novelnext Chapter 4314 Contract of Appointment
Chapter 4314 Contract of Appointment
Chapter 4314 Contract of Appointment
After walking through the empty street, Angell finally saw another person.
It was a middle-aged man in a uniform apron who got off a routinely operating mechanical carriage and started sweeping the street with a broom.
He looks like a cleaner.
Angell thought for a moment, then went up to him and struck up a conversation, wanting to ask him about the academic city.
But this cleaner, like the guard he encountered at the city gate before, is a very pure NPC with almost no subjective consciousness. He is simply a necessary "worker ant" to maintain the operation of the city.
However, they are not entirely silent. Like the NPCs in the holographic tablet game, they occasionally utter a few words, either expressing their feelings about the present or reminiscing about the past.
The content was all very ordinary and contained no clues whatsoever.
In the end, Angell had no choice but to give up asking the NPC and silently continue forward following the landmarks in his field of vision.
Yes, it's a road sign.
After he accepted the main quest—going to the principal's office—a yellow dot appeared in his field of vision. This dot marked a certain coordinate, and no matter how Angor moved, this coordinate never changed.
According to the mission information, this yellow dot represents the principal's office.
“There are quest guides and coordinate displays, and the NPCs are very primitive…” Angel muttered to himself, “This really feels like a game.”
Sandbox games... could they really be city management games?
Angel shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore. Anyway, once he got to the principal's office and accepted the second round of the main quest, he should be able to find out the situation.
Just like the main quest in Modern City, the first main quest involved finding the Prada Media company. The second main quest gets to the heart of the matter, requiring the challenger to set things right and change the corrupt state of the Prada beauty pageant. Then, in the process of changing the status quo, various extraordinary and realistic challenges intertwine.
Fools' City and Modern City are very similar; both are large cities and both involve a first round of navigation quests. Based on this, the second round will most likely be the main storyline.
Thinking of this, Angell began to increase his speed.
A moment later, Angell passed through a residential area and arrived at the vast commercial district.
It's supposed to be a commercial area, but there's nobody there.
However, there are advantages to not having anyone around; you can better appreciate the city's architecture.
It must be said that this is a city full of classical charm, unlike the trendy modern cities, but it has its own unique style.
Most of the buildings are brick and stone structures, with a Gothic Revival aesthetic. The pure earth and stone colors, combined with exquisite exterior carvings, make each building look like a finely crafted classical theater.
But it's not quite right to call it purely classical, because there are quite a few steel and concrete structures, chimneys and pipes along the road.
Even under the simple black streetlights, there are steel pipes connecting to the unknown depths.
There are also carriage tracks on the brick and stone ground. Although they are called "carriages", they are actually some kind of mechanical-style tall horses pulling carriages that can carry dozens of people.
It will continue to run on the city streets according to a predetermined route.
The interweaving of classical elegance and mechanical punk doesn't feel out of place.
Instead, it reveals a different kind of beauty.
Angell walked and looked around, sighing as he went.
I don't know which world Fools' City was projected from, but its style is really unique. It's a pity that it's just a framework city at present. It seems to be still functioning and alive, but the whole city has actually been dying for a long time.
It would be nice if some people could come in and fill this empty city.
Angell's eyes flickered as he considered some possibilities, but in the end he shook his head.
Modern City is very large and can accommodate a lot of people, but I still haven't figured out how to explore it.
And this is even a dungeon that the Fairy Realm's powers locked onto Angor and forcibly entrusted to him. It must be even more difficult. To achieve a 100% completion rate, it would probably be even harder than Modern City.
Immigrating here is not realistic at the moment.
……
"Ding--"
"We have arrived at Sibulin Zhongjie Station. Passengers who wish to disembark, please exit through the open rear door. Passengers who wish to board, please enter through the steps at the front door."
"The bus is heading to Xuecheng South Road and will depart soon."
As Ingres emerged from a building with extremely elaborate sculptures, resembling a religious church but actually just a library, he saw a large, brown-black mechanical carriage approaching from outside.
Xuecheng South Road.
Angell remembered there was a map at the main entrance of the library, which showed that Xuecheng South Road was quite close to the main Xuecheng area.
With that thought in mind, Angell stepped directly onto the carriage.
"Welcome passengers. According to the Academy rules, Academy Points will be deducted shortly."
