Ch.150150. Road School Power Struggle (7)

# Teaching

It’s a profoundly deep task to convey mathematics through definitions and theorems created by pure academic researchers to those who seek mathematical knowledge.

Even basic arithmetic isn’t something anyone inherently knows from birth.

From a state of knowing nothing, one must hear about it from someone else and acquire that knowledge.

Various methods are employed to teach even the most fundamental basics like arithmetic in easily understandable ways—using finger-counting techniques or drawing pictures with alternating colors and shading.

In other words, educators devise methods for the uninitiated mind to efficiently absorb information.

That’s precisely the role assigned to those who take on the position of educator or master in the process of education.

“But… you want me to do that?”

By the nature of education, the teacher must also compile that information.

What would they have taught at the Academy? What should be taught here?

It must certainly be related to magic.

“When I’m struggling with my own magic… who’s asking whom to teach? Huh?”

If they’ve chosen the wrong person to teach, they’ve chosen very, very wrong.

Don’t you think so, Professor Muniher?

“Sigh… Since Professor Muniher is the final decision-maker on this matter, sending a letter won’t change anything…”

Besides, looking at the clock, the time limit is approaching. Breakfast arrived much later than usual, leaving no time to prepare.

At this point, I’ll have to conduct the lecture almost entirely with improvisation rather than preparation. Insane.

It seems I have no choice but to substitute for the professor under the title of teaching assistant.

A new professor won’t be sent until this power struggle is over.

I don’t know.

Let’s just dive in and try my best to avoid ending up in Class E…!

***

Students gather one by one.

Lana and others can be seen taking their seats here and there.

Today, as always, they came to fulfill their attendance requirements and receive various welfare benefits.

Thanks to that, there are no empty seats. At least not yet.

-Thud.

And soon after, the arrival.

The different kind of educator who would be teaching them.

“…”

Silently, the students’ gazes converge in one direction.

Toward Junon, who stands with an attendance book and lecture materials, looking somewhat dazed.

“Um… I guess you all… heard the news?”

A somewhat uncertain tone.

The teaching assistant who must now fill the vacant professor’s position and teach the students asks timidly, still seemingly perplexed.

No answer comes to the question.

The classroom falls into silence—the situation educators find most awkward.

Being human, his discomfort was evident in his behavior.

Because of this, one student finally spoke up.

“Yes. That a teaching assistant will be teaching us instead of Professor Zirbeng.”

The clear voice from the front row belongs to Lana, who has the most interest in this lecture.

“Really…? So everyone here already knows?”

“I suppose so. If they didn’t know, they wouldn’t have come to the lecture hall.”

“I see,” Junon nodded, realizing the logic.

Although the other students’ reactions were rather lukewarm, Junon hadn’t expected to be so grateful for even one person’s response.

Not that it made his concerns disappear like melting snow.

“Well… just call me senior, and let me take attendance first. ──.”

“Here.”

“───.”

“Present.”

Taking attendance helped ease his tension somewhat.

“Lana.”

“Here.”

Finally, with Lana, the attendance was complete.

Now was the time to officially begin the lecture.

But having had no preparation, another obstacle appeared. Where to start, how to connect ideas, what method to use to convey the content.

Being pushed into conducting a lecture without warning, only meaningless formal recitations and diagrams came to mind.

“For humans to use magic, mana is necessary. This mana flows from the mana circuit located within the body……”

The basic concept of mana flowing from the mana circuit?

“For mana extracted from the circuit to become magic, one generally creates a magic circle, and its framework consists of four types of lines……”

The basic framework needed to construct a circle?

“Then, by filling the magic circle drawn along these lines with mana……”

The trinity table composition of mana, spell development, and circle activation methods required for magic manifestation?

“…”

Suddenly, Junon puts down the chalk.

Silence falls again.

No student in the room is concentrating. Or rather, there wasn’t anything worth concentrating on to begin with.

Is there any need to keep repeating this?

This kind of thing…!

“Um, Senior?”

Lana breaks the suffocating silence and calls out to Junon.

When no answer comes, she’s about to call again when—

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll be back shortly from the training ground.”

He puts down even his book and strides out through the lecture hall’s main door, leaving it ajar.

“Is the lecture over… or not?”

“Seems like he plans to continue something there. Sounds like he wants us to gather at the training ground.”

“But this lecture is supposed to be about theory and note-taking. Why did he go outside?”

“…I’d rather just get more sleep than listen to more useless talk like before.”

“I don’t know. I’m not going.”

“Me neither~ After what happened yesterday, why would I want to go?”

“Then it’s decided. Let’s just wait until he returns. We need to get our attendance verified anyway.”

They exaggerate Junon’s instructions to suit themselves and no one follows him.

They all express opinions about not learning anything useful and just wasting time, with the general consensus being to simply kill time here.

However, one person stands up from her chair.

“You all can rot here forever, you idiots.”

“What? Lana, why are you cursing us like that…!”

SLAM!

The firmly closed door did not open again.

***

The freckled girl, having changed her clothes, runs toward the training ground with lecture materials and books clutched to her chest.

And inwardly she cries out: How could they throw away this golden opportunity?

