Chapter Twenty-Three: Guilt
With the way Sir Zenith presented the question, Layla knew what he expected their answer to be, but she couldn't accept it. Let children die?
Her hands trembled under the table and she struggled to accept the reality were letting two children die will save many more people?
She was a healer who should value life first, why should she cause the death of a living person? No matter how it'd look, she had the option of fighting for the kids before leaving to destroy the stone.
"But while doing that, more people at the district will die." Her eyes shook as she contemplated her choices. Nephis patted her head and raised a hand.
"I think we just have to find a way to save the children and still destroy the stone, right?" she asked.
"What way is that?" Alexandria asked back. "Unless we are Tomah who could control the snake to attack the stone instead, we can't possibly save the kids."
Layla's heart fell on hearing that.
Tomah nodded, as he finally got an answer to the question for himself. Making a pact with a two-headed snakes could take more ten seconds but if he was a better Mage by the time he'd be in such a situation, then he could actually save the kids.
However, the question was asked to the current level he was in. The class stayed quiet considering the only possible option that can save more people and not cancel the danger, going for the stone instead.
It's not uncommon that Mages were trained to be more cold-hearted than Heroes as their job was canceling the villain and not bringing hope. Still the students didn't want to have their first kill in a hypothetical scenario.
At that moment, Alez raised his hand.
Zenith wondered why he didn't just speak without taking permission, like the others, but he nodded and gestured for him to speak. "How will you solve it?"
Hearing the teacher say 'solve' it, the other students began wondering if the question had a solution so they listened attentively.
Alez left his seat and replied. "Since the stone is nearby, I'd use a long range attack to destroy it, and protect the children from the two-headed snake, all within ten seconds. The district will also be safe."
The class remained silent, waiting for Sir Zenith's approval. Apart from Nephis, who had an idea but didn't know how to pan it out, none had factored in a long range attack and solely considered either saving the kids or going for the stone.
Nephis supported immediately. "Yeah! I bet my waterspout can destroy any pillar with five seconds tops! I can send another to the snakes if I feel like it!"
Zenith smirked, resting his head back. "That's definitely another way to solve it." He sighed. "But other answers are also right. Picking the stone saves time and essence but not the children. The children are not the goal, the stones are. In that case, all the answers you had in your head were right."
The students felt cursed and guilty of murder.
Alexandria had grown pale and the sense of defeat and incompetence ate him slowly. The answer that's correct involved killing children, when he could've saved them if he had thought harder.
Lilian stared at nothing before sobbing quietly and hanging her head low. Her seatmate, Alez stared at her worriedly, wondering why a hypothetical question provoked emotions in her.
"Remember, it's a hypothetical scenario." Zenith had to remind when he saw how hard the students were taking their 'failure'.
They had only been realistic and humored him actually, because he spoke from his experience. He had expected Alexandria to ask him what he'd have done but the boy was busy fighting with himself.
Layla buried her face in her hands, feeling relieved and ashamed. In her case, with no combatant magic, she wouldn't be able to make a long ranged attack.
She raised her head up immediately. "A crossbow. If a crossbow is my weapon, then they can make better long ranged attacks than a kris."
Her eyes lit up and balled her fists. She'd have to learn how to make long ranged attacks with weapons since she couldn't do so with her magic.
Zenith left his seat when the health teacher came to return the class's notes to the students. She paused and studied the depressed students, she noticed the young Mage feeling pleased.
"He didn't destroy their ego, did he?" she handed the books to him and briskly walked away, wishing for the best to the students.
Zenith kept the books on Alez's table and stood there. "Now, you all understand why learning your long ranged attacks to mastery is important, right?"
"Yes!" the class chorused with an obvious elevated determination. Zenith nodded to that.
"Class Captain, share these books." Zenith pointed at the board. "I have other hypothetical scenarios."
Kawaya left to take the books, a worn out expression was on his face. "Hit us with them, Sir." He said as he shuffled each book to their owner's table hurriedly.
Lilian wiped her eyes quickly, preparing her mental state to receive another question that'd not hit her.
Zenith strolled back to his seat, but leaned on the table and kept his hands in pockets.
He had grown turned of seating and since the questions brought humorous reactions from the kids, he wanted to be close enough to see it. "This last question will be one that specially happened to…"
He trailed off and narrowed his eyes at the students, especially Aleksandra. What's with that look? The girl snapped her head away from him.
Kawaya struggled to hold in his laughter. Alexandria shook his head while Layla nodded in agreement with Aleksandra.
Yet Zenith had never felt so confused. They were sober seconds ago and now he's being stared at like he's a delish meal from the King's kitchen?
"I'd like to emphasize now that I'm at least three years older so throw your thoughts to a nearby gutter."
The laughter Kawaya had been struggling to hold in, left him with a weird sound and he burst into laughter. The whole class stayed quiet, trying not to join him.
"Sandra, you… you just got caught and got rejected seconds later!" Kawaya unconsciously slapped her arm while laughing and she gripped his neck.
Aleksandra was a usual offender in admiring male teachers and it was only a matter of time before she'd set her eyes on their hot male teacher.
She got reminded that Sir Zenith was teacher she could hit on when he stood at his full height in front of the class, looking handsome and effortlessly hot, other times he remained seated and his muscular frame was hidden.
"Go for it, Aleksandra!" Alexandria gave her thumps up. "Try your luck! Three years isn't that big of a gap!"
Aleksandra replied with a thumps up. "It's actually four years but okay!" The laughter didn't reduce.
Zenith canceled the scenario he had in his head and calmly returned to his seat. Another lesson he learnt on his first day – Teenagers are unhinged.