"...Is She Really a Professor?"
Students gathered around the figure presumed to be their professor, who looked no different from a homeless person on the surface.
Amid the crowd, Maness spotted a familiar face. Boltman Gail, the class rep for Class 2. He was the second son of the Gail family, which boasted an imperial mage as his older brother.
Confirming Boltman's presence, Maness glanced to the opposite side and saw that Class 1's students had clustered there. They stuck together, so I came over, but this must be the Class 2 side.
"Should we wake her up?"
Boltman had already formed a little clique, and the students gathered around him sought his opinion.
Boltman furrowed his brow and stroked his chin as if deep in thought.
"It feels too risky to jump in rashly."
"Class was supposed to start ages ago."
"This could be a test."
The unexpected remark drew the surrounding students' attention. Since heading back to Class 1 wouldn't exactly be welcomed anyway, Maness stayed put and listened in.
"I met a few Snowrobe graduates before enrolling."
"As expected of Boltman! You're always so thorough!"
A single comment drew a flood of praise, and Boltman swept back his blond hair with a flourish. It only made his punchably smug face stand out more.
"That mage stressed one thing to me. He said every professor at Snowrobe is a total nutjob."
"A... nutjob?"
"Yeah. They love testing students at the drop of a hat, and their methods are bizarre. Think about it—would a professor really nap in a place like this in broad daylight?"
"N-now that you mention it, that makes sense."
Boltman's followers' eyes lit up at his reasoning, but to Maness, it sounded idiotic. Most Snowrobe professors were indeed a few screws loose, but they wouldn't test students over something this trivial. Almond, that nutjob professor, was genuinely napping right now.
Graduates shuddered at the mere thought of Snowrobe's faculty because they pulled off unimaginable stunts without hesitation. Still, Boltman's caution was wise in its own way. Here, you couldn't judge professors by appearances. Of course, the one in front of them really was asleep.
"Professor?"
Acting like that naive kid would just make you professor bait.
As everyone hesitated, Kyle stepped forward from Class 1 and approached the professor to wake her. He called out a few times at first, then shook her shoulder when there was no response.
Still nothing. Whispers spread that maybe she was dead.
"Gah!"
The professor bolted upright, and Kyle tumbled backward. Time seemed to freeze. No one moved; breaths were held.
The professor held the pose for a moment before slowly raising a hand to her face, hooking her thumb under her eyepatch. Even from the side, her eye blazed with fury.
"You."
"Y-yes?"
"I hate it when someone interrupts my sleep."
The students' thoughts ground to a halt. They were more shocked that she had actually been asleep than overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
"S-sor, sorry!"
"...If you know you messed up, that's enough."
She stood, brushing off the dirt, and sighs of relief rippled through the crowd. She seemed eccentric but surprisingly forgiving.
"What I hate even more is when no one wakes me during class time. I'll let it slide this once."
...What the hell?
For the first time since enrollment, the students' minds aligned perfectly.
*
"You, and you. Check if everyone's here."
The professor pointed at Kyle, who'd woken her, and Boltman, at the front of Class 2. A vice-instructor who delegated even headcounts.
Maybe I should hand over the delinquent title to her.
Grumbling inwardly, Maness slipped toward the Class 1 group.
"Where've you been?"
Kyle welcomed him like he'd been searching.
"Already counted everyone?"
"Nah, but you're the tallest and most notorious—you should've been easy to spot."
Most notorious. Spot on. He was the tallest in class, and the delinquent rep was seared in.
"I was over there for a bit."
"Why with Class 2? Oh, scouting them out already?"
"Not really."
"Knew it!"
As Maness tried to end the pointless chat, someone butted in. He turned to see chubby Morras pointing accusingly.
"You're resorting to tricks because you lack talent!"
"...Think what you want."
"That's exactly it! You couldn't even handle the mana control Iris aced this morning!"
Mentioning Iris made Maness glance around warily. Sure enough, the haughty fatty had ignited her glare; she ground her teeth.
Finishing meditation around the same time already irked her, and rubbing in "Iris did it, but you couldn't?" stung her pride anew.
