novelraw Chapter 173 : Chapter 173
Chapter 173 : Chapter 173
173
"Most of the students at the Academy right now enrolled because they were drawn by Teacher Cassian."
I nodded at Gwen's words.
It was embarrassing, but it was true.
When teaching students, you could tell how focused they were just from their eyes, their tone, and the way they sat.
They were concentrating at a level that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.
Instructors like Freutche and Sordian could also use sword aura now.
And they could conduct lessons following the curriculum manual and provide guidance to students.
"The efficiency is different."
But their teaching amounted to nothing more than rote repetition of the manual.
My lessons were conducted on two tracks.
One was the basic curriculum grounded in the textbook.
A baseline track where anyone, through reading the textbook and studying, could eventually find their way to good swordsmanship.
And the other was the personalized instruction track.
Observing each student's swordsmanship and gradually refining their sword form to match the purpose of their technique.
The baseline track could be handled by Sordian or Freutche.
No — at that level, even Pan, Rozalin, or Hati could handle it.
Isadora and Freizia were certainly capable, and even our Lord Murray could manage it.
But the second track was another matter.
That was something only I could do, and it had contributed enormously to raising the academic level of our incoming students.
A year and a half had passed since the regressor appeared in this world.
It had been about a year since they sensed mana and created the concept of sword aura.
I had been teaching students throughout that entire time, and the academic ability of the Basic Class students who had taken my lessons up close surpassed that of the current Graduation Class students by a wide margin.
Right now, the Basic Class students were capable enough to be brought along when handling crises like the Belmein capital incident or the Kingdom of Namress incident.
Hati had said the same.
He said they were skilled enough at this level to make a name for themselves in a decent mid-tier mercenary guild.
"Given all that, establishing a special class could stir up controversy."
I could not reduce my lectures any further.
"Let us add hours instead. We will hold extra lessons at night."
"Understood. Well, I will not stop you from using your own time. The problem is the students. If we are not careful, accusations of preferential treatment could arise."
Some academies operated special classes for accelerated progression.
Places like that were always accompanied by controversies over discrimination and favoritism.
The reason academies ran these special classes despite such stigma came down to two factors.
One was the promotional effect of producing exceptional talent to attract new recruits.
The second was the enormous donations from the nobles or wealthy families who enrolled in those special classes.
But Akarind Academy needed neither.
We had money to spare, and most of our talent was already excellent.
Nobles from various nations, even Imperial nobles, had enrolled as students.
The criticism we would face for discriminating against them would be considerable.
On top of that, our educational philosophy was not about making exceptional talent even more exceptional — it was about ensuring equal education for all.
Having built that philosophy even to the point of making an enemy of Avril, to abandon it now to create a special class would invite an even greater backlash.
"But we have standards."
Sword aura was divided into precise tiers based on one's level of manifestation.
Walker, Runner, Adept, Expert, and finally Master.
"The special class will consist only of students at least upper-level Runner. Average should be Expert."
"Expert, you say."
"If we are talking about fairness, we can frame the logic as this: it is unfair for these students to be taking lessons alongside the general students."
In reality, students like Pan, Bridget, and Eleveth frequently helped with teaching assistant duties during class.
Repeated drilling of basic lessons certainly had its benefits, but only up to a certain level.
Students who had well surpassed Adept required a different kind of instruction.
Yet we could not simply place an advanced course matching an intermediate swordsmanship curriculum in the Graduation Class either.
The current Graduation Class was too far below that level.
"Furthermore, there is another factor. We need to separate the auditors' education to some degree."
Most of the auditors were individuals who had wielded swords for a long time.
As seasoned swordsmen, they absorbed lessons faster than ordinary students.
Kantaros was a prime example.
He, who had once been unable to properly withstand the students' swords, had climbed all the way to Sword Runner level and was now flaunting an old man's vigor as though he had reverse-aged.
The only problem was that he sometimes got so overcome with energy that he would strip off his shirt and laugh heartily.
"Rozalin. Hati. These defensive personnel are, in truth, Akarind Academy's primary fighting force. We need a method to raise them together."
Students were, at the end of the day, students.
Once their six years of education ended, they would eventually leave.
Going forward, we would have to continue our long war against demons.
The point in time Rozalin returned from was eight years from now.
The time remaining before our core student fighting force — Pan, Bridget, Eleveth — left was four years.
By the time stronger enemies emerged, we would lose our core strength.
New students would keep coming in, but those students too would keep leaving, coming, leaving...... the cycle would continue endlessly.
"What about blocking the students' graduation and forcibly enrolling them in an advanced program or graduate school?"
Gwen came up with a demonic idea.
Not in the sense of being bad, but as sweet a proposal as a demon's whisper.
But as an instructor who prioritized his students — an entirely ordinary, reasonable one — I shook my head.
"Of course, I will propose to students that they consider graduate school — that is, life in Akarind Academy City — but only a very small number will actually stay. And it is more appropriate to send them out."
Chairman Gwen seemed to agree, nodding with a serious expression.
The Wolf King's clone had infiltrated all the way into Charlotte's inner office.
