"You again..."
Conrad was livid at Henry. He kept it to himself and controlled his emotions. He constantly reminded himself that he was a magus teacher who needed to be prestigious.
"Why did the Principal give that order?" Henry asked.
"You know?"
Conrad was surprised.
"Yes. I just found out."
"Really?"
Conrad became more shocked. His face looked like he saw a ghost.
"..."
Henry didn't understand why Conrad was reacting so shocked. It related to him. Wouldn't it be weird if he didn't know?
"Follow me..."
Conrad became serious and motioned for the two to follow him. He brought them to an open field secluded in the academy.
Five magus teachers were waiting there. They nodded at Conrad.
"Why are they here?" one of them asked.
"Apparently, they're part of it too."
"Huh? Impossible. The Principal only gave the mission to us six. There can't be two more!"
(What's going on?)
Henry was confused by their conversation. This was not what he expected.
Felicia was the same. Question marks kept popping inside of her head.
"I know the class of these two... They're both High-class already."
Conrad kept a close eye on the two after the day of the examination. Sure enough. He found out they advanced to the next class on the same day a week ago.
"Really? They can be of use then."
That magus teacher was surprised. The news of Henry's advancement to the next class never spread to those who didn't actively keep a close eye on them.
"This is Mr. Gorhei. He's very good at Earth magic. Ms. Marina. She's very good at Water magic. Mr. Rex. He's also very good at Earth magic. Mr. Samuel. He's also very good at Earth magic. And lastly, Mr. Raphael—"
Henry interrupted. "Also very good at Earth magic...?" He couldn't help but smile wryly.
"Cough. Yes. As you can see, the academy has a disproportionate number of magus teachers proficient in Earth magic compared to the other elements."
Conrad casually ignored Henry's remarks. It was a problem of the academy. The change was unstoppable as each generation would have more magi proficient in Earth magic.
The cycle created more and more, leading to the present problem.
"What elements are you two proficient in?" Gorhei asked.
"I'm proficient in all the elements."
Henry's casual answer caused the five to simultaneously raise their eyebrows. To them, it sounded like Henry was boasting.
No magus could actually be equally proficient in all the elements. All magi would become more proficient in one element.
This would grow with them. Eventually, the disparity of their proficiencies in the elements would increase so much. And they would finally stop practicing the other elements and solely focus on their proficient ones.
"Braggart." Gorhei snorted.
The other four were similarly displeased at Henry. However, they kept it to themselves.
Conrad didn't know if Henry was telling the truth. He didn't say anything and allowed them to judge him for themselves.
Next, their eyes landed on Felicia.
"I-I'm proficient in Life magic..." Felicia blinked, feeling nervous being stared at by six magus teachers. Their gazes felt uncomfortable because of the difference in magus classes.
"Oh? Not bad. That's a rare one." Gorhei was amazed.
"There are only two magus teachers here who are proficient in Life magic. It's a rare class here," Marina marveled.
"Oh?"
Conrad was the most surprised at Felicia's proficiency in life magic. This was his first time hearing this information. These two seemed to be hiding lots of things.
"Let's not waste more time. We need to surprise them," Samuel said. He was a serious type and a man of few words.
(Should I tell them?)
Henry blinked his eyes. He didn't know if this would be a good idea. At the very least, he gathered more information than he ever could just by being a normal student.
He looked at Felicia and saw the troubled look on her face. She turned to him and tilted her head a little.
He shook his head and looked at the six magus teachers.
"Come. We need to do this quickly."
The four teachers proficient in Earth magic took the lead. They chanted together.
"Earth, open a pathway, split a tunnel!"
Their manas joined together and created a brown ripple that hit the ground. The ripples pushed the soil to the sides and made a small, shallow hole.
They repeated their spells.
After a while, they managed to create an underground tunnel.
"Water, condense, hydrate!"
Marina chanted a spell and waved both of her hands along the sides of the tunnel. Her mana transformed into water and turned the soil into clay.
"Flames, spread and cinder, fire!"
Conrad's spell was different. His mana crept along the wet clay and fired them into bricks. Similar to pottery, he turned the clay from something weak and fragile to something strong.
Henry was impressed. The teamwork looked to be practiced. Obviously, they had prepared for this day.
And the reason they were chanting was to preserve their mana. In their current class, it would be easy for them to create spells without chanting.
"Felicia, use a life spell to create plants. Use their roots to strengthen the entrance," Conrad ordered while following behind the others.
"Okay..." Felicia nodded her head, still confused at the whole situation.
She imagined small plants growing and their roots anchoring the soil at the entrance.
Once it became clear in her mind, she waved her white staff.
Her mana transformed into a green color with a tint of gold. They sprinkled on the soil, and mini sprouts grew.
Her casual action stunned Conrad. He took a deep breath. The others were farther inside and continued making the tunnel. And because of the distance, they didn't realize what Felicia had just done.
He wanted to say something.
He glanced at Henry and decided not to. He didn't plan to let the others know that Felicia was good.
The five other magus teachers didn't know Henry's identity. They didn't care enough earlier to ask him who he was.
If they did, Conrad was certain Henry would be praised a lot. He didn't want that.