"Tell me, what is magic?" Lin Yuan tossed a question to the students in the classroom, then quietly yawned into his hand. He had gotten excited about his experiments last night and stayed up late. His room had been left in disarray, with even the bed missing a leg, so he hadn't slept well at all. As a result, he was quite drowsy when he came to class today.
However, his question wasn't meant to be perfunctory. Although his experiments yesterday hadn't yielded a definitive conclusion, they had deepened his understanding of magic. After following Hawk for two months, he had indeed become very proficient with low-level magic. But having only been in this world for two months, his grasp of magic was far from that of a grand mage like Hawk, who had dedicated his entire life to its study. In fact, some of the students in this very classroom might have a deeper understanding than he did. He asked the question not only to gauge the students' levels and personalities but also to engage in a mutual discussion.
"Magic is money and power!" Vince, seated in the front row, shouted loudly. After noticing the strange looks from his classmates, he added, "That's what my father taught me."
Lin Yuan couldn't help but chuckle. The boy, though a bit arrogant due to his noble family background, was quite endearing.
"Well, Vince isn't entirely wrong. Mages do hold a high status, which I think we all understand. And status, of course, is determined by power and money. Since mages have status, they can more easily obtain money and power," Lin Yuan glanced at Vince and continued, "But Vince, such topics should be discussed in social studies class with Teacher Haimadu, not in my class on the fundamentals of magic."
The students burst into laughter, and Vince, a bit embarrassed, scratched his head sheepishly.
"Alright, let's get back to our topic. What is magic? Until yesterday, I thought of magic as just a tool, no different from the clothes we wear, the food we eat, or the houses we live in—all necessary tools to achieve certain goals."
"So, Teacher Lin, what do you think today?" Fasno, ever the polite one, raised his hand and asked.
"Today? Let's hear what you all think first. How about you, Fasno? As a Level 4 Mage, you must have some insights."
Fasno showed no discomfort at Lin Yuan's counter-question. He smiled and replied, "I think magic is just magic. It's simply an existence, like the Saras above our heads and the Ellis at night. They are all parts of this world. I study magic to understand them, that's all."
"Clever fellow," Lin Yuan muttered under his breath, noting that Fasno's smile hadn't left his face since they first met.
"Now it's your turn, Zona. You've successfully mastered both fire and water magic, so you must have some unique perspectives."
"Magic is a tool. You were right before, Teacher."
"Huh?" Lin Yuan looked at the expressionless Zona, puzzled. The girl with chestnut hair was undoubtedly a genius, but her cold demeanor wasn't going to help her fit in with this class.
After randomly calling on a few more students for their answers, Lin Yuan walked back to the podium to summarize.
"After hearing all these different opinions, it seems none of them are repeated. Magic, it seems, means different things to different people. Whether it's out of interest, for future wealth and power, or even for some other purpose, the bottom line is that everyone here loves magic. Of course, if you didn't love magic, you wouldn't have stood out among all those who wanted to come to Finor from across the continent, nor would you be sitting in this classroom together."
Lin Yuan suddenly grinned mischievously. "Since everyone loves magic, that makes things easier. Tomorrow morning at 6:30 sharp, everyone will gather at the academy's main gate. Class dismissed!"
With that, he didn't wait for the astonished students' reactions and turned to leave the classroom. The class had lasted less than half an hour. Although Finor Magic Academy didn't have a strict regulation on class duration, this was still a bit too short.
It wasn't that Lin Yuan had intended it this way; he had just suddenly come up with a great idea and was eager to prepare for it.
"Hey, Vice-Dean, good day to you," Lin Yuan strode into the vice-dean's office and greeted loudly.
Kapachi was buried in paperwork. Hearing Lin Yuan's shout and glancing at the magical clock on the wall, he asked doubtfully, "Lin, isn't it supposed to be your class time now? Why are you here?"
"Well... I came to ask you something. It's like this..." Lin Yuan leaned in and whispered into Kapachi's ear.
