Letter from a Friend

Sepphira's clear and crisp voice rang inside the room, it gave off a sweet tinge in the heart of those that heard it, especially Satoshi.

"And when Grand Master Elodin said in his letter, that the alteration is nothing less than one of the most important engineering marvels of the era, oh, what joy it is!

Let me tell you that at that moment I almost went ahead and brought the letter to show my ex-wife, just so she could see what a mistake it is to divorce me!

The oscillating construct and the vibrating elements, were of 'especially inspired piece of insights' as the Grand Master said, and I wholeheartedly agreed, whoever came up with the idea deserves the credit due to the achievement. Thus as you have insisted repeatedly insisted, let me informally congratulate and thank your brother Satoshi for his valuable contribution.

Please inform him, on my behalf, that the Imperial Descendant Hall of Research as a whole, and I personally, is greatly indebted to him and will be looking forward to the day we will be able to repay this favor.

Please let it also be known to him that the Hall of Research will always be open to him, should he ever seek a place to take root and pursue his study.

You have a wonderful brother, Mulah. Please treasure him dearly.

With gratitude and honor,

Head of Imperial Descendants Hall of Research, Efram."

Sepphira ended her reading of the letter and carefully fold it back. The room was in suspended silence, still trying to fully understand the full content of the letter that she just read to them.

"In case the Elders are wondering about the legitimacy of the letter, here I also have a copy of the commendation letter from Grand Master Elodin, addressed to Master Efram and Elder Mulah."

"Ca-can we have a look at the letter?" The youngest elder jumped at the chance.

Sepphira gladly handed the copy to the elders and the four of them huddled together as they carefully read the content of the letter. It was understandable, after all, no matter what background you had, to be able to look into the mind of a Grand Master from the dwarf nation was always a delightful occasion.

Satoshi had no interest in the Grand Master's letter. He looked at the letter that Sepphira just read to them and asked, "Can I borrow that letter?"

Sepphira gave the letter to Satoshi and he re-read the content of the letter. It was written by Efram and was addressed to Mulah. The content was to credit Mulah for his achievement in altering the Verdant Steel processing conduit.

Judging from the content of the letter, and the fact that it had found its way to Sepphira's hands and into this interview room, Satoshi could infer several things. Mulah must have vehemently refused to take credit for the achievement, in front of both his boss Efram and the Grand Master, Elodin. He instead wanted his brother, Satoshi, to have the credit.

Not only that, but Mulah also sent the letter all the way here from Xinjia-kor, just in time for the interview, to force the hands of these preceding elders into accepting Satoshi.

Satoshi read and re-read the letter in his hand again and again. It had Efram's handwriting on it, but somehow Satoshi only felt Mulah's unspoken intention from it. Satoshi's hands trembled as he held the letter, it felt heavy, way too heavy for him.

Several sighs sounded at almost the same time and awakened Satoshi from his thoughts.

"Unbelievable…" The lead elder said, his eyes still glued to the letter in his hands.

"Did you really come up with the vibration method?" The youngest elder asked.

Satoshi hadn't fully awakened from his surprise and was caught off guard by the question.

"Y-yes! I believe I suggested the method to my brother when he was home for New Seed."

"How did you come up with the method?" The lead elder asked.

"I was actually inspired by an inscription technique that I developed a long time ago, only in that technique I make light vibrate in different frequencies and wavelengths to aid with the imprinting."

"You developed this technique yourself?" The youngest elder was surprised, the fact that the technique was self-developed wasn't in any of the documents.

"I did." Satoshi briefly answered.

"Hohoho, this is very interesting indeed. Since it had come to this, there is no reason to reject his application, right?" The kind elder said to the other elders.

"That is unless Master Fang wants to debate Grand Master Elodin's assessment." he continued with a probing look toward Master Fang.

The other two elders also looked at Master Fang, they wanted to know what he would do.

Master Fang looked at the letter written by Grand Master Elodin, no matter how he looked at it, the letter looked legitimate. Either the content of the letter itself or the dwarf nation crest the letter came with, was more than enough to prove the legitimacy of the letter.

Unfortunately, he was still unwilling to let this go easily. "What proof do you have that the letter is legitimate, or whether the content can even be trusted?" He greeted his teeth as he asked Sepphira.

"I don't have one. I guess the Daojia Institute can only inquire to the Hall of Research of Grand Master Elodin himself." Sepphira answered simply.

Master Fang felt helpless when Sepphira easily admitted that she had no proof. That meant he had to bear the risk himself if he wanted to prove the legitimacy of the letter.

If the letter turned out to be true, he risked being reprimanded by his superior and inciting the ire of a Grand Master upon him. If it turned out to be false, he would also risk being seen as incompetent for not being able to recognize it himself.

"This council of elders only needs the agreement of at least three elders to grant an acceptance. I guess I can speak for myself, and the other two elders that we have no problem with granting the acceptance."

The lead elder suddenly interjected, extricating himself and the other two elders from the problem while at the same time putting Master Fang on the spot.

Satoshi thanked the three elders and looked at Master Fang, "What about you, Elder Master Fang? Do you grant me acceptance into the Daojia Institute?"

He didn't need to do this if his goal was merely securing acceptance. But since he had already been seen with animosity by this elder, Satoshi thought he might as well secure witnesses testimony that Master Fang had explicitly accepted him into the institute himself. Thus in the future, he wouldn't be able to say that he didn't grant Satoshi an acceptance.

Master Fang looked at Satoshi and couldn't help but feel a faint trace of admiration. This seemingly outdated and plain Aspirant had repeatedly gone over his expectations in the short time of their interaction. He even managed to force his hands in such a way, using the influence of people way above his ranks.

Now that he had secured an acceptance, he didn't gloat unnecessarily and only did what he must to ensure his safety in the future, these are all the traits of a wise person.

"I grant acceptance." Master Fang emotionlessly said.

Satoshi was thrilled when he heard this, fortunately, Master Fang could still be made to compromise.

The lead elder stood up from his seat followed by the three elders. Satoshi also stood up from his seat.

"Congratulations Student, on passing the Academia Scholastic Trials and being accepted to the Daojia Institute.'

The lead elder waved his hand and a scroll floated from the long table into the air. Streaks of ink seemed to appear out of nowhere and went on top of the unfurled scroll. After several strokes, a name appeared clearly on the scroll: Satoshi Ishida of Mhasgara.

The scroll furled itself and floated over to Satoshi, together with a jade token. Satoshi accepted both of them politely.

"The scroll serves as proof that you have passed the Academia Scholastic Trials, while the token is a temporary token of proof of your acceptance into the Daojia Institute. Make sure not to lose them.

Let me remind you that your academia journey has not ended, it has merely started. Don't grow complacent and continue to wholeheartedly apply yourself. We are looking forward with great anticipation toward your achievement!"

Satoshi couldn't help but feel something burning in his heart when he heard the lead elder words. The kind elder was also looking at him with kindness, the youngest one even gave him a nod. In all his life Satoshi had rarely felt this kind of feeling, it was acknowledgment!

Satoshi held the scroll and token even tighter.

"Thank you for your words, kind elders. Please continue to advise me with your counsel, lest I went astray and unguided. Even if I can't achieve much in the future, I will at least not embarrass you."

Along with that, one small part of Satoshi's journey came to a close.

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