It took 1 month for Joon-young was discharged from the hospital. It was a time well spent for him, as he managed to absorb most, if not all, of Isaac’s memories. Thanks to that, he was able to blend in to the society of the new world without a problem.
According to the rumours, the Baron Rondart’s family were in a troublesome spot when Isaac’s ident.i.ty was found out in the hospital. A serious investigation was put in place to find out why the heir of the family was travelling without any escorts. The family responded that their intent was for him to experience the outside world without any shackles since he had a late start.
Isaac couldn’t stop himself from laughing when he heard that excuse.
They’ve labelled him as dim-witted and locked him in the mansion for his entire life. Yet they didn’t find any problem with allowing him to travel alone to experience the outside world? Anyone with a shred of intelligence would find the fallacy in that logic, but the Rondart Family used the Viscount’s influence to pa.s.s through the questioning with minimal difficulty. It would have been much worse if Isaac had died, but since he’s alive they can still use that excuse.
“This is a really strange place.”
Isaac looked around the city like a small child seeing the world for the first time. The view of the world was quite limited in the hospital, but it became harder and harder to explain this world the more he found out about this world. The road was clean and small blocks were lined at the side, separating the pedestrians from the set of trams that ran in opposite directions.
In this continent of Lorasia, the Empire is the only nation. Its denizens were not just humans, but contained many other races such as elves and dwarves and even the almighty dragons.
The Empire was untouchable, with no opposition in sight. The Emperor and the royal court were at the top of the hierarchy, n.o.bles and rich merchants below them, and at the bottom were the commoners who made the majority of the population.
What confused Joon-young first was the caste system. At a glance, it had the social structure of a feudal Europe, but inheritance had little value as the Empire worked like a meritocracy. The five ranks of n.o.bility, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron, were given to those who managed the Empire. Executives of the Empire received a t.i.tle of n.o.bility, and anyone who served under them, whether they were wizards or warriors, were given the t.i.tle of a Knight. Basically, Knights were the Empire’s Officials.
What’s even funnier is that there are hereditary n.o.bles as well. Those who made great achievements or served the Empire for an exceptional amount of time are given some land to rule when they retire.
As it wasn’t a rigid system, anyone could rise through the ranks with enough effort. Commoners can become n.o.bles if they become Empire’s Executive, and n.o.bles can lose their n.o.bility if they commit a crime. Although it was much more common to see someone lose their n.o.bility than to see someone climb the steps of the hierarchy, the fact was that there was the possibility. This world that ruled through a caste system had created the perfect social infrastructure where even Joon-young did not not feel any discomfort.
‘This world developed in a completely different way…’
The history of humanity is a history of wars. Civilizations developed by surviving the wars it fought. But strangely, this world which boasted such amazing social infrastructure comparable to modern times had the military strength of a medieval kingdom. Simply put, they had infantry armed with swords and spears, archers with bow and arrow, wizards who were considered strategic weapons and healers. It was a weird world where civilization was highly developed, while their military was akin to medieval fantasy.
“Was it the delicate balance of social structure? Or was it just a miracle?”
The people of this world have the opportunity for education. The rulers of the old in the previous world didn’t limit education to public without reason. As the saying says, ‘the pen is mightier than the sword.’ The expansion of education leads to reflection and dissatisfaction within the populace.
Allowing equal level of education in a strict caste system was like openly allowing rebellions to happen. It’s just that the social and political structures were holding it down.
Although difficult, it was possible to climb the hierarchy. It may be impossible unless you put extraordinary effort, but if you searched for an example, there were plenty to be seen in the Empire.
There was also an organization called “Freedom,” whose activity focused on making a world ruled by the commoners, but it had very little support from the populace.
But at the end of the day, he was free now. Freed from the prison of his family’s estate. His new home was a school, which was a great opportunity for him to gain more information. His grades meant little to him; information was his priority. Inheritance of the Baron t.i.tle was just a ha.s.sle. To go through life and death for the lowest ranking n.o.bility t.i.tle was laughable to him, and even if he did become the baron, more problems would be coming for him after his inheritance. He was not one to walk into more work. His aim was to find a cozy yet well-paying work and live the rest of his life in leisure.
He also had another goal in mind. This was a fantasy world and in fantasy, there’s the dream of magic. If he were to become a wizard, he wouldn’t run into any financial problems, and if he happened to become powerful enough, he might even be able to take revenge on his family. If magic wasn’t possible, maybe he could become a sword master instead.
However, it only took a few days for his dreams to be shattered.