"My name is Dandy, and I'm a fifth-year."
The kind researcher spoke, showing Lloyd his Arm Badge, which had five grooves etched into it.
"Nice to meet you... I'm surprised. You look so young. Have you really been here for five years?"
"Uh... well... you might not know this yet, but at Mizkatoke, the concept of a 'year' is different from schools in the outside world. It doesn't represent how long we've been studying here, but rather the number of subjects we've completed."
The researcher, Dandy, went on to explain further to Lloyd:
"You only get another etching on your Arm Badge when you complete a subject. But in reality, very few people can complete a subject within a single year. So, the time we've actually spent here is much longer than the number on our Arm Badges...
Take me, for example. When the new academic year starts, it'll be my ninth year here. And there are plenty of people who've been here for many years but are still considered first-years."
