Villainous Instructor at the Academy Chapter 9: Dummy

Julien flexed his fingers, shaking out the sting from his failed punch. "Okay, what kind of ssed-up trick is this?"

I leaned against the fence, sipping my coffee. "Trick? None at all. You just suck."

Mira crossed her arms. "You reinforced them, didn't you?"

I gave her a slow, approving nod. "At least one of you is paying attention."

Leo groaned. "Great. So, what now? Are we supposed to break our hands trying to punch through enchanted training dummies?"

"Sounds like a you problem," I said.

Garrick rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. "Then what's the point? If they're reinforced, then this isn't about strength, is it?"

I grinned, "I Don't anything about that."

Julien narrowed his eyes. "Oh, co on. You definitely know sothing."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Mira sighed. "You're ssing with us."

"Always," I said. "But that doesn't an I'm lying."

Leo rubbed his knuckles, still sore from his failed punch. "So what are we supposed to do? Just keep hitting them until we break sothing?"

"That's an option," I said. "Not a smart one, but an option."

Julien huffed. "Great. So this is just another one of your lessons where we flail around like idiots until one of us figures out the trick?"

I grinned. "Congratulations. You're finally catching on."

Felix groaned. "This is why I hate this class."

Garrick, anwhile, wasn't complaining. He was studying the dummy, running a hand along its surface. His brow furrowed.

Then, without a word, he crouched down, grabbed the base, and lifted.

The dummy wobbled.

Everyone froze.

Garrick adjusted his grip and ripped the thing clean off the ground.

Silence.

I clapped my hands slowly. "Wow, Garrick. You used your head for sothing other than blocking attacks. I'm so proud."

Garrick grunted, setting the dummy down. "It wasn't that hard."

"Of course not," I said. "Because thinking isn't hard. Yet sohow, the rest of you turned this into a test of endurance instead of basic problem-solving."

Julien pointed at . "That's because you set us up!"

I smirked. "And whose fault is it that you fell for it?"

Julien opened his mouth. Closed it. Scowled. "I hate this class."

"Good," I said. "Now, since our dear genius Garrick has demonstrated how not to waste energy, let's move on."

Felix raised his hand to ask sothing.

"Felix! If it's sothing stupid I'll use you as a dummy for the next class." I said while rubbing my temples.

Felix imdiately lowered his hand. "Never mind."

"Smart choice," I said. "Now, let's talk about what just happened."

Leo sighed. "We got tricked, again."

"Wrong." I gestured to Garrick. "You got tricked. athead over here figured it out. Which, frankly, is both impressive and deeply concerning."

Garrick frowned. "Again, should I be offended?"

"Yes," Mira and Julien said at the sa ti.

I ignored them. "The point of this exercise wasn't brute force. It was problem-solving. Strength is great and all, but if your first instinct is to keep smashing your head against a wall instead of looking for another way around..." I shrugged. "Well, congratulations, you're a future corpse."

Julien groaned. "We get it. Think before we act."

"Exactly," I said. "But more importantly, think better than your opponent. That dummy wasn't invincible. It was just reinforced against impact. A simple change in approach was all it took."

Mira narrowed her eyes. "So what would you have done?"

I smirked. "What, you think I'd waste my energy lifting it?"

Everyone braced for my answer.

I casually flicked a rune on the side of the dummy.

With a faint hum, the enchantnt faded.

Silence.

Julien stared. "You're joking."

I patted the now-normal dummy. "Always check for an off switch."

Julien looked like he was about to explode. "You—You an we could've just—" He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and exhaled sharply. "I hate this class."

Felix groaned, slumping to the ground. "I could've avoided so much pain."

Leo muttered, "I knew it. I knew there was sothing stupidly simple we were missing."

Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. "I should've guessed. If he was the one giving us the lesson, it was always going to be so kind of cruel joke."

I clapped my hands. "Cruel? No, no. Educational. You learned sothing, didn't you?"

Julien shot a glare. "Yeah. That you enjoy watching us suffer."

I grinned. "And?"

He scowled. "And that sotis the best solution isn't brute force but actually understanding the problem first."

I placed a hand over my chest. "Wow, Julien. Using your brain for once? I'm so proud."

"Bite ."

I chuckled and leaned against the fence. "Alright, lesson over. Unless, of course, any of you feel like punching sothing else out of frustration."

Felix imdiately shook his head. "Nope. I'm good. Completely fine. No frustration whatsoever."

"Coward," Mira muttered.

Felix sighed. "Self-preserving."

I clapped my hands together, "Always keep it in mind, that there is always a way to make your life easier. You just have to be smart enough to find it."

Julien groaned. "Yeah, well, too bad the world's not full of conveniently placed off switches."

I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it?"

That made them pause.

Mira frowned. "What are you saying?"

I stretched, taking my ti before answering. "Every problem has a weakness, a pressure point, an off switch. Whether it's an enemy, a battlefield, or even a damn locked door, there's always a way to make it crumble. The trick is finding it before you break yourself trying the hard way."

Garrick nodded thoughtfully. "So you're saying... work smarter, not harder?"

I smirked. "No, I'm saying work smarter and harder. Just because there's an off switch doesn't an it's always easy to find or use. But if you don't even look for it, you're just a dumbass punching a wall for no reason."

Julien muttered, "I feel like that was directed at ."

"Good instincts," I said.

Leo sighed. "Great. Another lesson that sohow makes feel both dumber and smarter at the sa ti."

"That just ans it's working," I said. "Now, unless you all want to keep standing around looking stupid, class dismissed. Try not to embarrass too much before the next lesson."

Mira scoffed. "No promises."

Felix was already walking away. "I'm gonna go lie down and pretend today never happened."

Julien crossed his arms. "I swear I'm going to get you back for this."

I smirked. "Looking forward to it."