The Beginning After The End

Pondering what the director had said, I just sat there, my eyes blankly staring at something off in the distance . Like she'd mentioned, there was no real benefit for her to hire me as a professor, which is why I found it so suspicious . It was so ingrained in me to be wary of other people's motivations no matter who they were . I guess as a figure of authority and power, you naturally become suspicious of everyone around you, which was why I couldn't fathom why she'd asked me to do this .

Practical Mana Manipulation was a class that didn't have any extra work to grade, which would make it even easier for me to just teach the class . Even if it wasn't easier, it would help build a good position for myself and would be a lot more interesting . Seeing as how I probably couldn't escape attention from the students anyway, I might as well do things a bit differently . Of course, I didn't plan on revealing my full set of skills to anyone just yet, but I didn't see the point in trying to be completely inconspicuous anymore, especially after today .

"…Arthur?" I snapped out of my thoughts to see that Director Goodsky was looking at me with a rather worried expression .

"Ah, yes . Although I'm not sure how competent I'd be in that kind of role, I'd like to try my hand at being a professor . " I looked over the document stating my duties and responsibilities as a teacher .

"I'm sure you'll do an excellent job," she smiled .

Looking at her, I asked, "Were there any other classes that Professor Geist taught besides mine?"

"Fortunately, no . We hired him this year after he retired from being an adventurer . For this semester, the other professors and I decided to only have him teach one class, as a sort of test run . " She shook her head at the pitiful results he'd produced .

"Before I sign, I have one last question," I stated as I read over the final paragraph of the document .

"Go on," she urged .

"Wouldn't it be counterintuitive that I'm not allowed to hurt students while being part of the disciplinary committee?" I quizzed .

"Ah, good question . The 'not hurting students' rule is for inside the classroom . While the situation is always investigated for every case, as long as it is for the safety of other students, such as using a certain degree of force to quell a fight or suppress a rampant student . As for outside of class, during your disciplinary committee duties, I'll trust your judgment on that . "

With that, I nodded and signed the document . "I expect great things from you, Arthur, and I'm sure I'm not the only one . " She gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before ushering me to go eat lunch .

CYNTHIA GOODSKY'S POV:

"Whew, what is it about that boy that always keeps me on my toes? Negotiating with him is more heart-straining than dealing with the royal families . What is your take on him, Avier?" My bond gently landed on the arm I held out, his intelligent eyes pondering what to say .

"He is… different . Do not view Arthur Leywin as a child . Whether it is mental acuity or emotional maturity, there is much more to him than the eye can see . " The clear words that came out of my bond didn't seem natural from the movement of his beak .

"What makes you so certain?" I leaned back in my seat .

"His bond . That white fox's true form should be that of a dragon…"

I bolted up from my seat . "What?! How is that possible? How do you know?"

"It is because we are of the same kind . I may be of a lesser species of dragons but Wyverns are still the dragons' descendents . " Avier went back to grooming himself .

"Are you saying that bond of his is more powerful than you?" I couldn't help but be utterly baffled by all of this . "No, that child has yet to mature . She shouldn't have hatched more than a few of years ago . However, I suspect that when she does develop, my strength will not be even comparable to hers," he stated matter-of-factly .

I couldn't imagine anyone stronger than Avier . The fact that he was my bond was only because he grew a liking to me when I happened by him, deep in the Beast Glades . He usually did his own thing and I didn't dare treat him like pet, but the fact that Arthur's bond was actually a dragon and that it seemed so subservient to him made me wonder what that boy really was .

"Do not make him your enemy, Cynthia . If treated with trust and respect, he will become the greatest ally, but if betrayed, he may be the cause of this continent's demise . " With that warning, Avier flew off .

I leaned forward in my seat, rubbing my throbbing temples as I recalled what happened a couple hours back .

___________________________________________

"Director Goodsky, I request that you remove the boy named Arthur Leywin from my class!" One of my professors slammed the door open as he stormed inside .

"Professor Geist, you look shaken up . What's wrong?" I was taken by surprise by the sudden intrusion .

"The boy has no respect for me, his professor! Please do not listen to any of the rumors that you may hear . I'm being framed!" The man's wide face was filled with desperation and anger .

Two brisk knocks sounded from the door .

"Please come in," I stated . At least this person had the decency to knock .

