Chapter 358: Education Should Be Equal [Castle Bonus]

Ruvian stood in front of the lectern at the center of the stage, with the voice-amplifying crystal resting quietly on top of it.

He looked at it for a moment, but instead of reaching for it immediately, he allowed his gaze to drift away and slowly wander across the Grand Magisterial Hall.

There really were a lot of people.

And nearly every single one of them was staring directly at him.

’Ah. That is reassuring.’

Ruvian quietly breathed out through his nose and shifted his weight slightly where he stood.

Originally, he had intended to keep things simple.

Accept the reward, offer a few polite words that no one could reasonably object to, then step down from the stage.

That would have been considerably easier.

Unfortunately, he had something else in mind.

Besides...

If he was ever going to say it, this was probably the best opportunity he was going to get.

Ruvian finally reached forward and took hold of the crystal.

"I won’t take too much of everyone’s time."

He paused briefly to gather his thoughts. Hearing his own voice echo across such a massive hall also felt considerably stranger than he had expected.

"Anyway, there’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and since I happen to be standing here now, I thought I might as well say it."

The hall gradually became quieter.

Ruvian glanced across the rows of scholars before speaking again.

"We, as human beings, aren’t born equal."

A few expressions immediately changed; frowns appeared across several faces, while quiet glances passed between neighboring scholars.

Ruvian almost sighed.

That probably sounded much worse than he intended. Still, there was little point in softening the opening now.

"Am I wrong to say that?

No. It is simply the truth.

Some people are born with greater talent than others, while some are lucky enough to be born into families that can give them a head start before they ever enter an academy like this."

A noble child could begin receiving private instruction years before enrollment.

They could train under accomplished tutors, read books that most common households could never hope to afford, and practice with equipment that an ordinary family might need years to save enough money to purchase.

Meanwhile, someone born in a remote village might arrive here having never even laid eyes on half of those things.

Was that fair?

Not particularly.

But life had never promised fairness to anyone in the first place.

That was simply how the world works.

"And honestly, I don’t think every difference between people is something that needs to be fixed."

That earned him several confused looks. He could almost imagine someone wondering where exactly he was going with this.

Ruvian continued before anyone could settle on the wrong conclusion.

"If everyone were born with the same abilities and lived under the same conditions, there would be little meaning in surpassing someone. Sometimes, another person is simply more talented than you. Other times, they are ahead because they started working long before you did."

He lowered his gaze slightly toward the scholars seated closest to the stage.

"There’s nothing wrong with that."

"If someone stands ahead of you, then having that person there gives you something to chase. Sometimes, that gap is exactly what drives someone to become better than they might have been otherwise."

That much, Ruvian had no issue with. People were different, and trying to erase every difference between them would be meaningless.

But this was another matter entirely.

"Education, though... I think that’s different. You can be born unequal. But I don’t think an academy should take that inequality and deliberately make the gap even wider."

That finally stirred a stronger reaction from the audiences, especially the instructors.

"I understand why this academy has a hierarchy, and I understand why different classes have different privileges."

A scholar who reached Class A through their own ability naturally deserved something for it. Otherwise, there would be little purpose in having a ranking system at all.

But there was a difference between giving someone a reward because they climbed higher and making the climb itself easier for them simply because they were already standing above everyone else.

Ruvian glanced toward the section where several Class E scholars were located.

"If a scholar is already placed in Class E, and because of that placement they receive worse instruction or fewer chances to use the facilities that would actually help them improve... then how exactly are they expected to stop being in Class E?"

No one answered.

Not that Ruvian had expected anyone to.

"If someone starts ahead of you because they were born more talented, then that’s something you have to overcome."

Ruvian gave a faint shrug.

"And if someone worked harder before entering the academy, then of course they deserve the advantage they earned."

None of that was something the academy could reasonably control.

"But when the academy itself keeps making that gap wider, then it becomes hard to call the competition fair, or even call it proper education."

Some scholars would always perform better than others. Some would rise quickly, while others might struggle for years. That was unavoidable.

What mattered was whether they had actually been given a fair chance to discover how far they could go.

"Again, I’m not saying every class should receive exactly the same rewards. If there’s no benefit to climbing higher, then there would be very little reason for anyone to care about the class system in the first place."

A few scholars seemed to relax slightly at that.

But his next words were even more direct.

"Truthfully, I strongly believe that privileges should still exist. But education itself shouldn’t be treated as one of those privileges."

Ruvian turned his gaze toward the instructors seated in the upper gallery.

"A higher-ranked scholar can be given better equipment because they earned that advantage. And yes, they can also be given access to more advanced training facilities because they proved that they’re ready to use them."

"But a scholar shouldn’t receive worse teaching just because the academy already decided that they belong near the bottom."

His grip on the crystal loosened a little.

"That’s the part I think should change."

Basic instruction shouldn’t depend on someone’s class, nor should their ability to ask an instructor for help when they genuinely needed it.

After that?

Ruvian did not particularly care how harsh the competition became.

Once everyone had been given the same foundation, they could climb as high as their ability allowed, and the rankings could do what they were supposed to do.

From there, talent and effort could decide the rest. Those capable of climbing would climb, while those who refused to put in the work would have no one else to blame.

For a moment there, the atmosphere had become a little too serious even for him. Ruvian swept his gaze across the hall once more.

"So, since I somehow ended up with everyone’s attention tonight... I’d like to use my reward to make one request of the academy: reconsider the way basic education is divided between classes."

He stopped for a moment.

"I’m not asking for Class E scholars to receive the same rewards as Class A scholars, because that would defeat the purpose of earning a higher position. I’m only asking for the foundation to be the same."

He looked toward the upper gallery one final time.

"Also, I don’t expect everything to change because I said a few words on a stage."

That would be absurd.

The academy had existed long before Ruvian arrived, and most of its traditions had probably been in place for generations.

Changing something like that was never going to happen overnight.

"But I do think it’s worth looking at."

He lowered the crystal slightly, and gave a small nod.

"That’s all."

For several seconds, the Grand Magisterial Hall remained strangely quiet.

Ruvian stared out at the sea of faces beneath the stage, suddenly becoming very aware of how long he had actually been talking.

’Well, haha... so much for keeping it short.’

After that, there was little left to be said.

The ceremony moved through its remaining formalities, and before long, both the grand dinner and the award presentation came to a close.

By then, the Leviathan had also completed its return journey, finally arriving back at the academy after ten long days away.

[You have received +10,000 Plot Points!]

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[Chapter 358: Education Should Be Equal]

Plot Points = 309,000