Classes and Professors II

|Kathyln|

As I walked through the crowded hall, I sensed eyes on me as students recognised my uniform and appearance. On my way to my next class, Practical Mana Manipulation, I noticed that many students had bonded with creatures. Some bonds were unimpressive, like the horned rat on a student's shoulder, while others boasted larger and more impressive beasts.

Upon entering the classroom, I realized that its layout was quite different. The room was shaped like a miniature arena, with a battling platform at its centre, surrounded by a barrier field and rows of seats.

I spotted Arthur sitting in a seemingly random spot and decided to join him. "May I sit here?" I asked him, standing beside him.

"Of course," Arthur replied, moving his bag from the seat next to him so I could sit down. I gave him a slight bow before taking out my notes and carefully smoothing out my skirt.

Suddenly, Feyrith strode confidently towards us, drawing attention to himself. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Princess Kathyln and my rival, Arthur Leywin," he exclaimed.

'Arthur, his rival?' I wondered, 'With such a huge gap between the two of them? Well, it's not my place to interfere but that is still a bit comical.'

Arthur leaned his head on his hands and remarked, "You're quite loud this morning."

Feyrith harrumphed as he took a seat on Arthur's other side. "Well, it is a fine morning today. Didn't the commencement ceremony make you excited?" he said, his confidence unwavering.

"While it is a bit late into the morning, it is still technically the morning so...Good morning!" A rather upbeat, bulky man wearing light armour clapped to get everyone's attention. He looked more like a low-class adventurer instead of a professor but when I inspected his mana core level, I was surprised to see that he was at the light yellow stage.

'However, I could sense his core very easily even though we are at the same stage, this means his mana control is below mine,' I thought.

"Well, we have quite the crowd of students. I know my class is always popular but I'm honoured to have this many students! My name is Professor Geist. Welcome ladies and gents, and welcome DC officers. It is a privilege to have you in my class." I couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not when he directed his little welcome at us but I chose to not mind it.

"This is Practical Mana Manipulation, or PMM as I like to call it. That means we will be doing things very practically! Practically, in my definition, means through example, because what better way to learn than through hands-on experience, right?" His deep bass voice boomed throughout the class, waking up anyone that might've still been sleepy, which included Arthur.

"I understand that most of you are first-years and that many of you have just awakened not too long ago. However, parents have been more and more dedicated in teaching their children as soon as they awaken before they even send them here, so even that assumption is mostly inaccurate. However, for the sake of equality, I shall assume that every first year is a beginner in mana manipulation, of course with the few exceptions, i.e. the three sitting right there." He pointed to the three of us while giving us a wink, drawing attention to us from everyone inside the room.

"I'm sure everyone, including myself, is curious as to what sort of level in ability our newly formed DC has. They are the ones that are going to be protecting the students here in this academy after all, right?" Several shouts of agreement spawned from around the room.

My brows twitched in annoyance at my usually expressionless face.

"Hmph! Well. if Professor Geist insists, I shall volunteer myself on behalf of the disciplinary committee to demonstrate the ability that our group, that was personally picked by the director, possesses." Feyrith got up from his seat and placed his right hand over his heart in a proud manner.

"HAHA! That's more like it! Feyrith, correct? Come down to the stage," he gestured.

Feyrith elegantly hopped down from his seat onto the battle arena in the centre of the large classroom. Some of the students cheered for him while others were eager for blood.

"Hmm, if my guess is correct, you are a light orange stage conjurer with water specialisation, correct? Pretty good for a fifteen-year-old, even as an elf." The professor rubbed his chin, studying him.

"Yes! By the fact that I cannot sense your mana core level, I assume that you must be quite a bit of a higher level than myself. It is an honour to receive your tutelage." While Feyrith's response was very well-mannered, he had a slight tone of arrogance, as if implying that even if the professor was at a higher level, he could stand his own against him.

"Of course! I am at light yellow level stage, after all! To make things fair, I will only use long range attacks in this demonstration." He took out a two-handed sword from a dimension item he had attached to the buckle of his belt and stabbed it into the stadium behind him.

I could tell Feyrith was about to protest that it wasn't necessary but before he could, Professor Geist held his hand up. "Please. If I were to lose, I would at least have an excuse, right? Please cut this old man some slack." He winked at him as the other students started laughing.

He sounded sincere but I could tell that he was confident in winning against Feyrith, even with this handicap.

"Feyrith is going to lose," I said softly.

"Oh really? How can you tell?" Arthur asked me but I didn't respond.

"Let me quickly set up the barrier before we begin so that our audience is safe from mana projectiles." The professor mumbled a few incantations and space around the arena started glowing dimly.

"Let us begin!" He grinned as Feyrith took out his wand and prepared for a spell.

"Water Serpent!" A stream of water circled Feyrith and soon took the form of a giant snake.

