Chapter 51

<51 - The Nature-Friendly Professor> The professors at Gifted Academy were quite the eccentrics. It was an academy protected by a principal who seriously dreamed of world domination, a dream that seemed actually attainable here. This was a treasure trove for those craving fiery support and forbidden experiments that would be unthinkable in any academy affiliated with a certain country or organization. While many professors lusted after support and experimentation, the wish of the professor teaching "Basics and Understanding of Mana Use" during the third period on Mondays was a bit different. Her aim was to spread the magnificence of Dryads, the tree fairies, as widely and as far as possible! Gifted Academy was the best place in the world to unfold her ideals. "Heh, becoming a professor at Gifted Academy was indeed the right choice." From her first lecture to the freshmen, her classroom was packed. Filled with students eager to learn the greatness of natural magic. "Wow, look at the professor's clothes." "My God, how can someone go around looking so provocative?" "That's it. From today on, I'm going to be a Druid." Professor Weird didn't wear clothes but draped herself in vines and leaves instead. It wasn't because she was an exhibitionist but because she was of the Dryad race, born from nature. Fairies naturally had no reservations about showing their natural-born forms. While many students, regardless of gender, were mesmerized by her beauty and eagerly sat in her classroom, there was one exceptional student whose ambition took a different direction. "It's only natural for a forest keeper to attend a Dryad's lectures!" Amid students who chose her class based on looks, one of the few intellectuals stood out. The spirited apprentice forest keeper, Dorothy. She, like Oknodie, listened intently to the lecture from the front row. She believed the professor had granted her the front seat because she noticed her eagerness to learn, but Oknodie thought otherwise. "If you're short, you can't see the front, so you have to sit at the front. This way, I can't fool around." Unlike her towering 230cm height in the game world that always allowed her to choose the back row, the humiliating reality of sitting at the very front at 133cm was quite different. She used to enjoy watching the students in front of her jump in shock as she emanated killing intent when lectures got boring! "Mana is a puzzle. You don't necessarily need to memorize or recognize the whole puzzle; knowing just one puzzle piece allows you to identify it as mana." "Ordinary magicians find this piece with great difficulty, but it's different for natural magicians. They can find the mana puzzle pieces of natural attributes far easier and more frequently than other magicians." "It means they're significantly faster at finding these puzzle pieces." A student raised his hand. He was a student from Group B, looking arrogant as if the phrase "I'm superior" was plastered on his face. "I am Rosigny, an apprentice magician from the Red Magic Tower. May I ask a question?" "Go ahead." "Isn't what you described characteristic of attribute mana? Not just natural attributes, but fire sorcerers or ice sorcerers could also find fire or ice attribute mana puzzles." Such a pesky firebug. Professor Weird was slightly irked by the 1st-year student whose attribute was inherently contrary to nature. "Well, somewhat? To an extent? Resembling natural attributes? They might be able to mimic it, but other attributes have their limits. They're not as common in nature," she argued forcefully. "Have you considered why you're able to survive? The ground you stand on, the food you eat daily—all come from nature's bounty." "Always be grateful to nature?" Dorothy cheerfully chimed in. Professor Weird replied with a wicked smile. "Yes. Always be grateful. The fact that you're living your everyday life is thanks to the earth not splitting open and swallowing all beings on the surface." "..." "Nature can easily devour all life on earth in one bite, but it graciously spares us." Geez, this professor is scary. "The strength of natural magic lies in its versatility, which can be used anytime, anywhere. Today, we shall verify that truth right here in this classroom." "That concludes the basic overview. Next, it's practice to physically feel the natural attribute mana puzzle pieces. Everyone, please put on the monocles distributed." Despite her bizarre praises of nature and a somewhat mad demeanor, Professor Weird was not stingy in preparing tools to help students keep up with the lesson. People found her dangerous, but the difficulty level of attending her lecture was relatively easy. "Now, you need to identify natural attribute mana puzzle pieces in ten different objects in this classroom. The first student to find all ten will be given..." "Do we get points?" "Or bonus points to have an advantage in our grades?" "I'll offer you the opportunity to become a teaching assistant for my lecture." However, this came with the downside of naturally tricking students into a pit of malice. Unaware of how demanding it could be to become a TA amidst their hectic course schedules, students enthusiastically donned their monocles and roamed around, driven by the promise of bonus points. Dorothy, too, looked around with eagerness until she noticed a student who seemed indifferently different. "Oknodie. What's the matter? You need to search diligently to become a TA!" "Let those who want to do it, do it." As group A and B students competed with a sense of rivalry, Oknodie, the most prominent talent of group A, scoffed like a sage disillusioned with the world. "Dorothy. We have to choose two mandatory lectures common to all departments, three department lectures, and two liberal arts lectures. That's seven lectures a semester." "And?" "Lectures are two hours long, seven lectures means normally only 28 hours of lectures per week." "Yeah. It's great we can learn so much in such short time and become smarter!" "Do you think the professors don't know that?" "Huh?" "There are 168 hours in a week, but if lectures only take up 28 hours, that leaves 140 hours, right? So, they can generously assign 20 hours of homework, right?" "Oh?" "Do you understand? Professors are time assassins. If you end up being a teaching assistant on top of everything else, you won't have any time left to complete assignments." Dorothy, with a shocked expression, murmured, "Then when do we sleep?" But Oknodie, who had shared this harsh truth of the academy, merely turned her head with an indifferent look. 