Chapter 253
The next morning. A new day began.
The first class was Jane’s Elementary Black Magic class, and just as she had warned beforehand, her BMAT feedback was brutal.
She pointed out every single student’s weaknesses in detail and explained exactly what needed improvement.
As expected, Simon was criticized for one thing, the thirty minutes it took to summon his Blood Golem. Jane didn’t just scold him; she suggested ways to simplify the spell formula and even taught him a new training method from Haematology. All of it was flesh-and-blood advice—practical and valuable.
After the feedback session ended, Jane moved to a different location. The students of Class A followed to the nearby indoor training arena.
“Practical training, all of a sudden? What kind of lesson is this?”
“No idea.”
Because everyone had heard about the theme of the BMAT third test, the class was more attentive than ever.
“Alright.”
Jane stepped forward and began to speak.
“Today, we’ll be learning how to strengthen the cohesion of a magic circle.”
“!”
The members of Group 7 exchanged meaningful glances.
Under the TAs’ instructions, students stood spaced out evenly and activated the basic Darkness Arrow magic circle, awaiting further instructions.
Then, one of the TAs summoned a black wind using black magic.
Vwheeeing!
“Ugh!”
“I can’t see a thing!”
It felt like they’d been dropped right in the middle of a black sandstorm.
Fortunately, the students were unharmed—their eyes didn’t even sting—but the same couldn’t be said for the magic circles they had formed.
Exposed to the black wind pressure, the circles began to crack, and soon, they shattered completely. All around, sharp clang! sounds rang out as the circles broke.
Once the wind had settled, there wasn’t a single student in Class A whose circle remained intact.
“This is harder than it looks.”
“I thought at least one person would last.”
Some students exchanged disappointed murmurs.
“Hey, do you think this BMAT will be related to wind or flight?”
“Yeah, sounds like it!”
Of course, some students were completely off the mark, jumping to conclusions based on slow or incorrect info. Hearing that, Dick chuckled and nudged Simon’s elbow.
“Attention, please.”
Jane came forward again.
“There’s no need to be discouraged. Since everyone failed, you’re all starting from the same baseline. Now then, let’s go over the three key components of circle cohesion.”
Simon, along with the rest of the class, perked up to listen closely.
Base.
Binding Formula.
Ecosystem.
If even one of these three was lacking, she explained, the magic circle was bound to collapse.
“Try to recall how your circle was destroyed just now.”
She drew a magic circle directly on a portable board as she explained.
“If your circle was destroyed from the outside in, it’s likely that the Base was poorly reinforced. The base is the ultimate protective layer around the magic circle.”
“If it collapsed from within, the issue lies with the Binding. The fastest way to resolve that is by adding a binding formula within the circle. But doing so comes with sacrifices—to attack power, output, casting speed, and so on.”
“There are also cases where only a specific formula malfunctions, while the rest is fine. That means the formulas may not be properly interconnected. A circle with a healthy ‘ecosystem’ will never collapse so easily.”
To put Jane’s lecture in simple terms, it was like following a story meticulously crafted from start to finish—tight, cohesive, and without the slightest gap.
She divided the students into three groups and prescribed customized solutions.
Once they corrected their shortcomings, the TA summoned the black wind again, and six students succeeded. The ones who failed were still lacking in one of the three elements.
After the next round of prescriptions, the wind was summoned again, and this time twenty-five students succeeded.
And finally, on the fourth attempt—
“It worked!!”
Everyone in Class A, including Simon, succeeded.
From total failure to 100% success, not a single student left out. Her class truly felt like magic. The students, faces flushed with excitement, chatted amongst themselves.
“Now this is what a class should be!”
“If nothing else, at least we got lucky with our assigned professor.”
After finishing the training session, they returned to the classroom, where Jane followed up with some theoretical advice.
Her explanation included a section on ‘formula modification’, which was especially useful for Simon.
‘Looks like I’ll need to tweak both the Blood Golem and the Dark Torpedo.’
As the lecture went on, ideas for shortening the thirty-minute casting time burst into his mind. He wanted to dash outside and test the modifications right away, or even try summoning a circle over the sea.
