Published at 21st of November 2020 09:29:16 PM
Chapter 4: 4
Chapter 4: The Academy’s Worst Student (4)
“Jack!”
Anthony rushed over to examine Jack .
‘He fainted?’
Why all of a sudden? Anthony’s eyes turned to Frey . He was sitting at his desk again, reading his textbook .
‘From the timing, I’m sure this fucker did something . ’
But did he have such a talent? Wasn’t he just a lowly student who could only use Magic Missile?
Just as Anthony tried to speak, the door opened and Professor Dio came in . It was already time for morning class to begin . His gaze reached Anthony, who wobbled where he stood, and Jack who was out cold .
“Anthony, what is going on? Why is Jack laying on the floor?”
“T-that’s… he just suddenly fell down . ”
“Suddenly?”
Puzzled, Dio approached Jack . He then turned him over and examined his condition .
‘These are…’
Dio’s face hardened . He felt faint, lingering traces of mana on Jack’s stomach so weak that they would go unnoticed if it weren’t for his keen perception .
‘These are traces of martial arts skills using mana . ’
It meant that this was the work of a magic warrior . Moreover, it was not something a mere student could have done .
Quick and intricate . He was certain that there was not a single professor who had this level of skill . Who could have done this? Dio’s eyes wandered around and reached Frey . He was engrossed in reading, not sparing any attention to Jack who had fallen nearby .
“Tell me the details . ”
Dio’s razor-sharp, azure eyes swept through the classroom . Every student who met his gaze flinched . After a moment’s hesitation, David stepped up and said .
“Jack and Frey were talking for a moment but…”
Those two? Talking? Even Dio, who treated his students indifferently, knew of David’s relationship with Frey . They were not on friendly enough terms to talk .
David paused mid-speech when he met Dio’s gaze .
“he just suddenly collapsed . ”
When Dio looked away from him, David felt a cold sweat down his back . Then Anthony said .
“P-Professor, how’s Jack?”
“… He seems like he’ll be knocked unconscious for a while . Don’t worry, it’s nothing life-threatening . ”
“What made him collapse?”
“… Well, I think I’ll need to examine him further . ”
There was no need to tell the student about the martial arts as he would not understand . Dio paused briefly, then said .
“I’m taking the morning class off . ”
“Huh?”
“I’ll arrange for a substitute professor . Everyone, wait in the classroom . ”
Dio intended to study Jack’s symptoms in more detail . While unlikely, it could have been the work of an outsider .
“Which professor will take over?”
“Professor Kevin arrived earlier today . I know he doesn’t have anything scheduled this morning, so I’ll ask him . ”
At Dio’s words, the students fell into despair . Professor Kevin . He was also one of the three most notable professors at the academy, which included Dio . However, his evaluation was the worst among the students .
Although Dio had a cold personality, he was deeply respected by the students . His abilities were remarkable and his high-quality classes were easy to understand .
But Kevin was different . He behaved pretentiously even though he had the worst skills among the professors and was extremely harsh . None of the students liked him . He had a severe inferiority complex, especially towards Dio, as well as another professor named Adelia . If Dio asked him to substitute, he would certainly accept to do so thinking he got one over on him .
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Dio left carrying Jack on his back .
The students sighed and prepared for Kevin’s class . At that moment, David approached Frey and spoke bitterly .
“What did you do?”
“…”
“No, there’s no way you could’ve done anything my eyes wouldn’t catch . ”
David concluded that it was just a coincidence and laughed to reassure himself .
“Don’t ditch afternoon practice . ”
Then he looked straight at Anthony and said .
“We should skip class . ”
“It’s Professor Kevin’s class, though . Will it be okay?”
“It will . I’m sure Professor Kevin will understand . ”
As David said so with a grin, Anthony also smiled . Kevin realized that he could not touch David .
He finally looked at Frey . Even with the commotion that occurred just a short while ago, there was little change in his expression .
‘Yeah, keep up that attitude . I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of face you’ll make when I crush you . ’
He was going to end it with breaking an arm, but now he thought it would be better to take an eye, too .
