Starting with the defeated female knight

Of all the people he had ever met, her size was second only to that of a certain super-sized nun. Let alone exercising, even the slightest movement caused her to swell like a raging torrent, and when she ran, it was even more so with a 'bang bang' sound. The force was so great that it hurt Green to watch.

But just when Uri thought she could use her natural advantages to avoid training, Green went straight to the tailor shop and specially designed and customized several sports bras for her, then threw them in her face.

[Change it, continue]

Then, she lifted the bra with her hand and observed it for a while. After that, Wu Li's face turned green.

"I designed all of these materials!"

Of course! Without your technical support, this thing wouldn't have been possible.

"Waaaaah, I want to go back to the association..."

In any case, Uri ultimately couldn't escape the fate of training, and Green even specially sent a tentacle to follow her to keep an eye on whether she was slacking off.

"Huh-ha-"

"No, don't get so close! You're all sweaty and dirty..."

"No, no, I'm really going to die..."

However, despite saying no, after a few days, Uli's figure, mental state, and even research speed all improved.

After all, when you're in good physical condition, your brain can indeed work much faster. And the ongoing research actually requires more physical strength and endurance than people imagine. Appropriate physical exercise is of great benefit to these magicians.

And today, after yet another workout.

Because of the long period of time they spent together, Uri gradually realized that Green wasn't such an imposing figure, and she gradually relaxed her attitude towards him.

After yet another workout, perhaps out of some kind of revenge, perhaps as a prank, or perhaps for some other reason.

In any case, she reached out her demonic claws towards the tentacles, stuffed them into the clothes she had just finished exercising in, and after making sure they were suffocated, she even patted them.

"How are you feeling, my patron?"

【good】

The tentacle poked its head out, seemingly unconcerned.

After all, although many tentacles change their properties after mutation, most still prefer a humid and warm environment.

Moreover, Uli's personal hygiene was supervised by herself. She took a bath twice a day and used high-end soaps and some strange things she made herself, so even when she sweated, it wasn't disgusting and even had a faint milky smell.

The only problem is that, due to the rise and fall of breathing, once you sink in, your two huge mounds will constantly squeeze and tremble, and if you don't stick your head out, it will feel a little suffocating.

But it's quite comfortable.

After the simple prank, and because of the fatigue from training, Uli didn't take out the tentacles.

Moreover, because she was not used to crowded places, she never went to the large public bathhouse next to the training ground, but went straight home and lay down on the bed.

Go take a shower first.

The tentacle patted her face.

The latter tried to play dead, but after failing, he begged for mercy.

"Take a break, just a little while."

Considering that she had cooperated well these past few days, the tentacles did not force her to get up immediately and then retracted.

After a moment, once she had caught her breath, Uli opened her eyes and gently stroked the tentacle in her arms.

"Thank you."

The tentacles poked their heads out in confusion.

【Huh? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?】

"It's not that he's acting crazy."

Uli sighed, slumped onto the bed, but her expression became unusually serious.

"It's me, and all those idiots I brought with me, who should thank you."

Yes, she knew that perhaps in the eyes of many people, even Green himself, it should be Green and the people of Dawn City who thanked her and the mages for the technical support they provided.

But in truth, she and the magicians knew that they should be the ones thanking Him.

"You probably haven't dealt with the Mage Association in the capital yet, have you?"

"No, even if you've already fought them, those people will probably just pretend to greet you, but they won't let you see the real stuff."

"So you'd never guess just how rotten and stupid that place really is (beep)."

Of the three cornerstones of the capital, Green has already had contact with two of them, and so far, their interactions have been quite extensive, and he has gained a considerable understanding of them.

But regarding the Mage Association, so far, apart from occasionally chatting with Uri, even the other mages seem unwilling to mention it.

The reason is also very simple.

"That place is a cesspool, a huge cesspool!"

During casual conversations with Green before, Uri had complained to him a few times about certain situations within the Mage's Association, but she hadn't gone into details.

And now...

Do you know what 'paying tuition' means?

"Everyone who wants to become a magician and join the Magicians' Association must first pay a considerable tuition fee, and then pay monthly fees to maintain their qualification."

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this behavior itself. After all, the association’s daily operations also require money. And although fees are required, once you join, the association will provide basic knowledge and equipment, as well as a series of guarantees, so it’s not like you’re getting money for nothing.”

"You provide the money, and the association provides you with the foundation and space to develop. On this basis, it can also help those geniuses who are really struggling financially to get in through tuition reduction, loan subsidies, and other means, so that their talents are not buried and it is also conducive to the research and development of technology."

"This is the concept behind the initial design of this system."

"But later, everything changed."

First, tuition fees increased dramatically. Not to mention ordinary people with the means, even middle-class families with high-class lineage in the capital would find it difficult to come up with such a large sum of money.

Is it because the association's operating costs have increased? No, it's because someone wants to use this to offer 'loan' services.

Whenever a new magician encounters difficulties at this stage, kind-hearted people will step forward, saying that their teacher values ​​him highly and is willing to cover his tuition fees, as long as he is willing to join their school, and so on...

It sounds great, and when they first join, they'll find that the school has a great atmosphere, with all sorts of research support in place. By all accounts, it's a harmonious family.

