The first class schedule began at nine o'clock sharp.
However, a good night's sleep was a luxury I couldn't afford after Seraphina's drunken escapade on the balcony last night. With the intention of calming my mind and mapping out the Pure Magic Department building, I decided to leave the dormitory an hour early, at eight o'clock sharp.
In the dormitory lobby, I crossed paths with several second-year seniors. They looked at me with curious stares—the effect of the rapidly spreading rumor—but I merely nodded politely as a formality. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Without wasting any time, I stepped out toward the main building of the Pure Magic Academy.
The morning view at the Royal Celestia Academy was truly breathtaking. Gothic-Victorian style buildings towered high with pointed towers that seemed to pierce the blue sky. Even though it was still early in the morning, the corridor leading to the first-year classrooms was already quite crowded.
Just as I was checking the room number on the corridor bulletin board, a friendly voice greeted me.
"Excuse me, are you also looking for room 1-B?"
I turned my head.
There stood a young man with bright blond hair and a wide, friendly smile. Next to him stood a girl with striking yellow hair in an asymmetrical bob style who looked energetic.
"Yes, 1-B," I replied briefly.
"Ah, we're really in the same class!" the man exclaimed enthusiastically. He extended his hand without hesitation. "Even though it's still early and we've just met, my instincts tell me that if I'm friends with you, my future will be bright. I'm Aiden Hiz. You can call me Aiden."
I shook his hand. His grip was strong and warm, typical of an extrovert who was easy to get along with. "I'm Leon. Leon Gray."
"Gray?" Aiden tilted his head slightly. "So you have a surname. I thought your name was just one word, like in the rumors: 'Leon the Dragon Slayer'."
The girl next to him interrupted, nudging Aiden's arm gently. "Don't scare him with your excessive enthusiasm, Aiden." She turned to look at me with a crooked smile. "I'm Lyra Belmont. Nice to meet you, Dragon Slayer."
"Nice to meet you, Lyra. And please, just call me Leon. That nickname gives me goosebumps and sounds ridiculous."
"All right then, Leon," Aiden patted my shoulder familiarly. "Let's be good friends until we graduate from this academy."
The three of us walked into classroom 1-B.
The interior of the room immediately caught my attention. Unlike the flat classrooms at school, this room was designed exactly like a university lecture hall in my previous world. The floor was tiered like an amphitheater, where the further back you went, the higher the desks and chairs were.
This design ensured that every student, even those sitting at the very back, could see the blackboard at the front without being blocked by the heads of the people in front of them.
Aiden, Lyra, and I chose seats in the middle row. It was a strategic position. Not too far forward to be targeted by the lecturer and not too far back to be considered lazy.
The room was filled with the noisy chatter of other students. The topic of conversation revolved around last night's party.
However, at exactly nine o'clock.
The sound of something hard hitting the floor echoed from the entrance, instantly cutting through all the noise. The rhythm was heavy and uneven.
The classroom door slowly opened. A chilling cold suddenly enveloped the room.
A tall man stepped inside. Or rather, dragged himself inside.
He wore a worn black wizard's robe. His long, messy black hair fell to his shoulders. But what was most striking was his face. An eye patch covered his left eye, and a claw mark ran from his forehead to his cheek.
He walked with a limp, leaning heavily on a walking stick made of black ebony wood.
He stopped right in front of the teacher's desk at the back of the room. His right eye, which was grayish-blue, swept over us sitting in the tiered seats.
No one dared to breathe. Even Aiden, who had been cheerful, now swallowed hard.
"Save your stupid smiles and naive hopes," his voice was hoarse, like the scraping of two rough stones.
He raised his wand, then slammed it hard onto the floor. A wave of black magic spread, making the classroom windows rattle.
"My name is Valerius Six Blackwood. From this moment on, I am your nightmare."
He pointed to his crippled leg with his chin.
"This leg was destroyed in the War ten years ago. This eye was lost to a high-level Demon. If you think magic is about shiny wands and pretty spells..."
He grinned, revealing a row of terrifying teeth.
