"Haa… where do you think that guy vanished?" Edward sighed as he stood in front of a two-storeyed building where newcomers had to report.
Professor Kimberly had told the group of students to wait there while she looked for Adam and brought him back. As they stood there on the sidewalk, they glanced at the atmosphere in the city, which was ironically a mixture of unease and relief.
Lisa listlessly leaned against the blue-eyed youth and replied, "Who knows what goes on in his head?"
"Look, they're here!" Suddenly a first-year student pointed in a certain direction.
Everyone looked over and saw Professor Kimberly and Adam walking toward them. The latter's left year had turned red for some reason, but most of them could make a guess.
"Alright, kids, let's get you all sorted." She nodded at them and entered the building. The students followed behind her, meanwhile, Edward and Lisa waited for Adam.
"Where did you go?" Lisa asked curiously.
Adam rubbed his ear gently as he replied, "Nothing, I just wanted to see what it looked like from the top of the city wall."
Edward simply rolled his eyes, whereas Lisa dubiously asked, "Really?"
"Guess?" Adam glanced at her with a smirk before entering the building.
Lisa speechlessly looked at his departing back. Seeing this, Edward chuckled, "Alright, let's go in."
The inside of the building was filled with Magi going on about their work. When the students entered this place, they were greeted by a spacious room with a high ceiling and walls lined with shelves, each of them containing various tomes and scrolls.
There were dozens of cubicles set up on this floor, each of them being occupied by a Magus who went through the paperwork of all the newcomers that arrived in Stardale.
Professor Kimberly found an empty spot and guided the students there. She then took out a bunch of parchment papers from her space-type storage ring and handed them to the blonde young lady sitting behind the desk.
The lady first went through Professor Kimberly's credentials. When she finished going through them, she hurriedly got to her feet and bowed respectfully. "Welcome to Stardale, Magus Kimberly."
The auburn-haired lady nodded, "Skip the pleasantries, dear."
"Yes, ma'am." The young lady sat back down and started to go through every student's documentation. This included their school grades as well as personal reports from academy professors stating which areas the students excelled at.
This was done to ensure that all the students were appointed to units where they would be good fits. The war with the orcs was a sudden occurrence, after all.
So the different Magi from all over the Southern Federation didn't have time to train together and get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
In order to maintain synergy, it was deemed by the higher-ups that the students who had already formed teams during their time in the various academies would be allowed to stay together when they were assigned to their new units.
After going through everyone's information, the blonde lady looked through a list of Magi units that had vacant spots and began assigning the students to these units.
She handed a parchment paper to every student detailing the unit they had been assigned to and the Rank 2 Magus they would be under. When Adam read through this paper, his lips twitched. "Magus Esmond? Isn't that…"
"You were assigned to Esmond?" Professor Kimberly glanced at Adam with slight surprise.
"Professor, do you know him?" Lisa asked. After all, she and Edward were also in the same unit along with Adam.
"Yes." Professor Kimberly nodded. "We both graduated from Clover Academy in the same year."
"How is he as a person?" Edward asked with slight nervousness. After all, who knows how long they would be serving under this Magus. It would be nice if this Magus was someone whom they could get along with.
"He's a brute." Professor Kimberly harrumphed. However, the next moment, she confidently smiled. "But he's a meticulous brute. You three don't need to worry. You're in good hands."
Edward involuntarily sighed a breath of relief. Lisa too was glad that this Magus was approved by Professor Kimberly. Adam, however, couldn't help but doubt his professor's words.
I don't know… that guy seemed a little crazy to me, he thought to himself.
"Fellow Magi, may I please have your attention." The blonde lady, after assigning all the students to their designated units, respectfully called out to them.
Everyone glanced at her, giving their full attention.
"There is only one thing I wish to inform you about," the lady began, "and that is the contribution point system."
"Miss, what's a contribution point system?" A first-year student asked innocently.
The lady gently smiled and patiently explained, "Yes, I'm getting to that. From henceforth, all resources that you buy will not be with the normal currency of the Southern Federation but contribution points."
Another student gasped. "That means gold coins are useless now?"
"I'm afraid so." The lady nodded and went on to explain to the kids.
Meanwhile, Adam stroked his chin, thinking to himself, The war will lead to a devaluation of traditional currency, so the Magi have implemented the contribution system point, huh?
During wartime, the normal economic system would break down due to the chaos and disruption caused by the conflict. This breakdown would lead to the depreciation of the gold coin, making it unreliable for trade and commerce.
In such times, alternative forms of currency such as contribution points would arise as a means of facilitating transactions and allocating resources. This had already been tried and tested multiple times before.
After all, this war with the orc wasn't something new. In the past wars, this contribution system would always be implemented. Magi, who played the most crucial role during wartime, would then use contribution points as a form of currency.
"A large board displaying each Magus' contribution points will be set up in the city's main square. Moreover, the surrounding streets will be used to set up stalls where you all may buy the things that you require," The lady stated.
Fostering competition amongst Magi units… heh! Adam smirked when he heard the lady.
He then thought of something and asked, "Miss, how does one earn contribution points?" Although he did have an idea, he still wished to confirm it.
The lady glanced at him and faintly smiled.
"By killing enemies, of course."