Academy's Undercover Professor

ACADEMY’S UNDERCOVER PROFESSOR

Chapter 37 – Elemental Properties Class (2)

Some of the students looked puzzled.

It was also a bad thing to raise their curiosity and not satisfy it right away.

Ludger pointed to a student who was sitting in the front row.

“The student in the front row there. Are you Anthony?”

“Yes, yes! You are right. Professor!”

“Which one of the existing element properties can you use?”

“Th-that… water, ice, and plant.”

“Three, huh. It’s moderate. What are you most confident about among those three?”

“Well, it’s the ice element.”

“Then can you implement and showcase your ice element here?”

Listening to Ludger’s words, Anthony said yes and floated a sphere of mana above his right hand.

Basic mana release had begun, and the property of mana was genuinely embedded in it.

—A white sphere.

To be exact, it was akin to a snowball that was tightly squeezed in his hands.

“That’s normal.”

“Th-thank you.”

“It means that it’s insignificant.”

“…”

Anthony’s face sank sullenly as he listened to Ludger’s words.

“Look how I do it.”

Ludger floated a sphere of mana in his right hand.

It was a lump of ice that was similar to the one that Anthony had made.

It was very much the same as Anthony’s ice property, but something was different.

No, it was still changing.

“Can you feel it?”

The students did not respond to Ludger’s question—they were just staring at the lump of ice that he created as if they were being possessed.

If Anthony made a big snowflake…

The element that Ludger launched was much colder and sharper than that, and it felt like perpetual snow that was lying deep underneath the northern continent.

Ludger’s element was not a mere white round ice, but it was more strongly condensed and took the form of snow crystals.

The blue crystal emitted cold air around it, causing the illusion that the classroom itself would be covered with ice.

“Can you tell the difference?”

Ludger dispelled the crystal.

But the students still stared blankly at the place where the element had existed.

It was the same ice element, but Ludger’s and Anthony’s were very different.

Was it because he had put in more mana?

It was not like that… It was different in the efficiency itself.

And that’s what Ludger was going to teach them that day.

“Something’s very different, right?”

“How on earth did he do that?”

The atmosphere in the classroom gradually heated up.

They didn’t understand well when they only heard his explanation, but when they saw the magic in person, they became greedy.

There was no wizard who would refuse the chance to improve their magic skills.

“Half of the two hours of today’s class will be spent learning basic theories, and for the rest of the time, you will learn how to increase the efficiency in casting the element properties that I teach you.”

All the students focused on Ludger’s words with sparkling eyes.

“Before we go into the principle of spell casting, let’s start with the basic theorem of Elemental Properties. It’s in the content of the papers that I shared with you.”

All the students looked through what was written in the handout.

“Element properties are so specialized in history and pedigree that they appeared immediately after the release of mana in spell casting.”

Magic could only be used with the existence of mana.

And primal magic, the very primitive form of magic, was based on the casting of this mana.

That was the first specialization of spell casting.

It was Mana Release.

What developed from the Mana Release was the Elemental Property, which contained natural elements in mana.

“Now it has become a part of spell casting, but in the early primitive forms of magic, element properties were called the foundations of all magic.”

Ludger said so and floated four mana spheres into the air.

“At present, natural science has established itself as expressing the power of the system to suit one’s own magic, but when wizards were casting the element properties in the beginning stages, the emphasis was on the relationship between nature and humans.”

Each sphere of mana began to form a property.

Each was fire, water, earth, and wind.

“These are the first four properties. Compared to the current age where the number of properties has increased to more than 10, the number 4 is too little and simple. But we can’t just view these as mere properties. These four elements don’t mean pure elements, but they contain the symbolism of the people’s mindset back then.”

Earth was hard and strong.

Fire was powerful and destructive.

Water was soft and compliant.

Wind was freedom.

The students listened to Ludger as if they were being possessed.

Theoretical lessons about the origin of magic should have just been boring.

But no one thought it was boring.

‘Huh, I already know everything.’

Flora was unhappy with it.

As a person who knew all the origins of the element properties anyway, it was boring having to listen to what she already knew all over again.

However, even though she knew it, her pride was hurt as she saw herself secretly attracted to Ludger’s voice.

‘Really. What’s so interesting about his explanation?’

“Since then, elemental properties have evolved and have begun to be analyzed with rational eyes rather than some natural symbols. The four elements increased to ten elements afterwards.”

‘He keeps going on and on about what I already know.’

“There was also a conflict between the mystical school that valued tradition and the natural science school that tried to apply modern science to further develop the element properties.”

‘He just has a handsome face and a good voice.’

“In the end, however, we have no choice but to adapt to the changes in the world. Not by the teachings of the school, but by where we should use this natural magic.”

‘…But it’s still worth listening to.’

Ludger, who dispersed the mana that had been floating in the air, glanced through the classroom and asked a question.

“Do any of the students here know for what purpose the magic of element property has developed so rapidly for? I’ll give five award points to the person who gets it right. The example is the flame element.”

The students immediately raised their hands.

Ludger pointed to the students one by one.

“There.”

“It’s to light up the fire and drive out the darkness.”

“Wrong. Next.”

“To burn and cultivate the forest.”

“It’s cliche. Next.”

“Oh, hmm. Is it to eliminate the primal fear of human beings that was symbolized with darkness?”

“You’d be better suited to writing poetry.”

Laughter broke out among the students.

Flora Lumos, who couldn’t stand hearing those answers any longer, raised her hand proudly.

“Right. Flora Lumos.”

“It was to burn something to death.”

At that moment…

There was silence in the classroom.

Flora’s words were that straightforward and shocking.

“Can you tell me exactly what that something is?”

“Of course it’s another person.”

The students rolled their eyes while being speechless. 

