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An Otherworldly Scholar - 263
🕑 Added 2025-10-10 21:01:13 +0000 UTCI woke up late.
The astral trip had taken hours of real-life time, and I had barely been able to exit Prince Adrien’s quarters at dawn without being detected by the guards. If I had been alone, it would’ve been easier, but I couldn’t just leave Althea behind without raising suspicions. Everyone had seen the two of us leaving the party together, so it was better not to leave loose ends.
Hours after returning to the real world, I kept seeing the mana spire whenever I closed my eyes.
I left my bed with a loud grunt. The last five days had been hectic, to say the least. My brain jumped from one topic to another without rhyme or reason. Byrne’s giant teleportation machine, the Red Corruption, the anti-nobility movement, and Prince Adrien’s Corruption. Only after I focused on [Foresight], the skill sorted my thoughts.
I washed my face and got dressed in my simple fencing uniform. The teacher’s lounge was as empty as usual. Everyone must’ve been having breakfast in the dining room already.
When I grabbed the doorknob to exit the room, I heard familiar voices coming from the corridor.
“I swear, it’s part of a plan,” Wolf said defensively.
“Oh, yeah? What plan is it?” Ilya replied.
Silence.
“Mister Clarke always has a plan,” Zaon pointed out.
“Let me get this straight. Going out hand in hand with Lady Evelisse’s daughter is part of a plan…?”
I slammed the door open.
“It was an integral part of a plan, actually,” I said.
Ilya jumped like a startled cat, her head surpassing Wolf’s by a palm or two for a moment. The four kids turned around. Seeing their faces, I knew I wasn’t supposed to hear that conversation. It wasn’t my fault that they were practically shouting in the corridor, though.
Instinctively, I summoned a [Silence Dome].
“How did the survey go?” I asked.
“T-the properties are empty… mostly. No enchanted metal plates or anything suspicious,” Firana stuttered.
While I was digging into the land grants of the Library’s Circles with Firana’s friends, the kids checked the spots Byrne needed to control for his teleportation machine inside of the city. As it was harder to track the owners of those properties, I had sent them to do visual surveillance. Firana’s answer didn’t ease my brain. Byrne was undoubtedly collecting the spots to install the hardware required for his giant teleportation machine.
Ilya gave me a scowl.
“I’m not eloping with Althea of Cadria,” I clarified. “I used her as a cover to meet Prince Adrien last night.”
“Prince Adrien is on the frontlines with the royal army, though,” Wolf pointed out.
I shook my head.
“He’s bedridden. The Cursed Runeblade got him, but I came up with a provisional solution. They know I’m a Runeweaver now.”
The kids gasped.
“Did you tell them about Byrne’s plans?” Ilya asked.
“No. I would rather deal with that behind the scenes. I already told them about the Corruption Cycle, and I didn’t want to burden them with crazy Runeweavers.”
Ilya gave me a smug grin.
“I told you months ago we have to kill—”
“We have reasons to do that now.” I stopped her, although I felt a lot less conviction than I used to have. The Ebrosian Rob was growing bigger. “We have to do it cleanly. Remember, his natural magic is teleportation, so we have to finish the job before he can escape. If he does, we are done. The whole kingdom will hate us for trying to kill the man who brought back the teleportation portals.”
The kids nodded. None of them seemed especially fazed by committing murder, but after everything they had experienced during the Lich’s Monster Surge, it would’ve been strange not to become hardened.
“Wolf?” I asked.
“Samuel Byrne is nothing to me, and I have a duty to protect the Orphanage and the Teal Moon Tribe…”
I detected no hesitation in his voice. Of the group, he was the only one who had taken a life. To become the leader of the tribe, Wolf had killed Chieftain Callaid with his own hands two years ago.
“...and if you ask me again, I will be mad. Isn’t this like the fifth time you've asked me about my feelings about Byrne? I’m starting to think you don’t listen to me at all,” Wolf added with a half smile.
I smiled back and put my arm around Ilya’s shoulders.
“And you should be less homicidal.”
“He wants to steal a city! I think homicidal is a reasonable mood,” she replied.
“You are mad at Byrne because he abandoned Wolf. We all know that already,” Firana pointed out.
The conversation degenerated into a shouting match between Firana and Ilya. It was a nice change of pace considering the events of the past days. It reminded me of my first days at the orphanage. I couldn’t say two years ago was any more peaceful than now, but at least I didn’t have to worry about a megalomaniac wanting to teleport a city across dimensions.
