I Got Into School for Nothing - Chapter 328
I Got Into School for Nothing (328)
Lesson 64. Freshmen - 3
Four individuals, in particular, became the undeniable talk of Union this year. If we exclude Ban Yuwon, whose notoriety was simply a given, the remaining three were the newly appointed full professor Shati, associate professor Mira, and finally, Luisha, the new heir of the Ortima family, who had enrolled as a first-year student.
First, regarding Shati and Mira's professorial appointments.
While there were many positive reactions, negative ones undeniably predominated, mostly consisting of sordid speculations questioning their qualifications, their relationships with Ban Yuwon, and by extension, Ban Yuwon's relationship with the Chancellor.
“I’m not sure what misunderstandings everyone has.”
Shati, who was now in charge of the new course [Special Magic and Monsters], open to third-year students and above, smiled menacingly at students who had been her juniors just a few months prior, and spoke.
“No matter how many full professorships were vacant, an appointment at Union isn't something that happens so simply. Those of you who had a blast trashing us anonymously on the intranet, well, you're about to face reality.”
“But Professor, you were a student until last year... that is...”
It was the moment Shati had been waiting for.
“You, you, you, you, and you over there, the guy behind him, the one chattering next to him, yes, you, don't bother looking behind you, there's no one there. And the two at the very front. A total of ten people, step forward.”
“Uh, Professor.”
“I said, come out.”
In an instant, ten sacrificial lambs were dragged to the front of the lecture hall.
Shati snapped her fingers, and with a pop—a colossal demon, its entire body covered in translucent, ash-gray metal, materialized in the air.
It had started as a Bronze Devil, then unintentionally received a continuous supply of its master’s Annihilation Magic, eventually transcending its limits and evolving into a new species: a Titan Devil—in short, a familiar born of sheer chance.
“You called, Master?”
“Create a stage and prepare for battle.”
“As you wish.”
At the appearance of a monster unlike anything they had ever seen, the students froze.
Even for them, who had ascended the Tower of Babel weekly and faced no small number of monsters, the Titan Devil’s majesty was overwhelming.
One of the students who had been badmouthing Shati’s qualifications from the back grumbled that she had never summoned such a creature during her student days, but concealing one’s abilities was also part of skill, and refraining from premature judgment was one of the virtues.
“So, you all know what you have to do now, don’t you?”
As a section of the lecture hall expanded, creating a space for combat, Shati snapped her fingers again.
“All of you, charge my summon. If you manage to take it down, I’ll give all of you bonus points, and you won’t have to worry about failing this semester. ...Titan Devil, you know what happens if you lose, right?”
“Please trust me.”
When first summoned, it had shown a certain spirit, even challenging Shati to kill it or desperately ignoring her while bound. But now, the creature was Shati's complete and utter thrall.
Indeed, it was semi-forcibly linked to Shati’s Authority, made to indirectly taste the dying screams of other demons whenever her Authority was wielded, so it would have been stranger if it *hadn’t* become docile.
“Alright... we’ll do it, Professor.”
“Still, ten current students who climb the Tower? You’re underestimating us too much.”
“First, form a team! Decide who will take the front... Ah, it’s coming!”
“I won’t wait!”
The moment the ten students stepped onto the stage, the Titan Devil’s eyes glowed, and it charged.
With its massive body, hard and sharp hide, and claws imbued with truly destructive power due to its master’s Annihilation Magic, the Titan Devil had become a perfect close-quarters combat monster.
Just one student, whose stance was already unsteady, was struck by a claw, their defensive barrier shattered, sending them bouncing out of the arena. The remaining nine students trembled and quickly prepared their individual means of attack.
“Push it back, if it closes in, we’re finished!”
“Damn it, what level is that thing?!”
“I’ll just tell you it’s over 200.”
“What?!”
Two years ago, a shocking catastrophe had occurred outside Union.
Those who had even a slight involvement in it experienced growth as intense as the lives lost in that incident.
Shati was also among them... and the two years at Union, where she had leveraged the strength gained back then, had truly equipped her with the ability to confront a full professor head-on.
...Conversely, the average student at Union Academy who had no connection to that event remained precisely the same, without any change.
A graduating student typically reached Level 100, or, by Ban Yuwon’s standards, roughly 4 Irektos... meaning around 1,000 in Life. This was considered the rank of a recognized powerhouse even in higher dimensions, but Shati had already surpassed that benchmark by the start of her third year.
And now, two years later, even Shati’s summoned Titan Devil vastly surpassed that.
