Morning. Karion strolled along the tree-lined path of Red Leaf Academy. Walking from the faculty dorms to the cafeteria, he admired the architecture.
Palos Magic School has 21 subordinate colleges. Red Leaf is the smallest. Despite being the runt of the litter, it had all the facilities: Classroom Building, Outdoor Training Ground, Indoor Gym, Dorms, Cafeteria, etc. But everything was mini-sized. The main building was only three stories high.
Decades ago, Red Leaf had over 500 students. Now? 62 students left. Staff? Besides the missing Dean, just Karion (Level 1 Crook) and an old lady who took care of everyone.
"Good morning, Mrs. Fines."
Entering the cafeteria, Karion saw a lady in her early sixties distributing bread. She was slightly chubby, wearing a checkered headscarf and a dark brown apron. The wrinkles on her face radiated kindness. She was the Old Dean's wife. Not a mage, not on the payroll, just a Wholesome NPC.
"Good morning, Karion." Mrs. Fines smiled. "You look like a zombie. Didn't sleep well?"
Karion rubbed his nose. "I'm fine, I'm fine..."
"Liar." Mrs. Fines shook her head. "Since you were a kid, you always rub your nose when you lie."
Karion pulled his hand away instantly. "Nothing escapes your eyes."
"You brat." She laughed. "I watched you grow up. I know exactly what kind of person you are. You pulled an all-nighter doing research again, didn't you?"
"Uh..." Karion scratched his head, laughing awkwardly. Caught in 4K.
Mrs. Fines handed him a glass of milk. "Just take care of yourself. The old man is gone, so Red Leaf depends on you. Don't burn out."
Karion sat down and took a sip. "Don't worry. The Dean is definitely fine. I'll pace myself."
Mrs. Fines knew he was comforting her, so she didn't push it. She continued pouring milk into 60+ cups. "You're not young anymore. Time to think about getting married."
Pfft. Karion nearly choked on his milk. "Let's... talk about that later... much later..."
Soon, a group of students in red-collared black robes filed in. "Good morning, Teacher!" The kids greeted Karion and sat down to eat.
The cafeteria could hold hundreds, but now it felt empty with only 60 people. Still, thanks to the daily cleaning rotation, it was spotless.
After breakfast, Karion announced: "Class, lectures resume today. Everyone gather at the Indoor Training Ground later."
"Teacher, are you okay now?" A 15-year-old boy with a buzz cut asked worriedly.
A week ago, Karion collapsed from stress due to the school's potential closure. Classes had been suspended since then.
Karion nodded at the boy. "Don't worry, Jack. I'm fully recovered. HP restored."
Jack was dark-skinned, honest-looking, and sunny. Among the 62 students, Mia was the Big Sister, and Jack was the Big Brother. Most of these kids were orphans adopted by the Old Dean. The youngest was only five. Even with zero talent, the Dean never gave up on them. Karion was the same. To them, this wasn't a school. It was Home.
Indoor Training Ground.
The students sat on their mats, looking at Karion expectantly.
"Today's lesson is basic Dark Element Meditation. You all remember the drill, right?"
As he spoke, Karion triggered a Dark Elemental Coin in his palm. He throttled the output so the mana density was just a few times higher than normal. For normal students, too much Dark Element is bad. It can mess with your mind (Sanity debuff).
"Yes!" The 60+ students answered in unison. "Embrace the Shadows, Keep your Mind!"
"Good. Begin!"
Mia, sitting in the back, closed her eyes. She immediately felt the mana spike. She knew the Teacher was using his "Magic Tool" again. But she kept her mouth shut. Snitches get stitches.
A few minutes later, a 10-year-old boy opened his eyes, excited. "I feel it! I feel it!"
"Shh!" Karion signaled him to be quiet. "Good job, Ale. Keep grinding. Try to open your channel soon."
Ale nodded vigorously and went back to meditating. Soon, other students started sensing the Dark Element. They didn't shout, but their faces lit up. Some had been stuck for years. Today was their breakthrough.
"Embrace the Shadows, Keep your Mind!" Karion walked among them, reminding them to stay focused. Dark magic is edgy; don't let the edge cut you.
Two hours later, the coin ran out. Class dismissed.
"Mia, come with me to the Outdoor Training Ground." Time for private tutoring.
Outdoor Training Ground.
"Today, we start practicing Multi-Element Magic Circles." Karion handed her three documents.
"Tier-1 [Wind Barrier]." "Tier-1 [Wind Repulsion]." "Tier-1 [Wind Blade]."
"All three use a mix of Wind and Dark elements. Practice them all today."
Mia was shocked. "Teacher, three spells at once? Isn't that rushing it?" She just became a Magister yesterday. Practicing one is hard enough; three is Speedrun mode.
Karion shook his head. "Nope. The logic is the same, the runes are similar. The only difference is the Elemental Ratio. Try [Wind Barrier] first."
Mia reviewed the notes. Minutes later, she opened her left hand and started drawing the runes. Hum. A cyan circle appeared... and then crashed. Poof. Just a breeze messed up her hair.
"Too much Wind," Karion critiqued.
Mia blushed at the rookie mistake. She adjusted the ratio and tried again. After four or five tries, she stabilized the circle. A wind wall formed around her.
"Good. Spam it until it's solid. Then we move to the next one."
Karion couldn't cast, but his theoretical knowledge was encyclopedic. He coached her through every detail. They grinded all day until evening. Mia finally managed to cast a small tornado. Now, she just needed to practice 50 times a day until it became muscle memory.
Evening.
Exhausted, Karion finished dinner and took a hot shower. He hadn't slept for 36 hours. He was dead on his feet.
He changed into pajamas and flopped onto his bed. The pillow felt like heaven. This is the life...
He closed his eyes, drifting into bliss.
But a few minutes later, his brain rebooted. He suddenly remembered what he forgot this morning.
ERROR 404: WILL TO LIVE NOT FOUND.
He sat up in bed like a corpse rising from the grave, clutching his face in horror.
"I HAVEN'T WRITTEN THE 10,000-WORD APOLOGY LETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!"