"...then please leave now. Because in my class, I will teach you how to survive, not how to play tricks."
After his terrifying introduction, Professor Valerius looked at us all with a condescending gaze.
"There is one absolute rule in this class," he said coldly. "I don't care if your father is a Duke, a Royal Minister, or even the Emperor himself. In the eyes of Valerius Six Blackwood, you are all just ordinary students who are not yet useful."
He took a piece of chalk, crushed it into white dust in his hand.
"So, don't ever try to bribe me for good grades. If I smell money or political influence in my class, I will make sure that you not only fail here, but also get expelled from the academy with a letter of recommendation from me that says: 'Unfit to Live as a Wizard'."
Hearing this declaration, there was only silence. Several noble students sitting in the front row looked pale.
"Now, stand up. Introduce yourselves. Name, age, and origin. Quickly. I don't have all day."
The introduction session began from the front row.
The atmosphere was tense. There were a total of thirty students in class 1-B. Most of them were low or middle-ranking nobles who tried to sound confident, but their voices trembled when Professor Valerius's eyes stared at them.
Aiden introduced himself with a bright smile that seemed immune to Valerius's gloomy aura. Lyra did it briefly and concisely.
Finally, it was the middle row's turn. My turn.
I stood up from my seat. Immediately, I felt Professor Valerius's sharp gaze.
"My name is Leon Gray," I said calmly, trying not to look intimidated. "I'm 17 years old. I come from the border region."
I bowed slightly, intending to sit back down immediately to avoid further attention.
However, that hoarse voice stopped me.
"Wait."
My movement froze in midair. Professor Valerius looked up at me with his narrowed gray eyes.
"Leon Gray..." he muttered, as if tasting the name on his tongue. "I saw the recording of your fight..."
My heart was pounding.
"Who is your tutor, son?" he asked suddenly.
"I... That..." I looked away. "Just an ordinary tutor who—"
"You think you can fool me, kid," Valerius interrupted. Suddenly he laughed. It was a dry, harsh laugh, like the sound of a broken twig. "Your tutor must be Hilda, right?"
My eyes widened.
"That fighting style ... It's just like hers. Hah, I didn't expect to meet her student here."
The classroom became confused. The students whispered to each other, wondering.
"Hilda? Who is that?"
"Is she the palace witch?"
"I've never heard that name."
Valerius heard the whispers. He snorted contemptuously.
"Of course you spoiled brats wouldn't know her," Valerius sneered, twirling his wand. "She's not a famous person whose face is plastered all over the newspapers. She's not looking for fame."
He looked at me again, this time with a hint of respect.
"Only those who have set foot on the battlefield know who the 'Crazy Red-Haired Woman' is," Valerius continued, his voice lowering. "I lost my eye and my leg in the war. But even I, a veteran, could never scratch her during training fights back then. Even though she was much younger than me. She should be in her twenties now."
I could only nod stiffly, offering a forced, awkward smile. It turned out that Teacher Hilda's reputation was even more terrifying than I had imagined.
"Sit down, Leon," Valerius finally ordered.
I breathed a sigh of relief and dropped my butt onto a chair. However, the professor's next sentence made my relief evaporate.
"But remember one thing," Valerius grinned widely, revealing the scar on his cheek. "Because you are that crazy woman's student. My standards for you will be different."
He pointed at me with the tip of his cane.
"I won't hold back when teaching you, Leon Gray. If you can survive Hilda's training, then prepare yourself for double the workload."
Damn. Another problem.
Professor Valerius raised his right hand toward the tightly closed window. His lips didn't move, but the air around him vibrated softly.
A small purple magic circle appeared in the empty air. It wasn't elemental magic, but high-level dimensional magic—Storage.
He reached into the circle and pulled out an object the size of a human head.
It was a crystal ball. Inside it was a slowly swirling mist. He placed it on his desk.
"The Mana Resonance Ball," he said, introducing the object.
"I want you to come forward one by one. Place your palms on it," Valerius ordered, leaning on his cane. "I need to dissect your bodies—to find out what elements flow in your blood."
