Awaking from a night of dreams.
Dark abruptly opened his eyes, feeling only a damp coldness on his back and a heaviness in his chest, causing him to gasp for air.
But after taking a breath, he silently fished the Little Eevee, curled up like a ball of fur, out from the bulging duvet.
His chest immediately felt much lighter.
"Yawn~"
Letting out a slight yawn, Dark climbed out of bed as quietly as possible.
It was halfway through January, and academy life was gradually getting on track.
The three new professors had also slowly integrated into the lives of the little Magisters. Meeting them in the castle after class no longer felt strange.
Dark wrapped himself in a scarf and followed his usual route, running from the second floor of the castle all the way to the first floor, then circling back to the tower after a long loop, loosening up his muscles and bones.
As the aroma of milk drifted out the window and into the air, St. Marian welcomed a vibrant new day.
Thursday's first period began amidst Professor Lily's sulking.
She had divided the homework students handed in last class into two stacks, left and right, on the podium, and was now puffing out her cheeks as she looked at the students below.
The atmosphere stagnated for a moment.
"Emma."
"Here."
Emma stood up with a confused look.
Professor Lily handed over the stack of papers on the right: "Help me hand out the homework."
"Okay, Professor." Emma breathed a slight sigh of relief, stepped forward to take the papers, and began distributing them.
Then, only the left stack remained on the podium.
Professor Lily picked up that stack of papers and called out the first name: "Robert Broheim."
Robert instantly shuddered and subconsciously sat up straight.
Professor Lily shook the paper: "Come and get it."
Robert walked through the aisle and up to the podium.
Professor Lily handed him his paper, and only after he took it did she say lightly, "Minus five points."
Robert stiffened all over; the foot he had just stepped out with was left suspended in mid-air!
The transmutation experiment for the [Ultimate Move Card] had just passed, and the first-year students' credit balance was tight. Even those with a surplus were thinking of saving it for the next experiment.
Losing five points all at once was inevitably heartbreaking.
More importantly, it had been quite a long time since Robert had points deducted... This was the complete opposite of the dire situation last semester where he lost points at every turn. He had actually been feeling quite happy about that fact.
But since the points were already deducted, they couldn't be returned. He could only watch them slip through his fingers...
Robert didn't ask why or anything, because the paper in his hand was the best answer.
That paper was covered in red X's.
After Robert passed by the next person called up, he returned to his seat.
Virt asked with concern, "Robert, what happened?"
Robert spread the paper out on the desk and smiled bitterly. "I didn't do the homework well. But what could I do? I don't know how to do it!"
"Uh..." Virt's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Because he didn't know how to do it either!
The two had done their homework together. Although they didn't copy each other, they knew exactly what the other's situation was.
Sure enough, not long after, Virt was also called up.
"Virt Gold, minus five points."
He held the deducted score as if holding back tears.
Students with extremely poor homework were called up to the podium one after another to have points deducted. The vast majority were students from the Knight House.
The students from the Noble House, on the other hand, were mostly safe and sound.
With the aisle as the dividing line, the atmosphere in the two houses was completely different.
The Noble House students watched the Knight House students being called up as if watching a comedy.
The Knight House students, realizing that almost no one from the Noble House was called up, nearly gritted their teeth to pieces.
Normally, if everyone's homework was poor, it would be time for Professor Lily to reflect on herself. However, since only a portion did poorly, one couldn't help but wonder if the others simply hadn't listened seriously.
Although Professor Lily was actually throwing a childish tantrum... the reason for deducting points was ironclad.
Many people, just to get it over with, had simply scribbled all over the paper, leaving them no confidence to appeal.
Fortunately, after deducting the points, Professor Lily didn't say much more and simply began to explain the paper step by step.
This method of explaining the content against the questions was easier to understand than a dry lecture. But if one didn't even understand that 1+1=2, how could they transition to 1+1=1X2=2?
The atmosphere in the Arithmetic class was oppressive.
It felt like a stiflingly hot summer day.
After going through the paper, Professor Lily continued with the lesson. Although she knew some people hadn't understood, teaching was just like that; she couldn't start over from the beginning just for a small group of people.
If the students really didn't understand, they could self-study from the beginning, ask classmates for advice after class, or go directly to the teacher for an explanation.
