Chapter 12 - The Worst Lecture in the Empire's History (3)
In hindsight, something about this whole situation had seemed off from the start.
This was a professor highly favored by the ancestral dragon, an individual lauded as a genius. It was hard to believe that someone like him would bring his students out here on a whim.
While they'd lost perspective in the midst of the grueling climb, a calmer mind could deduce that there had to be something special about this place.
"No one could have guessed it would be a Great Leyline, though."
One student muttered, beads of sweat trickling down his face, still visibly shocked. But it wasn't just him; every student, including Karen, was equally floored by the unexpected revelation.
"Why would something like this even be here?"
After all, they were standing in a place filled with pure, undiluted mana—a sanctuary blessed by the celestial gods themselves.
As far as Karen knew, this was the fifth Great Leyline discovered within the Empire. Judging by the overwhelming aura here, it was on an entirely different scale compared to previous discoveries.
Simply channeling the mana here would exponentially boost their magical prowess. Training in this place would enhance their progress by a hundredfold, if not more.
Sharing a place of such power was, indeed, a gift. Yet Karen couldn't understand why Lian would reveal this to them.
"Of course, it's not as if a Great Leyline is something you can use up," she thought.
Still, people generally wanted to monopolize valuable resources. Even if it were abundant enough to be shared, how many people would genuinely offer it to others?
Yet here was this professor, openly showing them its location without a second thought. His actions left the students more bewildered than grateful.
"Maybe… it's a proposal for an alliance?" one student suggested. "If the royal family found out about this, they'd definitely seize it. Maybe he wants our families' help to keep this place a secret."
The student's theory was plausible: being a commoner, Professor Lian might fear that the Empire would take control of the leyline from him, given his lack of influence.
However, another student quickly pointed out the flaw in this logic. "If he were worried about the royal family, wouldn't it be safer for him to use the place alone? Bringing us here only increases the chance of someone finding out."
The professor certainly wouldn't overlook such an obvious risk.
Their discussion reached a standstill, leaving them mired in silence, grappling with an enigma they couldn't solve.
"Maybe it was all a coincidence?" ventured a quiet, brooding girl. "What if the professor had no idea the leyline was here and just happened to bring us to a place where it existed?"
The sheer absurdity of the idea made the others look at her with barely concealed disdain.
Her theory was so far-fetched that even a five-year-old could come up with a more plausible explanation. Although no one said it aloud, many were thinking, "I can't believe someone this clueless is a student at the Imperial Academy."
"I have a strong intuition," the girl protested. "Maybe the professor really didn't know…"
Before she could finish, her friend clamped a hand over her mouth, urging her to stop embarrassing herself.
Karen took note of the girl's nameplate—Cassandra Mayril.
"Mayril… The family famous for producing seers and witches," Karen mused. "I suppose this generation might spell the end of that legacy."
The notion that a renowned master of dimensional magic, a genius who'd single-handedly thwarted a spy within the academy, would have no reason for his actions? Ridiculous.
Karen was almost tempted to pity Cassandra's naivety.
"It's pointless to keep debating," Karen declared, dismissing Cassandra's input. She spoke confidently, drawing everyone's attention.
"I think the best course of action is to ask the man himself. Wait here; I'll go talk to him."
Confronting a professor as enigmatic and respected as Lian was no small task, and Karen couldn't deny the nerves gnawing at her. But she had chosen this class precisely to understand who he truly was. There was no turning back now.
With a deep breath, Karen steadied herself and walked over to him.
The perfect plan, I thought. After much deliberation, I'd settled on a dual approach to ensure my reputation as the Empire's worst professor.
Option one was to get scolded for negligence—collect my paycheck, skip lectures, and just tell students to study on their own. Option two was to turn every student against me by intentionally behaving in the most annoying way possible.
After some thought, I realized I didn't need to choose. Why not do both?
And so, my ingenious plan was born.
The horror of being dragged out for a forced mountain climb, the fatigue from climbing a grueling trail, with the added misery of having to abstain from magic—nothing quite compared to forced hiking.
The crowning touch? After all that, they'd discover it was just for a self-study session.
"Hey, you have to suffer to grow," I'd told them, with a smug grin and a halfhearted expression of wisdom. I knew full well that they must be cursing my name.
Then, off in the distance, there was a colossal crash.
A massive tree split and fell, shattering as if impaled by a gigantic ice lance.
From the sound of it, the students' hatred of me had hit rock bottom. I could almost taste victory.
As I mentally celebrated, I heard footsteps approaching through the brush.
Apparently, a single frustrated student wasn't satisfied with venting on the trees. She'd decided to take matters into her own hands and confront me directly.
"Didn't I tell you all to study on your own?" I asked, doing my best to sound irritable, barely concealing my smirk as I turned to face her.
The golden-haired girl hesitated, visibly nervous, but quickly composed herself.
"…Professor Lian, could you explain your true intentions for bringing us here?"
Perfect. This was exactly what I'd anticipated.
She likely thought there was a hidden purpose. Maybe they believed I had some profound lesson in mind. They were clinging to the hope that this was all some elaborate ploy.
Too bad for them.
"Did you really come all this way just to ask that?" I stared at her as if she'd just uttered the most ridiculous question in existence.
I let her squirm under my condescending gaze before delivering the finishing blow to crush any last remnants of respect.
"Because you are my students," I said flatly.
There was no reason beyond that. If they were suffering, it was because they had chosen to become my students.
They should curse themselves for picking the wrong professor.
The girl's expression wavered, disbelief clouding her eyes.
"All… just because we're your students…?"
But I only looked at her with an expression of mild confusion, as if her reaction was what baffled me, not the question.
"You are my students, and I brought you here because of that. Do I need any more justification?"
With those heartless words, the girl's eyes filled with tears as she sank to her knees, defeated.
And I, in turn, allowed myself a wicked smile.
This was the moment the worst professor in the Empire's history was born.