Mysteries: Arcana Wars

Nineteen-year-old Alan Friedman closed the door of the kitchen and walked into the heavy snow in Backlund.

Allen remembered that when he first came to Backlund and saw real snow on the ground as a child, he was so excited that he even jumped up. But now, he looked at the cold snow and just numbly wrapped himself in his old cotton coat.

Thanks to the educational policy of the Kingdom of Loen, many higher education institutions in Backlund have preferential quotas for poor students. These poor students do not need high-level recommendation letters and colorful extracurricular activities. An excellent academic record and a legal welfare population identity are all the application requirements. After going through the school's comprehensive examination, only the preferential students who pass the screening can be admitted.

Compared to the widespread poverty population above and below the surface of Backlund, these preferential educational resources were still scarce.

As a child who grew up in the underground city, Allen was lucky enough to have the legal identity of Backlund and was a welfare population. His parents did their best to send him to a welfare school on the ground, but he passed away due to illness caused by overwork.

Allen therefore worked hard and defeated numerous opponents in the fierce competition. With an astonishing transcript and a pile of competition awards, he won a preferential student position in Backlund School of Political Science and Economics and became a student majoring in politics and philosophy.

But this is just the beginning.

A top-ranked university means top-ranked fees. Even though Allen's tuition was waived as a preferential student, the school's subsidy still couldn't cover all his living expenses and various tuition and miscellaneous fees. Allen could only work as a waiter in this restaurant at night, doing part-time work to subsidize his daily expenses.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the restaurant closed all business for the day. Alan prepared to return to his small and cheap mini-apartment to continue studying today.

The room was very shabby, the heating was never hot, and there was a musty and smelly smell. Fortunately, the apartment was not far from the restaurant, and the total walking time was only 30 minutes. The school was not far from the apartment either, so he could save a lot of time on studying and also save some transportation costs.

Top schools also have top teaching requirements. As the cradle of parliamentarians, Backlund School of Political Science and Economics has extremely high requirements for students majoring in politics and philosophy. In order to keep up with the level of other students, Allen has to study until three o'clock in the morning of the next day. For the rest of his study time, Allen can only look forward to the gaps in the schedule.

If he was unlucky enough to have the first class in the morning, Allen had to get up at 7 o'clock. Under such a round-the-clock battle, Allen could barely complete the school's tasks and requirements and maintain a passing score.

Allen never thought that he was incompetent and stupid. The fact that he could come to this school from the underground city was the best proof. But the gap between him and his classmates was not in IQ. The influence of the environment and education over the past decade had enabled his classmates to have a deep reserve of knowledge and insights, which Allen could not have achieved in the underground city and welfare school.

All of the students were excellent talents with excellent backgrounds and top education. They and Alan stumbled forward in the old classroom under tremendous learning pressure, and they did not hold any grudges against Alan's background in the underground city, and they were never reluctant to share their notes and insights with Alan.

The atmosphere of the ivory tower further aroused Allen's desire to strive. The good upbringing and excellent emotional intelligence of his classmates made Allen feel not only kindness and warmth, but also a huge gap.

Allen thanked his classmates for their kindness, but he knew that he and his classmates were not on the same path. Few preferential students chose the major of politics and philosophy, but Allen still made a firm choice.

What if... I could really use this knowledge to change Backlund one day?

Through my efforts, I will become a minister or a chancellor... In fact, being a member of parliament is good enough. In this way, I can use my power and my proposals to speak for my fellow citizens in the dungeons and slums.

It seems that these things are a bit far from a middle-class preferential student, but Allen is still unwilling to give up. He has seen his grades rise. This is a good sign, and he believes that he is making progress.

Unlike the usual dampness and coldness in the dungeon, the snow on the ground felt as cold as a blade when scraping against the face.

Alan quickened his pace and headed home.

As usual, Alan walked past the huge display screens that were working tirelessly, playing all kinds of flashy advertisements and inflammatory and biased news.

The colorful fluorescent light shone through the flying snow onto Alan's old cotton jacket. He glanced at today's news, but rarely stopped for it.

"Mr. Congressman, can you share with us the secret of your success?"

Allen recognized this man. He was Allen's senior by two years. Allen and Allen had met him several times. He graduated not long after Allen entered the university. Now, only one year after graduation, this senior has become the youngest member of parliament and was interviewed in front of the camera. Countless people who passed by Shelland must have heard his speech.

The senior on the screen was full of energy, his hairstyle was meticulous, his face was elegant, his dark suit was low-key and restrained, without a single wrinkle, his family crest was engraved on the golden cufflinks, and a golden fountain pen with a ruby ​​was buckled in his chest pocket.

In the exchanges between classmates, Allen also had a basic understanding of these flashy things. He couldn't guess the details, but he knew clearly that these seemingly simple clothing accessories were more valuable than the most expensive luxury goods in this department store.

But for these people, the real valuable commodity is their surname and their noble family.

"Secret? With all due respect, sir, there is no secret to success."

The congressman smiled gracefully.

“My secret is just hard work.

"Since I entered Backlund University of Economics and Political Science, I have only slept for five hours. Apart from eating and going to the bathroom, I have devoted all my time to studying.

"After graduation, I put all my energy into my career and the bright future of the Queen and the kingdom. I gave up almost all entertainment activities and still only slept five hours.

"There are no shortcuts, sir. All my achievements are achieved through my own hard work and efforts. When you devote nineteen hours a day to your work and study, how can you not achieve the success you want?

“If your dream fails, you shouldn’t always complain about the circumstances like a weak person, but first ask yourself…”

Alan stared blankly at the glittering senior on the screen, the glittering pen, the glittering armbands, and the glittering last name.

“Did you work hard enough today?”

The colorful stream of light dyed the pale snow under Alan's feet.

For the first time, Alan felt so thoroughly the cheapness of his own life.

It turns out that people’s time is not equal.