If they didn't even have that much initiative and just laid there like corpses, then sometimes they couldn't simply blame the teacher.
In short, this class passed in a haze of confusion.
At the end, Professor Lily handed out another paper as homework. She still hoped to deepen the students' understanding of the lecture content through practice problems.
The immediately following second period was Magic Guide Theory.
Professor Kazel first summarized the collective failure of the last lab class, and then, based on the students' performance in the Rookie Tournament, called a few people to the podium to demonstrate "Remote Conduction and Control of Magic Power."
As a result, he was surprised to find that, apart from Diana, who had already demonstrated remote control of the Magic Sphere in the competition, the other students had also mastered some of it to varying degrees!
No.
He quickly noticed.
Even the students other than those few had some foundation!
"How was this achieved?"
"Although the average talent of this batch is better than previous ones, it hasn't reached the level of being subversive, has it?"
Professor Kazel couldn't help but keep an eye out.
Then, while continuing the lesson, he finally discovered the secret to the students gradually mastering this high-end technique!
Starting from who knows when, everyone in the classroom was actually using a technique called "pen spinning" to practice at all times.
Given the necessary talent, the remote conduction and control of magic power was originally a matter of practice making perfect. It was just that some people needed to practice for a year or a half to master it, while others only needed a few weeks.
The Magic Guide Ring that Professor Kazel gave back to Dark during Christmas was a tool specifically designed to practice this aspect of technique.
However, at this moment, Professor Kazel suddenly discovered that "pen spinning" seemed to make people participate more actively. Even after mastering some of it, they could maintain it "unconsciously" and perform ultra-high-intensity continuous practice!
The so-called "edutainment" was roughly like this.
He couldn't help but sigh; the importance of proper educational methods was indeed great.
Afterwards, he even began to seriously consider whether it was necessary to actively promote it within the academy—National Pen Spinning?
Leaving aside Professor Lily's troubles and Professor Kazel's considerations.
In the afternoon's History of Magic class, after several adjustments, Professor Ryan Hacks once again spoke of the history of the war against demons that he had personally experienced.
He still couldn't control his emotions well in this regard, occasionally revealing a violent side. Just like the hair on top of his head, which somehow turned into an afro...
The students all knew he had become the guinea pig for Sister Carian's hair growth tonic, but they still couldn't help but snicker secretly.
The next day, Friday.
After Professor Jones's Dueling Class lecture, the little Magisters finally welcomed the third Magical Beast Studies class since the start of the term!
As early as before noon on Wednesday, they had handed in last week's homework—to analyze a common monster in the dungeon and write a short essay.
Professor Nini announced that she would select a monster from the homework as the content for this week's lesson, so the students were already full of anticipation before class began.
Although the Soul-Suckers from the first two weeks were terrifying, the fact that two of them exploded in a row had left a comical inherent impression instead.
"I wonder which monster will be the theme of this class?"
Diana was still thinking about her Mushroom Bear, while Rose wondered if her Fluffy Rabbit would be chosen.
Looking at the wall clock, Dark also remembered his own topic.
There were very many common monsters in the dungeon.
The well-known ones included Slimes, Goblins, Ogres, Trolls, Treants, Kobolds...
See.
Just hearing the names sounds familiar (lol).
But monsters like the Soul-Sucker, although considered common, didn't have much fame among those who hadn't truly contacted the dungeon.
When Dark was learning knowledge related to the production of [Zoo], he was researching the Secret Record of Bird and Beast Species, so he knew a bit more than ordinary people.
In this assignment, he chose a monster that wasn't so famous but existed in huge numbers in the dungeon—the Vine Monster!
When adventurers enter the dungeon, they can always see vines covering the walls in various strata. These vines either emit a strange fragrance or glow in the dark, possessing various characteristics to attract living creatures.
They usually use this to lure people or monsters over, then instantly pounce, entangling and preying on them!
Vine Monsters are very dangerous and difficult to identify.
Adventurers always confuse them with vines, and if they aren't careful, they will fall victim to their poisonous hands.
Cutting open a Vine Monster's body, one would discover that inside that vine-like body, thick blood actually flows. They look like plants, but are animals.
