novelraw Chapter 106: Poor in Wealth, Not in Ambition
Chapter 106: Poor in Wealth, Not in Ambition
Not only was Fly surprised by this, but even Mr. Carter's expression momentarily froze.
The Student Council actually secretly renovated new Gravity Chambers?
What was going on?
"Why don't they just use the school's original Gravity Chambers?" Mr. Carter couldn't help but comment dryly. "Sure, they're a bit on the older side, but they still work well enough."
Just what were these guys in the Student Council thinking?
"By the way, how much does it cost to build a Gravity Chamber from scratch?" Fly couldn't help but feel curious.
He only knew that Gravity Chambers were incredibly precious resources, and even within the school, only a handful of absolute elites were permitted to use them. There were two main reasons for this: activating the gravity apparatus burned through a massive amount of funds, and average Beast Warriors simply couldn't handle the intensity of the chamber, making them highly susceptible to severe injuries.
Because of this, Fly originally assumed that gravity devices were strictly monopolized by the government, and only educational institutions or official organizations had the clearance to purchase such machinery.
Who would have thought that the Student Council could actually bypass the school administration, secretly purchase the latest gravity devices on the down-low, and fully renovate brand new Gravity Chambers?
In that case, once I strike it rich, I might as well install one in my own mansion. The image of Grandmaster Muse's luxurious villa instantly drifted into Fly's mind.
"If you want to build even the cheapest, bare-bones Gravity Chamber, you're looking at a starting price of at least two million, and that's assuming you have the right connections. Although the government hasn't explicitly banned the private purchase of gravity devices, you still need a very specific, hard-to-get permit to actually buy one."
"I remember a long time ago, the government didn't regulate this at all," Mr. Carter explained. "But because people were using them recklessly without any moderation, a series of fatal accidents occurred. Left with no other choice, the government finally rolled out new regulations."
"They heavily increased the restrictions on purchasing gravity devices."
Taking that into consideration, Mr. Carter actually felt a bit of admiration for these people in the Student Council, who had somehow even managed to get their hands on a gravity device permit.
"I remember the Student Council has a massive amount of authority, right? Since they wanted to use the latest Gravity Chambers, why didn't they just have the school foot the bill for the purchase and renovations?" Genevieve asked, thoroughly puzzled. Even though she wasn't fond of the Student Council, she still wanted to know all the information about them clearly.
Gravity Chambers provided an immense boost to a Beast Warrior's cultivation, but the associated costs were equally staggering. Even the cheapest gravity device commanded an astronomical price tag. Not to mention, Old Man Ross had just explicitly stated that these were the latest models—meaning they definitely couldn't be slapped together with just a measly few million.
Instead of letting the school handle the procurement and renovations, they opted to dig into their own pockets. What on earth was this Student Council trying to pull?
"Yeah, exactly." Jett was equally baffled. Even though his family was obscenely wealthy, they weren't so extravagant as to equip every single one of their dojos with a Gravity Chamber.
They only had a few installed at their massive main headquarters. It was just that, because his strength hadn't been up to par before, his father, Daniel Gale, had never permitted him to use them.
Listening to Genevieve and Jett mumbling their confusion, Old Man Ross couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Do you have any idea what year our school's current Gravity Chambers were built?"
"A year ago? Or maybe two?" Jett blurted out without even thinking. Since the Gravity Chambers the Student Council put together were the latest models, that obviously meant the school's version had to be an older model from at least a year ago.
Old Man Ross shot Jett an exasperated look. "How is that even possible? You think these things are like smartphones, where they just casually swap them out for the newest model every single year?"
"The last time our school's Gravity Chambers saw a renovation was a full ten years ago."
"Ten years ago?!" Jett's eyes instantly bugged out. "Doesn't that mean they're completely obsolete by now? Is the school seriously that stingy about upgrading to new ones?"
Good lord, the installation date was actually pushed all the way back to a decade ago!
Nowadays, all sorts of machinery received new updates every single year. Even though people constantly complained about it being "toothpaste-squeezing" incremental upgrades, a little squeeze here and a little squeeze there eventually piled up into a massive technological gap.
So why hadn't they been replaced yet?
"Downgrading to budget models is pointless, and upgrading to the top-tier specs is simply too expensive." Fly slowly began to understand the whole picture.
If the Gravity Chambers were installed ten years ago, it was more than likely because Star City High's funding was at its absolute peak back then, allowing them to splurge on the best, state-of-the-art models available at the time.
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You had to remember, ten years ago was exactly when Lysander Thorne of Star City High was at the absolute zenith of his glory!
It was exactly like buying a graphics card.
Nowadays, GPUs had already been updated to the 5080 series, but the prices were so extortionate that average people simply didn't have the financial freedom to casually upgrade. But what if they settled for a 5050? The performance wouldn't even be that much of a leap compared to an ancient 2080. And thus, they were stuck in an incredibly awkward dilemma.
"They don't have the cash to swap to the top-tier stuff, and swapping to the cheaper options offers zero return on investment."
"As time goes on, they just make do with what they have, and eventually, everyone gets used to it."
Fly used the graphics card analogy to lay it all out for everyone.
"You actually know your way around computers?" Genevieve looked at him with genuine surprise. In her mind, Fly had always been a total "Martial Arts maniac" who was completely oblivious to anything outside of his training.
"I used to build PC rigs for people all the time, so I picked up a thing or two," Fly replied casually.
Genevieve: "???"