As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of light shone down from above the carriage.
"Level 9 access detected."
“Your Excellency, welcome aboard the public carriage from the Academy City’s motor. You will be exempt from all public expenses in the Academy City.”
The announcement echoed throughout the carriage.
If this were outside, such a blatant announcement would probably make Angell very uncomfortable, but since there was no one here, he simply ignored these details.
The carriage was moving very fast, almost like a whirlwind, but the sound of the wheels rubbing against the tracks was loud, and combined with the clattering of the mechanical horses' hooves, it was quite noisy.
But because the audio frequency was very regular, and with the city scenery outside in sight, Angell did not feel impatient.
Even amidst the deafening roar, I was lost in memories and reflections.
He had passed by the "Sibulin Library" before and thought that he might be able to learn about the city through books, so he went in to take a look.
However, the library's exterior was extremely elegant, but the interior was empty.
His greatest gain from this trip was seeing a map of the City of Fools in the main hall of the library.
"This place is called a learning city, so it should have a strong academic atmosphere," Angel murmured to himself. "Why is the library so empty?"
"Or is this actually related to my main storyline?"
"However, speaking of which, the prefix 'Fool' is 'The City of Knowledge,' which seems to contradict the essence of the City of Knowledge. Is this also a kind of metaphor?"
Angell thought about it for a moment, then realized he might be overthinking it.
A fool is not necessarily a fool; perhaps this "academic city" is trying to express the idea of great wisdom appearing as foolishness.
It could also serve as a warning to students to approach their studies with the mindset of a fool, so as not to become arrogant.
Angell imagined many possibilities, but even when he got off the bus, he still hadn't truly figured out what the essence of the academy city was.
After getting off the bus, the first thing Angell saw was a small hill.
The entire school town is built along the hillside. Instead of regular grid-like roads, there are winding stone-paved streets and alleys that sometimes spiral uphill and sometimes disappear into the shadows under the arcades.
The main building complex sits atop a central hill, overlooking the eight university campuses scattered around like a castle; surrounding the eight university campuses are layers of secondary school buildings, with reddish-brown stone roofs arranged in a staggered pattern, and faint starlight and moonlight shining under the domes.
The above is Angell's view of the school district from a God's-eye view.
If you look with the naked eye, you can't see far at all, since the buildings are so tall and dense that they completely block your view.
He has now arrived at the school district, or more precisely, a school district in the south.
The school city has nine school districts, with two school districts in each of the four directions: east, south, west, and north.
The small hill in the very center is the main school district of the city, which is also where Angell is going.
He was on the outskirts of the southern school district, not far from the main school district, but after entering the main school district, he still had to walk a long way to pass through school buildings and secondary residential areas to reach the hill.
Finally, you have to climb to the top of the mountain to reach the principal's office.
Angell sighed; the journey had indeed been very long.
Fortunately, the first round of tasks does not have a time limit, unlike the first round of tasks in Modern City, where you must arrive within two hours or you will be eliminated.
Next, Angell changed to a mechanical carriage and then walked, finally arriving at the foot of the mountain an hour later.
After arriving here, I felt much more relaxed.
Because there is a mechanical elevator here that can be used by people with Level 4 access, which can take people directly to the top of the mountain.
As for those with permissions below level 4, they can only climb stairs.
Half an hour later, Angel finally stood at the door of the principal's office.
The reason it took so long was that the castle in the main school district was really big. Even though Angel had a directional marker for the principal's office in his field of vision, he still got lost in the dense network of paths inside the castle.
Finally, with the help of God's perspective, they successfully found the way to the top office of the university city.
Yes, the principal's office is located at the very top of the school town.
The principal's office door is made of ebony wood, with walnut wood trim and carvings, and inlaid with brass gear-patterned metal parts, which is very much in line with the style of this academic city.
Angell stared at the gate before him and took a deep breath.
Next, you'll enter the gate and begin the new main quest. This new main quest will determine the direction of this dungeon.
Is it a management game, a puzzle game, or... a hidden danger in this academy that resembles the divine will of a demon god, which he needs to resolve?
Various possibilities flashed through Angell's mind.
After a long silence, Angell finally reached out and pushed open the door.
What comes into view is an exquisite room, with a classical and elegant interior, but also many mechanical artifacts, which are clearly related to daily life.
The theme and the city's style are consistent.