“Well, I have a class to teach and I’m already late,” I said, pulling the key to my bedroom from my pocket and giving it to Ilya. “Inside my desk, there’s a map with the locations of the plots of land that belong to the Arcane Circle. Please check them and tell me if you see anything strange. The moment Byrne starts installing the portal, we should move quickly, but until then, let’s not do anything rash.”
Ilya rolled her eyes.
“You mean we don’t do anything rash?”
“Exactly.” I smiled.
We had one great advantage over Byrne. Teleportation at that magnitude wasn’t trivial, and it would take us very little effort to interrupt it as long as we caught his movements.
“Oh… and Firana, did you retrieve the reinforced shirts?”
“Yessir, all of them except for Cedrinor’s. He probably got his destroyed during the exam. He told me they fought like three different dropout groups with Genivra,” Firana said, giving me the thumbs up.
Good news was good news, even if it was a minor thing. I couldn’t let the cadets know that the ‘reinforcement’ spell was actually a reinforcement enchantment, so I had asked Firana to steal them back and destroy them. I couldn't leave any loose ends.
Without more delay, we parted ways.
Classes had been suspended after the selection exam, and I had barely seen my students for the past five days. If not for Astur’s threat of expelling Firana and Wolf, I would’ve already resigned.
I walked to the dining hall to see if there were breakfast leftovers, expecting it to be empty. Instead, I found a small crowd surrounding the entrance. The uproar was caused by a single sheet of paper hanging from the bulletin board titled ‘Results of the Midterm Selection Exam’.
Given the attack during the selection exam, Astur had announced a change in the evaluation process. I expected a second exam to take part in the following months after the disturbance at the Academy had calmed down. I made my way through the students, or rather, they moved aside as I passed through.
My brain had trouble understanding the announcement, not because it used strange words my [Master of Languages] hadn’t indexed yet, but because of how outlandish it was.
Considering the events that happened during the first-year selection exam, and to maintain a passing rate of fifty percent, all students who delivered at least two totems will pass the exam. Those who failed to meet that criterion will be considered failed. We ask them to vacate the premises by the end of the day.
My heart stopped.
I had no idea how many totems my cadets had delivered.
Holding my desire to use [Minor Aerokinesis] to shoot through the corridors. I passed by Holst and the Basilisk Squad and reached Cabbage Class in record time. The classroom was silent, and considering the cadets’ expressions, they had already gotten the news. Odo and Harwin were missing.
“Instructor Clarke, you have to talk to Lord Astur! This is unfair!” Leonie spoke before I could even excuse my lateness.
“You’ll waste your strength fighting it.” Holst's voice came from behind me. “The decision is final. Astur convinced the traditionalists among the Imperial Knights to support him. They want to bring back the old ways.”
I moved to the side, and he entered the room, followed by the Basilisk cadets. Two of Holst’s students and one from Ghila’s class had died during the exam. The cadets had encountered a corrupted monster, and despite their numbers, they had not been able to escape. The loss had affected the Basilisk Class, and even Holst seemed more sleep-deprived than usual.
More than sleep-deprived, he seemed worried.
“I don’t usually lend my ears to rumors, but word is that the High Priest is the one behind the idea of bringing back the old ways,” Holst said.
“Who told you that?” I asked.
“Ghila.”
I cursed.
Ghila’s intel was always good.
“The High Priest doesn’t usually meddle in politics, so it seems it was part of a Quest. I don’t know why the System would want a more rigorous evaluation process, though,” Holst added, deep in thought.
The System Avatar had no control over the Quest subroutine. Both of them had the mission to protect the System, one from inside errors and the other from outside threats. Was the Quest subroutine preparing for the Corruption Cycle? After all, the System had a physical component that could be in danger if powerful monsters appeared.
“Do you think Prince Adrien could do something?”
“Against Astur and the High Priest? I don’t think so.”
The System getting that involved in the daily lives of people rubbed me the wrong way.
“What level is Astur?” I asked.
“You are not picking a fight with him,” Holst replied.
I felt like I had heard that line before.
Holst continued. “We need to take the loss and plan our next steps. We have four or five months until the end-of-year exam, and it’s safe to assume that the exam will be even harsher than the midterm.”
I examined the room. The mood was odd.
“W-we can’t give up on Odo and Harwin,” Rup said. “I bet they encountered like a hundred dropouts in their way! That has to count for something!”
Before I could say anything, Malkah stepped forward.
“Odo and Harwin delivered zero totems,” he said, turning towards Rup. “They decided to stay by my side even if that meant failing the exam. It’s my fault they failed… I am sorry.”
Holst sighed.
“You should be proud of Cadet Odo and Cadet Harwin, Ducal Heir. Loyalty is a rare currency, and for them, loyalty was more important than everything the Imperial Academy could offer them. If you lament their sacrifice, you’d be lamenting their loyalty.”
