Chapter 31: The New Academic Year

Winter gave way to spring, the ice and snow melted, and time flew by like a silver shuttle. Before long, February arrived—a special time for Heliorox Academy, as all students would return to the academy one after another after a long holiday to begin a new round of studies.

After the werewolf incident, Jiang Zhe and the others stayed in Professor Hod’s hometown, a village named Rio, for nearly two months. During these two months, Professor Hod fulfilled his duties as a teacher, teaching these children some practical skills.

Professor Hod was a professor whose strength was comparable to that of a grand mage. Although he was proficient only in fire-based blue magic, black magic defense techniques, and certain special types of magic such as [Flash] and [Eye of Truth], he was still a highly capable teacher. Though he wasn’t very skilled in water-based blue magic, illusion magic, or enhancement magic, it was more than enough to guide these teenagers.

Under Professor Hod’s guidance, the strength of several children improved significantly, with Lavia making the fastest progress. As for Jiang Zhe…

Unfortunately, he had not yet fully mastered the special magic [Flame Flash]. It wasn’t due to a lack of talent; on the contrary, Jiang Zhe, with his intelligence surpassing that of his peers, often surprised Professor Hod. What he lacked was still experience.

After all, [Flame Flash] was the result of Professor Hod’s nearly twenty years of research. It was clearly impossible for Jiang Zhe to master it in a short time.

But judging from the smile in Professor Hod’s eyes, it was clear he was already very satisfied.

Of course, Professor Hod wouldn’t treat Lavia and Jiang Zhe differently just because they were his apprentices while others weren’t. He guided each child with great care.

It must be said, however, that Professor Hod’s teaching method differed greatly from the traditional education at Heliorox Academy. At Heliorox Academy, students learned magic by following a centuries-old traditional teaching method—through the professor’s demonstration, along with gestures and spells, to help them cast the magic successfully. Of course, it wasn’t just Heliorox Academy; magic academies of all sizes in the empire, even Salonia, followed this teaching approach.

Perhaps this is to satisfy the children’s curiosity. After all, even mastering just one or two spells can motivate and interest young children in learning magic, as few of them can sit still and memorize those dull magical theories. It’s a kind of rapid education approach. At this age, instructors don’t demand that students understand the reasons behind magic or its essence; as long as they can cast spells successfully with appropriate power, they are considered excellent students. It is only when the children grow up and pass the apprentice magician exam that the “essence of magic,” something essential for a magician to know, is brought up again. This is an education method of using first and understanding later. However, Professor Hod’s teaching method is different—though this doesn’t include the other children in the first-year Fire Blue Magic course. While teaching Jiang Zhe and Lavia, Professor Hod intentionally or unintentionally applied this teaching method to the other children as well. This is an education model completely different from traditional magic. In the traditional education model, students first need to master spells, gestures, and so on. But once they become magicians, they face a serious problem: advanced magic cannot be cast merely relying on spells and gestures. “If you don’t understand it, how can you master it?” In academies with exceptionally talented students, the problem is even more severe. Perhaps after achieving success in the field of magic, they suddenly realize that aside from a few highly complex advanced spells, most spells can be cast without relying on spells or gestures. How many great magicians have you seen needing to recite those complicated spells while casting? In other words, if the traditional education model is followed, what children learn during their childhood is almost useless once they become qualified magicians. Spells and gestures can indeed be used to cast magic, but magic isn’t just made up of spells and gestures! I believe all magicians would agree with this. Therefore, as a great magician, Gret Kaines, the head of Rexox Academy, must also understand this.