'To an old hand like me, none of this should be too hard anyway.' Since she had no desire whatsoever to become a teaching assistant, she deliberately slowed down the pace at which she pressed the monocle's button, pretending to be oblivious. Stealthily. Looking at the vines that had grown along the wall, blocking the classroom door, it was clear that this person was no less a character of integrity than Professor Estrada/Bronze. A confinement play, preventing students from physically escaping the classroom before the lecture was concluded! 'Why are they making such a fuss about finding these things?' Contrary to her worries about not being able to feel mana in reality, unlike in the game, she managed to use wand magic without any trouble. This was also the case when practicing with Jona, and now with the "Mana Sensing Assistance" feature of the monocle, she felt invincible. 'I can see everything.' The wooden material of the desks. The dirt floor of the classroom. A portable mirror ball toy brought by some idiot. A thieving squirrel sneaking under the desks, plundering students' pockets. A beetle clinging to the hem of a female student's dress, mistaking her fragrance for the smell of tree sap. Objects containing natural mana puzzle pieces were scattered all around. 'Can't someone quickly find all 10 pieces and end this?' She had already found over 50 puzzle pieces while looking around out of boredom. "Hehe, I've already found seven!" While the forest keeper Dorothy excitedly clicked the button of her monocle, gathering puzzle pieces like a fish finding water, a student from Group B also stood out. "Is it really that difficult? It's all right there in plain sight, isn't everyone just pretending not to see?" "..." "I want to hit that guy." "Hold it in. He's from our Group B, after all." "Magicians are annoying by nature." Sandcooker, an apprentice magician from the Yellow Magic Tower with a talent for earth magic. Even in the original story, he was destined to grow under Professor Weird as her protégé. "Professor, I've found ten pieces." "First-year Sandcooker, impressive. I hereby grant the position of teaching assistant to help with my future lectures." "It's an honor to be able to assist you, Professor." "Ah, I've found all ten as well!" Dorothy, who found all ten pieces just a tad too late, stomped her feet in frustration. Professor Weird's eyes shone as she said. "It seems we have many talented students in natural magic this year." "Professor, wasn't the teaching assistant position supposed to be first-come-first-served?" Sandcooker glared at Dorothy with eyes full of rivalry. Professor Weird nodded. "The position of a teaching assistant is an honorable one. It's a privilege granted only to the most outstanding talent." "Indeed!" "After today's lecture, I would like Sandcooker to collect all 100 monocles, place them back in their cases, and bring them to my office." "...Perhaps sharing the honor of being a teaching assistant with a friend is more joyful than enjoying it alone? Please, consider her for the position as well!" "Cooperation and mutual prosperity. Not a bad way of thinking, nature-wise. Since Sandcooker insists, Dorothy will also be appointed as a teaching assistant." "Professor? I, being a teaching assistant, I mean..." Creak. Following the shape of Professor Weird's hand, the lectern collapsed. "What was that you said?" "...I really, truly wanted to take the time to do it!" "I'm delighted to see such enthusiasm from my students. Then, after the lecture, you can count on my help." Poor Dorothy. Despite the hints, she was too earnest. Oknodie heartlessly ignored Dorothy's pleading gaze for help. * * After the lecture. While reviewing the temporal data uploaded to the monocle synchronized with the magic clock, Professor Weird saw something strange among the student achievements. "What's this student?" The monocles had an 'automatic shooting' function, unbeknownst to the students. Although it was said that one had to press the button during the lecture to officially find a natural attribute mana puzzle piece, the truth was that it automatically captured anything that was visually recognized as such. It was a salvage device to identify unpolished talents who unconsciously sensed mana but failed to realize they had found a mana puzzle piece. However, an absurd record came up on this salvage device. <Natural Mana Puzzle Pieces Found: 122> <Time to Find 10 Pieces: 7 Seconds> <Natural Mana Puzzle Pieces Photographed: 10> <Time to Photograph 10 Pieces: 30 Minutes> Ten pieces in 30 minutes. In the talent-filled Gifted Academy, this was a reasonably decent level of ability. However, in terms of potential, it far surpassed the records of the apprentice earth sorcerer Sandcooker and apprentice forest keeper Dorothy chosen as teaching assistants. "Who exactly is this student?" A disciple secretly trained by the Yellow Magic Tower's head? Or a wild girl raised personally by the forest's guardian? Unable to contain her curiosity, Professor Weird accessed Oknodie's academy record. <Special Notes> -Has a hobby of collecting stones. -Reports from a guardian occasionally indicate she eats stones, but this has yet to be confirmed. "...Eats stones? Is she a Stone Golem?" Does feeding children stones increase their affinity with nature? A sparkle of curiosity flashed in Professor Weird's eyes. "I'll have to experiment with the fourth years." Author's Note Suddenly, a story where seniors suffer.