Today would be crazy! As for how Gray knew…
[Ding! Planning Released! You Are Teaching Today!]
[Please Enter the Topic of Your Lecture!]
[Currently Registered as Alchemy!]
Gray wasn't even awake that his Teacher Badge started oozing notifications, and it wasn't the only one either! The Mage Club was going crazy, too!
— HumongousStaff: "Guys! Wake up, today's Teacher's Heinrich's Class. Do you all know what this means?! Cute freshmen all in one spot ripe for flirting!"
— Little Apple: "Tch— What a rogue! Can't you stop thinking with that 'staff' or yours for a second?! Besides, today we'll witness Teacher Aldor in action, he's so dreamy!
— LivingForDrama: "Hehe, who cares about that! Today will be EXPLOSIVE. They're pitting the two new Teachers against one another! Same room! Same place! Same time!"
— KnowledgeWell: "T-That's just bad! How will this even work?! Don't tell me a duel?!"
— JollyRanger: "Not sure, one's teaching the Wonders of Magic and the other Alchemy."
— AldorForever: "Pfft— Duel? We all know what the outcome will be!"
— WeAreLegion: "True, Teacher Gale is just too incredible!"
Gray barely left this comment, that a deluge of users told him otherwise with "facts". Seeing this, he couldn't help but turn pensive. How should he go about this?
Ah, but before that…
[Ding! Successfully Signed in to the Soul Pond!]
Fishing a little for good luck would never hurt! He threw the line, thinking about his options. Alchemy? That was a dead end! He'd only make a fool of himself.
No, it was better if he stuck to his initial plan. What was the one thing he could do that no other Teacher would be able to compete with? Everything BUT Magic!
"But what if they ask me to comment on Aldor's lecture? I'd— Ah, a bite!"
[Ding! Obtained Death's Note!]
[Notebook that belongs to a legendary Shinigami. Inscribing the name of anyone in this will draw upon the power of the gods of death to determine their fate!]
"This, don't tell me?!" Shaking all over, Gray hurriedly wrote a name in it, or rather a title. Duke of Hellrand! Instantly, the page started bleeding bloodied ink and…
𝕯𝖚𝖐𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕳𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖉...
𝕯𝖚𝖐𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕳𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖉~ 𝕬𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊
Alive? He could have known that without the Death's Note! This was positively useless to the current him. He instantly re-casted his line, crossing his fingers while thinking aloud.
"For that Teacher duel, maybe I can actually use it to my advantage? What if I base my entire Class on it? Oh, that'd make for some juicy— Bite!"
[Ding! Obtained Pet Rock!]
[He reached the top, but for what? Immortality's so fucking lonely! Fed up, he wished to reincarnate as a Legendary Rock. *PS: Flavor text unrelated, this is just a pebble.]
"All that intro, and for what? Fishing Souls is what's really lonely. Then again, I wouldn't have to give a class if I were a pebble. Anyway, one more…"
[Ding! Obtained Ectoplasm! (2/50)]
That was it?! But just as he was feeling peeved, there was a sudden change. The bone fishing rod in his hands? It started vibrating, its frame echoing with a baleful cry.
—SKREEEEEEE!
—SKREEEEEEE! SKREEEEEEE!
At that moment, Gray could feel its excitement. It wanted to fish more! It wanted to capture even more souls! It just happened that there was another option…
[Offer Souls to Unlock Fishing Attempts?]
[Current Rate = 10 Souls → 🎣 ]
Gray didn't hesitate. He spent it all! Right now, souls were utterly useless to him. 42? He needed 10,000 to unlock the Library of Heaven's Souls! It was now or never!
"C'mon, partner. Let's do this!" As he threw the line, his Rod LITERALLY sang in happiness, its tune incredibly creepy. Yet, Gray only cared about the outcome…
[Ding! Obtained Ectoplasm! (3/50)]
[Ding! Obtained Ectoplasm! (4/50)]
[Ding! Obtained Ectoplasm! (5/50)]
[Ding! Obtained Ectoplasm! (6/50)]
WHAT?! This was a scam, a bloody scam! Just like that, he had wasted hours of effort! Not the most efficient hours, but still! He felt like snapping his rod in half, but then…
—SKREEEEEEE! SKREEEEEEE! SKREEEEEEE!
That's when his rod seemed to come alive, stretching itself and pointing toward the sky, right above the pond. That's when Gray finally noticed the glowing number!
[4/100]
"Wait, don't tell me?!"
Gray instantly knew what it was. A pity counter, right?! What would happen once it reached 100? Somehow, he had a feeling it would be amazing!
He hurriedly looked outside. It was still dark… As for the Class? 1 pm!
"This will be so clutch, but there's still time!"
He'd be damned if he didn't try! He didn't hesitate, fishing his Teacher Badge, madness filling his eyes.
[Convoke ALL Personal Disciples? Are You Sure?]
"YES! Call them all!" Sure, he only had two, but ALL sounded so damn epic! But he had barely pressed the button when...
"Teacher, you called?" It was Sera!
How had she arrived so quickly? Apparently, there was now a tent in his backyard. Sigh. Had he known before, he would have invited her in: he had a sofa.
"It's urgent. The hunters from yesterday? Track them down! I'll need their help to get a SHITLOAD of souls. Ah, but it's best if we have a way to communicate…."