Actually, it’s quite simple. First, although the Rexx Academy is not directly under the Imperial Magic Institution, it is the empire’s most crucial talent-training institution. Most of its graduates will serve the empire—some are assigned to various research institutions, while others are used as soldiers and sent to battlefields. After all, mages have replaced knights as the most powerful combat forces. To intimidate neighboring small nations and Salonia, the empire needs a sufficient supply of mages. I think it would not be unreasonable for the empire to request that students from the Rexx Academy participate in battles when the country is in danger. The second reason is even easier to understand. In today’s world where magic is widely used, it is no longer as mysterious as it used to be. To learn magic or obtain a noble title, among every thousand people in the empire, there are five or even ten mage apprentices, a rate of nearly one percent. But how many of them actually become mages? Few! And how many can advance to become archmages? Even fewer! In recent years, the imperial magic appraisal institutions have become much stricter in assessing mage qualifications. This is because the empire and Salonia have finally set aside their prejudices and begun to interact with each other. In the past, to build up a sufficient number of mages, all the empire’s magic academies, including the Rexx Academy, used accelerated training methods. Some mages spent their entire lives using fireball spells yet still had little understanding of their origins or magical theory. Put nicely, these mages are dedicating themselves to the empire’s glorious progress; put bluntly, they are just pawns. Mages are not like knights—at least knights may still have a chance to escape after failing in close combat, but mages face much greater difficulties in escaping defeat. History has seen examples of knights killing grand knights in duels, but there has never been an example of a mage killing an archmage in a duel. The huge difference in rank is unimaginable! In the face of an archmage’s powerful mental strength, ordinary mages have almost no resistance at all.

Professor Hodde especially didn’t want his apprentice to become a mere pawn, especially that boy. The professor had invested all his efforts into him. Whenever the boy practiced Flare Flash, the professor would stand by, observing and guiding him. Even the slightest mistake or unnecessary movement would cause the professor to have the boy stop, disperse the gathered fire elements, and start the spell over. It wasn’t that Professor Hodde was harsh—it was simply that Flare Flash required seamless execution. To master it, extensive practice was needed. During this process, a few improper movements or mistakes could lead to bad habits, which would be fatal in battles against enemies. What pleased Professor Hodde the most was that the boy never showed the slightest sign of dissatisfaction. Even when his eyes showed weariness or impatience, he would still follow the professor’s instructions, casting the spell with concise, precise movements. Initially, Professor Hodde wanted to eliminate the boy’s snap gesture as well, since it was also an unnecessary movement. Unfortunately, it might have already become a habit, just like the professor’s habitual hand raise. Removing it would disrupt the entire process due to the sudden change, so he had no choice but to give up. Sixteen seconds—a seemingly good figure, which was the time Jiang Zhe now needed to cast Flare Flash. Sixteen seconds was already the limit at this point; it might take a long time before he could break through this figure. Yet Professor Hodde wasn’t too concerned. On the contrary, he was already very satisfied. “Clatter, clatter, clatter!” The two black horses pulling the carriage trotted steadily on the road where the early snow had melted. After several hours of riding, both horses were tired. Fortunately, they had already entered the Oureichen region, and it was only about half an hour away from the Riox Academy. Every year at this time, the entrance of the Riox Magic Academy was always crowded with people—imperial nobles as well as ordinary commoners—all hoping their children could attend this historically renowned magic academy. This time of year was also the busiest period in this city of magicians. The Mage Alley in front of the Riox Academy was packed with people. The shops affiliated with the academy kept their doors open, welcoming any customer who could bring them profit. Of course, most of these customers were nobles, as ordinary commoner families could hardly afford the high prices of those magical items.

Generally speaking, conflicts between commoner students and noble students first arise here.
In the second year, the academy allows students to bring wands or magic sticks, as well as other magical items such as jewelry and pendants. However, even though the shops in Wizard’s Alley offer discounts to students from Rexx Academy, ordinary commoner students still cannot afford or are unwilling to spend so much money on magical items.
It is well known that magical items can enhance the power of spells or calm the mind, among other uses. After a year at the academy, the freshmen have become somewhat familiar with this once unfamiliar place, and thus, some hidden conflicts gradually surface.
Starting from the second year, noble and commoner students largely form their own social circles. There are few instances of harmony between noble and commoner academies. At least, when commoner students see a noble student who was originally weaker than them defeat them after obtaining magical items, this sudden sense of inferiority makes them feel uncomfortable.
On the other hand, as an essential tool for magicians, if a student does not have their own wand, they may be looked down upon by other students for “losing face as a magician.”
Especially, most students of noble bloodline, due to family reasons, arrogantly believe that magic belongs to the nobility, and only those with pure bloodlines and outstanding talents can become magicians—while they claim to possess such bloodlines.
The conflicts and prejudices between the two groups intensify as the years go by. In history, there have even been instances of commoner and noble students engaging in duels.
The academy has always tried to change this situation, but unfortunately, it has never been able to eliminate the inherent barriers, prejudices, and conflicts between commoners and nobles—perhaps it is an inevitable aspect of this era.
“Creak…” The carriage stopped about a hundred yards away from the entrance of Rexx Academy. Then, Professor Hod turned around and knocked on the window—normally, carriages are not allowed to drive directly into the academy.
“Get out, kids!” Professor Hod’s light laughter came from outside the carriage.
Jiang Zhe, sitting next to the door, instinctively pulled it down and got out. Perhaps due to sitting for too long, he felt some soreness in his shoulders.