“Weak, weak, weak! At this level, if someone targeted you, you wouldn’t even be able to scream before being swallowed whole!”
“Who would dare target us, students of Union Academy?!”
Hearing one student, who was rolling on the floor after being struck by the Titan Devil’s solid fist, cry out in indignation, Shati’s smile deepened.
“At your current level, you wouldn’t even know if you were being targeted. So instead of doubting others’ qualifications and gossiping behind their backs, focus on improving your own skills. All ten of you get 5 demerit points each. Consider yourselves lucky it’s the first day, so I’m going easy on you.”
“Ugh...”
If Shati had proven her authority through violent and decisive means, Mira was the opposite.
The fairy race rarely ventured out into external dimensions in the first place, and those few who did were usually noticed for their exceptional innate Authority and beauty.
Even the students who had been spreading nasty rumors about Mira and Ban Yuwon’s relationship found their minds going completely blank, unable to think of anything, the moment Mira, clad in a professor’s uniform, entered the lecture hall.
It simply felt utterly natural for her to be standing in the professor’s spot.
“Before we begin the lecture, I have a few things to say. As you know, Professor Campanella, the full professor for the Artifact Production Department this year, has gone on sabbatical. I have to cover all the lectures assigned to her, so I don’t have time to waste on pointless questions.”
Mira tapped the podium sharply with her long pointer, declaring.
“Therefore, anyone who asks a question that can be answered just by listening attentively in class will receive demerit points. If it’s a truly important question, ask it during the lecture; don’t come to me after class is over.”
It was a remarkably unfriendly declaration, yet the students, completely entranced by Mira’s charm, simply nodded their heads in agreement.
“This year, the Academy is overflowing with donations, so we’ll be able to conduct plenty of artifact production experiments. Anyone with a brain can figure out why there’s so much support for the Artifact Production Department this year, but if you go blabbing about it on the intranet and cause trouble for an undeserving person... I won’t let it slide.”
The Union Student Council President belonged to the Artifact Production Department, and while it wasn't necessarily *only* for that reason, the department’s budget this year was certainly abundant.
Among the students who knew that the “undeserving person” Mira was referring to was Ban Yuwon, some thought, ‘Professor Mira is too good for the student council president,’ and ‘Since things are this way, I want to mess with the student council president even if I have to force it.’
These were thoughts they could entertain precisely because they were unaware of how much the current student council president was favored by the Chancellor, despite his rebellious nature.
“Professor, I have a question.”
“I just said not to ask pointless questions... What is it?”
“Could you tell me what kind of gem is set in the ring on your left ring finger? It’s a mineral I’ve never seen before, and it’s quite intriguing!”
At the third-year female student’s question, Mira deliberately raised her left hand to show it off, uttering a pleasant “Oh my,” and smiling sweetly.
“That was a good question. I’ll give you 5 bonus points.”
“Thank you!”
Mira, who was as unabashed about abusing her power as Yumina, lifted the ring on her finger, displaying the violet gem set within it for everyone to see.
“You all know that my fiancé is from the Artifact Production Department, right? This is a gem he personally created to propose to me. It may look merely beautiful, but can any of you truly comprehend how much thought, resources, and mana went into creating it? If you could, you’d be qualified to graduate from the Academy.”
“He *personally*... created it?”
Setting aside Mira’s bragging, which conflated personal and professional matters, the female student who had asked the question wore a dumbfounded expression at the sheer absurdity of the statement.
Having managed to analyze even a small part of the gem’s composition, she realized just how preposterous such a feat was.
Had he not, in a way, stepped into the realm of a creator? she mused, a touch dramatically.
“Hehe, so even if you want this gem, you can’t have it. Make this your goal and strive hard. Understand?”
“Then Professor, um... why isn’t the student council president here for this lecture?”
Mira pouted, contemplating giving demerit points to the student who had just asked the question.
To the students who were utterly captivated by even that charmingly beautiful expression, Mira sighed and said.
“That’s because my power as a professor... damn it... *ahem*, falls short compared to the Vice Chancellor’s.”
* * *
The Ortima family had, for generations, inherited an Authority considered the greatest among the Ten Great Families.
Unlike the Prominence family, who had foolishly wasted their innate bloodline Authority by contracting with constellations and wielded a degraded version of a Constellation’s power, the Ortima family had fostered a prosperous force without relying on constellations. This was made possible by the Ortima’s succession policy.
While the Prominence family had borrowed a Constellation’s power to enhance the stability of their Authority, enabling ‘more people to wield Authority,’ the Ortima family operated by centering their house around a small elite who commanded overwhelming Authority.
