Arasaka Academy, a higher education institution in Night City funded by Arasaka Corporation, teaches various advanced knowledge and chips that are not in circulation on the market.
In terms of academic arrangements and daily life activities, Arasaka Academy is somewhat similar to a mix of a university and a high school, yet it also possesses many differences.
Firstly, regarding academic scheduling, Arasaka Academy itself doesn’t actually require students to study for very long; it can even be considered relaxed.
However…
Arasaka Academy provides numerous courses such as tutoring and advanced teacher guidance.
Yes, in this era where Braindances and AI are often used for teaching, there is still one-on-one human instruction.
As for the reason…
it is the monopoly of knowledge.
Some things are never made into Braindances, or even if they are…
These things will not circulate in the markets known to the public; only a small number of people have the ability and money to enjoy this knowledge.
In addition, Arasaka Academy also houses the largest library and chip database in all of Night City.
It contains knowledge on various levels: biology, physics, chemistry, and so on, even including advanced knowledge such as high-end materials science.
But the requirement is the same…
money.
Yes, the library debit cards provided by Arasaka need to be topped up to be used, and the borrowing time regular students have is typically only three and a half hours, per week.
Averaged out, they only have half an hour a day to enter Arasaka Academy’s library to study that knowledge, and some of the more advanced knowledge even requires extra payment.
These are all services provided by Arasaka Academy, and its original purpose was to cultivate loyal talent for Arasaka Corporation in Night City and around the world.
So, besides teaching basic academic subjects, there are a large number of courses used to establish a value system of loyalty to Arasaka.
Most students attending Arasaka Academy come from the families of Arasaka Corporation employees; some are from middle management, and a very small portion are from high-level executives.
Besides these people, there are also children from wealthy families in Night City, or from employee families of companies that have a certain cooperative foundation or good relationship with Arasaka Corporation.
After all…
Arasaka Academy is the institution with the best teaching results and most comprehensive facilities in Night City.
Of course…
its tuition is also in a league of its own among all academies.
It is also worth mentioning that, besides these wealthy and powerful families, there is actually a small portion from ordinary or even impoverished families in Night City.
Just like David’s family, they might be slightly better off or even worse.
In short, the gap isn’t that massive; these people go to great lengths to send their children to such an academy because they want to seek a chance to turn their lives around.
Some succeed, and their children become ordinary employees of Arasaka Corporation, and then…
there is no ‘then.’ With no background and no resources, they can only stay in that position for a lifetime unless someone takes an interest in a certain aspect of them.
Otherwise, they will simply die suddenly at their post from overwork on some cold night, or die a violent death on the streets while executing a mission.
Then Arasaka issues a notice, giving some nominal recognition and a symbolic back-payment of wages.
This is the true portrayal of most children from those families.
Of course…
However, a very small number of people possess great talent.
During their time at Arasaka Academy, they are noticed for their excellent grades and extraordinary talent, being directly assigned positions or even given scholarships, allowing them to step into middle management within Arasaka.
Though most people of this type leave the academy before they even have a chance to show their talent…
“Minister Virmils, I am Tanaka.
It is a pleasure to meet you; I have long heard of your great name.”
At this moment, Tanaka Kenjiro walked up to Rain and bowed deeply to him.
Seeing this, Rain nodded slightly in greeting, while information about the man surfaced in his mind.
Tanaka Kenjiro, a member of the Arasaka Academy Board of Directors, the father of the early minor antagonist Tanaka Katsuo from Edgerunners, and also the head of Arasaka Corporation’s internal Armed Cyberware R&D Department, though he didn’t hold much actual power.
He was considered an old middle-level cadre within Arasaka with not much room for promotion, part of the backbone of Arasaka Corporation’s management and development.
“Hmm, if I remember correctly, you should be in charge of that project?”
“Yes, I have come today hoping to seek your opinion on certain matters, Minister Virmils.”
“I see.
Wait for me in the back after I finish my speech.
I happen to have some free time today.”
“I am deeply grateful!”
Upon hearing this, Tanaka quickly bowed to Rain again.
Rain nodded slightly and walked toward the front of the venue.
The principal of Arasaka Academy, his face now squeezed into a smile, followed cautiously behind Rain, trailing by about a step.
As Rain walked over, his bodyguard team and Canris cordoned off the venue.
The parents and students attending the opening ceremony naturally noticed Rain’s presence and cast their gazes toward him.
Rain felt nothing special about such a scene because he had experienced it many times.
This time was no different from before…
except perhaps that he held the highest rank among everyone present…
“Hey…
that looks like the newly appointed Minister of the Special Operations Department…”
“So young?
Doesn’t that mean in the future he might…”
“Shh…
don’t say such things in a place like this, but it is indeed very possible…”
David and Gloria listened to the conversations of the surrounding parents, a glint of wonder flashing in their eyes.
“Mom.”
David called out in a helpless whisper.
Seeing this, Gloria smiled somewhat sheepishly; she knew it was a bit of a dream, but she couldn’t help but think it.
As for David…
he remembered the Blackwall Braindance he watched yesterday.
If he remembered correctly…
the Ripperdoc had said the one who did it was this Arasaka Minister.
To be honest, it was hard for him to connect the ferocious thug in that video with the elegant executive before him, whose features were sharp yet exceptionally refined.
At that moment, as Rain scanned the crowd in the venue, he saw David’s mohawk hairstyle and that gaze which was clear yet held a hint of stupidity.
It was at this moment that a mission was triggered again.
[Help David Martinez onto the path of the Corporation.
Reward: 1 Attribute Point, 2000 Achievement Points.]
[Help David Martinez onto the path of an Edgerunner.
Reward: 1 Attribute Point, 2000 Achievement Points.]
[Kill David Martinez.
Reward: 2 Attribute Points, 5000 Achievement Points.]
After reading them, Rain’s eyes flickered.
These three missions were all very simple for him.
If things developed naturally, David would walk his original path, and in the end, as long as Rain personally dealt with him, he could obtain those two points.
Taking the corporate path…
also had certain benefits for him.
Bestowing a bit of favor would be enough to recruit a future legendary enforcer, and with David’s personality, there would be no need to worry about loyalty.
Plus, there might be branch missions involving David and Maine’s crew in the future.
And he actually really wanted to figure something out: if David were an ally…
would the kill mission still exist?
And if David joined Maine’s crew, would the missions for Maine’s crew change?
Because currently, Maine’s crew was judged as neutral by the system…
Rain estimated it was very likely because of his previous actions.
“After I finish my speech, organize a copy of the new students’ transcripts and give them to me.”
“Yes, Minister Virmils.”
The principal, hearing Rain’s instruction, quickly responded and then hurried toward the podium first.
Rain, after nodding in greeting to the other board members present, took a seat in the middle.