Chapter 36

C36: Elemental Attribute Class (1)

Contemplating whether to kill Aidan, I remembered him carefully approaching the werewolf, that stupid act of taking out a crude recovery potion, holding it, and smiling at the cub.

Contemplating Aidan's life or death, I shook my head. If I had to deal with him, I could do it as carefully as possible, but I couldn't completely rule out the situation in which I was suspected.

What happened to this situation where I became a teacher who got caught up in a terrorist attack while riding a train? In the end, it's normal for something completely unexpected to happen.

There is something called the Black Swan Theory. When an event that was completely unpredictable occurs, it is analyzed by fitting the cause through the results, and in fact, it is claimed that there was a precursor to the occurrence of this event and that it could be predicted.

It is said that post-mortem analysis is easy, but pre-investigation is difficult without realizing it.

'More than anything else, I can't touch Aidan even more since he got the president's attention through this incident.'

Of course, I was the one who suggested the president to give them a prize. But this was unavoidable. It cannot be denied that Aidan, Leo, and Tracy were present at the scene at the time.

And in a situation where the president has not yet cast doubt on me, what would happen if I told her to punish Aidan thoroughly? Rather, secretly suggesting that Aidan be rewarded in order to make a good impression was a much better choice for managing my image.

In fact, the president didn't like the aristocratic-oriented atmosphere of the academy, and was satisfied with the appearance of a commoner boy who played a big role this time.

'Besides, Aidan is a commoner, but he also possesses a rare [Unusual] type of magic.'

It is said that his master, who was a wandering wizard, taught him when he was young.

Anyway, Aidan is a guy who knows how to use such unusual magic, so he has subtly attracted the president's attention. Touching Aidan is risky and suspicious.

'How about using Aidan?'

The same goes for the [Unusual] type magic he possesses, but I had a strong feeling that it was going to bring all kinds of events. If it were Aidan, I thought that he might even face the Black Dawn hiding in Theon.

'It's not bad, but I'll just keep the possibility open.'

I don't even know what Aidan thinks of me after that night, and no matter how much he learns unusual magic, he's still only a student.

It would be better to watch him the next few days, or weeks. It will not be too late to make a judgment at that time.

'For now, let's focus on recovery.'

The voice had completely disappeared, but I still ached from the after-effects. I'm worried about tomorrow's class, but based on my current situation, I'm sure I will be completely restored by tomorrow morning.

I thought so and closed my eyes.

* * *

Trina Ryanhowl frowned at the burnt marks. The site that used to be an abandoned factory was now left with nothing but black traces of what used to be a factory.

"Captain. What can we check from this condition?"

"No matter how you look at it, it looks like everything is burned out."

As the two lieutenants said, the factory was completely burned down, leaving no clues or anything about the incident.

Trina tapped the ashes with the tip of her boots.

"It's strange. A fire breaks out in an abandoned factory where no one has come and everything in this area is burned down."

"Did they burn everything fearing that they might be discovered?"

At the time she heard the news of the fire, she vaguely assumed it was something like this but when she saw the ruins where there was actually nothing left, she felt a bitter taste.

Terry patted her chin to organize her thoughts.

'The death of Bellbot Rickson, the unidentified thief, the werewolf and the abandoned factory fire all occurred on the same day.'

All the pieces of the puzzle are in place, and a picture is drawn to some extent. However, there was a big hole in the center of the puzzle, which is the most important part. The culprit behind the incidents was unknown.

"Lloyd, have there been any other incidents besides these?"

At Trina's question, Lloyd pushed her rimless glasses over his face to the tip of his finger.

Lloyd, whose hair was also neatly tucked into a pomade, had an appearance that was closer to a scholar rather than a knight. In fact, his main tasks were related to obtaining and organizing information and identifying incidents.

"There was nothing special, but."

"But"

"I heard the news that a werewolf also appeared in Theon Academy."

"Theon Academy?"

Not even Trina knew about Theon.

The Empire's best educational institution that trains wizards established with the full support of several kingdoms had a history and tradition that spanned hundreds of years.

In particular, it was famous not only for the aristocrats and wealthy people, but also for the commoners and the lower classes, where anyone with ability was given equal opportunity.

It is within the Empire, but a place that is freer from the influence of the Empire than anyone else.

A werewolf appeared in such a place?

"Yes. It appears that the Werewolf of Leathervelk entered through the sewer pipe."

"It must have been a big deal for the students."

"Fortunately, there were no fatalities. There were a couple of wounded, but none of them were life-threatening."

"What happened to the werewolf hiding in Theon?"

"A teacher killed it."

"As expected of Theon's teachers. What about the werewolf body?"

"He burned it."

"Burned?"

For a moment, she thought that the teacher was related to the factory fire, but this must be an overestimation. In the first place, fire the elemental magic that can effectively defeat monsters like Cryptids.

"Hmm....Theon......."

"Would you like to go to Theon? We might get some clues that we might not be aware of."

