Chapter 73

It was the fickle mid-April weather.

Strangely warm during the day, yet oddly chilly at night.

By the time Jacqueline arrived at the lecture hall and settled in for the first period, the temperature was just right for dozing off and in such an environment, not falling asleep felt like a loss… But shaking off that thought, Jacqueline forcibly pinched her thigh.

Professor Emil was keeping a close eye on her.

Her forehead was still red and swollen. It was a mark left by a previous incident where she’d nodded off and slammed into her desk.

“Haah… Is this supposed to be notes or doodles?”

She glared at the scribbles she’d tried to jot down before falling asleep, then gave up and closed her notebook.

I’ll just copy Rita’s notes later.

A twinge of guilt crept in….”Is that really okay?” is what she thought but Jacqueline decided to be kind to herself.

She prided herself on being in the top 1% in terms of academic discipline in that lecture hall, after all!

That’s how many students around her were already fast asleep.

The subject Professor Emil taught was Basic Elemental Theory.

With a calm voice and a fondness for tangents, Emil often veered off-topic.

Whether he admitted it or not, to his sleep-deprived students, he was a much-appreciated opportunity to catch up on rest.

“In our last class, we learned about the fundamental elements that exist in our world like fire, water, wind, and earth.”

“And today, we’ll be exploring the compound elements that are created when these four basic elements interact with one another.”

“But before we begin, you must understand that elements which are oppositional in nature— ike fire and water, or wind and earth do not interact with each other.”

“To be precise, what really happens is that creation and annihilation occur simultaneously upon contact, which only seems like non-interaction… but that’s a topic you’ll study in more detail in the upper years.”

“And I’m the one who teaches the upper years as well. So, it’s in your best interest to start paying attention now. Jacqueline?”

“Y-Yes? Yes! I wasn’t asleep!”

“Are you trying to show off your molars? If you’re going to yawn, at least cover your mouth. Or is this your way of protesting that my class is boring?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry…”

“I’d like to see you follow the fine example set by your two diligent classmates sitting beside you.”

Jacqueline’s face flushed with embarrassment as she glanced at the two friends sitting to either side of her, Rita and Shannon, with a twinge of admiration.

Rita was a known model student, so that was expected. But Shannon, surprisingly, was also listening intently.

It was something even the professors teaching first-years found remarkable.

Jacqueline turned to Shannon and asked,

“Don’t you already know all of this?”

“I do.”

“Then aren’t you bored?”

“It’s not as bad as I thought. Kinda reminds me of when I was little.”

When she was little…

Their standards were just on completely different levels.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Jacqueline turned her gaze back to the blackboard.

And locked eyes with Professor Emil.

Uh-oh.

“Miss Jacqueline.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what element is created when water and wind interact?”

“No!”

“…I literally just explained that.”

Professor Emil gave Jacqueline a brief, unimpressed stare, then continued with the lecture.

“It’s ice. When water and wind combine, they form ice. This will be on the test, so make sure you memorize it. Understood?”

“Yes…”

“Another thing to know is that compound elements, those created by the interaction of two basic elements like water, fire, wind, and earth, are more difficult to manipulate than the primary elements. And fewer mages are born with the aptitude for them.”

“Because of that, much about compound elements remains unexplored. Only when a rare genius with a natural affinity for such elements appears does research make any progress at all.”

“One of the most famous ice mages in the world today is someone you’re all quite familiar with…. Professor Winslet.”

Immediately after, his mouth twisted slightly.

It was the kind of face someone made when a good mood was suddenly soured.

He let out a sigh, then addressed the class again.

“Haah… Enough explanation. Let’s just move on to the practical session. If the person next to you is sleeping, please wake them up.”

Groans and grumbles echoed throughout the room.

Jacqueline glanced at Professor Emil with a look of surprise.

That man who loves to talk… actually giving up his chatter to move straight into practice?

Just how much does he hate Professor Winslet?

In the month since entering the academy, Jacqueline had already heard plenty of nasty rumors about Professor Winslet.

He was said to be a tyrant with a penchant for cruelty.

A cold-blooded monster, devoid of empathy.

The mastermind behind various crimes and scandals.

Most of these rumors were spread by upperclassmen, while other professors tended to avoid mentioning him altogether.

Still, Jacqueline didn’t think too much of it.

Hmm… Is he really that bad?

Though it had only been a short time, the Professor Winslet she had seen didn’t seem like that much of a villain.

Her first impression of him had been awful, sure. But hadn’t he also taken care of those second-year seniors who were bullying the freshmen?

Of course, right after that, he’d gone and beaten up her dear friend Shannon in a so-called “duel” which kind of canceled it out.

There were moments when he seemed downright despicable like when he made an inappropriate move toward sweet and innocent dorm supervisor, Miss Trisha.

And yet, in the very next breath, he’d turn around and deal a satisfying blow to the student council president, Bernard who was a power-hungry jerk who used his status to bully others.

Yes, his general behavior and tone were undeniably unpleasant.

But he was nice to look at, and his lectures were… well, decent.

If she had to assign a score, it’d be a barely passing plus.

Ugh, I don’t know. Is he a good guy or a bad guy?

One thing was clear, though: life must be really easy when you’re that powerful of a mage.