Not only do they have blood vessels, but they also have mouthparts covered in fine, dense teeth.
But if one knows them well enough...
Cut off the head and tail, peel off the skin, drain the blood clean, and the remaining meat is soft and delicate. Put it into boiling water, and it can be fished out and eaten in just a few minutes. It is one of the few edible species in the dungeon!
Not knowing if it was because she read Dark's short essay, Professor Nini carried a fat chicken in before the class bell rang!
The fat chicken's eyes were covered by a black cloth strip, and the part below the chicken neck was tied up like a dumpling.
The little Magisters were initially guessing why Professor Nini was carrying a fat chicken, until half a snake head drilled out from the hemp rope binding the fat chicken. The knowledgeable little Magisters in the front row were instantly terrified!
"Ah!"
Even the usually reserved Emma let out a scream!
Compared to the surrounding classmates who only had a half-baked understanding, Emma recognized the monster almost immediately, and thus felt even more fear.
The classroom was instantly thrown into chaos by the students' fright.
The little Magisters in the front row even ran out of their seats, fleeing in unison to the back of the classroom.
"Ah!"
Professor Nini was actually scared by the little Magisters' actions and was instantly at a loss.
She shook her head and looked around in a panic, then had a sudden idea. She hurriedly hid the monster in her hand behind her back, then raised her hand to scratch her head, wearing a silly smile.
"Ehehe."
Pretending nothing happened!
"Like hell nothing happened!"
A boy from the Magic House said in terror, "Professor Nini, how could you bring a Cockatrice into the classroom? I'm going to tell the Principal, I absolutely must tell the Principal!"
Professor Nini glanced at him guiltily. Recognizing him as a student who nearly peed his pants during the Soul-Sucker experience, she couldn't help but look away.
Scaring the children was her fault, but she didn't do it on purpose.
It was just normal teaching!
She plucked up her courage and tried hard to speak: "Everyone, everyone, can you calm down a bit? Actually, it's not what you think..."
Cold sweat broke out on Emma's forehead. While subconsciously shielding Susan and Lucy behind her, she shouted, "Professor Nini, that's a Cockatrice, right? The legendary monster that turns people to stone if seen by its gaze?"
Hearing Emma's words, Professor Nini quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, it's not a Cockatrice, it's a Basilisk! It's a snake, not a chicken!"
"Who cares about you!" A loud voice from the Knight House instantly roared, "Chicken or snake, does it have anything to do with the fact it can turn people into stone?"
"It won't, it won't!"
Professor Nini subconsciously dragged the Basilisk out from behind her back, pointing with her thick finger at the narrow black cloth strip covering the chicken eyes, arguing loudly, "Mainly, if the eyes are covered with cloth, it won't turn people into stone!"
But another girl from the Magic House pointed at the Basilisk and screamed in horror, "It's out, it's out! The snake head drilled out! It's not covered, the eyes aren't covered!"
Professor Nini looked down following her gaze.
The Basilisk's snake head had indeed drilled out from the gaps in the hemp rope and was shaking its head and flicking its tongue.
Professor Nini hurriedly reached out and pinched its tongue, explaining desperately, "Don't worry, the snake head's eyes can't petrify people."
"Ah!" Another girl screamed, "It's going to fall! Professor Nini, that cloth is going to fall?"
Professor Nini asked in confusion, "Which cloth?"
The girl: "The cloth covering the chicken eyes!"
"(⊙o⊙) Oh."
So she lowered the Basilisk a bit and looked up at its chicken head.
The cloth strip covering the chicken head's eyes indeed slipped down, revealing one of the chicken eyes.
A sharp gaze instantly flashed through that chicken eye, shooting out a gray ray!
Professor Nini's face was hit by the ray at close range, and a layer of gray stone substance immediately climbed over her skin surface.
This scene scared the students out of their wits, and the suppressed fear exploded instantly.
The entire classroom fell into chaos amidst screams.
Dark Demon immediately stood up.
But the petrification phenomenon on Professor Nini's face stopped abruptly after spreading to the tip of her nose.
Dense cracks even appeared on the gray stone shell, followed by two "crack" sounds as it shattered and fell to the ground.
Professor Nini touched her cheek and said with an innocent face:
"You see, nothing happened at all!"
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