The students' schedule in the Imperial Academy was awkwardly straightforward. Knowledge and application of Rune Arts took place in the afternoon, while everything else, such as history and literature, was covered in the morning. This was at least the case for first-year students. As the year levels increased, the divergence between the students' approaches and differences in mastery bound them to separate and follow more personalised schedules instead.
For the morning lessons, the representative and ordinary students were not divided. In fact, the academy usually did not separate the two student groups before Year 2. However, it seemed that a decision had been made to replace this tradition, mainly because the number of representative students exceeded the usual amount.
Sitting beside Charlotte Clayfield, Nathan patiently waited for the Rune Art professor's arrival as he reflected on the morning lessons. Never having received prior education, he couldn't begin to comment on the level of professionalism of the academy's teachers, but at least from his perspective, they were acceptably decent—though still slightly worse than his father.
Eventually, a rather familiar figure entered the classroom with wide, confident steps.
The representative students' eyes widened as they watched her approach the lectern without acknowledging them. This must be a mistake, they thought. There's no way the principal assigned this demon as our professor.
Amidst all the shock and negativity filling the atmosphere, Nathan stood up and bowed gracefully toward Clara Marshall. His words were clear and loud, enhanced by the emptiness of the room.
"A pleasure to have you as our professor, Miss!"
To everyone's surprise, Clara Marshall completely ignored Nathan's peculiar and unexpected flattery.
Though proud and noble, blandishments from representative students were not as rare as people thought. However, as a mere professor, Clara Marshall definitely did not deserve this level of respect.
"What is this book talking about…? This is complete, utter bullcrap," she murmured to herself, immersively concentrating on the textbook's content. "This is not only wrong, it's also just outrageously stupid."
After about a minute that felt like a whole hour, Clara lifted her head and scanned the students emotionlessly.
"Thanks, Nathan," she finally replied. Even for a demonic teacher like her, the unnecessary respect from a representative student pleased her. "But don't you think 'Miss' is a bit too inappropriate? Call me Madam or Professor next time."
"You are a 'miss' in my heart." Nathan sat back down in his seat and replied with a smile. There was not even a trace of mockery in his tone.
Something surprising happened again after Clara heard Nathan's comment. This time, it was much more astonishing than anything before.
Clara Marshall smiled.
Now that was something none of the students thought possible. The rumors of her being a nightmarish figure had already sunk deep into everyone's minds; no one would ever have imagined how beautiful she seemed when a curl appeared on her face. Despite her declining years, she proved to everyone that true beauty would never truly tarnish.
"Thank you, Nathan, thank you," she said cheerfully, momentarily distracted from the negativity she had about the content of the textbook. However, the way she stared at Nathan was filled more with respect and admiration rather than simple happiness for his compliment.
"Right! Let's get the lesson started. Don't want to waste any time."
Clara Marshall stood confidently as she spoke with the utmost power. "My name is Clara Marshall. If you remember, I'm the head of the extended education department. But since old Henry Nox always comes up with random and overly flexible suggestions, he said that even though there is no information on your Rune Art mastery level, I'm going to have to mold you into perfected figures that truly represent the premiership of the Imperial Academy."
Her words sent chills down everyone's spines, even Leo and William, whose heads were already soaked with sweat. Those rumors, though exaggerated, must have been somewhat accurate for them to be recognized and spread.
"Some people call me 'the nightmare of the modern educational system,' and to that I say—they are absolutely correct," she pointed out. "Because I teach my students in a way that other professors would refrain from even thinking about. To put it bluntly, you are the future of our kingdom. There will come a day when you will rule the world. When that day arrives, the doomsday of any professor who mistreated you will, as well."
"But I'm not afraid. One, most of my students will grow up thanking me for what I've done in their lives. Two, is a reason I will soon display."
"So here are my expectations." She raised her voice and paused dramatically, her eyes growing even more serious as she noticed the frowns on the students' faces. "You will be the top achievers of this year, exceeding all the ordinary students by a huge margin. If you don't meet this requirement, I will not allow you to graduate from my class."
Most of the representative students opened their mouths to try to protest against this absurd request, but their words were instantly intimidated back by Marshall's horrifyingly cold stare.