What if it had been his main body instead of a clone?
What if he had come with hostile intent, as an assassin seeking to wreak havoc?
What if that infiltrated assassin had targeted someone other than Charlotte?
For instance...... Pan, or Rozalin.
'I feel nauseous just thinking about it.'
My blood pressure spiked enough to make me dizzy just contemplating it.
My own life — however it ended, that was fine.
In truth, before the kids regressed, this would have been around when I was already dead.
I was living on borrowed time. I had no attachment to life.
But the thought of these students — who could live more than ten more years — having their lives cut short at such a young age was unbearable.
They......
"I will organize the class and begin lessons immediately."
"Understood. What will the class size be?"
Running the morning classes, I had gauged the students' levels and asked about their intentions.
The total number of Sword Adepts currently residing in Akarind Academy City was thirteen.
And the number of Adepts who had applied for the special class was also thirteen.
"My goal is to raise half of these thirteen to Expert within this first semester."
"......Ha ha."
At that, Gwen let out a wry chuckle.
"Now that I think about it, that is extraordinary. I do not know exactly what level Expert is. I can just think of it as being around Teacher's level, right?"
It was a bit ambiguous to call it "my level," but.
She was not wrong.
"So that means by the end of the first semester, we will have seven swordsmen at Teacher's level?"
"That is correct."
"Add one 5th-circle mage and one 6th-circle mage on top of that. Goodness. With that fighting force, we could go toe-to-toe with an entire kingdom......?"
It was not an impossible claim.
But would such a thing ever happen?
"Do not worry. This is purely a means of defense."
"I hope so."
***
"Teacher Cassian~."
Before class, an unexpected guest came to see me.
It was Berlith.
"I came because I have a favor to ask~!"
"A favor?"
I had worked alongside Teacher Berlith for a considerable time since joining Akarind Academy.
But it was the first time Teacher Berlith had come to ask a favor of me.
She was someone who accepted favors from others rather than requesting anything herself.
"You said you would be creating a special class~ And that you would handpick only the most outstanding people!"
"Yes."
"I was wondering if you could include my teaching assistant, Bonnie, in it?"
Bonnie?
Wondering who that was, I turned my head.
A familiar face stood there in unfamiliar attire.
Roughly 180 centimeters tall.
The deep navy-toned hair was swept neatly back.
The well-trained body, once bronzed and gleaming, was concealed within a crisp formal suit.
A fitted suit with a white-toned jacket, layered over a brown vest.
It was the sort of outfit a café barista might wear.
Or rather — a butler, perhaps?
"I am Bonnie."
He introduced himself with perfectly groomed, courteous posture.
But my feelings as I watched it were rather peculiar.
"Spartoi — a Dragon-Fang Soldier, correct?"
"Yes~!"
Why was that warrior, whose entire body had been covered in scars, now in this state?
On top of that, there was the matter of his eyes.
Bonnie's eyes were as vacant, unfocused, and dead as Yuria's had been long ago.
So dressed up like this, he looked to anyone like a young man being tormented — forced to wear clothes he had no desire to wear.
"......Is this all right?"
"Ahahaha?"
I asked out of various concerns, but Berlith did not seem to detect any problem.
Well, if she was happy with it......
This was all right, correct?
"Anyway, is it all right if I include Bonnie in the special class? Our aim is to select high-caliber swordsmen and make them stronger."
"Hahaha, Teacher, you do not quite know how a Dragon-Fang Soldier is made, do you~?"
How was it made, she asked — did you not just whip one up? When we planted the bone fragments in the ground, they had grown like plants, after all.
Instructor Berlith let out a mischievous ho ho as she continued her explanation.
"A Dragon-Fang Soldier is originally born in multiples, not as just one~"
Dragon-Fang Soldiers born in such numbers would fight among themselves to determine the strongest individual.
Only the single Dragon-Fang Soldier who killed all their brothers and sisters and survived could become the guardian bodyguard of a dragon.
"The strongest poisons are originally made in a similar way~ It is called Gu poison (蠱毒)~"
A dreadful aura emanated from the word "Gu poison" as it left Berlith's lips.
Presumably, that was how horrifying a poison it was.
"But this one emerged alone? Which means he is an incredibly powerful specimen."
Berlith covered her mouth with her long sleeve and giggled — hee hee hee.
"Perhaps it is the special class students who should be more careful?"
"......Understood. I will take him along and try teaching him. But if he cannot keep up with the lessons, I may have to send him back — would that be acceptable?"
"Well, if that happens, it cannot be helped. That is fine!"
Instructor Berlith answered that way, but she did not seem to expect Bonnie to come back at all.
She even saw Bonnie off with a wave of her hand, telling him to do his best.
Was this one really capable of learning?
***
It had been a mistake on my part.
"Haah...... hah......"
Keeping up with the lessons — really?
To think I had been entertaining such naive thoughts.
"Holy shit......"
The students were letting out ragged breaths.
Pan was collapsed on the ground, staring up at the sky, unable to even hold himself upright properly.
Only one person remained standing.
Bonnie.