CHAPTER 201: ALEX’S AGENDA

After returning from the fishing trip, Alex gathered his club members at the clocktower and hosted a fish buffet for them.

When the young man told them that they would be having fish for dinner, most of them thought that they would rather eat at the cafeteria.

But after telling them that they would be eating the rarest and most delicious fishes in existence, his club members finally relented and followed him to the club room.

However, there was a second reason why he gathered the gang, and it was because he wanted them to gain some academy points that they could use as early as now.

"So, I’m sure that the majority of you guys want to earn as many academy points as possible this early in the school year," Alex said as he gazed at his friends, who were busy eating grilled fish, fish soup, fishballs, and baked fish.

"Isn’t that obvious?" Renard replied after he finished chewing his grilled fish, which was more delicious than he had expected. "We get points when we impress the Professors or get good grades in their exams."

"Well, that is indeed one way of gaining academy points." Alex nodded in agreement. "But what if I tell you that there is a way for you guys to gain thousands of academy points aside from scoring high on tests and other activities that are conducted by the professors?"

Everyone, who was busy eating, finally focused all their attention on Alex. Information about gaining academy points was something that they wished to know badly.

The majority of them were scholarship students, which meant that they didn’t have a lot of money.

Yes, they did get a monthly stipend of twenty gold coins, which was a very big deal for commoners.

If they were thrifty enough, they could probably survive on one gold coin for a month.

Some of the scholarship students even sent half, or more than half, of their gold coins back home so that their families would be able to live a little better.

This was why becoming a student of Frieden Academy was a big deal among commoners, but it was very hard for one to pass through its yearly academy trials.

However, the Academy Points also served as currency in Frieden Academy.

By exchanging them at the Exchange Center, students would be able to buy things that they wouldn’t see outside of the academy.

They could also buy things from their fellow students or exchange their services for academy points.

This was why gathering these points were very vital to everyone, scholarship students or not.

"So, what do we have to do?" Renard asked. "Stop with the suspense and spill the beans."

Alex smirked before raising a finger. "Okay, the best way to farm academy points is by going to the training room."

Everyone in the room looked at Alex as if he was some kind of rare animal that was being showcased in a zoo.

The young man was unfazed by their doubtful stares as he continued to explain why going to the training room would let everyone gather a lot of points.

"First off, Frieden Academy was founded to develop the talents that come from all over the continent," Alex explained. "As such, the training rooms are also meant to encourage competitiveness among students. Because of this, a ranking system has been implemented to highlight the most talented individuals in the academy."

The young man paused for a while before continuing.

"Frieden Academy has thirteen training rooms, and each training room has its own specialty," Alex stated. "The first training room is a training room meant to test a person’s strength.

"Anything that is related to strength is measured there. The strongest punch, the strongest kick, the strongest body slam, the strongest sword strike, etc. Each category represents their own ranking... and those who are able to get to the top 3 will receive academy points."

Alex then showed the chart that he had hastily scribbled earlier.

"Top 3 gets one thousand academy points," Alex said. "Top 2 gets three thousand academy points, and top 1 gets five thousand academy points. These rankings are also separated by year. So there is a different ranking for the First Years, the Second Years, so on and so forth."

By now, the club members of Endless Horizon were starting to understand what Alex was hinting at.

"I believe that every person here is talented." Alex smiled faintly. "So, getting top 1 is not impossible. However, I need you guys to hold back at the start and avoid creating a score that is impossible to beat."

Alex then crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced at Renard, who was already itching to go to the First Training Room to set a record for the strongest punch among the First Years.

"If possible, do not go all out at the start," Alex explained. "Why? That way, others will be able to beat the records that you have set."

"Wait, why would we allow others to beat our records?" Lavinia frowned. "Won’t it be better to go all out at the start so we can immortalize our names in the academy?"

"I’m sure everyone wants fame and glory, and I’m not saying that you guys shouldn’t leave your marks in the academy’s history," Alex replied. "But won’t it be better if you let others beat your records? That way, you can beat their new records and gain thousands of academy points in the process.

"I call this academy point farming! Do you prefer to earn points just once or earn points many times throughout the school year? Which is more profitable? I’m sure you guys already understand what I’m talking about."

The young man then glanced at Charles, whom he believed could easily beat one of the records.

"Charles, the Seventh Training Room specializes in the Beast Category," Alex said. "You can summon monsters, right?

"There is a challenge of summoning as many monsters as you can possibly summon. You can beat the current record by just summoning one more monster. That way, if someone somehow manages to beat your record, you can easily beat that again, right?"

Just like Renard, Charles was now very eager to visit the training room to get academy points.

The members of Alex’s club weren’t stupid, so they instantly understood the potential of farming academy points.

"Before the school term ends, you can challenge the training rooms again to beat your previous records. That way, when you become Second Years, all the First Years will have no choice but to fight for second place."

By this point, everyone was ready to break some records, but Alex raised his hand to stop them from being restless.

"There is one more thing that you guys should do when you challenge the rankings."

This was the moment that Alex was waiting for because breaking the records would also be good advertising propaganda for their club.

"When you register to challenge the rankings, make sure to state your name as well as the club you belong to," Alex instructed as he raised a placard with bold letters written on it.

Club Name: Endless Horizon.

"That’s right." Alex nodded. "Not only are we going to be breaking records, we will break it in style. When you put down your names, put down your club as well.

"That will let the others know that it is the members of the club, Endless Horizon, who are setting the new records for the First Years. Who knows? If we get popular enough, we might even get club funding. Won’t that be nice?"

The commoners’ eyes lit up because the word "funding" had a nice ring to it.

The young man was purposely choosing the right words to entice his members, so that they would not forget to register their club after they managed to beat the current records.

Alex didn’t plan on only having his small group of friends as members of Endless Horizon.

He also planned to attract the hidden Named Characters in the academy, who might not be as popular as the protagonists, but their strength was the real deal.

What Alex really wanted to do was not create an ordinary club.

He wanted Endless Horizon to be the thirteenth Crest Club of Frieden Academy and send ripples among the powerful factions that controlled it from behind the scenes.