Ch 37: Dumb Bastard
Lucien exited classroom 2-S after finishing his lesson, and as he walked down the hallway, a view from the window abruptly stopped him in his tracks. His attendant, Connor, also came to a halt, trailing just two or three steps behind—an improvement from the previous five or six steps. Connor must have realized that Lucien had completely calmed down and was no longer radiating the anger he had shown in front of class 1-S.
Lucien hurried to the windows, startling the students who were leaning nearby. As he drew closer, everything became clear. Narrowing his eyes, he saw Melissa clumsily standing on the training field, with Patrick pointing a saber toward her face, blatantly challenging her to fight.
Why is that dumb bastard Patrick challenging Melissa?
Lucien was dumbfounded to see Patrick challenging Melissa, who had likely never touched a weapon in her entire life. Lucien was not certain about Melissa’s combat skills, but from her posture and the way she seemed ready to bolt from the challenge, he could piece things together. Melissa had always worked in the fields back in her village; she had probably never been trained in combat and was more of a healer, though not strictly, since light affinity users could become warriors, unlike those with life affinity, who were usually limited to healing abilities.
"Which class do I have next on my schedule?" Lucien asked curtly, not wanting to waste a single second.
"My lord, you do not have any classes for the rest of the day," Connor answered, with slight hesitation.
Lucien was once again shocked—first by Patrick daring to challenge Melissa, a complete novice, and now by his attendant’s words.
His schedule should have been packed to the brim. The previous year, his first as a professor, had been full despite his lack of experience. Now, with a year behind him, he should have been assigned even more classes. Yet, he had none for the rest of the day. That can’t be possible.
"What do—" Before Lucien could finish questioning his attendant about the change in his schedule, Melissa began walking toward the side of the training field, where weapons were neatly arranged in an iron weapons rack.
Shit.
Not wanting to be late, Lucien disappeared from his spot, manipulating the space around him. He appeared outside the academy window, suspended in midair above the ground. Before he could fall—having teleported from the second floor—he teleported again, landing on the ground near the training field in the blink of an eye.
"Hiek!" A girl shrieked in shock, looking as if life had been drained from her body. The students who were already dueling, as well as those just starting out, were startled and stopped in their tracks. All eyes turned toward Lucien, who had appeared out of nowhere so suddenly.
Lucien did not care about their reactions, though he was irritated by the girl's high-pitched shriek.
Putting his frustration away, he calmly smoothed his white shirt. He was no longer wearing his black coat, having returned it to his dimensional ring after teaching class 1-S.
"Professor Lucien?" Professor Max Orr shouted, his booming voice echoing across the field. He ran up to Lucien with a surprising enthusiasm for a man of his size. Soon enough, Max stood before Lucien, casting a broad shadow over him in the daylight. With a wide smile and strong, prominent teeth, Max added, "If you wanted to discuss something, you could have just told me. I would have come by myself. Why go to the trouble?"
Lucien could not help but shake his head slightly at the respect the old man was showing him. Max was not just anyone; he was one of the academy's most popular professors, known for his open personality, though he could be as rigid as stone at times. Still, he was a good person to deal with, and most people liked him for his candor.
Of all things, Lucien knew Max admired him for his prowess, and Lucien, in turn, found Max's power acceptable. Still, Lucien was not particularly impressed, since despite being over forty, Max had only reached Grandmaster [Mid] rank and was assigned only to first-year students. He was not qualified enough to teach second-year students.
Max was a veteran who had spent his youth adventuring before retiring and becoming a professor at the academy. He wanted to give his old bones some rest and train the next generation of talent. He was a big, muscular man with a bear-like build, standing four inches taller than Lucien. With plain black hair and black eyes, his face was moderately handsome, and he had white, tanned skin. Max wore a sleeveless white shirt, black trousers, and huge, chunky black boots. His massive arms suggested he could probably crush someone weaker with a single hug.
Seeing Max waiting patiently for his response, Lucien pushed aside his thoughts and pointed his index finger at Melissa, who stood before the weapons rack. "That girl is not ready to duel with Patrick yet." He emphasized the word yet so Max would understand that, in the future, Melissa would be ready.
Max squinted at Melissa, then shook his head and turned to Lucien. "Sorry, but I cannot allow her to forfeit the duel." Max crossed his arms over his chest and, without any regard for Lucien’s reputation, refused with an apologetic expression.
Lucien’s gaze darkened at the refusal. This was something he disliked about Max, who was as rigid as stone once he had made his own decision.
Lucien could have used force to bend Max’s will, but as a fellow colleague, it would not suit him to coerce another professor just to get his way. Besides, it would not do his reputation any good. He was not a tyrant who did as he pleased.
"Since you are requesting, you must have a reason behind it," Max said, scratching his cheek and looking uncomfortable under Lucien’s intense gaze. With a fake cough, he added, "I will at least allow her to change partners if she wants."
"Then let me duel with her," Lucien said, seizing the opportunity before Max could change his mind.
"Wha—" Mark’s shocked voice was completely drowned out by a loud shriek from Melissa: "Nooooo!"
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