"I never pinned you as the tech-savvy type. I definitely underestimated you, Fly," Genevieve giggled.
He was practically clueless about so much basic common sense, yet he could custom-build computers for people. This guy Fly was really interesting!
Could it be that whenever he wasn't grinding Martial Studies, he was just surfing the net and playing video games?
Mr. Carter's expression turned slightly awkward. Star City High was indeed considered a key elite high school for Martial Studies, but with the current economic downturn, coupled with their consistent failure to secure high rankings in the state-level league, their allocated education budget had fallen drastically behind top-tier Martial Academies from other cities, like Sovereign High.
When it came to nickel-and-dime expenses, the school could certainly afford to act like a big spender; but when it came to major investments, their meager budget was stretched painfully thin.
"I still don't get it. If the school is struggling that much, why don't they just report it to the Department of Education and fight for a bigger budget? Even playing the victim card to score some sympathy points would be better than nothing," Jett argued, feeling a surge of righteous indignation on the school's behalf.
No matter how poor a place was, they couldn't afford to be poor in education!
"They do report it! They report it every single year!"
Old Man Ross couldn't help but go on a rant, "But what good does reporting it do?"
"'We'll get back to you.' That's all they say, and what are you supposed to do about it? It's the exact same excuse every single year."
"As for your idea of playing the victim, that's even more useless."
"Is Star City High pathetic because of its low budget? Yes, it's pathetic."
"But don't forget that Star City High already receives the lion's share of the education budget in all of Star City. There are dozens of other Martial Studies high schools in the city that are vastly poorer than Star City High!"
"When it comes to who has it worse, who could beat them?"
"Besides, if throwing a pity party was all it took to get financial bailouts, how would tragedies even exist in this world anymore?"
"So, playing the victim is completely useless. It'll only make people look down on you even more. True strength is king."
These words cast a heavy shadow over the group, instantly dampening the high spirits they had been riding just moments ago.
"Yeah, you're right. Star City High is supposed to be the best school in the whole city..." Jett sighed, his brows furrowing slightly.
"If even the equipment we use is a ten-year-old relic, then places like Merit Academy, Concord High, and Ironpeak Academy... what about them?"
In the past, Jett had been just like Fly, burying his head in bitter cultivation, only occasionally hearing others preach about how faculty strength was important, how educational resources were vital, and how you simply had to get into an elite school.
Back then, Jett would just laugh it off, entirely unbothered.
A kid who had grown up soaking in extreme privilege simply couldn't comprehend the struggles of the real world.
It wasn't until this very moment that the true, harsh reality of those words finally clicked for Jett.
It really was.
The better the school, the fatter the budget.
The fatter the budget, the more advanced their training facilities would be.
And the more advanced the facilities, the more exceptional the students they churned out.
Which, in turn, allowed them to attract an even higher caliber of prodigies during enrollment season.
Leading to an even greater influx of education budgets and lucrative social investments...
It was an unstoppable snowball effect.
The strong only grew stronger, while the weak... well, sorry to say, nobody gave a damn about the weak.
"If it's Sovereign High we're talking about, wouldn't they be swapping out for the newest Gravity Chambers every single year?"
Jett clenched his fists tightly. Ignorance was bliss, but comparison was the thief of joy.
Thinking about Star City High, and then thinking about Sovereign High...
An unprecedented sense of profound disparity washed over him.
"Well..." Although Mr. Carter desperately wanted to say something to boost morale, the words died in his throat. Whether in terms of raw strength or abundant resources, Sovereign High was indisputably the absolute powerhouse of the Jade State. In the face of such cold, hard facts, any words of comfort would simply feel hollow and pathetic.
"There's nothing to envy!" Sensing the plunging morale of the group, Fly suddenly spoke up. "At the end of the day, haven't we also secured our tickets to compete in The Jade State League?"
"Since that's the case, we are their opponents, standing on the exact same stage. We are equals!"
"Starting from the bottom isn't what's terrifying. What's terrifying is losing your fighting spirit and surrendering to fate."
"A person dies two deaths in their lifetime. The first is when their physical life reaches its end; the second is when they stop struggling and simply accept their lot in life."
"Because the moment a person surrenders to fate, they lose the courage to climb higher. From then on, they just drift along with the current, no different from a 'walking corpse,' completely incapable of changing their destiny."
The moment those words hung in the air, a profound tremor resonated through everyone's hearts.
In their daily lives, Fly seemed like a guy who didn't care about a single thing in the world outside of his Martial Studies cultivation.
Moreover, he possessed the most God-given talent for Martial Studies, yet ironically, he was born into the most painfully average household imaginable. His parents couldn't offer him even a shred of help on his path as a Warrior.
If Fly were to blame his family or complain about his humble beginnings, probably no one would judge him for it. After all, his family background genuinely put him at a disadvantage compared to others.
But against all odds...
He had chosen a completely different path.
"Well said! Starting from the bottom isn't terrifying; losing your fighting spirit is! Brilliantly said, Fly!" Mr. Carter instantly felt a surge of hot blood pumping through his veins.
Exactly.
"No matter how deep Sovereign High's pockets were, didn't they still get completely crushed by our very own Lysander Thorne back in the day?" Caught up in the excitement, Mr. Carter directly pulled out the most glorious chapter in Star City High's history.
"Oh, ho? Are you talking about little Lysander?" Unexpectedly, the moment he heard Lysander Thorne's name, Old Man Ross's tightly furrowed brows instantly smoothed out.