That much, Jacqueline had decided, she would absolutely strive to imitate.

I’m going to become like that, too.

Professor Emil gave the next instruction.

“Everyone, take out your aptitude test kits. Place them in front of you, and then take out the catalyst from the fifth compartment. If you didn’t organize your kit properly last time, look for a white, angular crystal.”

The aptitude test kit was a Karaf-made tool. It was expensive enough that Professor Emil had repeatedly warned them not to damage it.

Using the included catalysts and disk, anyone could determine their elemental affinities.

Since the first class, they had already tested all four of the basic elements.

Jacqueline had shown a mediocre affinity for fire and practically none for the others.

Compared to her classmates, many of whom had two or even three elemental affinities, her results felt embarrassingly lackluster.

She couldn’t help feeling a bit discouraged.

“If you’re ready, place the catalyst at the center of the disk and channel your mana into it. Pouring in more mana or rushing the process won’t improve your results, so just follow what you learned in the first class. And don’t damage the kit.”

Ice was a synthetic element, formed from the combination of water and wind.

Those without an affinity for its base elements were unlikely to have an affinity for the synthetic one either.

But there were exceptions.

Jacqueline hoped she might be one of them.

A mage who could wield both fire and ice?

Just the thought of it sounded amazing!

As she channeled her mana into the disk, Jacqueline glanced to either side.

Shannon, a prodigy beyond doubt, was already turning her kit into an art project, crafting icy vines with ease.

Rita had managed to produce a perfect, palm-sized ice crystal.

And Jacqueline?

Fwooosh!

Thick white smoke burst from her disk like water hitting dry ice.

“Whoa!”

“What is that?”

“Open the windows! Students by the windows, open them all the way!”

The classroom erupted into chaos. Moments later, Jacqueline stumbled out of the white smoke, coughing.

Her head was covered in powdery white flakes, as if she’d been caught in a blizzard.

If she’d done it correctly, a neat ice crystal like the one Rita had made should’ve formed on the disk.

Instead, Jacqueline’s result was… an explosion.

Still, what mattered was that it made an impression.

After all, true geniuses can’t be confined by the world’s standards.

Maybe I have a natural talent for the ice element?

If that’s the case, then this academy would have not one but two ice magic prodigies….Professor Winslet and me, Jacqueline Dogwood!

With hope in her eyes, Jacqueline asked,

“Professor Emil, how did I do? What’s my affinity?”

“A complete failure.”

“Oh.”

***

After the first period ended, Jacqueline went to a café with her friends.

Their next class wasn’t until 2 p.m., and she’d promised Rita they’d study together until lunch.

Originally, Rita had wanted to study at the library, but Jacqueline protested and said they couldn’t chat there, so they finally agreed on the café.

Shannon followed without a word.

After becoming friends by chance, Shannon had started spending more and more time with Jacqueline.

Before long, Jacqueline, Rita, and Shannon had become a regular trio and Jacqueline was honestly thrilled about it.

Shannon was the kind of friend who was fun to drag around to things.

Even small amusements or casual cultural experiences seemed to fascinate her, and just watching her reactions was entertaining in itself.

Jacqueline wondered if Shannon had simply never had the chance to experience common life because she came from such a wealthy family.

Or maybe she’d just spent all her time buried in study.

Both sounded pretty plausible.

After scribbling down a few midterm practice questions, Jacqueline flopped down over the desk.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to study. What if I just have fun today, and then start working super hard tomorrow?”

At that, Rita pushed up her glasses and replied,

“You know what, Jacqueline? Midterms are next week.”

“What? I thought they were the week after next!”

“You said that last week.”

“…Oh no. I just finally learned my way around the academy, and now it’s already exam time? How is time moving this fast? I’m not ready at all!”

“If you’d spent less time goofing off, you’d have already gone through the whole test material.”

“Why do you have to be so right all the time? Ugh…”

Still flopped over the desk, Jacqueline turned her head to look at Shannon.

“You’re lucky, Shannon. You don’t even need to study for exams.”

“I am studying right now.”

“What? But you don’t need to study!”

“I just wanted to try it. This whole ‘studying for exams’ thing.”

“……”

From the moment she’d transferred in, Shannon had always seemed to keep her distance from the others, never quite fitting in.

But ever since her duel with Professor Winslet, she’d been getting along with her classmates surprisingly well, and she’d started attending classes regularly too.

Jacqueline couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had changed for her.

Of course, the real reason she was wondering about it right now was because she really didn’t want to study.

When you’re studying, everything except studying suddenly becomes fun.

Jacqueline had been watching Shannon grade her answers when she noticed her doing something odd.

“Wait, why are you drawing a line through the answer key?”

“Oh, the textbook’s wrong. My answer isn’t incorrect.”

“……!”

Jacqueline’s eyes widened, as if she’d just had a revelation.

Without a word, she turned back to her own answer sheet and the answer key, picked up a red pen, and began slashing through the explanations. Just like Shannon had.

And then… it started to pour.

On the page, it was raining.

A torrential downpour.

“Jacqueline! What are you doing?!”

“I’m not wrong. I’m not bad. The problem here is this answer key, for daring to disagree with me…”

Jacqueline had officially snapped from academic stress.