He was already grabbing her Student Badge, manipulating it expertly. This was just like a cellphone, one that didn't need a physical cable to transfer data. He quickly gave it back.
"Ah?! Teacher, what's this thing? Mage Club?"
He quickly gave her a summary.
"Can I count on you?"
"ALWAYS!"
With this, she departed as fast as she could, which was really F-ing fast as a Rank 7 Mage! This was just in time for sobbing screams to echo, a mass of flesh jiggling his way.
"T-Teacher Gale! I thought you were dead! I was waiting for you at the Mana-Testing Facility, but you never came back. I was soooo worried!~"
"Ah, sorry. So it's like that…" Gray quickly explained and made him join the Mage Club, too. But that's when his first Disciple showed the most solemn look ever.
"Teacher, how badly do you need this?"
"VERY!"
"Then, I might have an idea…" The more Zhang shared, the wider Gray's eyes became. This disciple of his was so devious, he loved it! Banned drug? Possibly a huge mess later?
"Who goddamn cares! Let's do this!" As for what followed, it included him swinging by the Alchemy Department and ordering a certain drug for… Old Red! (Officially)
Before long, Gray was back in the Hunting Grounds, standing before a group of Hunters. They wouldn't have bothered if it had been anyone else, but he was their savior.
"Teacher, tell us. What can we do for you!"
"One word. GENOCIDE!"
WHAT?! But before they could truly take in the craziness that would follow. Gray handed each of them a red vial that seemed to be bubbling like lava. "T-This, don't tell me?!"
Yes, it was. Burning Mustang Lifeblood. This thing made one go CRAZY! It was also called the Berserker drug or even the "won't let you sleep tonight" drug.
"Cheers! Let's do this, brothers…"
— GULP! GULP! —
The effect was instantaneous. Their eyes glowed red, their muscles bulged mightily, and so did their little brothers. It was time. They were ready. "GO!!" They all dashed away!
But merely a minute later, they were already back—so fast! At their heels were tons of Magical Beasts of all sizes, all weaklings, and they had barely shown up that…
His two disciples utterly crushed them!
— BZZZTTT! SLASH! —
— SLAM! SLAM! —
Gray hurriedly went forward and collected the souls. This was his plan! The hunters would funnel, the disciples would slaughter, and he would collect it all!
"Hehe, don't worry, Teacher. I got you covered! I'm your #1 Disciple, after all!"
"Scoff— Please, I've already been with him longer!"
"So? I'm the first. No one forgets their first."
"T-That… he hugged me!"
What the hell were they going on about?! Yet, even they couldn't keep arguing, for the Hunters were back again, even more berserk than before! Thus, it kept going…
[Ding! Obtained Ravenous Bunny Soul!]
[Ding! Obtained Ravenous Bunny Soul!]
[Ding! Obtained Ravenous Bunny Soul!]
Oh, and this was just the beginning. Right now, they were in the bunny territory, but at this rate, they'd slaughter them all before long! Still, even that would be too slow.
"Zhang, stay here and warn the Hunters. We're moving the drop off Zone further in, alright? Sera, you're with me. We'll establish a new base a little further. Ready?"
"YES!!! X2"
It didn't take them long to relocate. It took even less time for Zhang to join them. Seems like he had already managed to warn all the Hunters. But even this would be too slow…
"Zhang, you stay with me. Sera, I have a secret mission for you. Remember that pond? Go back there and…" He whispered instructions in her ear, and she promptly departed.
As for what followed? It was a bloody mess, LITERALLY!
The Black Mamba Hunter Group were no chumps. Now, the Black Mambas on steroids? They were a sight to see! Before long, Gray stood before a mountain of corpses.
"Absorb! Absorb! Absorb! More Souls!"
"W-Wait, Teacher. Is that Necromancy?! Amazing!"
Only then did Zhang notice what he was doing?! No wonder he had directly brought him to the Mana-Testing back then without explaining much.
But if that was enough to surprise him, then….
THUD! THUD! THUD! That's when his secret weapon appeared: a very scary Rampaging Ursa! The latter had countless Magical Beasts strapped to its fur.
"T-That's a HUGE Bear! Teacher, don't tell me?!"
"It's a Rampaging Ursa and a friend."
It was!! Yes, it was now. The creature couldn't help but feel strange. This little human—could it be that he wasn't that strong? Yet, he wasn't normal either.
Weak, strong, weak, strong? It didn't bloody know! But the man knew about that dastardly soul chain and had promised it freedom. That alone was worth helping him.
Hunters? Bear? Disciples? They all worked together! Soon, the surroundings changed…
Mountain of Corpses!
Large Mountain of Corpses!
Large Mountain of Corpses + Blood Pond!
Gray kept collecting souls so crazily that, at some point, he realized that he had 983 of them! That was a whopping 23 more than he needed! Alas, the joy was short-lived.
"Ah, Teacher! Isn't it time for your Class already?!"
"Oh fuck, you're right! Teacher, quick!"
"Crap, at this rate, I'll be late!"
Just as Gray was panicking, he was literally swept off his feet. He felt himself floating, soft and gentle arms embracing him, followed by the smell of tulips. Sera?!
"Late? I don't think so, Teacher!" Sera brought him away, princess-carry style, so fast that he felt like they were flying! But even then, he hashed out a few details.
He even started laughing, already picturing their faces.
[Please Enter the Topic of Your Lecture!]
"Worthlessness of Magic!"
This would be fun...