At the mention of the word-guards- Simon could not help but glance at the dark armoured guards who stood at the entrance of the academy.
One might think that being a guard was a good thing, but that was wrong.
It was not.
All guards were slaves of the clan.
There were clan members who guarded and protected certain places in the clan, but they were not called guards but Shadow Blades or Veilmasters.
They were called by their ranks in the clan.
Guards were slaves of the clan, and they were expendable but had some value.
For majority of the slaves in the clan, being a guard was one of the best jobs one could get in the clan.
Although one was expendable and the clan rules would still not protect a guard in many cases, a guard of the clan was paid, well fed, had a roof over their head, and had access to a few of the clan’s resources to get stronger.
Many slaves would choose to be a guard over the lives they were currently living, and for Simon, if he was just an average student in the academy, that would be his future.
Even though he showed that he had some value as an assassin or a fighter, it would not be enough for him to truly enjoy the clan’s resources if he was not exceptional.
If he was not at the top.
He would not be the first slave to be enrolled into the academy.
There have been slaves in the past who enrolled into the academy as Initiates, but at the end of the day, they either came out as average graduates or just above average.
And this was not enough to change one’s status as a slave.
One had to be exceptional.
Simon’s gaze was dark and deep as he stared at the two guards at the academy entrance, the words of their class instructor sounding like the annoying buzz of a mosquito.
’There are slaves who had Supreme Common Bloodlines like me, and I’m certain there have been slaves with Noble Bloodlines, but I doubt if even those with Noble Bloodlines were able to become a Shadow Blade.’
’Maybe there are some Shadow Blades who are slaves, it’s possible, but I’m sure they’re very rare and maybe living difficult lives.’
’The clan suppresses and makes the lives of slaves difficult after all.’
Simon finally shifted his attention back to their Class Instructor, and he heard the Velari speak about their weekly stipend.
"There are eighty two of you in the class, and your weekly stipend depends on the rank you got in your trials."
"From rank eighty two to rank forty (82-40), you get a weekly stipend of fifteen (15) merits."
"From rank thirty nine to rank twenty (39-20), you get a weekly stipend of thirty (30) merits."
"From rank nineteen to rank ten (19-10), you get a weekly stipend of forty five (45) merits."
"From rank nine to rank four (9-4), you get a weekly stipend of sixty (60) merits."
"Rank three and two gets a weekly stipend of one hundred (100) merits."
"And rank one gets a weekly stipend of one hundred and fifty (150) merits."
A vast majority of Simon’s classmates wanted to speak and ask questions about the weekly stipend, especially those who were getting a weekly stipend of just fifteen merits.
But when they remembered the merit penalty, they all kept quiet and did not say a single word.
As for Simon, his mind was on the words of the Instructor.
’Our room number determines our rank, and since I’m rank 47, close to rank 40, doesn’t this show that the twenty merits I was given in the beginning was a lot lower than it was meant to be?’
’Now, I regret not asking for how many points I got. I wish I did. If I had, I would have far more points than I currently have and I would not be struggling this much with merits.’
’Fortunately for me, I have ninety four (94) merits aside from the fifteen merits weekly stipend.’
Simon originally had only seventy two merits after paying the slaves to tell him where Pellin’s house was located, but when he went back to his room and was about to sleep, he suddenly recalled that the clan could find out from the slaves that a strange demon was asking about Pellin’s home.
And once they did this, they could trace the transfer of merits back to him despite his disguise.
To prevent this, he met with every slave he did a transaction with, killed them while in a different disguise, then put their corpses in his storage ring.
Even if he killed a bunch of slaves as a slave, the worst that would happen if the clan eventually found out is that he would be fined, and his fine would be triple the price of killing a slave.
And what would make it easier for him is that all the slaves he transacted with were homeless slaves, so a bunch of them missing was not going to lead to any trouble.
If he had killed a bunch of guards, then it might raise the eyebrows of some clan members.
’Even with the weekly stipend of fifteen merits, I only have one hundred and nine (109)merits. That’s forty one less than the merits that’s meant for first place.’
Speaking of first place, Thorgan’s annoying voice which called him ’Third brother’ drifted into his ears, but his heart was calm and his eyes were dark and deep.
’What’s done is done, I should just focus on the future and see how I can increase the merits I have. I definitely cannot survive on fifteen merits as a slave, it’s too little. Especially with now everything is three times the price.’
While Simon had these thoughts, Instructor Valdin spoke.
"I know many of you are dissatisfied with the merits you have, but it’s what you get and deserve. If you want to increase the number of merits you have, increase your class ranking during class tests and exams, partake in clan missions for Initiates, or find another method to earn merits."
The expressions of Simon’s classmates changed and became ugly. Meanwhile, a thought appeared in Instructor Valdin’s mind.
’Where’s that kid that called himself Shadow. He was first placed, so he should have gotten here earlier than the others.’