"I apologize for the intrusion, Director . " The petite Kathyln gave me a small bow before walking up next to the now pale-faced professor .

"What's the matter, Kathyln?" I leaned forward, taking a look at the both of them .

"This sorry excuse for a professor needs to be fired," she said expressionlessly .

Professor Geist grabbed Kathyln by the arm, pulling her close to him . "How dare you! 'Sorry excuse'? Me?"

"You dare touch me with your filthy hand?" Her expression didn't change, and she somehow seemed to be looking down at Professor Geist .

"Professor, I suggest you immediately remove your hand or else, whatever the case may be, it will not be in your favor . " I stood up at this point . Using force to get your point across was deplorable .

He immediately let go of Kathyln's arm before talking . "Ahem… as I was saying . Please do not take to heart the rumors that you may hear . I swear that this was all a misunderstanding and that I'm being framed . "

"I have not yet heard of any rumors . Do you mind indulging me, Kathyln?"

"This scum dares to pick on students to feel good about himself . Even ignoring the fact that he utterly humiliated Feyrith, if Arthur didn't step in, I would've…" Without finishing her last sentence, she glared at the professor .

I turned to Professor Geist, who was desperately denying this accusation . "I'm telling you that it was a misunderstanding . I simply wanted to demonstrate in front of the class the level the disciplinary committee is at; you know, for the other students to know . "

"If that was simply what this was, then there would be no reason for you to come into my room and insist that Arthur be removed from your class . " I couldn't help but sigh internally at the thought of handling this dilemma . I turned to my secretary, who had peeked in to see what the fuss was about . "Tricia, please gather information for me from Professor Geist's class regarding this incident . "

My brunette-haired assistant bowed before running off .

"Now, please be patient as this is sorted out . I will do my best to be just about this . " Before I was able to dismiss the two of them, Princess Kathyln walked up to me .

"I trust that you will handle this fairly, but just know that, if it wasn't for Arthur, you wouldn't be handling this professor's ethic case but a student's injury case . MY injury case . I bid you good day, Director . " She turned around, completely ignoring Professor Geist, who was taken aback by her last statement .

_____________________________________________

Recalling the testimonies I received, it seemed like Arthur completely overwhelmed Professor Geist . While this professor's personality never did sit well with me, his skills were more than enough to teach a basic mana manipulation class . Even while being a light yellow core augmenter, and a quite capable one at that, he had been completely defeated by a twelve-year-old .

I let out a sigh in regret that I didn't measure the level of the boy's core while he was just here .

A twelve-year-old defeating a veteran adventurer using only his wind and earth attribute mana, which I remembered him mentioning were his weakest, and who also had a bond with a dragon . What more was there to him? If I asked, would he tell me?

ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:

"Art! Over here!" I saw Elijah waving at me across the dining hall .

I noticed he was sitting with a girl when I came over .

"This is Charlotte! Charlotte, this is my best friend and roommate, Arthur Leywin . " He stood up, gesturing the both of us to shake hands .

"Hi Arthur, I've heard a lot about you . " She gave a coquettish smile while twiddling her hair .

"Mmm… It's a pleasure," I responded brusquely before focusing my attention on Elijah .

"How were your classes?" I asked my friend while I fed Sylvie a piece of broccoli .

"Kyu!" 'Noo!'

"Aww~ your little mana beast is so cute! Do you mind if I pet it?" Charlotte got awfully close to me, almost leaning on me while she reached for the top of my head .

But before she got the chance to pet the growling Sylvie, I grabbed her wrist .

"Sorry, she doesn't like strangers touching her . " I looked her dead in the eye, making her blush by how close her face was to mine .

"O-Oh, I'm sorry!" She shrank back, focusing back on the food . Seemingly ignorant of what was happening, Elijah responded, his mouth full of food . "Classes were great! I especially like my basic chain-casting class and mana utilization class . Although for mana utilization, I feel like the professor that's teaching is going over the exact same thing that you told me to do . By the way, I met Charlotte in my chain-casting class! She's really good!"

"Haha, please, you're making me blush . " Charlotte put on a bashful face as she squirmed in her seat .

"…"

"Anyways, how were your classes?! I heard you already beat up a professor! What happened to keeping it cool, man?" He gave me a smirk while he pointed his fork at me accusingly .

"Yeah, about that, so I ended up becoming a professor for that class," I responded coolly, shoving a piece of meat in my mouth while avoiding Sylvie's attempts at trying to steal it .

