High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 333: Chapter 2 Aristocratic Basic Cultivation_1

”As we all know, the Merlin Medal permanently hosts a powerful spell. Would you mind telling us what the spell on your medal is?”

”It’s a summoning spell.” Zheng Qing answered very simply, then shook his head firmly, refusing to explain any further.

Xin Fat Man shrugged in disappointment and continued his question:

”When did you find out you were awarded the Merlin Medal?”

”Old Yao told me after our regular class meeting last weekend.”

”You didn’t get wind of it before?”

”Before?” Zheng Qing wrinkled his nose, answering somewhat uncertainly: ”I didn’t get any hint... However, when I was dealing with the Wild Demon at Great Ming Pavilion, Andrew, the chubby young agent from Trident Sword, told me that he would apply for some reward for me, but he didn’t say it would definitely be the Merlin Medal.”

”Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?” Xin Fat Man crossed his arms, watching his feather pen dancing happily on the paper, his voice filled with envy and regret.

”I thought the chubby boy was just joking.” Although Zheng Qing tried his best to display modesty, he couldn’t hide the smile on his face: ”Actually, at that time, I was most concerned about whether there was any reward money...”

”Tacky.” Xin Fat Man concluded sourly.

”Didn’t you ask if there were any school credit rewards?” A voice suddenly interrupted the pretentious interview, startling the two young men near the desk.

”Shit!”

”I almost got scared to death!”

When Zheng Qing turned around, he saw a small corner of Dylan’s thick curtain had somehow been raised, revealing Mister Wolfman’s pale face and slightly red eyes.

Perhaps because it was midday, his spirits seemed somewhat wilted.

”Is your coffin a sliding lid?” Zheng Qing took a deep breath, then slowly let it out: ”How come there wasn’t even a sound when you opened it!”

”As a piece of bedroom furniture, it’s necessary to be quiet.” Although his spirits were down, Mister Wolfman’s reply was still polite: ”As a noble, I would of course consider everyone’s feelings.”

”If you considered us, you wouldn’t stuff something like that into the dorm.” Zheng Qing grumbled under his breath.

”Before you climb out of your coffin next time, could you give us a heads up!” Xin Fat Man rubbed his chest vigorously, complaining loudly: ”You’re going to scare us into a heart attack...”

”I’m really sorry. I never knew Blue Giants could have heart problems.” Dylan quickly raised his hand to apologize: ”I didn’t realize you guys were so jumpy... As an eighteen-hundred-year-old elder, it’s my fault for not considering the feelings of young people...”

”When did you get a few hundred years older...” the fat man grumbled in response.

After Zheng Qing came back to his senses, he ignored their banter and immediately responded to Dylan’s question.

”I didn’t know how important the school credits were at that time, so I didn’t ask.” He appeared very crestfallen on this topic: ”It was like when Nicolas first told me that school credits could be converted into jade coins, I was ecstatic...”

”You actually tried to convert them?” Xin Fat Man looked at him in shock.

”Of course not!” The young scholarship student promptly denied: ”Even though I have quite a lot of credits, um, it would be wasteful to squander them. I’m not stupid.”

”I reserve judgment on that.” Mister Wolfman smacked his lips, exposing his sharp fangs.

It was unclear whether he was reserving his judgment about Zheng Qing’s intelligence or about the system of converting school credits into jade coins.

Noticing Dylan, who had started brushing his sharp teeth with a small mirror in his hand in the corner of his eye, Zheng Qing’s lips twitched but chose not focus on the matter any longer.

Perhaps the discussion in the dorm room was getting a bit too loud.

The Orange Cat swung its tail impatiently, stretching out its two front legs stiffly, revealing sharp claws glittering between its toes.

However, the young wizards did not pay attention to its threats.

Instead, Xin Fat Man, seeing the Fat Cat wake up, quickly reached out with his plump hands as if to hold it close.

Like a lump of putty being squeezed, the Fat Cat flowed out through the gaps between his hands, and with a light jump, leaped onto the windowsill. It then arched its back, raised its tail, and rotated out of the balcony.

A disappointed sigh came from the Fat Man.

”Then, do you have anything you want to say to the Magic Association Investigation Bureau?” He turned his head and looked again at the young state-funded student.

”Actually, yes.” Zheng Qing scratched his nose, sounding somewhat dissatisfied, ”It’s been so long since the Great Ming Pavilion incident, why are they only just now thinking to notify me about the award...If it weren’t for Old Yao’s notice, I would have almost forgotten about the whole thing.”

”Has it been a long time?” Xin Fat Man blinked, looked at Zheng Qing, then at Dylan.