"Well... it's not impossible, but there's no precedent for it," Kapachi hesitated.
"What's the harm in setting a precedent? As long as it doesn't disrupt the academy's normal operations, we're good."
"It won't disrupt the academy, but the students in your class... will they be willing?"
"They have to be willing... oh, no, I mean they are willing. I just announced it, and no one objected."
"Well... alright then."
※※※
Early the next morning, at the academy's main gate.
"Ah... I'm so sleepy."
"Yeah, me too. It's been a long time since I got up this early."
"It's all Teacher Lin's fault. Why did he make us gather so early? I was up late reading last night."
"You stayed up late knowing you had to get up early. You deserved it. But this Teacher Lin is really strange. After two days of teaching, he hasn't taught us anything. Instead, he makes us get up so early. What is he thinking?"
"Who knows? Maybe he's just being eccentric..."
"Shh..."
...
"Ahem..." Lin Yuan coughed lightly and stepped out from behind the gate. His face was a bit flushed. He had overheard the students' discussion. Indeed, he hadn't taught them much in the past two days. That was because he hadn't yet adapted to the teaching here. In time, he would surely...
Never mind, back to the matter at hand.
"Is everyone here? Let me check. Zona, Vince, Natasha, Amy... Huh? Teacher Katusha, why are you here?" Lin Yuan looked at Katusha in surprise, not understanding why she was there.
"I heard you were planning to take the students of Class 3, Grade 1 on some fun outing, so I asked Vice-Dean if I could join," Katusha smiled.
Lin Yuan pulled her aside and whispered, "Come on, be honest. Did that old man send you here on purpose?"
Katusha smiled faintly. "It's not exactly that Vice-Dean sent me. I just heard about it and asked him if I could come along, and he agreed. That's all."
Lin Yuan, of course, didn't believe it was that simple.
"Aren't you supposed to teach water magic? What if you're gone?"
"There's no need to worry about that. Finor is the top magic academy on the continent. We can surely find someone to teach water magic," Katusha glanced at Lin Yuan, then added with a twinkle in her eye, "Besides, Teacher Lin, Vice-Dean is also looking out for you. I'm an 8th-level mage. With me around, the students will be safer, don't you think?"
Lin Yuan had to admit that was true. His outing with the students did carry some risks. Having an additional powerful 8th-level mage would definitely put his mind at ease. What bothered him was that Kapachi hadn't mentioned it yesterday and had insisted on sending Katusha today without even asking for his opinion.
Now that it was done, he couldn't very well send Katusha back. He could only let out a wry smile and return to where the students were.
"Teacher Lin, Teacher Katusha just said you were going to take us on some fun outing. What is it?" As soon as he walked over, a student shouted the question.
Lin Yuan looked at the dozens of expectant eyes in front of him and grinned. "You'll find out soon enough. For now, let's go have breakfast. Our destination is Downing Street, and I'll treat you all."
"Yeah!"
"Teacher Lin for the win!"
Downing Street was the most famous snack street in Winden City. Its breakfast was renowned across the Farinos Continent. Many people made special trips to Winden City just to have a meal there. However, the prices were steep, and most students couldn't afford it. Hearing that Lin Yuan was treating them, the students naturally cheered.
"So let's get going. But let me make this clear: I'll only treat those who get there within 10 minutes. Anyone who arrives later will have to pay for themselves," Lin Yuan paused, then added, "Remember, no carriages and no magic. You have to run there on your own two feet. Anyone who cheats will also pay for themselves."
"Ah..."
From the college gates to Downing Street, it was less than a thousand meters—a distance anyone could sprint in under ten minutes. But these students, raised from childhood to study magic, had barely trained their bodies. The kilometer-and-a-half stretch felt like an impossible ordeal.
"Alright, on the count of three you'll start. Proctor Katyusha here is an 8th-level sorceress—don't even think about cheating. If caught, you're disqualified immediately. Clear?"
"Understood..."
"Three... Two... One... Go!"