And then—
“Good work, everyone!”
Jane’s class, which had filled the entire morning, finally came to an end.
She and the TAs picked up their briefcases and swept out of the lecture hall like the wind, while the students bustled about, chatting as they packed their things.
“That was amazing! Seriously, Professor Jane should’ve been teaching Darkness Dynamics from the start!”
Still caught up in the afterglow, Maelyn exclaimed with an excited face.
Dick, stuffing his textbook into his bag, smirked.
“Ooh, did you just diss Professor Eric? Gotta report that~”
“I did not!!”
Maelyn snapped back and swung her textbook, and Dick quickly ducked to avoid it.
“Ah, not again! Please don’t fight!”
Kamibarez yelped in alarm. Simon, unbothered, turned to Kamibarez and asked,
“Hey Kami, do you know what the next class is?”
“Yes! It’s Toxicology!”
Hearing that, Maelyn pulled a face of utter dread.
“Talk about extremes between periods one and two.”
“No kidding.”
As everyone was about to leave the classroom while chatting—
Clap! Clap!
“Guys! Sorry, can I have your attention for a sec?”
A female student stood at the front, loudly calling for everyone’s attention.
Her name was Claudia Menzies, her neatly braided hair falling over her shoulders. She was the top Toxicology student in Class A.
Hearing her voice, the students who had been heading out paused curiously.
“As you all know, the next class is Toxicology.”
Her face clearly showed her tension.
Her friends behind her whispered encouragement, and with a forced smile, she nodded before continuing.
“Professor Belya, who’s just joined us, has been forcing students to ingest poisons in what can only be described as a painful and barbaric lesson.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
‘Wait, what did she just say?’
The other students were just as stunned, murmuring in surprise.
Everyone gossiped behind Belya’s back, sure—but no one had ever openly voiced complaints like this in front of the entire class.
“Frankly, I don’t even consider that a real class.”
Claudia, as if she’d made up her mind, began to raise the intensity of her words.
“Honestly, things were better under Professor Lang. At least we learned something back then. But in Professor Belya’s class, all we’ve learned is that poison hurts. We vomit, we gag, our skin deteriorates, and it even ruins our condition for the next class. You all know this!”
The students gulped nervously. Even if her tone was bold, most of them agreed with her.
She slammed her palm down hard on the desk.
“Some students with pre-existing conditions have gotten worse! Others missed classes because they were stuck in the infirmary, and their grades took a hit! I really don’t think this is right—”
“Enough.”
Suddenly, a voice cut her off.
The entire Class A lecture hall fell into a heavy silence.
“…Who the hell do you think you are?”
It came from a boy in the very back—an enormous student, built like a mountain.
“You trying to stop people from going to class with this bullshit?”
It was Hector.
Caught off guard by the unexpected resistance from one of Class A’s real power players, Claudia’s face went rigid. Even the students who had deeply agreed with her speech switched sides immediately under Hector’s influence.
“Yeah! Who does she think she is, acting all high and mighty?”
“Never liked her anyway.”
With Hector at the center, a hostile atmosphere began to form.
Claudia’s lips trembled with fear, but she forced a smile and said with difficulty,
“S-Sorry, Hector. I was just trying to…”
“So cut the shit and get to the point.”
Thankfully, he wasn’t shutting her down entirely, he was still willing to hear her out.
Encouraged by that fact, Claudia straightened her posture and spoke with determination.
“We’re going to boycott Professor Belya’s class.”
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The entire classroom exploded in uproar.
Students boycotting a class run by Professor Keyzen’s department, the most untouchable sacred ground in the academy? It was something no one had even imagined.
“For the record, this boycott wasn’t something I decided on my own.”
Amidst the noise, Claudia raised her voice even louder.
“We’ve joined forces with students from other classes who are also taking Professor Belya’s Toxicology course. Starting today, we’ll be boycotting the poison-eating lessons, and of course, I think Class A should join us too.”
A school-wide protest coordinated with other classes, things were snowballing out of control.
