Chapter 25
Akacoin?
“First, let me start by issuing penalties.
Earlier, during free time, some students attempted to enter unauthorized areas.
As a result, they were detained and given five demerit points, then sent straight to the punishment room.
Oh, you’re wondering what kind of punishment awaits in that room?
They’re forced to continuously extract mana without rest.
If their mana runs out and they can’t extract anymore, they’re tickled all over with feathers. It’s a torture in itself, but to be tickled while in mana burnout… that’s enough to drive someone insane.
Not that I’ve experienced it myself, of course.”
So it was about money—forcing students to extract mana for profit.
Even though their suspicions had been confirmed, no one was surprised.
What did shock them was how severe the punishment room was.
“W-What kind of insane person came up with that?”
“Tickling someone during mana burnout?!”
Those who had already experienced mana burnout knew just how horrific it was.
And to be tickled in that state while forcibly inducing mana usage?
That was nothing short of torture.
“Hopefully, this will encourage more students to cooperate with academic protocols.
And I must say, Instructor Nialley, I’m a little disappointed in you.
You should’ve made the students use more mana, so they’d be too exhausted to think of anything else. It’s because they had room to think that this happened, isn’t it?”
‘…Wait. So this is my fault now?’
Idnia immediately realized what had led to all this.
She had over-extracted all the materials prepared for the day, causing the students to be freed from labor far earlier than planned.
Since they hadn’t used up all their mana, some students went exploring, only to get caught entering restricted zones and rack up heavy demerits.
‘Whew, well, at least this means I’m not going to fail.’
Idnia chose to look on the bright side.
Meanwhile, Magram’s broadcast continued…
“Next, I’d like to award a merit point. To Miss Mari of the Eurus Dormitory, for reporting a wolf sighting near the instructors’ quarters—1 merit point.”
“Huh? A wolf came near the faculty?”
“A wolf?”
The students gasped in disbelief.
A carnivorous wild animal had been lurking near where they lived? That could’ve ended very badly.
“The faculty took care of the wolf, of course, but we had to leave the body behind. Do you know why, Mr. Gibbles?”
“Uh—m-me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Uh… was it because students entered a restricted area and they had to deal with that first?”
“Exactly. Some students entered forbidden zones, which diverted the staff’s attention. As a result, a dangerous creature managed to get into the academy’s student activity area.
This is why you must always follow the rules.”
Hearing this, Idnia gave a cynical laugh.
She was the one who killed the wolf—yet they credited the faculty.
Obviously, it was a lie, designed to reassure students that the staff had everything under control.
But to twist the narrative like that?
‘So basically, they’re saying students broke the rules, so it’s their fault the wolf got in. Wow, these professors are good at this.’
True to form, Magram quickly changed the topic before anyone could challenge the lie.
“Also, I understand that you’ve all been struggling with the lack of common facilities like lounges or break rooms.”
“Ah!”
“That’s right!”
Students began murmuring in agreement.
“We paid this outrageous tuition and got transferred here through grand magic—how is this the extent of our facilities?”
“It’s robbery! A total scam!”
The awe and excitement they felt when arriving through the divine teleportation gate from the Holy Seraphim Cathedral had already faded.
Now all they saw were the poor meals and cheap dorms.
Just then, Idnia’s door opened.
“Oh! You’re here early.”
It was Mari from Astraea Dormitory, returning.
“Ah, Mari. Congrats on the merit point.”
Idnia genuinely congratulated Mari for earning a point with the wolf she had killed.
“Oh, no need to thank me. It was just a coincidence, really. I just happened to spot it thanks to everyone’s guidance…”
“Sure. But let’s keep listening—the broadcast is pretty important right now.”
Idnia gently cut off Mari’s self-deprecation and turned her attention back to the screen.
Currently, the only student-accessible areas were the dormitories, the square in front of them, and the path to Lecture Hall 1.
There weren’t many places students could gather in secret to plan anything.
Even dorm rooms, shared two-to-a-room, had thin walls—not great for conspiracies.
That’s why, when Mari of Astraea and Prince Lorenzo of Mazdari met, they had to pull together an event right on the spot in a tight space.
But not every event could be shoehorned like that.
Magram’s latest broadcast hinted at something new, spatial expansion.
But that wasn’t all.
“Normally, this information is revealed one week after enrollment, but let me share it with you now.
This academy already has fully equipped facilities: lounges, gyms, pools, archery ranges, sword dojos, billiards rooms, reading halls, meditation chambers—you name it.”
The students buzzed in astonishment.
All of that already existed?
“However, these facilities are unlocked only when the total merit points of a dorm reach 50.
And it’s not shared—you unlock it for your dorm only.”
“What?!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The others were confused, but Idnia was beginning to see the system.
“From now on, each dorm will compete in merit points.
The first dorm to reach 50 points gets to pick a facility.
Let’s say Zephyros gets there first and picks the pool. Then the pool becomes Zephyros Dorm’s exclusive facility.
Zephyros students can use it for free. They may choose to allow other dorms in—if they want—
…for a price, or conditions like crawling under a bridge, perhaps.
They could even host pool parties and turn it into a full-fledged business.”
“Whaaat?!”
“No way…”
“They’ve already built the facilities, and they’re making us fight over them?”
The students were horrified by the academy’s absurd rules.
The Eurus dormitory, in particular, was the most panicked.
They only had 32 members—the lowest among all dorms.
This kind of merit-based competition would put them at a huge disadvantage.
“Th-This is unfair! We have the smallest number of students—we won’t be able to use any of the facilities!”
“Yeah! It’s clearly rigged against the smaller dorms!”
Despite the protests, no one expected Magram—broadcasting remotely—to care.
“Also, the school store will open soon.
It’s a shared facility, so unlike the others, it’s not locked behind dorm competition. Right, Mr. Gibbles?”
“Y-Yes, Professor…
Gibbles seemed exhausted just having to keep up with Magram’s chatter.
“Ah, the school store…”
“Phew. At least that’s a relief.”
The students sighed in collective relief upon hearing that they could access the school store.
However…
“That said, the school store will not use conventional currency.
Instead, we’ll be using an alternate currency: the Academy Coin—aka Akacoin.”
‘Knew it.’
Idnia clicked her tongue as soon as she heard the name.
“Because this is an institution of learning, we worry that introducing commercial elements might compromise our educational mission…”
Yeah, right.
This academy was clearly obsessed with profit.