"Normally, only students who have shown profound mastery would end up in my class. That is good news for you because it means I will teach you what other professors cannot. So this seemingly impossible task is not nearly as bad as you would think."
"Also, Charlotte Clayfield, Nathan Modernson—you two are a bit different."
Everyone's stares landed on Nathan, who was carefully listening to Clara with respect and acknowledgment in his eyes. Though some might think that he would be treated better for the compliment he gave earlier, Nathan could easily perceive that such was not the case. In fact, it should be the opposite.
"Since you two have mutated multiple elemental traits, you don't have to achieve this standard."
This was the moment when Jennifer could not hold back her protest. "This is unf—"
"Nathan and Charlotte must create their own personalized Rune Arts as a requirement for graduation. And yes, Jennifer, this is unfair, but since they are lucky enough to awaken multiple elemental traits, they have the responsibility to put them to use."
Personalized Rune Arts—novelties and inventions belonging to the person who discovered them. The chance of creating a new type of Rune Art in the modern generation was far too demanding; it was an impossible task that few could achieve. For Nathan especially. Charlotte had four elements she could put into use, and it was rather easy and common for elementally rich Rune Artists like her to invent new arts.
Nathan and Charlotte both nodded. Even though they might have differing opinions on this expectation, they both kept them in their hearts. The others went silent too, not knowing what to think about the situation.
"And here is when questions arise," Clara Marshall continued, amused as she saw the calm expressions of Nathan and Charlotte. "Wielding multiple elemental traits isn't an advantage, right? It might even be a burden as it distracts us from focusing on one specialty."
"This is what I meant by saying the textbook is outrageously wrong. Forget all that you've heard before; trust me, it's wrong. It's just wrong." She dismissively waved her hand.
"If you just want an ordinary life with Rune Arts as a tool for your daily usage, then sure, there is no advantage among any of them. But here's the point that few could understand—you don't have to be a specialist in one element only. If you work hard enough, both, or all, elements can become as familiar to you as breathing."
"The potential of wielding multiple elemental traits cannot be overstated. I feel fortunate that there are two mutated traits among you."
Monica raised her hand, and after receiving approval from the professor, she argued in a powerful voice.
"I understand your point, professor, but people only have two hands. For Nathan, it's possible, but for an elemental quadrility like Charlotte, how could she possibly utilize all four at once?"
Once more, a smile emerged on Clara Marshall's face. It was as if she had been waiting for someone to ask this question.
With her dangerously mischievous smile, she turned around and faced the door at the side.
Nathan could barely catch her movement. All he could see after one blink was four sticks thrown into the air in a spinning motion.
Catching all four Rune Art wands in a sharp, elegant fashion, the students could finally understand why she said she wasn't afraid of vengeful persecutions.
With wands secured between her fingers, Clara waved her arms in an almost imperceptible ballet, and before anyone could fully comprehend the spectacle, four distinct colored runes materialized in the air. Pressing her hands on these runes, four elements appeared and fused in the middle, compressing a small, dark droplet that seemed to have frozen time around it.
Then, she threw the four wands up again. This time, she caught them all with one hand.
With a powerful thrust, she pressed the four wands against the created droplet, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Even after all this, Clara's breaths were stable and constant, without a trace of tiredness. There was only a faint surprise within her pupils—the explosion she expected was not heard.
Although the students did not catch any visual impact, Clara Marshall's manipulation of Rune Arts had already exceeded their former beliefs about mutated traits.
…
"Fire, Lightning, Earth, Light…" A sweet, childish voice emerged from within the smoke of the impact. Even though she had neutralized the attack completely, the force it generated had still altered the mountain's terrain. Except for the position where the girl stood, the energy shockwave had reshaped a portion of the landscape.
"Must be Clara Marshall again," the girl sighed. "Fortunate that I was here to protect the ecosystem. Unfortunate that her beliefs are nothing but wrong. If our paths were the same, we might probably get along well."
She took a step forward, the remaining traces of the four elements lingering in the air around her. With a casual wave of her two wands, the remnants of the distorted energy dissipated as if they had never existed.