Rasmus watched the garden through the window in his classroom. He heard someone come in and it was Maximilian with a paper in his hand. He watched Maximilian put the paper on the desk and went to his table.
"May I?" Rasmus pointed at the paper on his desk as he looked at Maximilian.
Maximilian nodded and he never thought he would feel nervous about his writings. He spent almost his whole life holding weapons and training with people who were two times bigger than him, but he never felt nervous once.
Rasmus didn't show any reaction as he read Maximilian's plans to gain recognition. It didn't take a while until he put down the paper and stayed quiet, which made Maximilian more nervous.
Alexander came in and he looked like a mess with his red eyes, showing that he stayed up all night to do the assignment. Valari was similar, but he looked a bit better than Alexander. They both then put their assignments on the desk.
Monica was checking her writings as she walked in the hallway, but then she stopped when she almost hit Aurelius who was walking from the other side of the hallway. They both stared at each other and had scornful looks painted on their faces.
"Are you two going in or not?" Isador asked as he was waiting for them to get inside the class because they were blocking the door.
Monica walked in first while Aurelius walked into the classroom with Isador. They all put their assignments on Rasmus's desk. Maximilian, Alexander, and Valari were on the edge because Rasmus didn't show any reaction to their writings at all.
The class was quiet because everyone was watching Rasmus read their assignments. They were all trained to read expressions and gestures, but they couldn't tell what Rasmus was thinking at all.
The sound of the bell ringing startled them and at the same time, Rasmus stood up as he held all the papers.
"After reading all your answers, this is worse than I expected," Rasmus flapped the papers in his hands. "This assignment will be your secret weapon in the future, and this will be your masterpiece to rule the world, but none of you have the ambition to do so."
Rasmus approached Maximilian's table and put down his paper downward so Monica couldn't see it, "You're going to be a tyranny with this plan. You're not that different from Balthazar who occupied the North during his rule."
Rasmus looked at Monica and put down her assignment on her table, "You'll achieve nothing with this. You're too straightforward and people don't like a blatant truth."
Rasmus went to Alexander's table and put down his assignment as he stared down at Alexander, "You'll be nothing but a tool by the others. You're being too passive and too scared to give promises. People need something to drive their willingness to follow you."
Rasmus looked at Valari and let out a big sigh as he put down Valari's assignment, "You're going to lose everything if you give everything without asking something in return. You're a walking pot of gold."
Rasmus stood in front of Aurelius who looked nervous by what Rasmus was going to say, "You're going to be their slaves. Your kindness will be taken for granted."
Rasmus looked at the last paper in his hand, and then put it at Isidor's table, "Too optimistic, too ambitious, too many empty words, too many promises, and lastly, too much of everything. Unrealistic."
Although with Rasmus's blatant and harsh feedback, he didn't mock or make a fool of the students. He used that assignment to understand the students he was teaching and what kind of personality they had. It helped him to approach them and get to know them.
"If one day you were in a dire situation where everything was at risk. Those writings are the plans that you're going to make, and as you have heard, you'll lose everything," Rasmus said as he sat on top of his desk. "But I can see the honesty in your writings which is a good thing, but unfortunately honesty isn't always what they want to hear."
"Now..." Rasmus stood up and collected the assignments again. "Wouldn't it be fun to read each other's assignment?" He asked with a mischievous smirk.
Everyone panicked when Rasmus handed out their assignments to their classmates. They all felt embarrassed because it was as Rasmus said, their writings that came from their hearts. They wanted to protest, but they knew that Rasmus wouldn't listen to them. They had no choice but to endure their embarrassment when others looked at their paperwork.
Monica snickered when she read Aurelius's assignment, but then Aurelius reacted the same way when she read Monica's paperwork. They both looked at each other and realized they were looking at each other's paperwork.
Isador was stunned when he looked at Maximilian's paperwork while Maximilian was confused by Isador's paperwork. They looked at each other and they both were in disbelief with each other's writings.
On the other hand, Alexander and Valari were shocked that their writings were similar. They realized they both had the same way of thinking which made them understand their flaws.
"I want to hear your opinions about each other's writings. Let's start with you, Maximilian," Rasmus said as he went back to his desk and sat down.
Everyone discussed and uttered their opinions without holding back. It was a productive and thought-provoking discussion in which everyone felt joy while at the same time making them learn about their flaws and weaknesses. They never thought attacking each other with an argument could be fun and exciting.
They argued and discussed what would be the perfect plan to achieve recognition from the people. They tried as hard as they could to satisfy Rasmus with their perfect plan, but it never happened.
Lenin was listening the whole time from outside the classroom. She couldn't stop smiling and chuckling quietly when she found out each student's mind and how they worked. She wished to barge in and join the discussion, but she held back and decided to leave because she had heard enough.
"Look at the time," Rasmus said as he looked at his wristwatch. "We will end the class here."
Everyone looked outside the window and it was afternoon already. They didn't realize they had been arguing and discussing it for hours. They still had something that they wanted to utter, but they were unable to do so.
"If you want to keep discussing it, then go ahead. This academy has so many places for you to spend your time. If you all believe that you can come up with a perfect plan, then bring me the result on a piece of paper tomorrow morning," Rasmus stood up as he hid his wristwatch under the sleeve. "Class is dismissed."
Rasmus left the classroom and he was surprised to see Julian waiting for him.
"Chancellor Lenin is waiting for you in her office," Julian said as she glanced at the classroom where everyone talked with each other like normal students.
"This is my class, so I hope you can respect my students' privacy," Rasmus said as he closed the door behind him.
Julian gave Rasmus a cold eyes-roll, and she held back from responding to Rasmus's words. She escorted Rasmus to Lenin's office and was still in disbelief that those students could gather around like that.
"Chancellor, you're looking for me?" Rasmus asked as he stood at the door.
"Yes. Please have a seat," Lenin smiled at Rasmus as she pointed at the chair across her desk.
"I overheard your class earlier, and I found it interesting that you managed to pull that off. Seeing how you and those students were sharing each other's thoughts, it was exciting that I wished I could join your lecture," Lenin said, still with a smile on her face. "What you did, that's something that we needed. If only we had someone like you 400 years ago, maybe that event could be prevented," she muttered as she stared blankly at the chandelier.
"Thank you, for the praise, Chancellor," Rasmus said.
Rasmus narrowed his eyes a bit and thought about what Lenin had said earlier. From those simple comments, he knew that Lenin had no idea why the Great Era had happened. He wondered if he could entrust her with what he found since she was a Great Sage and he believed she wouldn't end up like Henry.
"But, you do remember that your class isn't just about sharpening their minds. They still need to train their bodies as well, and I'm curious if you need any help with that?" Lenin asked.
"Rest assured, Chancellor. I can handle my students, but thank you for the offer," Rasmus answered with confidence.
"I see. Well then, you may go," Lenin said. "Good work, Instructor Blackheart. Keep it up," she smiled and continued dealing with the documents on her desk. "You're dismissed."
Rasmus bowed his head before he left Lenin's office.