Without asking any questions, the students began to line up.
"I'm sure you've all done this test before when you were children," Valerius continued, observing the first student who stepped forward. "But the human body is like clay that hasn't dried yet. Your potential changes as your mana grows."
"What you had at the age of five may be different now. The earth element can turn into the water element. Or for those who are gifted..." his eyes sparkled, "You can get a new element."
The first student put his hand down. The ball glowed red. Fire.
The second student. The ball emitted red and blue colors that repelled each other. Fire and Water.
"Contradictory, but useful if you can control it," Valerius commented briefly.
The line continued to move.
Valerius occasionally wrote down the elements that appeared on the crystal board floating behind him. Eight basic elements: Wind, Water, Fire, Ice, Light, Darkness, Earth, and Lightning.
It was the turn of a thin young man in front of Aiden. As soon as he touched the ball, three colors appeared in a spiral: Green, Brown, and Blue.
Wind. Earth. Water.
"Oh?" Valerius raised one eyebrow. "Three basic elements. Although the intensity is still weak, this is a good foundation to become a versatile Battle Mage. Develop it, kid."
The student nodded enthusiastically.
Next was Aiden Hiz. He stepped forward confidently. He placed his large hands on the ball.
The ball did not glow, but emitted a thick and solid golden brown color.
Earth.
"Very dense earth," Valerius praised, though his face remained expressionless. "You have a talent for being a fortress, kid. I'm sure your defense will be difficult to penetrate."
"Thank you, Professor!" Aiden exclaimed brightly.
Then, Lyra Belmont.
The girl stepped forward with a little nervousness. When her palm touched the crystal surface, a dazzling white light filled the room, forcing some students to close their eyes.
Light.
"Hoo..." Valerius straightened his body slightly. "This is a rare element."
He looked at Lyra with new interest. "How far have you trained that element?"
Lyra withdrew her hand, her face reddening. "I... don't have much experience, Professor. I only often help at the orphanage church as a healing assistant. I can only cast light healing spells twice a day."
"The problem is your mana stamina," Valerius diagnosed quickly. "But your talent... I knew an old bishop during the war. I'll write you a letter of recommendation so you can learn mana control from him."
Lyra's eyes sparkled. "Th-thank you so much, Professor!"
Finally, my turn arrived.
I walked down the amphitheater stairs. The classroom was silent. Everyone wanted to see what element "The Dragon Slayer" possessed.
I took a deep breath, trying to suppress my mana as much as possible so as not to explode the ball.
I placed my hands on it.
Instantly, the crystal ball went wild.
Four colors—Red, Green, Blue, and Brown—spun at high speed. The intensity of the colors was far more intense than any student before. It was a sign of advanced mastery.
However, in the midst of the storm of four elements, there was a fierce yellow spark.
Lightning.
I was a little surprised. I knew I had mastered the four basic elements, but Lightning? That was new to me.
"I knew it," Valerius' voice broke the silence. He didn't look surprised, but rather like someone whose guess had been proven correct.
He walked closer, patting my shoulder with his rough hand.
"This is how Hilda's students should be," he teased, a grin appearing on his scarred face. "The four basic elements have been mastered perfectly, and now a high-level elemental talent has emerged."
He pointed to the sparks of electricity inside the ball.
"Listen, kid. My element is the same as yours. But I don't have the lightning element. However, if you're interested... I can ask someone else who is experienced in that field for help."
I pulled my hand away. The light in the ball went out instantly.
"Thank you for the offer, Professor," I replied politely, but remained cautious. "But I'll think about it later. A crazy person like her is enough for me for now."
Valerius laughed loudly at my sarcasm.
"Good. Wise decision."
He ended the day's session with a tap of his cane.
"Class dismissed. Remember your potential, and don't die before next week's meeting."
As I walked out with Aiden and Lyra, I realized one thing. Professor Valerius might seem intimidating. But he dedicated the first meeting not to teaching spells, but to mapping out our potential.
Maybe this class won't be as bad as I thought.
*****
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