Hearing Timothy's story about him losing his parents and now being completely alone and self-reliant caused both of his roommates to appear shocked on their faces. Both of them were eleven years old but it would take at least several decades for them to be in a similar situation if there were to be some freak accident with their families. So someone who was a full year younger than them having it happen at that age was a fairly heavy realization for the two.
"Timothy my man, you do not have to worry about anything except for becoming stronger. You may not know this, but merchant groups like our Rising Tides Merchant Group have to usually hire outside experts into our ranks in order to make sure things like deliveries and security for our stock are taken care of. You have my word that if anyone tries to take advantage of you, I will step in and make you a better offer no matter what!"
Andrew was of course the first to speak up but surprisingly enough, the quiet and shy Ian had something to say as well to his new friend. "We both, like you, come from commoner families. The only reason that this guy here can flaunt like he does, is because his father worked tirelessly over many years just like his grandfather to establish something bigger while my family was only given a title like that because one out of every five members reach the officer rank while one out of every fifty at least reach rank seven as a warrior during their military service."
"Just like you, I plan on making the most of my time here because if I am able to reach a certain height before I become old enough according to my family's standards to join the military to begin my long career, I can possibly start out higher ranked. As long as I reach the rank of an officer level figure within the military, I know that my parents would be proud but my goal is to even one day surpass those elders who are all at the seventh rank as just warriors."
Those who were commoners in this empire saw joining the military as their only option to get out of poverty since there were different levels of commoners as well. Commoners who could not get into a place like the academy or a similar organization that fit their needs, even a third rate power in a small village, would opt to join the military to try to become stronger while making a living.
In this way, they could potentially build a better foundation for themselves. But those who continued on serving even though their families were strong enough not to, still saw benefits to continue serving in the military. The higher ranked an expert was concerning their strength and strategic prowess when it came to commanding soldiers in the most efficient ways in any situation, the more resources that they would be given to remain active. Of course when one retired from their military service, they would receive a yearly pension which was roughly eighty percent of the salary they made on average in the last three years of their service. It was wise for those to remain active until they physically or mentally were unable to serve any longer since even officers of the fifth rank as warriors were given monthly reserves such as pills to help strengthen their body among even armor and weapons that once they passed away, would be handed down to their children or next of kin.
After making this statement, Ian immediately pulled his hat down closer to shield his eyes. Ian being so genuine touched Timothy while Andrew began talking both of their ears off about his own goals and aspirations which were much more eccentric but completely fit what one would think the oldest son of a merchant group owner would be like.
"So my goal is to become a dual expert and reach at least rank three as both a warrior and a mage. My road will be difficult but I am glad to have friends like you to help support me and know that I will never shy away from returning the favor, not that I would even keep track!"
"Since you are trying to reach that rank as a dual expert, you would probably be able to receive an officer rank in the military if you chose that particular path. Those who have both battle ki and mana are able to be more effective as an officer present on the battlefield compared to those who are only a mage or only a warrior. Given that edge, you may even be allowed to not serve directly but to be given that rank out of respect until you reach a certain point where you will want any of the monthly reserves which could become available to you or want to serve directly for three years in order to receive a pension but just remember that if you were to do that it would most likely only be five to ten percent of you salary during the time since that would not be fair to those who serve for over fifty years." Both Andrew and Ian chimed in since they felt that Timothy's aspirations and goals could be achievable since he had survived this long in his depressing looking life.
"So Ian has a high elemental affinity for the wind element but what about you Andrew? I have a high affinity for the fire element and wanted to see if maybe you would be in the same class as I am." Timothy asked Andrew after the three looked over the brochures and campus map together since they had all just arrived today. It was just that Andrew and Ian had arrived in the late morning so they had a bit more time to settle in compared to Timothy.
"I have an average affinity for both the earth and water element. The main reason that my father was able to get me in as a student is because of his own political connections. Still, I do not plan on deciding between the two and instead I want to try to become proficient in using both elements in the future since it is somewhat rare for someone to have an average affinity for two different elements. As you know though, rare does not always mean better and compared to you two my road will be much harder!"
Looking over their class schedules, there was still a general class that every first year student had to take if they were actually attending for their very first year in the Grey Imperial Academy. So other than being able to eat at the cafeteria together for every meal, they were also able to all sit together in a class which the three were happy about. At this time, Andrew had yet another idea and Timothy could not help but to scold the artifact because it made a rude remark on how Andrew should really learn to behave a little better.
"You know Timothy, if you were only to reach rank three in a city like this, many other prospects would come and many that would be very generous towards you since you would be a dual expert. Even third rate organizations need personnel to keep their foundations from collapsing, and even merchants like my father would be willing to contract you with a good bonus within the contract and would even shower you with strength building tools including pills, techniques, among other valuables."
"That is the catch though, that you stick with becoming a dual expert. As a dual expert, you would receive more attention and generally could be treated as a fifth rank warrior even at the third rank. That is however the problem, because it may take you just as long to reach that rank as it would take a fifth rank warrior to reach their rank. If the path is too difficult, you should reconsider and just focus on becoming a mage because having a physically stronger body compared to the average mage due to your warrior training makes you stick out more."
"Oh, but do not let it get to your head because you would receive such offers mostly due to the fact that you studied here in the Grey Imperial Academy. Sure, a dual expert of the third rank can be a valuable addition to any force in the empire, but many would rather just hire a higher ranked expert with no background or connections since on the outside looking in, the overall value would be much higher. Relationships in this world can help determine where one lands throughout their life, and trust me when I say my father drilled that lesson into me before I could even walk!"
"Thank you for teaching me these things and I am sorry your father was so cruel to you growing up." Timothy replied to Andrew in a mocking type tone but it was true he was grateful. Due to his tone, Ian let out a chuckle before all three friends laughed together and officially considered themselves brothers who would never betray each other in the future no matter what. What was even funnier, was that Andrew during this decision all three of them made, wrote up a document stating these things for potential future use if needed.