“Of course, we’re not trying to force Professor Belya into retirement. If she stops her twisted lessons that force poison on students and instead teaches based on textbooks and academic principles, we’re ready to call off the boycott immediately. Until then, we’ll refuse to attend class and protest in front of the Toxicology Building.”
Claudia’s friends moved quickly, placing forms and quill pens in front of the students. A girl walked up to Simon, placed a form on his desk, and said, “We’re counting on you”, before walking away.
Simon skimmed the document.
“We oppose Professor Belya’s poison-feeding lessons! We don’t want to be poisoned to death!”
It listed all the bizarre behaviors Belya had displayed, including her inappropriate clothing, attitude issues, and verbal abuse toward students.
“This is a fight to reclaim our most basic rights as students.”
Claudia emphasized.
“If you agree, please sign. Each and every one of your voices will make a big difference.”
Scrraaaape!
At that moment, Hector pushed his chair back and rose, his massive body like a mountain.
“I can’t listen to this garbage any longer.”
He turned his back and left the classroom, followed immediately by his entire faction.
Claudia, who had been watching with a stiff expression, raised her voice even more the moment Hector was gone.
“Please! I really believe it’s time for us to put an end to Professor Belya’s madness, together!”
Oddly enough, Hector leaving actually helped Claudia.
Students who had been watching him closely started signing the form one by one. Swept up in the momentum, several others picked up quills as well.
“I’ll sign, but I can’t join the boycott.”
A male student handed the form back to Claudia as he spoke.
“I don’t want to end up on Professor Keyzen’s blacklist.”
“Ah, of course, I understand. Thank you even for the signature. If you change your mind, you can always talk to me.”
It looked like over 30% of Class A had already signed. Simon was still scanning the document, lost in thought, when suddenly things got loud beside him.
Cindy Vivace and Claudia were arguing.
“I’m not signing.”
Cindy dismissed it coldly, and Claudia’s face twisted in betrayal.
“Cindy! I really thought I could count on you! How could you do this to me? You even shared your Toxicology notes with me!”
“I’m just not interested.”
Cindy stood, pulling her chair back.
“You’ve been going along with the class just fine all this time. Why the change now?”
“What do you mean, ‘now’? It’s just…”
“Let’s be real.”
Cindy grabbed the jacket hanging from her chair and threw it over her shoulders.
“You say this is a joint-class boycott, but aren’t you just rallying the poison freaks from each class to stir things up?”
“Poison freak” was a derogatory slang term within Keyzen students for those who pursued Toxicology.
Claudia’s expression hardened instantly.
“And don’t forget. Toxicology students did terribly on the second BMAT. You guys kept whining all throughout evaluation week. Other professors were supporting their kids, but ours just kept shoving poison down our throats like it had nothing to do with the BMAT.”
“Hey! That has nothing to do with this! You’re being way too—”
“Since we’re talking, might as well finish.”
Cindy shrugged.
“I don’t take Toxicology, so I don’t care. And honestly, if what you said is true, then I hope Professor Belya keeps dragging your group down. Keyzen’s always been a brutal battlefield, right? If someone else’s misery boosts my survival rate, I’m all for it.”
She turned and addressed the rest of Class A.
“You guys should think like proper Keyzen students. Let’s go.”
Cindy and her group left the classroom.
Claudia glared daggers at her retreating figure.
“...I’m cutting you off forever, Cindy.”
At that, Cindy glanced back and scoffed.
“We’d have to be friends first for a breakup to mean anything.”
So there were students who agreed that Professor Belya’s Toxicology lessons were too painful to endure, but there were also students like Cindy Vivace, who wanted to suppress the Toxicology crowd.
It would’ve been easy to fall into despair, but Claudia was instead fueled by anger and doubled down on her efforts.
And this time—
“Simon!”
She came directly to Simon’s desk.
“Please! This is about reclaiming our basic student rights. If someone like you—Special Admission No. 1—joins the boycott, it would mean the world to us!”
Simon stared silently at the form, then slowly closed his eyes.
“……”
After a moment, he finally spoke.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters