Villainous Instructor at the Academy Chapter 13: Experiments

The classroom filled with the soft scratching of chalk against wood. So students hesitated, while others dived straight into carving their runes. I leaned against my desk, watching them with amusent.

Five minutes. That was all they had.

So of them were going to fail spectacularly.

Julien was already halfway done, his usual cocky grin plastered across his face. "Easy," he muttered. "Just like drawing a symbol, right?"

I smirked but didn't say anything. He'd find out soon enough.

Mira worked thodically, carefully adjusting each stroke. Wallace, scribbled furiously, occasionally pausing to double-check his lines. Leo, as expected, looked miserable.

"This is stupid," he muttered. "Why do we need to learn this if it's useless?"

"Because," I said, strolling past his desk, "if you don't understand the fundantals of bad magic, you won't recognize it when soone tries to use it against you."

Leo frowned but kept carving.

Felix, bless his unfortunate soul, was already panicking. His desk looked like he'd scratched random lines into it, and judging by the sheer frustration on his face, he had no idea what he was doing wrong.

"Spineless," I called. "Are you trying to summon a demon or just inventing a new language?"

Felix groaned. "I don't know! These symbols all look the sa!"

"They look the sa to you," I corrected. "To soone who actually studied runes, they're as different as letters in a book."

Garrick, ever the physical brute, had taken the "carving" part too literally. He wasn't writing a rune; he was engraving it like he was etching a tombstone. The sheer force he used made the desk creak.

I sighed. "Garrick, stop manhandling the poor desk. You're writing a rune, not breaking a rock."

He grunted and eased up—barely.

Cassandra, as usual, was eerily calm. Her carving was smooth, each stroke precise. She didn't ask questions, didn't hesitate. Just worked.

Interesting.

I gave them another minute before clapping my hands. "Ti's up!"

I smiled after seeing the runes that others draw, then snapped my fingers.

The chalks exploded.

A series of pops rang through the room, followed by startled yells and a thick cloud of white dust. So students flinched back, others instinctively shielded their faces. Felix practically fell out of his chair.

"What the hell?!" Julien hacked, fanning the dust away.

Mira narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't a rune failure, was it?"

I crossed my arms, waiting for the dust to settle. "Nope. That was ."

A chorus of groans.

"Why?!" Leo sounded betrayed.

"Because I rigged the chalks, if you screw up runes then I'll let the chalks explode."

Leo stared at like I'd personally wronged him. "You rigged them?!"

"Of course." I gestured at the remains of their runes. "Runes aren't forgiving. If I let you practice without consequences, you'd pick up bad habits. This way, you feel the mistake."

Felix, still coughing up chalk dust, whimpered. "I felt it alright."

Julien scowled at his desk. "So what was wrong with mine?"

I walked over and tapped his rune with a finger. "Your lines weren't straight. See this curve? It's supposed to be a sharp angle."

He frowned. "That small of a difference matters?"

"That small of a difference," I said, tapping again, "could be the difference between casting a barrier and setting yourself on fire."

Julien shut up.

Mira, to her credit, was already redrawing hers, far more careful this ti. Wallace inspected his with a smug grin—his was still intact.

"You," I pointed at Wallace, "are the only one who got it right. Congratulations, Gremlin. You're officially not an embarrassnt."

He grinned wider. "Naturally."

Leo groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "So we have to do it again?"

"Obviously," I said. "New desks. Fresh chalk. Get to work."

Wallace was still smirking, I pointed my finger at him and said. "Since you're so confident, you're now responsible for their rune carving."

Wallace blinked. "Wait, what?"

I grinned. "If anyone sses up, you take the punishnt instead of them."

The classroom went dead silent. Then, as one, the students turned to Wallace with varying degrees of amusent, horror, and malicious glee.

Leo let out a wheeze. "Oh, this is amazing."

Julien laughed. "Guess being a show-off has consequences, huh?"

Wallace's smug expression shattered. "Hold on, that's not fair! Why am I responsible for their incompetence?!"

"Because," I said smoothly, "if you understand runes so well, then you should be able to help them, right?"

Felix's face lit up. "So if I screw up, he gets in trouble?"

"Exactly," I said.

Felix imdiately turned to Wallace. "Buddy. Pal. Best friend. Teach ."

Wallace grabbed Felix by the collar. "You will learn, or I swear to every damn rune in existence, I will personally make sure your next screw-up is intentional."

Mira chuckled, already redrawing her rune with more care. Even Garrick looked amused.

I clapped my hands. "Alright, no more stalling. Wallace, your suffering begins now. Everyone, get to work."

Wallace groaned but knew there was no escape. His smugness had officially backfired.

Julien leaned over, grinning. "So, teach, what happens if he sses up?"

I smirked. "Then he gets double the punishnt."

Wallace paled. "You're making up rules as we go!"

"Welco to life," I said. "Get used to it."

With a defeated sigh, Wallace turned to Felix, who was looking at his chalk like it was a cursed artifact. "Alright, listen up, dumbass. Start with the frawork. If you ss up the base structure, nothing else matters."

Felix nodded like he understood—he absolutely didn't.

anwhile, Leo was taking full advantage of the situation. He deliberately slowed his movents, drawing his rune at a snail's pace. Wallace narrowed his eyes. "Stop trying to sabotage , you little gremlin."

Leo humd. "Hmm. What was that? Go slower? Got it."

Julien snickered. Mira rolled her eyes. "You're all insufferable."

I leaned back, satisfied. The best way to make them take rune carving seriously? Give them soone to bla if they failed.

Wallace sighed dramatically, rubbing his temples. "I hate all of you."

Felix bead. "Love you too, buddy."

"Less talking, more carving," I called out.

Wallace muttered sothing under his breath, but he got to work.

I laughed and leaned against the chair, then take out the Book of Alchemical Cuisine.

Flipping through the pages, I skimd past several ridiculous recipies.

-Dragon Scale Soup.

-Everlasting Bread.

-Moonflower Stew.

I sighed.

This book was either written by a genius or an absolute lunatic.

Then, a particular recipe caught my eye.

[Mandrake Flower Cookies –Enhances ntal clarity and focus. Side effects include mild hallucinations if improperly prepared.]

I raised a brow.

So, a cookie that could sharpen the mind... or make soone trip into another dinsion if done wrong.

Interesting.

I checked the ingredient list.

-Ground mandrake petals (carefully extracted to avoid toxins)

-Honeyroot syrup.

-Crying flowers Ash ( it can be used as flour substitute.)

-A drop of morning glories dew.

I tapped my fingers against the desk, mulling over the recipe. Mandrake was already tricky enough to handle, but Crying Flowers Ash? That was an alchemical ingredient that required careful processing. If prepared incorrectly, it could induce a mild paralysis instead of acting as a flour substitute. And Morning Glories Dew... well, that was just annoying to collect.

Still, a cookie that enhanced ntal clarity? That could be useful.

Or hilarious, depending on who I tested it on.

I glanced at my students, watching them struggle with their second attempt at rune carving. Wallace was muttering threats under his breath while Felix sohow managed to make his rune worse. Leo was still moving at a snail's pace just to ss with Wallace.

Yeah. Definitely hilarious.

I snapped the book shut. "Mira! Where can I get crying flowers Ash?"

Mira stopped carving, her fingers tightening slightly around the chalk. She turned her head slowly, her sharp eyes narrowing at .

"Why are you asking that?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice.

I leaned back in my chair, smirking. "Because you're the one that plays with curses."

Her expression didn't change, but I saw the way her fingers twitched. A small, involuntary reaction.

"That doesn't an I know everything about rare alchemical ingredients," she said smoothly. "Besides, Crying Flowers aren't cursed. They're just inconvenient."

"Inconvenient and tied to strange whispers," I pointed out. "Which, coincidentally, sounds exactly like the kind of thing you'd ss with."

