I woke up to the strange smell of old paper and regret.
My head was pounding insanely and my mouth tasted like I'd been chewing on leather. And when I opened my eyes, I found myself staring at a ceiling that definitely wasn't mine.
The of texture was wrong and so was the olor. Everything was wrong.
I sat up slowly, my brain trying to piece together what the hell was going on.
The last thing I remembered was passing out on my couch after pulling an all-nighter reading The Academy's Eternal Glory, a web novel about prestigious magic academies, talented students, and epic competitions that determined the fate of entire institutions.
It was trash. Absolute garbage.
But I loved every word of it.
But this? This wasn't my apartment.
I was in a small, cramped office that looked like it had been furnished sometime in the previous century and then forgotten about. There was a desk buried under mountains of paperwork, shelves sagging under the weight of dusty books, and a window that offered a depressing view of a training ground where the grass had given up on life.
And then something gleaming.
A small bronze nameplate on the desk, half-covered by papers.
Professor Valentine Crest
Combat Theory & Practical Application
My blood ran cold.
Valentine Crest.
I knew that name.
"Oh no," I muttered. "Oh no no no no—"
I stumbled to my feet and practically threw myself at the mirror hanging crookedly on the wall.
The face staring back at me wasn't mine.
It was younger with sharper features. I had dark hair that fell messily over tired gray eyes. The kind of face that would've been handsome if it didn't look so exhausted and defeated.
Valentine Crest.
A minor character in The Academy's Eternal Glory. A professor at Valor Academy who showed up in exactly three scenes before disappearing entirely when the academy was destroyed in the Inter-Academy Competition.
Also known as: the guy who died off-screen when everything went to hell.
"This is fine," I said to my reflection. "This is totally fine. I'm just having a very vivid, very specific nightmare about a web novel I read last night."
I pinched myself.
It hurt.
"Okay. Not fine. Definitely not fine."
I started pacing, my mind racing.
Valor Academy. The weakest academy on the continent. The place where students came when every other institution rejected them. In the novel, it was treated as a joke—a place so pathetically weak that even its existence was considered an insult to the proud tradition of magical education.
And according to his memories, in one month, the Inter-Academy Competition would begin.
Seven academies. One tournament. The academy that placed last would lose its funding, its accreditation, and its right to exist.
Valor Academy came in dead last.
It wasn't even close.
The students were humiliated. The staff was scattered. And the entire place was demolished to make room for a shopping district.
I was going to die in a shopping district.
"Think," I muttered, pressing my palms against my temples. "Think, think, think—"
[Ding!]
I froze.
A glowing blue screen materialized in front of my face, hanging in the air like someone had Photoshopped it into reality.
[Welcome, Professor Valentine Crest!]
[The Professor System has been activated!]
[Congratulations! You have been granted the following:]
- All stats maximized
- Skill: Genius Maker (Unique)
- Skill: Talent Appraisal (Rare)
- Skill: Perfect Instruction (Epic)
I stared at the screen.
Then I started laughing.
It was the kind of laughter that definitely would've worried anyone within earshot—high-pitched, slightly unhinged, and growing louder by the second.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I wheezed. "I got isekai'd and I got a system? What is this, a two-for-one special?"
The screen flickered.
[Would you like to view your status?]
"Yes. Absolutely yes. Show me everything."
Another screen appeared.
---
[STATUS]
Name: Valentine Crest
Age: 28
Title: Professor of the Weakest Academy
Level: 50 (MAX)
Stats:
- Strength: S
- Agility: S
- Endurance: S
- Mana: S
- Intelligence: S
- Luck: C
Skills:
- Genius Maker (Unique): Students under your direct instruction gain experience and growth at 500% increased rate
- Talent Appraisal (Rare): Identify hidden talents and optimal growth paths for any individual
- Perfect Instruction (Epic): Your teaching is flawlessly adapted to each student's learning style
---
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
"Okay," I said slowly. "Okay. This is... actually pretty good?"
Maxed-out stats meant I was already at the peak of human—or whatever this world's equivalent was—capability. The skills were clearly designed to turn even the most hopeless students into powerhouses.
And I had one month to do exactly that.
A knock on the door made me jump.
"Professor Crest?" A voice called from the hallway. "The headmaster wants to see you. Now."
I took a deep breath.
Right. The headmaster. Headmaster Brian, if I remembered correctly—the poor bastard in charge of this sinking ship.
"Coming!" I called back.