”The time isn’t long, right?” The old vampire wolfsman behind the tentiss stopped grinding his teeth, did some calculations with his fingers and said with doubt, ”We’re just entering October, it’s been less than a hundred days since the Great Ming Pavilion incident... Actually, I think the process is even a bit rushed.”

”Quick?!” The young state-funded student had finally found a point to argue against, and immediately retorted, ”A day’s time is enough to fulfil the lifespan of a mayfly... a hundred days are enough for it to reincarnate a hundred times in this world.”

”However, you are not an insect.” Dylan picked back up his toothbrush and pocket mirror, continuing to clean his eternally insatiable fangs as he said, ”You should know, this kind of Merlin Medal, that rewards those for aiding in official matters, is the most troublesome...It lacks the immediate visibility and tangibility compared to the improvements made to magical skills or the pioneering of a new world.”

”It’s just a merit award issued by a secondary subsidiary of the Magic Association... it carries a strong ability to be enacted. In order to prevent certain groups from ’medal farming’, the bronze medal process can be quite cumbersome.”

”I remember Thomas said that the process for the Lesser Merlin Medal is pretty simple.” Zheng Qing seemed somewhat confused, ”Isn’t the Lesser Merlin Medal established for the sole purpose of lowering the requirements for the Great Merlin Medal and simplifying the process? Also, what is this secondary subsidiary?”

Dylan took a deep breath.

The large red tent swayed uneasily as a result.

”The simplification is only in comparison to before,” he puts away the mirror, looked at Zheng Qing kindly, and said, ”However, regardless of the simplification, the Merlin Medal is still awarded towards outstanding wizards who have made positive contributions to the Magic World... and should therefore be treated with prudence. You need to know, the old Merlin Medal, or the Great Merlin Medal, which you mentioned just now, was originally calculated annually.”

”On the other hand, the Lesser Merlin Medal, which includes the Bronze Merlin Medal that you have received, is issued in larger quantities, and it cannot possibly be reviewed by the Alliance of Great Wizards, so the Magic Association has delegated some of the issuing power.”

”This brings us to the administrative grades you asked about just now.”

”The likes of the Wizard Council, the First University, the Under the Moon Council, these are first-level agencies of the Magic Association. Trisword, etc. directly under the Wizard Council, Jiuyou Academy directly under the First University, these belong to the secondary agencies. The Emergency Response Department directly under Trisword’s jurisdiction, the Professors Joint Meeting of Jiuyou Academy, these pertain to the tertiary agencies.”

”Clear and straightforward.” Zheng Qing nodded repeatedly, sounding somewhat disappointed, ”That is to say, this bronze medal is equivalent to an Academy laurel?”

”It is the top honour of the Academy.” Dylan corrected, ”In addition, although the review period for the Lesser Merlin Medal has been shortened to less than a year, numerous necessary procedures still remain.”

”Most importantly there is the paperwork—all kinds of paperwork.”

”Reports from Trisword, reports from the First University, all sorts of reports required by every related department; such as a summary report of the incident to be submitted to the Wizard Council, an application report to be submitted to the Merlin Medal Review Committee, a liability identification report to be submitted to the Wizard’s Court, and the complementary investigation requested from the Daming Square Management Committee, as well as the certification and general conduct report for related personnel—in this case you, Mr. Zheng Qing—from the First University. All in all, there are thirty or forty reports that need to be prepared, involving different departments.”

”Oh, my, god...” Zheng Qing slapped himself in the face, ”The thought of this is absolutely hopeless.”

”This is the rule.” Dylan clicked his tongue regretfully, ”Once all those various reports have been submitted, the formal process can commence. Even though the Bronze Merlin Medal is just a third-tier medal, it is still one of the senior honours of the Wizarding World. Appropriate approval is required from the heads of the involved institutions, including the Wizard Council, Merlin Medal Review Committee, Joint Meeting of First University Professors, and Trisword etc.”

”This is also one of the reasons why I think it took rather fast.”

”You have to know, most of the people in charge of these ’related departments’ don’t usually stay in their offices, they are scattered around the world, even as far as those New Worlds. For you to get them all together in two months and have them sign their approvals, I think you must thank that little plump guy.”

”How do you know so much!” Zheng Qing looked at Dylan in the tent with admiration.

”This is the basic etiquette of a noble.” Dylan straightened his back proudly.

Xin Fat Man lay on the table, listening with profound interest to Dylan’s explanations. His quill was dancing madly on the parchment before him.

With such a helpful assist, he can easily get the interviewing article done.