"Flood Domain!" Feyrith instantly set off another spell immediately after the water serpent spell formed. Soon, a pool of water rose up to their knees on the arena, and the water serpent dove into the layer of water surrounding both Feyrith and Professor Geist.

A domain spell was a higher-tier technique that was used to make the territory more advantageous to the casting mage.

'Not bad,' I thought.

"Fireball," Professor Geist said to my surprise. The low-tier spell that every fire attribute mage learned formed in Professor Geist's palm but rather than the normal reddish-orange colour, the spell glowed a dim blue.

The blue fireball shot out of Professor Geist's hand and flew towards Feyrith, who had no idea how strong that spell actually was.

"You'll have to do better than that, Professor!" Feyrith confidently flicked his wand up and manipulated the layer of water on the ground to form a thick wall of water in front of him. At the same time, the Water Serpent spell Feyrith conjured erupted out of the water beside Professor Geist and lunged at him.

Our professor enveloped his left arm in a blue flame and braced it against the force of Feyrith's spell. As the water serpent struck Professor Geist, a cloud of steam erupted, hiding him from view.

Meanwhile, the blue fireball smashed into the wall of water, creating a sharp hiss as our professor's spell bore through Feyrith's defence, making its way towards my fellow DC member.

Feyrith's face paled as he realized he was defenceless against the fireball but he was able to react in time to form another layer of water in front of him to minimise the damage.

"Oof!" The fireball, now reduced to the size of a fingernail by the time it reached Feyrith, still left a hole in the protective uniform he was wearing, knocking him back a couple of steps before he stumbled onto his butt.

"Do you surrender?" Professor Geist gave a wide grin as he walked out of the cloud of steam while juggling two more blue fireballs in his hand.

"Y-Yes...I concede." Feyrith had his head down in shame as he trudged back to us, his uniform soaking.

The students were all mumbling about how the DC wasn't that great, doubting whether we could protect them.

"You did well, Feyrith." Arthur patted the elf's back. He did well considering he didn't know what he was up against. What was this professor trying to do by making a fool of us here? Did he just want to boost his ego by picking on his students?

'That annoys me,' I thought, 'I should teach him a lesson.'

As Professor Geist scanned the class for volunteers, I felt a sudden urge to step up. I stood up from my seat and spoke confidently, "I would like to volunteer."

"Ah, Princess Kathlyn Glayder, the pleasure is mine," Professor Geist said with a grand bow. "Let's have a fair and friendly demonstration, shall we?"

I nodded, conjuring my bow from my spatial ring. The ice-blue and black bow had intricate designs all over it, and I held it with a steady grip.

As soon as the demonstration began, I released my ice magic and javelins and arrows made of ice shot towards the professor. He countered them with blue flames, but I was determined to surprise him.

I pulled back my bow, and an arrow of swirling ice magic formed, shooting towards him. He erected a wall of flames to protect himself, but it did little to stop my attack as my arrow cleaved through it.

Feeling confident, I repeatedly fired several arrows towards him, and he struggled to keep up with them. However, he managed to counter-attack using the same spell he used against Feyrith.

I was smarter than that. I expertly dodged the attack and continued to shoot him with deadly accuracy. He was quickly overwhelmed and finally collapsed, my arrow stopping just before it could hit him.

"Pick up your sword," I commanded, my tone cold and unwavering as I met his gaze.

He hesitated for a moment, but eventually complied, lifting his blade with a determined expression.

With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged towards me, his sword blazing with blue flames. I deftly sidestepped his attack, my movements fluid and graceful.

I assessed his fighting style as he continued to strike at me, his blows becoming increasingly aggressive and powerful. Despite his skill, however, I remained calm and focused, easily dodging his attacks with precise movements.

'He's fast,' I acknowledged silently, 'but he's no match for Gary.'

As his sword swung towards me once again, I decided it was time to take action. With a quick gesture, a wall of ice appeared in front of me, deflecting his attack.

The blue flames sputtered out as they collided with my magic, and I took advantage of the opening to unleash my most powerful spell.

[Ice Age]

The temperature in the room dropped rapidly, and the professor was frozen in place, unable to move or counter.

Desperately, he tried to fight back with a spell of his own.

[Flame Pillar]

A pillar of fire erupted from the ground beneath me, but I was well-prepared for this attack. With a graceful leap, I dodged the flames and pulled out my bow.

Three arrows glinted in the light as I drew back the string, aiming them straight at my opponent.

In a flash, they streaked through the air, striking the frozen professor with deadly accuracy. One arrow deflected his sword away, and the other two stopped just inches from his chest.

I released my magic, causing the arrows and ice to vanish into thin air.

"Thank you for the lesson, Professor," I said coolly, turning to leave the room as the bell rang.

The stunned silence of the class followed me out, their eyes wide with disbelief at the display of my power.