I straightened my clothes which were some kind of dark academic robe that had seen better days—and headed for the door.
One month to save an entire academy.
No pressure.
---
The walk to the headmaster's office was depressing.
Valor Academy looked exactly like I remembered from the novel's brief descriptions: old, worn-down, and desperately in need of funds that clearly weren't coming. The stone walls were cracked. The training equipment in the yards looked like it belonged in a museum. Students walked past with their heads down, their uniforms shabby and ill-fitting.
Nobody looked happy to be here.
This was a place for the rejected, the overlooked, and the given-up-on.
I passed a training ground where a few students were half-heartedly practicing basic sword forms. Their technique was awful. Their motivation was worse.
[Talent Appraisal activated automatically]
Blue screens popped up above each student's head, visible only to me.
---
[STUDENT ANALYSIS]
Name: Eiren
Age: 16
Current Level: 12
Stats:
- Strength: D
- Agility: B+
- Endurance: C
- Mana: D-
- Intelligence: C+
Hidden Potential: Speed-based Combat (A-Rank)
Optimal Path: Agility Fighter / Assassin
Current Obstacle: Low mana reserves have discouraged all previous instructors. Potential remains completely undeveloped.
Growth Potential with Genius Maker: S-Rank
---
[STUDENT ANALYSIS]
Name: Weissman
Age: 17
Current Level: 11
Stats:
- Strength: C
- Agility: D+
- Endurance: B
- Mana: B+
- Intelligence: B
Hidden Potential: Defensive Magic (A-Rank)
Optimal Path: Barrier Mage / Tank
Current Obstacle: Quiet personality caused previous instructors to overlook him entirely. Natural talent for protection magic never identified.
Growth Potential with Genius Maker: S-Rank
---
[STUDENT ANALYSIS]
Name: Kilman
Age: 16
Current Level: 13
Stats:
- Strength: C+
- Agility: C
- Endurance: C
- Mana: C+
- Intelligence: D
Hidden Potential: Battle Instinct (B-Rank)
Optimal Path: Frontline Warrior / Duelist
Current Obstacle: Average stats across the board led to classification as "mediocre." Lacks confidence due to constant comparison to naturally gifted students.
Growth Potential with Genius Maker: A-Rank
---
I blinked at the screens, then dismissed them with a thought.
Every single one of them had potential that nobody had bothered to see.
A smile crept across my face.
This was going to be interesting.
I shook my head and kept walking.
Later. I'd deal with them later.
The headmaster's office was at the top of the administrative building—a tower that might've been impressive a century ago but now just looked tired.
I knocked.
"Come in."
I pushed open the door.
Headmaster Brian usat behind a desk that was somehow even more cluttered than mine. He was an older man, probably in his sixties, with gray hair and the kind of exhausted expression that came from years of fighting losing battles.
He looked up at me with weary eyes.
"Ah, Professor Crest," he said. "Thank you for coming."
I nodded and took a seat across from him.
He was silent for a long moment, just looking at me like he was trying to figure out how to say something terrible.
Finally, he sighed.
"I'm sure you're aware of the Inter-Academy Competition next month."
"Yes, sir."
"And I'm sure you're aware that we have... not been performing well in recent years."
That was putting it mildly. Valor Academy hadn't won a single match in the last three competitions.
"I'm aware," I said carefully.
He leaned back in his chair. "The board has made their position clear. If we don't show significant improvement this year—if we come in last place again—Valor Academy will be shut down permanently."
There it was.
The death sentence, delivered with bureaucratic efficiency.
"How many students are competing?" I asked.
"Each academy sends five representatives," he said. "We'll be selecting ours over the next two weeks."
Five students. One month of training. Against the best young talents from four other prestigious academies.
It should've been impossible.
It was impossible, in the original story.
But I wasn't the original Valentine anymore.
"Headmaster," I said, meeting his eyes. "Give me your weakest students."
He blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"Your most hopeless cases. The ones everyone's given up on. The students who have no business being anywhere near that competition." I smiled. "Give them to me."
He stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
Maybe I had.
But I had a system that could turn failures into legends, and one month to prove that the weakest academy didn't have to stay weak forever.
"I'll make them ready," I said.
The headmaster studied my face for a long moment.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Very well, Professor Crest. I'll have the list sent to your office by tonight."
I stood up and headed for the door.
One month.
Five hopeless students.
One impossible competition.
This was either going to be the greatest comeback story ever told, or the most spectacular failure in academy history.
Either way, it was going to be fun.