However, Angel didn't pay much attention to these decorations and instead looked at the text bar.
However, the text field did not update and still showed the information for the first round of tasks.
Just as Angell was wondering, he discovered that the "yellow dot" in his field of vision had not disappeared. In other words, although he had arrived at the principal's office, he had not yet arrived at the true coordinates of the guiding dot.
He followed the coordinates of the light spot to the side door of the office and gently pushed it open.
Inside was another large room, but this seemed to be a study, as there were bookshelves—unfortunately, there were no books there either.
The coordinates of the yellow dot are on the desk in the study.
Angell walked to his desk and saw a sheet of paper.
Yes, this piece of paper is the ultimate guide for the yellow light.
Angell picked up the seemingly ordinary pulp paper, on which was written in very standard script—
[Fool's Academy Employment Contract]
We cordially invite you to take charge of all school affairs. We hope you will uphold impartiality, maintain order within the academic community, safeguard peace and tranquility, and guide students on the path of knowledge.
From the moment the contract is signed, rights and responsibilities are shared; the contract will remain in effect until the university returns to its proper course.
[Signature: __________]
[City Calendar: Initial Era - Days to be Proceeded]
The only blank space clearly indicates that Ingres needs to sign his name.
Angell then reviewed the objective of the first main quest: "Follow the instructions to the principal's office and begin your career."
He had overlooked the last sentence, assuming that arriving at the principal's office would suffice.
Unexpectedly, the real turning point was: starting a professional career.
Based on the current employment contract, it can be basically confirmed that he can only complete the first round of main tasks after signing it.
Angell: "..."
He was clearly given the title of principal in the text box from the beginning, but now he still needs to sign his name to start his "career".
So, is this an attempt to reinforce his identification with the principal's identity through a sense of ritual?
Just then, a voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Headmaster, I'm sorry, I think I just went into a memory retrieval state. I've finally woken up now. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting... Oh, has the Headmaster already arrived at the Academy City?"
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. According to the rules, I should have arranged for a carriage to go outside the city to welcome the Headmaster, but because I inexplicably activated my memory retrieval, the Headmaster had to go in person. This is my fault, and I apologize... However, why did I inexplicably activate my memory retrieval in the first place? I just thought of something, it seems like..."
With its mechanical voice and overthinking personality, there's no doubt that this is the spirit of the Citadel that appeared just now within the rules.
Angell originally thought that the spirit of the city could only transmit sound between rules, but he did not expect that after entering the sandbox city, it could also transmit sound directly.
"Stop, don't let your mind wander!"
Angor was afraid that it would overthink again and enter self-check mode, so he quickly stopped it.
"Yes, Headmaster," the spirit of the city replied obediently.
"Where is your original body?" Angel asked.
The Spirit of the City: "The City is my essence."
This is just as Angor guessed: if it truly is the spirit of the Citadel, then the Citadel is its body. Like the tree spirits of the Savage Caverns, they can sense your presence as long as you're in a tree.
Angell: "Can you manifest in disguise?"
After asking this question, the spirit of the city seemed to pause, and after a long while, it replied, "Does Headmaster mean for me to appear in a physical form?"
Angor nodded, but remained silent. He wanted to see if the spirit of the Citadel could truly perceive his actions.
The spirit of the city stammered, "I... I don't know if I can manifest in a physical form. The previous headmaster never agreed to let me manifest, so I've never manifested... Wait, I remember the previous headmaster..."
"Stop, don't think about anything else." Angell called out to stop it again when he saw it starting to let its mind wander again.
Spirit of the City: "What I mean is, I can't manifest in a mimic form yet, but I feel like I can learn it... Maybe once the City recovers to a certain extent, I'll be able to learn it."
"Restored to a certain extent?" Angell was taken aback. Why was this suddenly brought up? Could this be part of his main storyline? Is this really a management-themed instance?
"Yes, ever since I woke up, I feel like there's a progress bar in front of me, representing my growth... Come to think of it, I didn't have this growth rate before, I didn't know..."
"Stop! Get to the point!"
“Oh, okay.” The Spirit of the City: “In short, after the growth rate appeared, I could vaguely sense that as long as the City slowly regains its former glory, I will be able to regain my former privileges.”
"Therefore, if I want to manifest in a mimic form, I may need to reach a new stage of growth."
(End of this chapter)