Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

Silas found himself standing in front of a massive brick building. The University of Arcane studies was huge. It was a mix of old architecture and new one. Students walked around him and he was the only one wearing a black suit.

Naturally he wanted to go to his own class and teach his daughters—look at their adorable faces and tease them—but Lucifer scrapped his schedule until he completed his courses.

He didn’t actually have to attend class because he knew most of it already. All he had to do was show up to the exams and get a passing grade. So he came here to get the books, meet the professor of his course and then go back to Aethelgard.

With his hands in his pockets, he walked through the busy courtyard of the University, the autumn leaves falling from the trees as he made his way to the main building where the administration was.

Someone was practicing mana release near the fountain, small blue sparks visible from across the yard.

It smelled like stale mana and old paper here. This university was the opposite of Aethelgard, one was for training soldiers, the other was to train scholars. The ground felt hard, and the wind blew in gusts, his tie moved slightly with it.

The inside of the administration building was a maze. Long hallways, signs to direct people and the occasional professor who walked around, holding stacks of papers.

Finally he found the administration office.

The door opened to reveal a woman sitting behind a desk, her phone was next to her, its screen facing upwards and playing some kind of soap opera.

“Hello. Can I help you?” She didn’t look away from the small screen.

He cleared his throat, the sound echoing slightly in the office.

“Yes, I am Silas Vane. I was told I had been accepted to the fall semester, yet I have no schedule, no book list, no class assignments,” he listed and watched the lady pause her show. Her eyes widened as she recognized the name. A faint pink blush appeared on her cheeks.

She stood up from her chair and started searching through some documents, taking her eyes off of him.

“Of course, Mr Vane. Welcome to the University of Arcane studies! Honestly... I thought it was a prank or a typo or something,” she laughed nervously. She handed him a paper.

It was his schedule.

“All my classes are with Professor Celiana?” He asked and read over the course names. There were three of them.

Mana Theory, Practical Combat Application and Mana Ethics.

The last was one certainly Lucifer’s pick.

“Yes. All three are with Professor Celiana,” the administrator replied and gave him his student ID card. The picture was from some random photo taken by fans. It was a terrible photo.

He thanked her and left. With a map in his hands he walked through the hallways and down the stairs, finding his classroom.

Students passed by, chattering loudly with each other. These were the future mana scholars and researchers of the world. The scientists who would invent new mana technologies.

Mana cores were still largely a mystery despite being used as fuel for many years.

Stopping in front of a door labeled 107, he pushed it open and the lecture hall was empty with only a woman inside sitting at a desk and writing. Her long brown hair was in a messy bun and she wore round glasses, her eyes focused on the paper in front of her.

The smell of perfume was strong. Too heavy on the senses like she used it in place of a deodorant. His eyes drifted to the clock. Class would start in ten minutes, so he decided to introduce himself to this Celiana woman.

His footsteps echoed in the empty room and the sound made her look up. The professor’s yellow iris contracted at the sight of him. She blinked rapidly and took off her glasses to rub her eyes as if seeing a ghost.

“Am I that ugly to look at?” He asked, a smirk on his face.

Celiana cleared her throat.

“Ahem, you must be my newest student. I didn’t know the university enrolled celebrities.” She had a slight accent. She stood up and held out her hand to shake.

He shook it and she sat back down.

Eyeing her up and down, Silas noticed that she was young, probably a few years older than his own daughters.

“You seem young for a professor.” He tilted his head.

She scoffed and fixed her glasses, putting them back on.

“I got my doctorate at the age of 16 and my masters at 14. I was considered a child prodigy. You may take a seat anywhere Mr.Vane.” She opened a drawer in the desk and handed him a thick textbook and a smaller one. “You can borrow these.”

He flipped through the book, seeing the different mana theories. They weren’t new to him; he was already familiar with most of these concepts since the dawn of dungeons.

But this book had pictures of Berlin, young and wearing a white coat. On the next page, him with his own face—just as young.

Under his name it was said that his mana signature was unknown but his mana core was a Class S. There weren’t any explanations about him or Berlin. Just a few mentions here and there like footnotes.

Like things that happened between the real history.

He closed the book.

“I am supposed to read a book with my picture in it? It feels weird,” he said.

A small giggle escaped Celiana and the students started to file into the hall.

The lecture hall was tiered, maybe sixty seats facing a whiteboard covered in mana equations.

He picked a seat in front of Celiana and sat down.

The student next to him had a notebook open to a page covered in mana circuit diagrams—the kind of theoretical work that would've taken years to develop before the apocalypse. The kid was maybe twenty.

He focused on his own book as she started to teach. Her voice was clear and she seemed passionate about the topic. But the content was boring to him.

An hour passed and the class was dismissed, the students shuffled around, talking and leaving as Silas approached the teacher’s desk.

She was cleaning up, putting her papers away, but looked up at him. He handed her his book.

“Keep it. You will need it for tomorrow’s class,” she smiled.

Silas raised an eyebrow.

“I won’t come tomorrow. I’ll only do the exams,” he said simply.

Celiana chuckled.

“Attendance is required.” She tapped a paper with a list of names, his name was on top. “I’ve been asked by the administration to keep a close eye on you Mr. Vane. The president of the Hunter Association was quite explicit in her instructions.”

He stared at her. A heavy sigh. Did he want to deal with this? No. But the thought of not being able to tease his daughters was worse.

“I guess I’ll be here tomorrow.” He rolled his eyes.

The professor nodded and got up from her desk, grabbing her bag. Her magic was barely noticeable, it was a very passive magic. A part of him wanted to check her core just out of curiosity but he restrained himself.

They walked out together, the hallway filled with more students. He had to use magic to keep her perfume from being too overbearing. He wanted to gag. How could she wear that much of it?

When they arrived at the building’s entrance, Celiana turned to him.

"You used spatial magic to filter the scent about ten seconds after entering the classroom. Most people either don't notice or leave. You stayed and filtered. That's interesting," she paused. “Mind magic. I specialize in it. My perfume is meant to see who is resistant enough to notice the stench.”

Ah. That explained it.

She walked out into the busy courtyard, waving at him before vanishing in the crowd. It was a good thing she didn’t try to control his mind or she would’ve been dead.

But she hadn't tried. She'd tested him instead. That was more interesting.

Putting his hands in his pockets he teleported away.