Chapter 25: The Encounter

Samuel snapped back to reality from his reflections on his past life as Itachi, eager to see what would happen next. He heard the leader of the three girls, the daughter of a duke, begin to bully Lith by mocking his small family and commoner background.

"Look at you, thinking you belong here," she sneered. "Your filthy peasant roots make you a disgrace to this academy."

Lith remained calm, reminding her, "Bullying is banned here."

His words only elicited laughter from the girls. "The principal is nothing compared to my father," the leader said with a haughty smile.

Finding the situation increasingly frustrating, Lith reached into his bag and pulled out a Guilty Ballot Box, also known as the Coward's End. These black pearl-like spheres, the size of baseballs, acted like communication amulets. Once imprinted, they recorded everything happening around their owner as soon as a mana pulse was sent into them. A second pulse triggered a call for help, alerting academy staff and acting as a beacon for Warp Steps.

The entire class of nobles gasped in shock. Owning a Guilty Ballot was frowned upon, a sign of distrust and paranoia.

The leader's smug expression faltered. "Do you really think you're mature enough to use something like that?" she taunted, trying to save face.

At that moment, Professor Trasque entered the room. His gaze swept over the scene, and as a former commoner himself, he quickly understood what had transpired.

"What's going on here?" Professor Trasque's voice was stern.

"The professor will handle this," Lith said, his tone calm yet firm.

Professor Trasque listened to both sides before addressing the class. "Bullying is strictly forbidden at the White Griffon Academy. This institution is built on respect and merit, not noble lineage."

He turned to the leader of the bullies. "You, young lady, have violated the core principles of this academy. Your actions have consequences."

The leader's face paled. "But... my father—"

"Your father's influence stops at these gates," Professor Trasque interrupted. "You and your companions are expelled."

The room was silent as the girls were led away. Professor Trasque then addressed the class. "Let this be a lesson to all of you. At the White Griffon, everyone is judged by their abilities and conduct, not their background."

Itachi, watching the scene unfold, appreciated the professor's strictness. Unlike in Konoha, where the Hokage could handle everything through the orb, here the king and queen delegated responsibilities. This system prevented people from feeling neglected and turning rogue.

Samuel observed the entire situation intently. He knew that Lith's experiences could someday be his own. He couldn't rely solely on soldiers stationed in Canra village to resolve all issues. Understanding the academy's dynamics was crucial for his future.

As the first lecture resumed, Samuel felt a mix of relief and apprehension. He had learned an important lesson about justice and the academy's rules. Now, it was time to focus on his studies and navigate the complexities of this new world.

"First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Jian Trasque, and I was born a commoner." Professor Trasque paused, letting his words echo through the classroom. He made a mental note of anyone who displayed a disgusted or disapproving expression.

"Back in my day, I was rejected by the Fire Griffon Academy. I was forced to join the Association as a home-schooled student and worked my way up as an adventurer until I managed to earn my specializations.

My talent has been acknowledged to the point that I was offered a position as a Professor in this academy, and the Fire Griffon Headmaster got fired for being an incompetent old fool. If any of you shares his vision, feel free to join him."

Trasque pointed at the door. No one moved.

"No one? Well, then let's start with the good stuff. Theory of Combat Magic. You might be asking yourselves: what the heck does that even mean? You all are proficient in the first three tiers of magic, so what could I possibly teach you?"

Samuel, reflecting on his past as Itachi, thought about his lectures in Konoha, recalling life-and-death situations with his ANBU teammates—Kakashi, Shisui, and Kisame—and the missions they completed for the Akatsuki.

The next lecture was with Professor Nalear. She was in her mid-twenties, around 1.7 meters (5'7") tall. Her face had an oval shape with delicate features, and her honey blonde hair, with shades of purple, was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore almost no makeup, accentuating her natural beauty. Despite her robe being completely buttoned up, it wasn't baggy enough to hide her figure from Lith's trained eyes.

While others were shocked by her beauty, Samuel sensed something familiar about her, similar to what he felt with Lith, Gaja, and himself. This made him believe that spirit magic was not exclusive to him; others also wielded it. If it was not commonly known, then some group must be controlling its spread.

Samuel was shocked when he heard Lith proposing to the teacher, asking her to marry him. This made him question whether the darkness he saw with his Sharingan was fake.

Professor Nalear began her lecture on the Principles of Advanced Magic.

"As you should already know from your first three years, every human possesses a certain degree of talent for magic. The extent of such talent is defined by the amount of mana one has stored in their mana well."

Samuel followed her speech with interest. "So, they really have no concept of the mana core," he thought.

"Individual talent can be roughly split into three categories: the normal human..." She hit the chalkboard at the level of the silhouette's knees, and suddenly the empty space within it was filled with a glowing blue light up to that point.

"... the magico/magica..." This time she hit the chest level, and the light rose accordingly.

"...and finally, the mage." The whole silhouette was now filled to the brim with a pulsing blue color.

"While performing the first three tiers of magic, hand signs and magic words are the equivalent of a bucket. Once dropped into the mana well, they allow you to extract the right amount of power. Hence, spellcasting will be successful as long as you form a perfect bucket. Sadly, from tier four and up, this process no longer works.

This kind of magic requires such an amount of mana that there are only two ways of extracting it from the well. The first one, which you can learn in minor academies or from books available for purchase, is to create a bigger bucket. This method is feasible, but most of the time impractical. It requires so many magic words and hand signs that either your opponent must be a rock, or you must work with a team to keep them occupied during the long spellcasting time.

Just like using a bucket too big and heavy, extracting mana that way out of the well requires much more time and effort than just using the old bucket twice."

This led Samuel to hypothesize that by taking in World energy, his body had changed, allowing him to wield spirit magic. He believed others wielding spirit magic also existed. Though Samuel wanted to ignore it, he felt like the teacher's eye always fell on Lith and himself, making him feel that she knew about awakening.