Until the first research result is released and the feedback is received, they will see that their names will not be mentioned in the authorship section of the research report, let alone as second authors, and they will not receive any patents or remuneration.

If you ask, they'll probably say things like, "Oh, I forgot to tell you before, you have to use your research to pay for your tuition." "Don't worry, once you've paid your tuition, you can do your own research." "Our teacher values ​​you highly and will definitely not treat you unfairly," and so on.

Then, the second time, the third time, the fourth time...

Okay, just kidding, not many people can make it to the third time.

After all, human inspiration is limited, and research costs money.

Not to mention that each school of thought has its own limited research scope, and these are basically things that have been studied several times. Very few people can produce two results, let alone a third or fourth time.

Then, realizing that something was wrong, they naturally went to ask and question others.

Then, they will be surprised to find that the 'family' that had previously been kind and friendly to them has almost instantly shed its pretense of goodwill.

The teachers' loans are compounded with interest; they are truly gifted, producing new achievements every few months, yet they still can't pay them back.

There were no subsidies for the experiments. All the results that I had to pay out of my own pocket to produce went into the teacher's pocket and became his publication. I had to pay to see or use them myself.

Report it? Everything is perfectly reasonable and compliant.

As a mage who relies on your brain for a living, being deceived is your own problem. Not only will you not receive help, but you will also be ridiculed and mocked.

Back in the lab, once the warm facade was gone, all sorts of dirty and tiring work piled up on me.

If you continue, you'll be a slave in the mage tower for the rest of your life, without getting paid a penny, but you'll still have to do all the work you need. If you don't produce results, you'll be scolded every day, and if you do produce results, they won't be credited to you.

If they refused to comply, the kind teachers wouldn't necessarily go so far as to kill them, but after several unsuccessful warnings, they would still expel them from the school.

Once expelled from the sect, one must be responsible for the high tuition fees and the deposits that need to be paid continuously. If one cannot repay them, one's magician qualification will be revoked, all equipment and permissions will be confiscated, and all spellcasting qualifications except for those of a formal mage will be stripped away.

Once a violation is discovered, the consequences range from imprisonment to being used as research material.

But here's the problem.

If the tuition fees are so high, then where do those teachers get their money?

The answer is that it wasn't given at all.

After all, although tuition fees have increased dramatically, the association hasn't added anything new, and operating costs remain the same, or even lower.

Each school of thought just needs to do a little bit of work, pay all the fees they're supposed to, and the association can operate as usual, and in reality, it doesn't amount to much.

As for tuition fees, we can just find someone to cover it up. After all, once those students drop out, the exorbitant tuition fees will still be paid back to them.

As for resistance? How could a new student possibly resist a 'warm family' composed of a group of high-level mages?

As for suicide, there are quite a few, but that actually suits their purposes better. After squeezing out all the value, they can have more experimental material.

Then some people might ask, since academic cliques are so unethical, why don't I just pay for my own research and do the research myself?

Congratulations! After paying exorbitant tuition fees, you'll find that most of the association's facilities and knowledge won't be available to you. Even things marked as free and available for reservation will never be your turn. Not to mention materials or knowledge—you can't buy them even if you have the money.

Even if you are truly a genius and produce results under such circumstances, you will most likely face rejection.

Then, after some time, you'll find that what you submitted has inexplicably appeared in someone else's report, and it's even passed review...

Truth is in the hands of a minority, and can only be in the hands of a minority.

The monks were well-versed in this.

This is not even the whole story; it's just a microcosm of the corruption within the association.

Doesn't your student council president care?

Green had heard that, unlike the Church and the King, the president of the Magicians' Association was quite young. Even if he couldn't do whatever he wanted, he was at least not incapacitated.

Or perhaps, she is also...

"No, the president has no connection with those people, and since taking office, he's never stopped trying to disgust them, but..."

When the chairman was mentioned, Uri's expression turned strange.

"The president herself is a problem."

But Uli didn't know how to explain it in more detail. After muttering something like "there's something wrong with her brain," "there's something wrong with her mind," and "there's something wrong with her body," she stopped, only adding one sentence at the end.

"But you might be interested in her."

【? 】

"She is very young, extremely young."

The tentacles rose up.

Uli covered her head.

"Don't hit my face!"

However, they didn't play it in the end.

After a brief moment of playfulness, Uli, holding the tentacles, walked to the window and looked at the mages running around on the street, their tongues practically lolling out.

"So, I really thank you."

"Although I don't like those old things, after spending a long time in them, it seems like I've been pickled up by them too."

"Although it's not that outrageous, when we first came here, we really valued our knowledge and skills, and we also had many perceptions and viewpoints that you might find difficult to understand."

"But you've set a good example. You not only possess knowledge that's hard for us to imagine, but you're also willing to share and exchange ideas. Under your influence, the city is filled with this kind of atmosphere."

"We begin to make contact, we begin to be amazed, our shells begin to crack, and our minds gradually become free."

"In the end, when we came to our senses, we were already caught up in it."

"This is probably the original, researcher-related pleasure."

They don't seek fame, don't talk about profits, and don't need to worry about the association's control or bans.

It's simply about getting together to research and discuss, achieving results, and seeing the things that have come to fruition through our efforts, as well as the changes they've brought about.

The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction they felt was something they had never experienced before.