"You'd better watch your mouth."
Maness's sincere warning made Morras throw up his arms defensively.
"G-going for violence again...?"
"Not that—never mind."
Better to drop the advice. He wouldn't face Iris's wrath anyway.
"Everyone's here, so sit down."
Almond, hearing the headcounts from Kyle and Boltman, barked in a voice thick with annoyance.
Students sat carefully to avoid dirtying their new uniforms—a futile effort once class ramped up.
"Introductions first. I'm Almond, in charge of 'Virtues of a Mage.' I'm treated as a 5th rank grant mage in the Magic Tower."
Disappointment flickered through the students. 5th rank. Lower than Metaph, who'd been 6th despite his youth.
Maness knew it wasn't about skill. Updating your Magic Tower rank required a personal visit to show off. But Almond's laziness trumped any need for that. Ranks meant nothing to professors anyway. Once hired for proven ability, there was no need to chase updates. Though students ranking them mentally was inevitable, Almond wouldn't care.
"This class teaches the virtues you'll need going forward. Mana sensitivity, discernment, judgment, basic stamina. There's more, but whatever—too annoying."
Students nodded despite the unprofessionalism.
"You learned mana application this morning. Push a bit further, and you can do body reinforcement—one of grant magic's foundations. Circulate mana fast through your body, concentrate it where needed... You get it?"
A migratory bird's cry overhead was the only reply to her question.
No student could follow the leap.
"...You guys don't even pretend to get it. Before you arrived, the TAs starved through lunch hiding stuff in the back mountains. Infused with mana—good instincts will find them easy."
Almond spat out her piece and plopped back down.
"Per the booklet, this is a joint class. At final tally, the high-score class heads to dorms early. The idiot class gets detention."
She sprawled out like at first meeting, and students stared blankly. She stared back blankly.
"What're you sitting there for? Scram already."
That kicked it off. One Class 1 student bolted.
"F-follow him!"
Boltman's shout sent both classes charging after.
Maness, expecting this, jogged at the rear leisurely. No rush. In the original story, Almond revealed the high-score item's spot at results. Plus, Class 1 would win via Conien and Iris. No need to bust a gut.
"That bastard—how's he so fast?!"
Unlike Maness pacing himself, frail Boltman was all-out yet keeping pace. Maness followed his gaze.
Ahead, the first black-haired guy to dash was pulling away. Fitting his monster nickname, Conien's physical prowess was unreal. Already a speck vanishing into the woods.
Impressive.
Seeing it in-game versus live was night and day. He'd seemed just high-stats before; now the talent gap felt insurmountable.
The meetup was "back mountains," but actually far off. To keep TAs from early birds spotting placements.
Most panted exhausted at the base. Maness wasn't winded—surprising even himself in this new body. Probably pre-enrollment training.
Recalling Pictri Trading Company, he accepted it. Leader Robert trained rigorously for raids, mastering martial arts too. A detail from the original's company event. As his son, Maness followed suit—not Conien-level, but top among peers, his build proved it.
Kyle and other knight scions soon pulled ahead. Maness could've matched but scanned the mountains instead.
A true range. Vast and towering—befitting "back mountains." Shockingly, all within Snowrobe grounds. The school's scale etched deeper.
"Hah... huff..."
Stragglers with poor stamina reached the base, collapsing. No one brought water; just sprawl and gasp. Pristine uniforms now filthy.
"D-damn... if only I could use water magic..."
Maness eyed the voice mentioning attribute magic. Frail-looking Boltman was half-dead.
Anyone else, he'd scoff. But Boltman? Made sense. He'd dabbled illegally pre-enrollment. Could probably fire a mana bullet by now—the foundation of pure magic. Though Iris would catch up fast on talent.
Maness exhaled steadily. Pre-learned magic? Irrelevant. Just find a spot to kill time.
As he moved, a sharp voice halted him.
"Hey."
Maness turned at the call, sensing something majorly off.
"You. Come with me."
The prideful daughter of Jerman Duchy. Iris pointed squarely at him.
This was an unexpected development.