Elijah spluttered the food he was chewing towards us as I instinctively leaned back, trying to get out of range .

The girl named Charlotte screamed as received the brunt of my friend's attack .

"Elijah, that's gross . " I wiped some of the stray food particles that I couldn't manage to avoid from my face .

"Sorry, sorry…what? You're going to be a professor?" He wiped his mouth before trying to wipe Charlotte's face, but Charlotte rejected the offer .

"Mm… I ended up replacing the professor that was teaching the class . So you may now call me Professor Leywin . " I smirked at my friend .

"Professor, my ass . But maybe I should ditch my class sometime and go to yours . It'd be interesting to see you teach," he retorted .

As we continued talking, I grew annoyed at the flirting attempts from Charlotte, and even more annoyed at the fact that Elijah was clueless about it all .

"Oh yeah! Charlotte and I were going to go to Downtown Academy to do some shopping . Do you want to join us?" he asked nonchalantly .

"Yes! Arthur, you should join us . " She leaned in closer again . There was a small strip on the corner of the academy where fancy restaurants and cafes, along with shopping booths were located for the rich nobles to spoil themselves . With that, you could imagine how enormous the academy was .

"I have three more classes, remember? I'm taking the upper division classes after lunch . "

Elijah just shrugged at this . "Oh yeah, I forgot . No big deal! I guess it'll just be me and Charlotte . "

Charlotte smiled awkwardly at Elijah's happy-go-lucky face and responded, "Ah, sorry . I totally forgot that I had other plans today . I'm so sorry! We should definitely go next time, though! All three of us! Bye . "

With that, she walked off, leaving my friend and I alone at the small dining table .

"I guess she was really busy . " Elijah looked a bit disappointed .

Oh, Elijah…

Leaning close, he asked me in a serious voice . "So, what did you think about Charlotte? She's pretty, huh?! Do you think I have a shot with her?"

Oh, Elijah…

"I think you can do better, buddy . " I patted my clueless friend on the back as we walked out of the dining hall together .

Elijah decided that he wanted to go to the library after his plans suddenly washed away, so after walking him there, I made my way to my first upper division class, Team-Fighting Mechanics I .

The classroom, or should say field, to be more accurate, was on the other side of the academy, where all of the upper division classes were held .

The "room" consisted of a huge grass field with several obstacles placed randomly, encased by high walls with runes engraved in them . On top of one of the walls was a separate little room protected by a glass encasing . I assumed that the room was used as a viewing platform for the rest of the students .

I saw some students had arrived before me, talking to each other, and I immediately noticed some familiar figures .

"Ah! I didn't know you'd be in an upper division class, Arthur . " Curtis Glayder waved at me as soon as he realized who I was . Grawder, Curtis' bond, was lying with his eyes closed right next to him .

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd have a class with you . Please take care of me . " I grasped his hand .

"Good to see you again, Arthur!" Claire Bladeheart put her arm around my neck while smiling brightly . "We have to do our best not to embarrass the disciplinary committee, right?"

"Haha, I'll do my best . Is this everyone that's going to be in the class?" I replied, turning back to Curtis . I heard that this class had a fairly small number of students, and that it was one of the most popular classes .

"Hmmm, there should be a few… ah, there they come!" Looking back, I saw several more students and I couldn't help but smile wearily .

"Princess Tessia is as beautiful as always, isn't she?" I heard one of the students murmur .

Walking this way amongst the small group of students was Tessia Eralith, my childhood friend, and Clive Graves, the student vice president .

She noticed me and I could tell she was about to greet me but she noticed that I had an older woman's arm around my neck, so instead, she shot me a glare before snapping her head away, pouting .

Clive, oblivious of why she got angry, straight up gave me the death glare as his narrow eyes became even sharper .

"Good afternoon, Princess Tessia!" Not bothering to remove the arm around my neck, Claire smiled and waves at Tess .

"Pleasure," she responded, her expression fierce .

After she walked past us, she secretly snuck in a pinch to my side, jolting me up .

"Hmm, I wonder if she's in a bad mood today," Claire pondered .

It's because of you!

As Claire removed her arm from my neck, I turned to see someone behind us in the back of the group . As soon as I recognized who it was, my face started burning in anger while my clenched fists turned white . It was Lucas Wykes .