“Hah, still the same as always,” Scott, sitting next to Jiang Zhe, smiled slightly as he watched the figure getting off the carriage. He pushed his glasses up, closed the book in his hands, and stretched out his hand to Lavia sitting across from him with a smile. “You first, Lavia!”
“Thank you.” Seemingly unable to stand Scott’s “mischievous” smile, Lavia’s face turned slightly red as she got off the carriage awkwardly. Soon after, voices from outside came through—the girl scolding the boy, and the boy looking confused.
“Why are you still like this?!”
“Me? What’s wrong with me?”
“You… never mind!”
“…It’s so unreasonable!”
“Hey!” Hearing the conversation outside, Allen winked at the somewhat bewildered Lisa, making her giggle. Then he rushed off the carriage before Scott, extending his hand gently and saying, “Please, beautiful lady… be careful not to slip…”
“Hmph!” Glancing secretly at Jiang Zhe who was observing her, Lavia turned her head away and gave a soft huff.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Nothing, I’m fine!” Lavia replied indifferently.
“Can you stop being so unreasonable?”
“Unreasonable? I’m unreasonable?” As if hitting a sore spot, the girl turned angrily and glared at the boy.
“Alright, alright,” Professor Hodde stepped in in time, saying helplessly, “You two really, always arguing… Thors, you’re a boy—be a little more considerate of Lavia…”
“Me… okay, okay. Whatever she says, right?”
“What do you mean by that? I don’t need you to tell me!”
“Alright, alright,” Professor Hodde tapped his forehead in frustration and said to Allen irritably, “Enough, Allen, stop being silly!”
“Yes, Professor,” Allen said cheerfully, using some etiquette he must have learned somewhere to help Lisa off the carriage. Then he knocked on the carriage window and said jokingly, “Everyone, get off! What are you waiting for?”
Seemingly hearing Allen’s words, Lelira instinctively stood up. But then she realized Scott was still sitting in the carriage and quickly sat back down, stealing a glance at him before lowering her head in silence.
Obviously, Scott saw this. He turned to Dia, who was sitting in the back, and said, “Senior, you go first!”
“Uh… thank you, giggles…” Dia smiled as she got off the carriage.
After Dia left, Scott glanced at Lelira, hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said softly, “It’s time to get off!”
“Oh…”

Glancing at Lailira, who stood up with her head bowed, Scott, the epitome of a noble, got off the carriage politely. He didn’t make any silly gestures like Allen; he simply stood by the door, quietly watching the girl with long hair get off before turning his gaze elsewhere.
“Back again…” Jiang Zhe took a deep breath and said with a sigh. As soon as he finished speaking, Ravia retorted in a mocking tone, “Back again? It’s only been over two months since you left—act like it’s some big deal…”
But it seemed Jiang Zhe completely ignored Ravia’s words, his eyes fixed on something at the entrance of Rexx Academy.
“Alright,” said Professor Hodde, now dressed in the magical robe typical of academy professors. He stepped forward, patted Jiang Zhe on the shoulder, and said to the children, “Let’s go inside. What’s the point of standing here?”
“Yes, Professor!”
The crowd at the entrance of Rexx Academy stepped aside when they saw Professor Hodde. After all, he was a professor from Rexx Academy—perhaps even their own children’s professor in the future.
After passing through the crowd, Jiang Zhe and his group reached the academy’s main entrance, where several professors were standing, seemingly handling matters related to new students. They greeted Professor Hodde with smiles.
“Hi, Hodde!”
“Hi, Heidi, hi, Ross… By the way, Eden, your son is ten years old this year, right? Why didn’t you bring him?”
“My son is only nine this year,” said a plump magician, rolling his eyes irritably. Then, spotting the children behind Professor Hodde, he said in surprise, “Hodde, those kids… are they with you? You’re not really taking them to that place of yours, are you? Can that place even accommodate people?” He glanced at Jiang Zhe, then at Ravia, nodding in amazement. “Strong fire element… Amazing. When I was their age, I couldn’t even cast a fireball…”
“You can cast them now?” said another professor with a chuckle. “How about this—if you can cast three fireballs in one second, tonight…” The professor turned to Professor Hodde and added, “Don’t interrupt, okay? Not including you…”
“Ahem!” Realizing something, Professor Hodde coughed twice and said irritably, “Do you think I want to go? Enough already… Ross, how’s the enrollment this year?”