Holst’s words caught me by surprise.
Who could’ve guessed he could be so reassuring?
“What are those two going to do now?” I asked.
“They will stay at Cadria until winter, then they will return to Stormvale,” Malkah said.
“Good. I could use a few more assistants. Do you think they want the job?”
Malkah’s face brightened.
“I guess I could try to convince them to take it.”
“Would Astur allow it?” Leonie pointed out, doing her best to hide the excitement in her voice.
“I will make sure he does,” I said. “What level was he again?”
Holst closed his eyes and shook his head. This time, I managed to get a few smiles from the cadets. There was nothing I could do for those who died but keep helping those who remained.
I clapped my hands and walked to the front of the classroom. The lesson was on. Holst stood by my side, and the Basilisk cadets sat down next to the Cabbage cadets.
“Astur already showed us what he is capable of, so our only course of action is to be prepared to crush his expectations.”
The cadets looked at me with solemn expressions.
“The second part of the course will focus on refining your skills through real-life combat scenarios,” I said, making a mental note to invite Ghila and the Gaiarok Class to join us. “There will be an extra rule this time: I will decide who will participate in the end-of-year exam. My decision will be absolute. I'm not going to let anyone take stupid risks. If you don’t agree with those terms, we will ensure your transfer to another class. Understood?”
The cadets nodded.
“Raise your hand if you want to change squad.”
Nobody.
“Good. One last thing. The lessons from now on will be taught at the Egg. We will meet there every day at the usual time. Instead of the Academy-issued practice weapons and the fencing uniform, you’ll use your preferred weapons and combat attire. If you don’t have it, talk to me after class, and I will provide it. Questions?”
Leonie’s hand shot up.
“Yes?”
“Are we using real weapons?”
“Yes, and real armor too.”
“Isn’t that too dangerous?” Fenwick asked, without raising his hand as usual.
“Yes, but I’ll ask my patron to lend me a Fortifier or two. Anything else?” Nobody had further questions. “Good. Let’s start with a demonstration for today. Grab a weapon from the rack and let’s go to the Egg. Yvain, you are in charge of the warm-up.”
The cadets exited the room surprisingly quickly.
Holst and I followed.
Gaiarok Classroom was located at the end of the corridor. The room was just like any other classroom, with retractable tiered desks and a central dueling platform. The only oddity was the training methods happening inside. The cadets were on the floor doing pushups with rocks magically glued to their backs. By Ghila’s side was a nervous man dressed in the black and yellow robe of the Magicians Circle. I guessed he was a Geomancer.
The arms of a lizardfolk guy cartoonishly trembled as he tried to complete another pushup.
“You are going to injure them,” I pointed out from the entrance.
“They are still young. They will heal by tomorrow,” Ghila shrugged. “Most importantly, they need to stop being weak. If you are in pain, you are doing it well! That’s the weakness leaving your body! Fifty more reps!”
The cadets groaned back.
My wounds healed surprisingly quickly, but I wasn’t sure if a bunch of Lv.10 and below would heal overnight.
“So, what are you booknerds doing in my domain?” Ghila asked, clearly in a bad mood.
“I was wondering if you want to join our joint class,” I said. “Astur had shown a liking for combat, so we are preparing for a final exam with that in mind. The more different opponents the cadets face, the better they will be prepared.”
Ghila scratched her chin, deep in thought.
“Sounds sensible… what do you think, Rockman?”
The Geomancer was so focused on maintaining control over the boulders that he couldn’t answer.
“I think that’s a yes,” Ghila said. “Enough, everybody! We are joining Cabbage and Basilisk, so get your stuff and move your ass!”
Holst raised an eyebrow.
“Aren’t you going to ask for details?”
“What are the details?” Ghila asked.
“We will focus on putting the cadets in as realistic a situation as possible,” I said. Back on Earth, this was the moment of the year when I stopped teaching new content and started with the applied math projects.
Teaching taxes was a lot more enjoyable than teaching fifteen and sixteen-year-olds how to survive in combat situations.
“We will use real weapons—”
Ghila crossed her arms and gave me a satisfied look.
“Finally, someone who speaks my language!”
“But!” I said before Ghila could get ahead of herself. “I will decide if the cadets are ready for the final exam. If they don’t meet my expectations, they will not participate.”
The cadet’s gaze shifted back and forth between her and me. I didn’t need [Foresight] to know they were scared. I wondered what horrors they had experienced under Ghila’s guardianship.