‘Fools…!’

What? They’d rather sleep? Just get attendance credit? They don’t want to go outside after what happened to them?

They once showed determination to learn magic again when they entered Sirah Road School.

There was a time when they would have poured their hearts into handling mana and learning magic, stitch by stitch like embroidery!

If they really wanted to join a labor crew, they wouldn’t have come to this school. They’d be sleeping at home instead.

The same goes for those who attend while looking for other jobs. They should know well that such things aren’t taught here, at least not at this particular Road School.

So they’re all the same. They were depending on the professor, hoping for scraps to fall.

But will that really work out as they wish?

What if it’s not a professor? What if they were comfortably waiting for scraps to fall, but those scraps turned out to be stones?

It’s all meaningless.

Instead of blindly blocking their path, they should think a little about returning to Levrant.

By learning even one more thing from Junon, who’s been appointed as a teaching assistant.

“What are you doing here? I told you to wait. Don’t tell me everyone came?”

“…No. Just me.”

“Hmm… really?”

He didn’t seem particularly surprised. His face suggested he hadn’t expected anything from the beginning.

But he also didn’t look like he was planning to conduct the lecture here.

‘That’s… a long-range magic response device?’

When the controller is triggered, it sends a signal and deploys a long-range magic circle that flies toward the user.

The system automatically terminates when the mana in the crystal at the end is depleted or when one leaves the ring while deflecting the opponent’s attacks.

Therefore, students mainly train in this area to break through, deflect, or intercept magic circle attacks.

But…

“Just how much… did you input…?”

The lights on the controller indicate intensity.

The number of lights represents the number of magic circles, while the size of the lights indicates their power.

However, the lights visible on this controller were far beyond what could simply be deflected or intercepted.

‘It must be a mistake… how could anyone withstand such power on the ring for an hour with just their body!’

The number of magic circles is at maximum. Judging by the size of the lights, the power of the magic circles is at least at a level that someone with a C rank or higher would produce.

And the time set is one hour—there’s no way anyone could withstand such an onslaught for that long.

“This is wrong! How can you last for an hour…! Stop this and come down right now!”

“I’m not good at theory lessons. I can’t explain things elegantly and thrillingly like real professors. So just wait a bit.”

“What…? What are you suddenly talking about!”

Sheeek-!

C-grade lightning magic, Astaroth’s fifth lightning spear Bishmar, flies through the air.

Not just one, but two of them, angled from left and right. They were clearly aimed at Junon from both sides.

Crackle-! Crack- Zzzzt, Tsu─.

The two lightning spears, caught without missing, lost their power in Junon’s hands and shattered.

“…Huh?”

To be blunt, this is the first time she’s seen such a thing.

She’s witnessed people gathering information about an opponent’s attack patterns, weaknesses, and characteristics while facing Stumps, but to actually shatter magic?

‘Lightning magic… no, do lightning spears have weaknesses…?’

While Lana stands bewildered, a Wind Blast drops from above Junon’s head.

The irritatingly fierce gust approached with a sharp sound, but like the lightning spears, it lost its pressure and disappeared.

“…”

Now it’s not just lightning spears. Among the various spells being deployed and the magic pouring down in heaps, none escaped the same fate.

It can only be described as a truly strange sight. Doesn’t it look as if he’s breaking the manifested magic itself?

Yes. Amidst the saturated magic, he calmly moves forward, shattering spells as he goes.

Practice? It’s not that. This is clearly serious.

Waiting for mana depletion time? Reducing time by deflecting?

The method this man is using to penetrate magic doesn’t follow conventional approaches. Despite that, he shows no intention of giving up.

So what kind of plan is this that she’s witnessing?

“This is… just breaking through…”

It’s not an endurance battle using mobility or a war of attrition, but piercing through the saturation of magic. And doing so very slowly.

More than dozens of manifested spells have rushed in, but none have managed to inflict any injury on Junon.

There seems to be a sense of composure in his back view as he walks slowly without running, just like when dealing with Stumps.

And then.

“Okay. This should be about right.”

As soon as he started moving in earnest, avoiding the magic by sprinting, he reached the crystal in just one minute.

The crystal, which had been firing all sorts of magic as a power source, lost its mana-filled light and returned to normal as soon as Junon touched it.

“Well, that’s done. Now I can go explain.”

It was a method no one had tried before, and one that seemed impossible for anyone to succeed at.

Having completed his breakthrough, Junon spoke with a calm face while loosening his tense shoulders.

“Excuse me, but what kind of person are you really…?”

“Hm? Me? Just a student at Levrant Academy.”

“…”

He’s too calm, excessively so.

To complete the test in such a bizarre way and show no awareness of it—it inspires awe.

“More importantly, I told you to wait, so why did you come? Go back to the lecture hall too. I’ll go there and explain the rest directly.”

“Okay…”

Lana nodded with a dazed expression and began heading back to the lecture hall.

‘I definitely shouldn’t have said that.’

That one question she asked when Junon handed her the thornbush branch: ‘Can I become like you?’

Looking back now, it was a question Lana should never have asked.

That person… is on a completely different level.