At Lloyd's question, Trina shook her head.

"Not yet. For now, let's focus on gathering clues in this area."

However, it seemed necessary to keep in mind that there might be something in Theon.

"Someday I will find out."

Because she had to uproot the beings who are secretly hiding in the Empire and restore national stability. That was the mission and significance of the Nightcrawler Knights.

* * *

The classroom where Rudger's manifestation system magic is taught.

The students who had gathered there kept talking among themselves about what had happened. Naturally, the topic of conversation was werewolves and Rudger.

"Did Mr. Rudger really hunt werewolves?"

"He said he was a soldier. I heard that he also had a history of subjugating Cryptids, which is probably true."

"Wow. From the first day, I thought he was no joke, but it was true."

In addition, Rudger stopped the fight between Rene, a commoner, and Dunema Rommli, a nobleman. Even before the start of his first day of classes, the evaluation of Rudger among students was not so good.

As Rudger's past activities were revealed, the evaluation improved, but there were still negative views. But the groundbreaking magic source code that he showed in his first class caused the students' evaluation of Rudger to change.

The fact that Rudger was a new teacher and a fallen aristocrat alone was not only disappointing to the students who did not attend his classes, but there were also some students who tried to change their lecture hours and enter Rudger's class.

It is said that even 4th graders, who will be busy preparing for graduation, applied for lectures late and were rejected. Even teachers were interested in Rudger's source code magic, and rumors have spread that the news has also reached the tower.

Now, among the first and second graders, the name Rudger Chelici was known by everyone.

'Mr. Rudger's name is often mentioned.'

Erendir, who was quietly listening to the conversation about Rudger, recalled the appearance of Rudger that day. The man who spoke coldly about her princess identity. No, that attitude, which seemed to be oddly hostile to her, was definitely upsetting. No matter how wrong she is, what could she say?

'Besides, he was kind to junior Rene.'

At that time, the situation was so urgent that it passed, but now that she thought about it, something was wrong. There are people in the world who ignore a princess and take care of the commoners. Isn't it usually the other way around?

Of course, that thought came to her as she watched the scene where Rudger was fighting a werewolf under the moonlit night. Just then, the back door of the classroom opened and a female student entered. Ash gray short hair with relatively long side hair, it was Rene.

She shuddered at the burdensome gazes of some students who turned to her. Because of an incident with Dunema at the beginning of the school year, the aristocratic students hated Rene. As a result, she could not even make friends and was always alone.

Seeing the almost full seats in the classroom, Rene was forced to go to the only empty seat in the end, the most burdensome place next to princess Erendir.

"Hi junior Rene, how have you been since that day?"

"Erendira-senpai."

Even aristocrats who wanted to make a connection with the princess and avoided the burden, and Rene, a commoner, was given the seat. As Erendir greeted her warmly, the gaze of some students had no choice but to become mysterious.

What is that commoner doing now? When did she become so close with the princes?

Rene had a hard time raising her head as the gazes on her increased.

'Why are you only doing this to me?'

It was her honest feelings that she didn't want to get involved with anything. What happened at the beginning of the semester was just an accident.

After she did something wrong, Dunema was punished accordingly, so she didn't want to say anything more.

Suddenly the front door of the classroom opened and all the students shut their mouths.

"......."

"......."

They all stood with their backs straight and stared at Rudger entering through the open door.

The man was the same as they had seen the first day. His movements were restrained, and his steps silent. The only difference was his clothes. He wore a black frock coat and a silk hat over a gray suit on the first day, but this time he had a long white coat with a black suit on the inside.

He wore a red tie and a long wine-colored scarf around his neck and didn't wear a hat. His sharp gaze and sculptural appearance were clearly revealed.

The students were drawn to the sight and some of the girls stared blankly at Rudger with hazy eyes.

"Class begins."

At the same time as his words, the pile of papers that Rudger had brought scattered in the air. A total of 80 sheets of paper were blown away by the wind and landed naturally on the students' desks. It was a handout printed on a copy machine with the content to be taught today.

"Today, I will explain the basics and principle of <elemental attribute>, which is one of the specialties of the manifestation system."

<Elemental attribute >, one of the four specializations of the manifestation system. It is the most important field for wizards, and it was also the most popular specialization that most people think of when they hear the word 'magic'.

Even though magic has developed in various directions, children still think of magic that evokes fire, water, ice and wind but that was just the basics that most freshmen who have just entered Theon have learned.

When it comes to re-learning it, the students who were expecting a unique class were somewhat disappointed.

"But this alone will not satisfy your passion and greed for learning. So today I am going to teach you a new method."

"New method?"

When the students were all puzzled, some who had already taken the advanced course noticed what Rudger was trying to do.

"A way to increase the power of the elements that you can use from a minimum of 20% to a maximum of 80%."

"Is there such a thing?"

"How is it?"

Rudger asked, scanning the classroom.

"Are you interested now?"