Regardless of whether they were from the direct or collateral lines, as long as Ortima blood flowed through them and they could wield a strong Authority, that person immediately became the heir, sustaining the Ortima family.
Within the Ortima family, it was a thorough meritocracy, or, conversely, a peculiar form of bloodline-ism that held the perception that anyone, no matter how humble their lineage, became noble simply by having Ortima blood mixed in.
Anyone with a brain would understand that this was an incredibly pragmatic and wise approach.
Fixating on bloodlines could lead to embracing all sorts of genetic diseases, or ruin, by placing an incompetent individual at the head of the family. Talented individuals, though exceptional, might be undervalued within the family and be lost to external forces, or conversely, such individuals might harbor resentment and instigate rebellion....
Just look at the Prominence family; how much bloodshed had they endured because of this?
Yet, because the Ortima family prioritized skill, such disturbances simply didn't occur.
Only one thing mattered: whether Ortima blood flowed through their veins or not.
Their arrogance in treating everything but the Ortima family as trivial, and their sordid willingness to ally with pirate groups like Exodus for their own authority, were disgusting. However, they had never once had their status as the leading family among the Ten Great Families called into question.
Not even once.
And that was why Luisha Hale-Palomer Aquinas Ortima had surpassed the legitimate bloodline heir, Lusein Rown-Palomer Aquinas Ortima, to become the family’s successor.
‘That man. The man who dragged big brother Lusein from his position as family heir...!’
Luisha Ortima’s eyes narrowed to extreme slits as she spotted the man in the same lecture hall as her... no, he was standing near the podium as a student for some reason.
The lecture she was currently attending was renowned for having all students, from first-years to seniors, gather together to listen, due to the exceptionally small number of enrolled students across the entire school.
Two years prior, the ‘Babylon and Constellations’ lecture, taught by former Vice Chancellor Zenon, had been abolished. In its place, Yumina, who ascended to the position of Vice Chancellor, had formally established ‘Understanding Authority.’
‘I know his innate Authority is exceptionally strong. But why is he standing there?!’
‘Understanding Authority’ was a lecture for the truly chosen, designed to help them more easily comprehend and explore the various types of innate Authorities they possessed from birth.
In a way, it shared a common thread with the project Ban Yuwon had conducted through the Union Journey Club during his first year.
Noticing the exponential growth of the special admissions students who had trained under Ban Yuwon’s curriculum for a semester, Yumina formally proposed to the Chancellor. With Ban Yuwon’s assistance, she made it possible for this lecture to be taught to all Union students.
“So the student council president... is assisting with the lecture?”
“Ah, first-year students probably wouldn’t know yet. Yuwon, *ahem*, the student council president is a teaching assistant. Just last year alone, many students bloomed with talent thanks to him, so I hope everyone trusts and follows his lead.”
“It’s a pleasure to work with you all.”
It wasn’t just the special admissions students; there were often cases where students from higher dimensions were also born with Authority.
Of course, unlike the special admissions students who had to develop their Authority from scratch, these students mostly trained according to systematically organized methods within their families—but over the past two years, rumors had circulated throughout the Academy about a training method that ‘couldn’t compare to family training, was universal and systematic, yet ultimately led to truly professional realms.’
The true identity of this method was none other than the ‘Understanding Authority’ lecture. By this point, even Luisha, an heir of one of the Ten Great Families, couldn’t afford *not* to attend....
Who would have thought such a trap card existed there!
Luisha, calming her trembling body, raised her hand sharply.
“Professor, I—”
“Ah, course registration changes are still entirely possible. If any student finds the teaching method unsatisfactory, please apply at the administrative office immediately.”
Yumina smiled brightly as if she had read Luisha’s mind, explaining.
Standing beside her, Ban Yuwon was also smiling brightly, as if imitating Yumina. Whether it was her imagination or not, he seemed to be looking directly at her, making Luisha blush and lower her hand.
‘If I back down here... I lose.’
She gritted her teeth, justifying the throbbing in her chest.
‘I’ll win. I’ll take that man’s teachings and surpass him! I’ll make him pay the price for making a fool of the Ortima family!’
The twenty-year-old maiden’s carelessness transmuted into clumsy hostility and fervent zeal, directed straight at Ban Yuwon.
And what was Ban Yuwon thinking, as he received her fervent gaze?
‘Lusein Ortima, that bastard never showed up. ...Should I go get him?’
He was thinking about her cousin.
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