Everyone there had the same thoughts: Ludger would give Flora a strong rebuke.

But Ludger nodded instead.

“Correct. Flora Lumos. You receive five award points.”

‘For real?’

Flora had acted arrogantly as if saying that it was nothing.

The students’ eyes were staring at Flora before heading back to Ludger.

* * *

* * *

They stared at Ludger as if asking if it was true, so Ludger opened his mouth.

“What did element property magic develop for? It’s to slaughter.”

After civilization was established and formed its shape, magic had continued to develop.

As the hierarchy was divided, the higher the magic hierarchy was, the stronger and higher the power to kill others.

Yes.

It was ‘the power to kill’.

“The first target was monsters, but even after the monsters were driven out beyond the backbone of the giant, to the shadow of the continent, magic was still getting stronger. Why, huh? Because of Cryptids? However, there are very few Cryptids wandering around. So why is magic getting stronger and sharper?”

It was because of human beings.

Magic was developed to kill human beings.

War. Colonial rule. Violence.

That was the driving force behind the further reinforcement and development of magic.

This was the era of peace where the war disappeared.

So for the students who were learning magic, those words were taboo.

To compare magic with its history and tradition to murder people…

Ludger was like telling everyone there that they were a potential killer.

But that was a fact without question.

It was also a reality that the tradition-oriented wizards persistently denied.

“Fire is to burn people, water is to drown people to death, wind is to cut something, and electricity is to electrocute someone. The magic that developed with human history grew on the back of the driving force of war and slaughter. That is absolutely undeniable. Yes. After all, this element property that we learn is from the Tower of Babel that was built on the blood of countless lives and corpses.”

He took a breather for a while.

Then Ludger continued his words.

“You who learn that subject are the executioners of the slaughter.”

Gulp.

The classroom was so silent that the sound of someone swallowing saliva rang loudly in it.

As such, the topic that Ludger talked about was sensitive to all wizards and not only to the students who were learning magic.

“But we can change it.”

And Ludger’s voice that was heard…

Gently blanketed the whole classroom.

“There is no guarantee that we will do the same thing right now and in the future just because we did it in the past. Now that the world has changed, fire is not used to burn something. Take a look at the back pages of the handouts that I handed out to you.”

Come to think of it, there were handouts that he handed out as soon as he entered the classroom. They were so focused on the teachings that Ludger gave that they forgot about the handouts.

The students hurriedly flipped over the handouts and examined the contents of the back page.

There were crude photographs of various constructions that were printed in ink.

However, there was no difficulty in recognizing the photographs themselves.

“Fire is not just used to burn, but it also provides energy with its burning power. In the cold, fire is a symbol of survival, not destruction.”

The flowing water spun a waterwheel, and the river where the water gathered became a passage for countless boats to travel.

Winds provided wind power to the spinning windmills, and the electricity itself replenished energy and emitted light.

Water and ice washed away the heat in the burning desert.

“The meaning of element properties depends on how we behave in the future after learning it.”

Ludger’s voice echoed in the classroom.

—To build something, not to destroy something.

—Not to get rid of the world, but to lead it in a better direction.

“That’s the basic mindset you have to learn before you study element property.”

No one dared to speak recklessly.

It felt like a big wave came in all at once and swallowed their bodies whole.

But what they felt was not displeasure but rather refreshingness, as if something that had been weighing their head was taken off.

Even Flora Lumos stared at Ludger with her mouth wide open.

Although they were obviously just flattering words…

The feeling of that approach was different because Ludger did it himself and not anyone else.

“Use your strength for a better world. My teaching of element property class is for that.”

Ludger smiled at the students and stepped down from the podium.

“We will now begin to genuinely implement the element property.”

The students gathered in the classroom began to implement the elements.

What elements they were specialized in were basically discovered from the time they first learned magic.

The students who had been taught about magic even before they entered Sören did not have difficulty in launching their mana and adding their own elements into it.

Ludger slowly walked around the classroom and pointed out the elemental spheres made by the students one by one.

“Joseph. Focus on the flow of your mana a little more. The element itself is fine, but the mana that you released is immature. Are you a Sören sophomore? Don’t lose your concentration.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Irena Caromen. Are you casting a plant element right now? Plant properties must have the freshness of nature itself, but yours seems to be seen like decaying leaves on the ground in late autumn. Get your senses together. Make sure you have a strong image of the sprouts that have just penetrated the ground in your mind.”

“Yes…”

Ludger never spoke kindly. Every time he said a word, the students’ faces collapsed ghastly.

But what was more unfair to them was that Ludger was not wrong at all.

More than that, his advice was far too accurate.

It might have sounded harsh, but Ludger was looking properly at the students’ weaknesses and at the same time provided a method on how to make them better.

At first, he seemed to hurt their pride, but if they reflected on what he said, they would find out that he was not just nitpicking their flaws.

However, it was true that Ludger’s Spartan style teaching itself was frightening to the young students.

Whenever Ludger headed their way, the students were not able to properly implement their element property because they were too focused on Ludger.

Whenever that happened, Ludger’s nagging could be heard.

“What are you doing now? Do you see magic as a joke? If you can’t stay focused, it’s not worth it for you to take my class.”

“I… I’m sorry!”

“Pay more attention to your magic before you speak. Close your ears and keep your eyes on what’s in front of you.”

“Yes, yes!”

One by one…

Whenever Ludger passed by, the students’ murmur spread like a ripple, forming a harmony.

Aidan, the commoner boy who took Ludger’s class, sweated as he watched the professor getting closer to him.

Because…

That was because Aidan had yet to be able to express a proper element property.

Stop.

Ludger stopped in front of Aidan.

His sharp eyes turned to Aidan, who couldn’t do anything.

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