“You heard that, maggots?! Don’t even think about embarrassing me in front of the other squads! If any of you doesn’t make the grade, I will personally hunt you down and eat your heart out of your chest. Are we clear?!”
Even with [Foresight], I couldn’t tell if Ghila was being hyperbolic.
After a brief explanation, the Gaiarok cadets rushed out of the classroom to catch up with the other cadets. We followed at a more measured pace after Rockman put the boulders in a pile in the corner of the room.
Rockman followed us a couple of steps behind.
“You look like you are going to headbutt the first aide that dares say your name,” Ghila pointed out after a moment.
I touched my face, wondering if I was grimacing.
“He does want to headbutt Astur’s face,” Holst pointed out.
“Tempting, not going to lie. It has been a while since a Prestige Class killed another.” Ghila put her heavy hand on my shoulder. My collarbone complained. “You might not know this, but if you kill another high-level combatant and don’t make a mess in the process, at worst, you get ostracized. The royal family isn’t going to lose two high-level warriors for the price of one, so you won’t end up in prison.”
Holst cleared his throat.
“That might be true, but it’s more probable to get killed by one of the high-level friends of your victim.”
“You only have to worry about that if you are weak.” Ghila scoffed at him.
The two continued arguing until we reached the Egg. As usual, the aides received us as if we were in a five-star hotel and offered us the service of the resident Fortifier. This time, I accepted. I paid the fee, a silver coin, and an adept of the magicians' circle followed me into one of the big reinforced bubbles.
Not ten minutes later, the cadets entered the Egg. The Cabbage and Basilisk Squads were already used to cardio training. The Gaiarok cadets not so much. After stretching and practicing the mandatory drills, I gathered everyone around me.
“Today’s exercise will be a demonstration of what we are going to do for the rest of the year,” I said, wondering if the cadets had noticed my state of mind. “So far, we have focused on physical conditioning and the basics of dueling. You might have realized it already, but the controlled environment of the classroom isn’t the same as real-world fights. From now on, our training will mirror real combat as closely as safely possible.
I examined the cadets' faces and detected a mix of nervousness and blind confidence in my words. It was a good sign, but I wanted to make things clear. So far, my lessons had been on the easygoing side, but that was about to change.
“Three of your companions died during the selection exam. For their sake, I expect you to take these exercises with utmost seriousness,” I continued, walking to the center of the bubble. “Leonie, Fenwick, Yvain, please come forward and prepare to fight. The combat will start when I make the first move.”
The Fortifier, an adept of the Magician’s Circle, channeled his mana and surrounded the cadets with two barriers. The outer barrier represented a fatal blow, while the inner barrier would protect them from any residual damage.
Although I didn’t give further instructions, Leonie stood in front of me while Fenwick and Yvain got in my blind spot. I was happy to see that they had understood the spirit of the exercise.
“No matter your opponent or the level difference, you can’t freeze. Even if you can’t win, you should do anything in your power to survive,” I said, pulling magic from my manapool.
Without warning, I cast [Intimidate]. My presence grew, like a shadow looming over the Academy. The air thickened, and even the whispering of the cadets sitting on the sideline stopped. Leonie stopped breathing. I shot two mana swords at Fenwick and Yvain. Then, I lunged forward with [Minor Aerokinesis].
Mana rippled through my body like electricity.
I let my leg whip upward in a clean arc, and my foot hit the side of Leonie’s arm. The outer barrier shattered like glass, and Leonie was sent flying a couple of meters before landing on the floor. Behind me, Fenwick was hit by the mana sword in the center of the chest. Yvain just twitched before the mana sword slashed his chest and sent him flying back.
A second had passed since I cast [Intimidate], and the three cadets were on the floor. The inner barrier had protected them from any harm, but they looked at me with terrified and confused eyes.
I dispelled [Intimidate], but the oppressive sensation lingered.
“You three are dead,” I said. “And before you complain, let me tell you that Ilya fought Chrysalimorphs thirty levels above her during the Lich’s Monster Surge, and she survived.”
There were no complaints, not because everyone believed the exercise was fair, but because nobody could speak—or move. For a moment, I thought I used [Stun Gaze] instead.
Ghila cleared her throat.
“M-maybe tone down [Intimidate] a notch or two?”
“I’m going to need five volunteers,” I simply said.
Fifteen hands shot up, including Leonie’s.
Comments
Matt Bradock
Ghila's either impressed or in love.
Rod
I wonder if Leonie has told the other cadets about Robert saving her, and now Ghila will want to fight him even more
Ben Bass
TYFTC! Now that is how you set an example! Very well done, and I wonder if Ghila's opinion of Rob has changed a smidge.
