CHAPTER 42 — Joint Class Training (4)
The sun shone brightly high above the vast blue sky, its golden light pouring down upon the enormous Tree Garden like a warm ocean of radiance.
The forest swayed gently beneath the wind, countless leaves rustling together like whispers traveling through the air.
And beneath one of those towering trees—
A man peacefully slept.
Or more accurately—
Lazed around without a single care in the world.
It was none other than Aiden Lazareth.
One arm rested beneath his head while the other lazily hung over his stomach. The soft breeze brushed against his messy dark hair, causing a few strands to sway across his face. His chest rose and fell steadily with each calm breath while faint snores escaped from him every few seconds.
From afar, he looked less like one of the most famous mages across the continent and more like a traveler who had accidentally wandered into the academy grounds and decided to take a nap.
The atmosphere around him looked peaceful.
Well—
Not exactly.
"Ugh…"
At some distance away, the other instructors of the first-year classes stood together while staring at the sleeping figure with visibly different expressions.
Lucien folded his arms tightly across his chest as a vein twitched near his forehead.
"Is he seriously going to sleep all day?"
Darian glanced at him with his usual dull expression. The dark circles beneath his eyes somehow looked even heavier under the sunlight.
"Why don't you go wake him up?"
Lucien immediately made an offended face.
"…Why me?"
"Because you are the one complaining the loudest."
Lucien clicked his tongue before turning his head.
"Hey, Elias. Go wake him up."
Nearby, Elias Bailey stood quietly with his eyes closed while the wind brushed against his black hair. Unlike the others, he looked oddly relaxed, almost as if he was genuinely appreciating the scenery around him.
Slowly, Elias opened his eyes and looked toward Lucien.
"Well…" he said calmly. "I don't think any of us need to worry about that anymore."
Lucien frowned.
"…What?"
Without saying anything further, Elias simply lifted his hand and pointed toward a direction.
The instructors followed where he was pointing.
Then all of them realized—
Someone was missing from the group.
Meanwhile—
Aiden continued sleeping peacefully beneath the tree.
Then suddenly—
A massive shadow fell over him.
"Hey!"
Aiden's brows twitched slightly.
But his eyes remained closed.
"Can't you stop sleeping for once and actually start acting like a teacher?!"
Valeria stood above him with her arms crossed tightly beneath her chest. Her long orange hair swayed behind her while her sharp amber eyes practically burned with irritation.
Without even opening his eyes, Aiden replied lazily,
"Mhhm… jealousy is quite loud today."
Valeria's eyebrow twitched instantly.
"…What did you just say?"
Aiden let out a long breath before speaking again in the same relaxed tone.
"I said maybe you're being overly dramatic over a little demotion after the instructor examinations."
A brief silence followed.
Then he added,
"You're venting your frustration at the wrong person. It wasn't because of me that you got assigned to Class B."
The air around Valeria visibly sharpened.
"Hey," she said, her voice now thin and dangerous like a blade. "If you can't properly teach Class S, then give that position to me."
"Nah," Aiden replied instantly. "The perks are too good to give up."
Valeria stared at him in disbelief.
"Do you even teach students during class," she snapped, "or do you sleep there too?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Without opening his eyes, Aiden lazily lifted a finger and pointed toward Elias.
"He teaches them well. That's the greatest benefit of being a Class S instructor." A faint grin appeared on his face. "I can keep an assistant who does all my work for me."
Valeria immediately turned toward Elias.
"Hey! Are you still gonna act like his erannd boy even now."
Elias awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well…" he laughed nervously. "I'm learning quite a lot while teaching Class S too. Besides, the students there are exceptional. I don't really need to overexplain things for them to understand."
"See?" Aiden finally opened one eye slightly before smiling smugly. "This guy is way more chill than you."
Valeria grumbled under her breath, her face full of annoyance.
Nearby, Lucien—who had been silently watching this entire exchange—finally spoke.
"Hey, Aiden."
This time Aiden's expression visibly soured.
"What is it now?" he muttered. "You want to complain too?"
Lucien uncrossed his arms before sliding both hands into his pockets.
"I used to respect you."
A brief silence followed.
"But the way you've been acting these past few years…" Lucien continued coldly, "to the point where you can't even properly teach students anymore…"
His eyes narrowed.
"…you've become quite pathetic."
For the first time since the conversation began, the laziness in Aiden's expression faded slightly.
"I have other works to do too," he replied calmly. "That's why I don't waste all my time teaching."
Lucien snorted.
"Oh really? What important work do you have besides collecting your salary and spending it on meaningless nonsense?"
"If you're that upset about not getting assigned to Class S," Aiden replied lazily, "then become my new assistant. That way you can teach them all you want."
"Hah."
Lucien laughed dryly.
"I'd rather get demoted and teach Class C for the rest of my life than become your assistant."
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Even the air itself felt heavier.
Valeria quietly stepped back while Elias awkwardly avoided eye contact altogether.
But before the tension could escalate further
Darian suddenly spoke in his usual dry tone.
"If you really want to teach Class C so badly…"
He looked at Lucien.
"…then give your Class A seat to me."
Lucien instantly turned toward him.
"Shut up, you dark-circle freak. If you want Class A, then do better in next year's examination—"
BOOOOM—!!
A massive explosion suddenly echoed across the Tree Garden.
The ground trembled faintly beneath their feet.
All four instructors immediately turned toward the direction of the sound.
Far away in the distance, smoke rose upward in the shape of a giant mushroom cloud between the trees.
Lucien stared at it for a moment before sighing.
"Looks like the students have started fighting monsters."
"Are you worried?" Darian asked.