With that, David and Anthony left the classroom .
* * *
“Ah, of course . ”
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Kevin was a balding middle-aged man with half his hair already gone . The protruding lower lip, slanted eyes, hooked nose, and bulging belly made him look more like a thief than a magician .
“I look forward to your kind cooperation . ”
At Dio’s words, Kevin burst into laughter .
“Don’t worry . Professor Dio himself bowed and begged me to do my best! Haha!”
He made sure to strongly emphasize the “begging” part . Dio neither bowed nor begged, but he nodded once because he did not want to waste time childishly arguing with him . Kevin headed to the classroom grinning ear to ear . In the first place, he did not really hate teaching classes . Rather, it was more of a preference .
Most of the students at Westroad Academy displayed trust and respect to their professors . Even if they were displeased, few people showed it openly .
Kevin liked that . It was the reason he tried so hard to become a professor at Westroad . He struggled to the point of having nosebleeds, but the fruit was so sweet .
If he lacked the same professor’s position, he would never be spoken to politely from elites such as Dio and Adelia . He would be lucky to not be ordered around, let alone be asked for a favor .
When Kevin opened the door and entered, most of the students looked up without delay . The grades for each subject could only be determined by the professor in charge . In other words, if a student displeased him in any way, they would receive poor grades regardless of their actual scores .
The quick-witted students knew what expression Kevin liked the most . When he saw the students’ bright eyes, Kevin laughed softly .
“I’m not sure if you were already aware, but due to unavoidable circumstances, I will be in charge of the lessons this morning . Then, everyone, open your textbooks . ”
The students rushed to open their textbooks . Knowing Kevin’s fastidious personality, they had all taken out their books in advance .
Frey was lost for a moment because he did not know what subject Kevin was in charge of teaching . He looked around and saw the title of a book taken out by another student .
‘The History of Magecraft . ’
Fortunately, all of his textbooks were already on the desk . He began to sort them out one at a time . His figure stood out and caught Kevin’s attention .
At first, he did not recognize Frey . But upon seeing his signature grey hair, he immediately realized his identity .
‘Frey Blake? That bastard’s back in my class?’
Frey Blake . He was a notorious student in the academy, so Kevin obviously knew of him . He disliked Frey . He wanted to be respected by the children of distinguished families who were carefully selected from all over the country . He did not have a speck of interest in what a lesser-born illegitimate child thought of him .
Rather, he thought that Frey was the one who lowered the quality of his classes . After letting him know that his efforts would never get him anywhere, Kevin had driven him out very cruelly .
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Frey Blake ran out of class with his face flushed and never attended since . Kevin thought he would never see him sitting there again .
‘What kind of wind’s blowing today for this to happen?’
Moreover, the air around Frey seemed to have changed slightly . Kevin naturally could not recall Frey’s appearance in detail, but his frightened eyes and his shriveled shoulders were unforgettable .
But the Frey now was imposing . There was strength behind his gaze, and his back was straight . If it weren’t for the color of his hair, Kevin would not believe he was Frey .
‘Hmm . ’
It did not matter . Although he could not tell what was going on in Frey’s mind, kicking that spineless brat out again was no big deal . Grinning widely, Kevin said .
“Frey, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you . Was there any special reason for not attending my class?”
Frey found the textbook just in time, and replied while putting the rest back .
“I couldn’t find the right time . ”
“Maybe there was something that you thought was more important than my class?”
Kevin said forcefully with his teeth clenched . Initially, it was the result of his harassment, but now Frey was speaking as if he had rejected Kevin’s class on his own .
The other students looked at Frey with half worry and half expectation . Most of them realized that Frey had changed a bit by witnessing how he had stood up to David’s crowd .
However, this time his opponent was Kevin, the most disliked of all the professors . He would not be able to rebel like before .
“I guess so . ”
“…”
Frey responded lightly . Someone among the students gasped loudly . They were not alone, as most of the others had similar reactions . Then,
“Oh…?”
Kevin’s face hardened .