She rolled her eyes. "Just because I know so dark magic and curses doesn't an I collect creepy plants in my free ti."

I drumd my fingers against the desk. "So you're saying you don't know where to find them?"

Mira let out an exasperated sigh. "I might know. But why do you need Crying Flowers Ash in the first place?"

I tapped the closed book. "Secret."

Her eyes narrowed further. "If you poison yourself, I'm not helping."

"Noted," I said, not actually noting it.

Before she could argue, a loud snap echoed through the classroom. Wallace had slamd his chalk down, glaring daggers at Felix.

"You dumbass," he growled. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

Felix blinked innocently at his mangled rune. "No?"

"Then how the hell did you make it worse?"

Felix tilted his head, considering. "Talent?"

Wallace looked ready to strangle him.

I chuckled and checked the rest of the class. Julien's rune was passable, though still flawed. Garrick had managed not to destroy his desk this ti. Leo had finally stopped sabotaging Wallace and was at least trying now.

Cassandra, unsurprisingly, had already finished. She was leaning back in her chair, staring at her completed rune with that eerie calmness of hers.

And then turned towards Mira, "So where can I get it?"

Mira sighed, rubbing her temples like she was already regretting entertaining my request. "There's a shop in the lower district. 'Grim & Grains.' They deal with obscure ingredients, including Crying Flowers Ash. But they don't sell to just anyone."

I raised a brow. "You've bought from them before?"

Mira shot a flat look. "You really need to stop assuming I'm so shady curse witch."

"But you do know where to get them," I pointed out.

She exhaled sharply. "Yes. But they only sell to registered alchemists, recognized scholars, or... people who can prove they aren't idiots."

I grinned. "Good thing I'm a teacher, then."

She gave a long, skeptical stare. "Are you?"

Before I could fire back, Wallace let out a strangled yell. "Felix. You idiot."

I turned my head just in ti to see Wallace gripping the sides of Felix's desk, his face showed mixture of despair and fury. Felix, for his part, looked completely unbothered.

"I followed your instructions," Felix said.

"You did not," Wallace hissed. He jabbed a finger at the rune. "This is not what I told you to do."

Felix tilted his head, considering. "Artistic interpretation?"

Wallace pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to die in this classroom."

Julien, who had been watching with glee, leaned over. "Hey, teach, can I ss up on purpose? I want to see Wallace suffer more."

I gave him a slow smile. "Be my guest."

Wallace shot up. "Wait, no—"

Snap.

Julien deliberately broke his chalk in half, looking far too pleased with himself.

The class erupted into laughter.

Wallace groaned, dropping his head against the desk. "I hate all of you."

"Love you too, buddy," Felix said cheerfully.

I clapped my hands. "Alright, enough tornting Gremlin. Back to work. Wallace, you're still responsible for them, so I suggest you figure out a better teaching strategy."

Wallace muttered sothing about ungrateful bastards, but he turned back to the disaster that was Felix's rune.

anwhile, I leaned back in my chair, mulling over my next move.

A trip to the lower district, huh?

This could be fun, I clapped my hands and told everyone to stop.

"Alright, that's enough suffering for today," I announced, standing up. "Class dismissed."

Wallace practically sagged with relief, while Felix cheered like he had just won a battle. Julien, of course, looked a little disappointed—probably because he had been hoping to drag Wallace into more misery.

I glanced at Mira. "You're coming with ."

She blinked. "Excuse ?"

"You know the shop. I don't." I stretched, already making my way toward the door. "Besides, I'd rather not waste ti dealing with shady rchants trying to overcharge ."

Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're insufferable."

"That's why I make a great teacher." I waved a hand. "Co on, Mira. Ti to show around the lower district."

She grumbled but stood up anyway.

Julien called out from his desk, "Hey, can we co too? I'd love to see our dear professor get scamd."

I shot him a look. "No."

"Aww."

Ignoring their protests, I strode out of the classroom, Mira following behind.