Lucien nodded seriously.
"Yeah. I'm worried."
Darian snorted.
"Hah. There's no need for that. There are only coreless monsters inside the garden."
A brief silence followed.
Then Lucien spoke again with complete seriousness.
"I'm worried the students will kill every monster in there."
---
Meanwhile—
Ritvik stood completely frozen.
His eyes widened behind his glasses as he stared at the horrifying creature from moments ago.
Or more specifically—
What remained of it.
The terrifying muscular rabbit that had looked like a nightmare given physical form now lay completely charred on the ground like an overcooked piece of meat.
Its snow-white fur had turned pitch black.
Thin spirals of smoke rose from its body while tiny sparks occasionally crackled around it.
The smell of burnt fur filled the air.
Nearby, Seraphine crouched beside the rabbit while casually poking its cheek with a stick.
"Looks like it's dead," she said calmly.
Ritvik slowly adjusted his glasses.
'…Right.'
'I forgot for a second that the monsters here are only coreless.'
His gaze shifted toward Seraphine.
She continued poking the toasted rabbit playfully without the slightest bit of concern.
Ritvik's face twitched faintly.
'What the hell is wrong with this girl…?'
He still vividly remembered what had happened moments ago.
The instant the rabbit appeared—
Seraphine had simply raised one hand.
And the next second—
The entire monster had exploded into flames.
No chanting.
No hesitation.
No panic.
Just instant destruction.
Ritvik quietly swallowed.
'I seriously need to be careful around her.'
Seraphine finally stood up after finishing bullying the dead rabbit.
But the moment she lifted her head—
Her eyes suddenly locked onto something ahead.
A tree stood deeper within the forest, partially hidden behind the giant rabbit's massive body earlier.
Now fully visible beneath the sunlight—
The tree looked extraordinary.
Its leaves shimmered between crimson and silver while its bark carried deep dark-red patterns flowing across it like molten veins.
Mana visibly drifted around it.
Even the air near the tree felt warmer.
Seraphine's crimson eyes instantly lit up.
"Hey…"
A grin slowly appeared on her face.
"Looks like I found my tree."
Without hesitation, she grabbed Ritvik by the sleeve and immediately started dragging him forward.
"Let's go."
"Huh?!"
Ritvik stumbled forward in shock.
"Hey— wait a second!"
But Seraphine ignored him completely.
"I still have to find my own tree too—!"
---
Knock… Knock… Knock…
Rowan pressed his ear against the thick bark of a towering mana tree while lightly tapping its trunk with his fingers. The sound echoed through the wood in dull vibrations as his expression slowly turned thoughtful.
The sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above, scattering patches of golden light across his face while the forest wind rustled around them.
Behind him—
Damon stood silently with a blank expression.
At this point, he had already watched Rowan repeat this exact same process on nearly every tree they passed.
First Rowan would touch the bark.
Then he would knock on it.
Then press his ear against it like some wandering carpenter inspecting wood for furniture.
And every single time—
He would reject the tree while saying something vague like:
"This one feels hollow."
Or—
"This tree lacks balance."
Or—
"The flow inside this one feels weird."
Damon genuinely could not understand what Rowan was even talking about anymore.
Slowly, Rowan pulled his ear away from the bark before stepping back.
Damon prepared himself mentally for yet another complaint.
But then—
"This one is good."
"…?"
Damon blinked once.
Rowan placed both hands on his hips while staring at the tree seriously.
"It's full, sturdy, stable and—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Damon immediately cut him off while waving his hand dismissively.
"Just take that one then."
Rowan paused mid-sentence.
"…You're not even listening."
"I stopped understanding you five trees ago."
Damon replied with complete honesty.
The black-haired boy then shifted his gaze away from Rowan and started observing the surrounding trees himself. Unlike Rowan, his eyes weren't focused on bark texture or trunk sound.
He was looking at mana flow.
The faint movement of energy drifting around the trees.
His gaze slowly traveled across the forest before stopping on a tall tree standing several meters away.
The bark of that tree carried faint silver patterns while its branches spread outward like open claws.
Damon narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then—
He raised his wand calmly.
Fwoosh—!
A sharp crescent-shaped projectile of compressed wind shot forward instantly.
The spell sliced through the air with terrifying precision before cutting directly through a thick branch.
Craack—!
The branch snapped cleanly before falling heavily onto the ground below.
Leaves scattered everywhere.
Damon casually walked forward and picked up the fallen branch.
But the moment he grabbed it—
Another hand suddenly ran across the wood.
Damon looked sideways.
It was Rowan again.
"Hmmm…"
Rowan carefully rubbed the branch with his palm before lightly knocking on it with his knuckles.
"This one's great too," he muttered thoughtfully.
Damon stared at him in silence.
The look in his eyes practically screamed:
What exactly are you?
Only after noticing Damon staring at him did Rowan awkwardly pull his hand back.
"Oh— right."
He coughed lightly.
"I still need to cut mine too."
Without wasting any more time, Rowan walked toward the tree he had selected earlier. The massive axe strapped behind his back finally came into use as he grabbed it firmly before swinging it toward the trunk.
Creak—!
The axe dug deep into the bark.
Wood splinters scattered outward.
Creak… Creak… Creak…
The repeated sound of chopping echoed steadily through the forest while the mana tree trembled slightly with each strike.
Nearby, Damon quietly watched Rowan cutting the tree with an axe instead of magic.
A strange look flickered through his sharp black eyes.
Most students inside Grand Aetherion relied completely on spells for everything.
Yet Rowan—
Used his hands first.
For some reason—
That felt strangely unusual inside a place filled with mages.
---
CHAPTER ENDS