“How about it?” Professor Ross glanced at the long queue with his eyes and shook his head, saying, “I guess we won’t make it to lunch. I’m wondering why there are so many more this year…”
“That’s because of you, Professor Ross!” A cheerful voice came from somewhere.
The voice seemed too familiar, so the professors instinctively turned their heads and found that, at some point, Great Mage Gret Kane, the head of Rex Academy, was standing behind them, smiling, leaning on a rather ordinary cane.
“Headmaster!” The professors bowed respectfully, especially Professor Ross, who appeared somewhat embarrassed.
“Hehe,” seemingly noticing Ross’s embarrassment, the old headmaster waved his hand and joked cheerfully, “More students coming— isn’t that great? Don’t worry, I’ll have them leave lunch for you…”
“Uh, I was just joking… just joking…”
“Hehe.” The old headmaster chuckled and, turning around, spotted Jiang Zhe, his eyes showing a teasing glint.
With no choice, Jiang Zhe stepped forward bravely and called out awkwardly, “Long time no see, respected Great Mage…”
“Long time no see? Hehe, um, long time no see, kid,” the old headmaster said. He leaned on his cane and sized Jiang Zhe up several times. Then, seemingly noticing something, he frowned slightly. His gaze then swept over the back of Jiang Zhe’s left hand, paused briefly, and quickly moved away. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he nodded jokingly, “How many gold coins do you have this year?”
“Twelve!” Jiang Zhe shrugged, seemingly unbothered by what might be an awkward question for others.
“Good, good,” the old headmaster nodded and leaned down at Jiang Zhe, smiling, “I heard you got a Fire Red Stone last time? But you sold it again? Why?”
“Yes… that’s right,” Jiang Zhe replied, a bit embarrassed. He glanced secretly at Lavia, relieved to see she seemed to have forgotten, and smiled, saying, “It’s simple—magical items are just tools; you shouldn’t rely on them too much…”
“Anything else?” the old headmaster asked with a smile.
“Well…” Jiang Zhe glanced at the old headmaster, a hint of embarrassment in his voice, and said softly, “Otherwise, how would I raise five hundred gold coins?”

“Hehe, little one, you’re very honest and straightforward,” the old dean nodded, his smiling eyes sweeping over Allen and Scott before he said with a smile, “Impressive, truly impressive…” It was obvious that this old man already knew about the matters related to the activity map.
“Stop praising these kids, Dean. They’ll get proud,” Professor Hode said with a laugh, then asked curiously, “Oh, by the way, why did you come here?”
“I was waiting for you!”
“Waiting… for me?” Professor Hode was surprised, then seemed to remember something and frowned, “Has something happened?”
“Hmm,” the old dean frowned slightly before nodding, “I received the magic letter you sent. I’m sorry about what happened in that Asher village…”
“Yes… that’s why the Dean came here…”
“Of course not,” the old dean shook his head, gently patted Professor Hode’s shoulder, and said in a low voice, “Your letter said you met a man named Agus along the way?”
“Yes… that’s right!” Professor Hode nodded blankly.
“Good. Then come with me to my office now and explain the whole thing in detail to these distinguished guests…”
“Distinguished guests?”
“Yes! These distinguished guests have been searching for that man all the way from Salonia…”
“What… what?”