The morning sun barely had a chance to peek over the horizon before my patience was already wearing thin.
"Professor," Felix’s voice echoed way too cheerfully for this early. "What’s for breakfast?"
I didn’t even turn around. "Whatever you didn’t trip over last night, Felix."
The others snickered, and I thought—Okay, maybe I can tolerate this for a while.
"Professor," Garrick’s deep voice rumbled next. "Should we practice formations after breakfast?"
I paused. "Formations?"
"Yeah," he said, sounding way too eager. "You know, for future battles. We can—"
"Garrick." I finally turned to face them. "Do you really think that practicing formations is going to help when you’re more likely to trip over a root and knock yourself out before even reaching the battle?"
Garrick’s mouth opened, but no sound ca out.
"Didn’t think so," I muttered, turning back around.
But no. It didn’t stop there.
"Professor," Mira piped up this ti, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "Since you’re so wise and all-knowing, maybe you can teach us how to avoid falling into traps next ti?"
"Traps?" I turned back again, eyebrows raised. "You an the very obvious ones that you all waltzed into like it was a garden party?"
Mira gave a mock innocent shrug. "Hey, we survived, didn’t we?"
"Oh, yes," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "You survived—barely. Congratulations, Mira. You’ve achieved the bare minimum required to not die. Shall I throw you a parade?"
The group snickered again, and I gritted my teeth.
Why are they so loud this morning?
"Professor," Leo’s voice cut through next, and I could already feel a headache forming. "What’s the plan for today? Or are we just waiting for another death trap to pop up?"
I inhaled. Slowly. Count to three. Don’t kill them. They’re just kids.
"One..." I whispered.
"Professor?" Leo asked again, completely unaware of the storm brewing.
"Two..." I clenched my jaw.
"Uh... Professor?"
"Three."
I snapped.
"Enough!" I barked, my voice echoing loud enough to make a few birds scatter from the nearby trees. All seven of them froze as if I had just summoned a demon from the depths of hell.
"You idiots," I began, my voice dropping into that deadly calm tone that promised pain. "You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? Oh no. You had to poke the bear."
I took a step closer, and they instinctively backed away.
"Do you want to drag you all back to lecture hell?" I asked, my eyes narrowing. "Because guess what? You’ve earned it."
Felix paled. "N-No, we’re good—"
"Too late." I smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. "You asked for it."
I clapped my hands together. "Alright, class. Let’s talk about survival. Clearly, none of you have learned a damn thing from the past few days, so let enlighten you."
"Professor, we really don’t—"
"Shut up, Felix."
Felix imdiately went silent.
"Now," I continued, pacing in front of them like a predator. "Let’s start with battlefield awareness. Garrick, since you’re so eager to practice formations, tell —what’s the first thing you do before engaging in a fight?"
Garrick blinked. "Uh... charge?"
"Wrong." I slapped the back of his head lightly. "You assess the situation, you overgrown athead. If you just ’charge,’ you’re going to die before you even land a hit. I don’t care how thick your skull is."
The others snickered, but I was far from done.
"Next," I turned to Felix. "Felix, what do you do if you’re caught in an ambush?"
Felix blinked rapidly, panic setting in. "Uh... run?"
"Wrong again." I slapped the back of his head, making him yelp. "You think, Felix. You analyze your surroundings and find a way out. You don’t just run blindly like a headless chicken waiting to be plucked."
Felix rubbed the back of his head, looking thoroughly humiliated. Good.
"Wallace," I spun around. "If your opponent has superior numbers, what’s your first move?"
"Uh... negotiate?" Wallace mumbled.
I stared at him. "Negotiate?"
"Y-Yeah...?" he said weakly.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Wallace," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "If you try to negotiate in the middle of a life-or-death situation, do you know what’s going to happen?"
Wallace blinked. "Uh..."
"You’re going to die. And they’re not going to give a damn about your terms and conditions."
"Noted..." Wallace mumbled, looking down.
"Julien!" I turned to the last offender. "What’s the golden rule of a chaotic fight?"
Julien smirked, trying to play it cool. "Stay cool and stay alive?"
"No." I smacked the back of his head too. "You prioritize. You figure out the biggest threat and take them out—or at least keep them busy so the others don’t die. Do I need to write that down for you?"
"Uh... no, Professor," Julien muttered, rubbing his head.
I took a deep breath, glaring at them all.
"And Cassandra," I turned to her but paused. She was still eerily composed, her expression unreadable. She’d answered all my questions right during the hunt, and despite her puppet-like state, she hadn’t been a liability.
"...Forget it," I muttered, waving her off. "You at least know how not to die. The rest of them? Hopeless."
The others groaned, and I smirked.
"Since you all seem so eager for knowledge, we’re going to keep going until you can recite this in your sleep," I said, clapping my hands.
"Wait—what?!" Felix gasped.
"Oh, no complaints now," I said sweetly. "You asked for this. So buckle up, because I’m not stopping until every one of you knows how to survive."
A collective groan echoed around the camp, and I felt a deep, twisted satisfaction in my soul.
"Welco back to lecture hell, kids," I said with a grin.
This was going to be fun.
