Hillman looked at Linley with surprise.

Linley tugged Hillman and said, “I won this magicrystal card from a rich kid who lost a magic duel with me. Let’s go to the Golden Bank of the Four Empires.” Right now, the guards at the Ernst Institute’s entrance no longer attempted to bar Hillman’s passage, because they recognized Linley, who had left earlier this morning.

To Linley, this extra money didn’t have too much usage. If he could use it to help his family, that would be enough.

....

Wushan township, within the Baruch clan manor’s main hall.

Hogg was pondering.

Since his clan had produced a descendant with the requisite density of Dragonblood, he must be given the best upbringing. Even if they had to beggar themselves, it would be worth it. This was without question!

“Who should I sell the stone carving screen in the bedroom to? Philip is too stingy, he won’t give a good price.” Hogg was pondering nonstop.

The tuition needed to send little Wharton to the O’Brien Academy was astonishingly high. The question in Hogg’s mind right now was how to sell his clan’s possessions for a sufficiently high price.

Suddenly, footsteps sound out.

Turning his head, Hogg said, “Hillman, you are back. Uh, what’s that on your shoulders?”

Hillman tossed the bag across his shoulders onto the floor. The bag collided into the floor with a heavy thud sound. Clearly, it was very heavy.

“Lord Hogg, Linley asked me to bring this to you.” Hillman opened the bag and then poured everything out. One small, gold-colored sack after another formed a small mound on the floor, and the sound of gold coins clinking within the gold-colored sacks was very clear and crisp.

These gold-colored sacks were used solely by the Golden Bank of the Four Empires. Each bag generally contained a hundred gold coins.

“Gold coins? So much gold. There must be at least ten thousand gold coins here.” Hogg stared at Hillman, astonished. “Hillman, you say that Linley asked you to bring this here?”

Hillman said solemnly, “In total, nine thousand, nine hundred gold coins. Linley asked me to bring this to you. At the Ernst Institute, a rich young fellow engaged in a magical duel with Linley, and in losing, also lost ten thousand gold coins. Linley stored them into a magicrystal card, and now, has withdrawn the entire balance.”

Hillman still remembered the words that Linley had said to the attendant at the Golden Bank of the Four Empires. “Withdraw everything!”

“9900 gold coins? Linley’s?”

Staring at the mound of gold-colored sacks, Hogg immediately grew silent.