I looked over my students, who were still trying to recover from my little lecture. Felix had his arms crossed and was sulking in the corner, Garrick was pretending to ditate, and the rest just stared at , likely regretting their existence.
"Well, since no one else seems to want to learn, let’s move on." I waved my hand dismissively, trying to ignore the impending migraine.
"Mira, Wallace," I called out, narrowing my gaze. "You two, co up to the front."
Both of them hesitated before slowly standing and walking up to . Mira looked skeptical, while Wallace was trying to look tough, as always.
"Now," I said, putting my hands behind my back. "We’re going to simulate a real battle. But this ti, I’m going to show you sothing valuable. I’ll demonstrate what you should do when a mage is trying to kill you."
Both of them looked confused, and Mira raised a brow. "A mage?"
"Yes," I nodded. "A mage. You know, soone with a ton of magic at their disposal. The kind of person who can turn you into a toad before you even blink."
"Right..." Wallace said, looking dubious. "But we’re not fighting mages, Professor. We’re—"
"Shut up, Wallace," I cut him off before he could ramble further. "You’re fighting . That’s your opponent. So, here’s the deal: I won’t use magic, I won’t use weapons, and I won’t use anything too deadly. But you’re going to see the one thing you’ve all been missing."
Wallace and Mira exchanged glances, clearly uncertain.
"Co on, Professor," Mira said, her voice dripping with mockery. "You expect us to believe you won’t fight back with sothing dirty?"
"Oh, I’m going to fight dirty alright," I smirked. "But you still won’t be ready for it. And if you don’t take it seriously, well... it’ll be your funeral."
Mira seed to bristle, but she stepped back, nodding at Wallace. The big guy smirked, clearly thinking he had this in the bag.
"You two, get in position. Co at however you like." I dropped my stance slightly, letting them make the first move. "Just don’t disappoint . I’m already annoyed enough."
Wallace and Mira exchanged another look, then Wallace imdiately started to draw runes in the air with his hands. His fingers flicked in precise motions, conjuring up a glowing pattern. He grinned as the air around him crackled, his rune magic coming to life.
Mira, on the other hand, didn’t waste any ti. With a sly smile, she raised her hand, her fingers snapping as dark energy gathered around her. Curses. Shadows. Magic that would’ve made anyone else shudder.
This is going to be interesting.
"Alright," I said, rolling my shoulders. "I promised no magic or weapons. But I didn’t say anything about fighting dirty. You ready?"
Before they could even respond, I dashed forward with alarming speed, catching them both off guard.
Wallace tried to throw a rune, but I easily dodged it, slipping to the side and delivering a swift kick to his knee. He yelped in surprise, stumbling back.
"Wrong move, big guy," I smirked, not even breaking a sweat.
Mira tried to retaliate with a quick curse, aiming a shadowy bolt directly at my chest. But I sidestepped just in ti, my foot sliding across the dirt. I grabbed a nearby stick off the ground and threw it at her face, montarily blinding her.
"Focus, Mira," I mocked, "Did you think you could just cast spells from a distance and win?"
She growled, wiping the dirt from her face. "I’m not done yet, Professor!"
"No one ever is," I grinned, stepping closer to Wallace. "But you’re getting closer to the truth."
Wallace lunged at with a rune-infused punch, expecting to counter. I slid under his arm, then, before he could react, I kicked him in the back of the knee, sending him tumbling to the ground.
The class laughed in the background, but I wasn’t done. I didn’t care if they were laughing—this was a lesson, and they needed to see how this played out.
Mira charged at with a burst of shadows, her eyes narrowed. But I dodged her once more, and in one fluid motion, I grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and flung it right into her face.
"Seriously?" I mockingly clapped. "Is this all you’ve got? Co on. Think, think. Where is your strategy?"
Both of them were furious now, but they had learned one thing: they had underestimated .
"Alright, enough," I said, stepping back and raising my hands in mock surrender. "You two are far too easy to deal with."
Mira’s face was red with frustration, and Wallace was still trying to get his bearings after the knee injury. I could hear a few students snickering in the background.
"Listen," I said, my tone turning serious as I addressed the group. "What I just showed you was an example of how you should never fight a mage if you have no plan. Magic’s all well and good, but if you can’t protect yourself from the dirtier tricks, the cheap shots, the things that you never see coming, then you’re dead."
Mira dusted herself off, clearly annoyed but quiet. Wallace was too proud to say anything, though his leg was still trembling.
"Now, don’t go thinking that just because I fought dirty, I’m encouraging it in every situation. But there’s a ti and place for everything," I continued, looking at each of them seriously. "If you can’t see the fight through your opponent’s eyes, if you can’t think in the mont, you’ll always be the one on the ground. And trust ... I’ve seen enough people go down because of their lack of awareness."
Wallace opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off with a sharp look.
"Don’t think for a second that any of you are invincible, because you’re not. And I’ll remind you again—you’re nothing but targets until you prove you’re more than just at for the grinder."
I turned to leave, but before I did, I threw one last glance over my shoulder.
"You’ve got a long way to go," I said, smirking. "Now go train, or you’ll never catch up."
The silence that followed my words was heavy, but I knew it would stick with them. They would rember this lesson.
Because next ti, I wouldn’t just teach them through mockery. I’d teach them through survival.
Reviews
All reviews (0)