Chapter 197: I Will Make You Apologize!

Chapter 197

I Will Make You Apologize!

As Nara feared, her power had dropped to mid-level 1. For other students, this would seem normal since they had awakened their powers using potions. Training to reach mid-level 1 would be considered a good achievement, given that they still had 3 more years to train and potentially reach level 3. But it was different for Nara...

She was a scholarship student whose power had awakened on its own. In everyone’s belief, even she hadn’t had any training...her power had already awakened. In theory, her condition should be similar to Ellie’s, right? Ellie’s power had awakened at mid-to-high level 2, so it shouldn’t have declined even without training. Otherwise, how could scholarship students be considered more special than others?

They received scholarships and could study without paying fees because the institute believed they were valuable seedlings, right? So...what was going on now?

This situation sparked widespread debate among both professors and students. They all wondered about this. It seemed that only Ellie and Professor Lucien weren’t surprised by Nara’s results.

Ellie had known since Nara tried to save money and had stolen money from the village chief. Meanwhile, Professor Lucien wasn’t a fool. He was the Sage, a strong protagonist. Thus, he was the first one who had noticed and had tried to help her afterward. However...Nara had repeatedly disappointed him, leading to her being abandoned. Without the Sage’s support, the result was...Nara was on a downward spiral!

“Alright, now that everyone has had their power levels assessed, those who haven’t become a direct disciple of a professor can use these results to request consideration from a professor. For those who already have their plans, continue to train diligently and remember to be cautious in all your actions.”

“Our class has a student reaching level 4 and some on the verge of moving from level 2 to level 3. So, let these students be your role models in training. Don’t give up and don’t think you’re not strong. Many times, students who were judged to have no chance of becoming strong find a path or luck that has been waiting for them if they continue to persevere.”

“This week, I won’t be teaching you anything new since you still have a lot of tasks to complete. However, next week, I’ll prepare a training plan for you. Of course, it’s just a general guideline. For special techniques, you’ll need to learn from your direct mentors,” Regan concluded today’s class. Normally, they would have class twice a week, but the young professor gave them time to find the mentors they wanted, so the entire week’s classes were canceled.

Next week, the students would be divided into different groups. Those with higher power would train together, and their schedules would vary. Those with lower power levels would be grouped together to develop correctly, preventing internal division during lessons, and allowing the professor to monitor various aspects accurately.

Even though he said that, his class consisted of 4 distinct types of students!

The first type was like Ellie. Her training direction was already appropriate, so there was no need for him to advise her. Usually, students with skilled mentors who taught them proper training methods wouldn’t require Regan’s intervention as an advisor. He would typically teach them about higher-level beasts or survival techniques. However...he felt these were unnecessary for Ellie.

She knew how to train effectively, evidenced by her rapid progress. She also had extensive knowledge of beasts, as he heard that she usually spent her free time reading about them. Plus, with Professor Lucien and Professor Medik providing her with knowledge, and her status as the city lord of 4 cities, it was likely...she knew more details than he did.

Should he teach her survival techniques? Her combat skills, capable of defeating Professor Maxim, were far above those of an ordinary student. He guessed her unusual fighting methods probably came from Professor Lucien’s teachings. As for potion concocting...what could he possibly teach her about that!?

In fact, Regan was skilled in cultivation techniques and combat skills. However, after listening to this student, it seemed that Professor Lucien had adapted her training methods to include Soft Jade techniques, meaning he was still a step behind.

In summary...Regan felt there was nothing he needed to teach her!

The second group consisted of students like Vida and Aria, as well as others who had already reached level 2. These students had significant resources and their own cultivation techniques but still needed refinement to achieve proficiency. For these students...he had plenty of teaching methods and experience, so there were no issues.

The third group of students were those with slow development. This might be due to their limited resources and average cultivation techniques. Most of these students were merchants without secret family techniques or middle-class individuals. Sometimes, even low-level nobility fell into this category. For this group, he needed to provide detailed guidance and proceed slowly, but he was confident they would reach level 3 before graduation.

However, the 4th group of students gave him a headache, similar to the first group, because such a situation had never happened before.

The first group, ah...it wasn’t really a group since both the 1st and 4th categories consisted of one unique individual for each group. The first type, like Ellie, left him at a loss for what to teach. In other words, she had already learned everything and only needed to continue practicing and gaining experience. Ellie had the qualifications to graduate already. The 4th type, however, was quite different. While the first type like Ellie advanced rapidly, the fourth type had regressed in their training!

This was highly unusual. Normally, students would maintain their power level or make slight progress. He had never encountered someone whose training regressed, especially not a scholarship student...

"Everyone is dismissed. Good luck on your chosen paths. However, Student Ellie and Student Nara, please stay behind," Professor Regan announced one last time. The other students began to leave. Vida nodded to Ellie once, as if to say, "I’ll go ahead," which was clearly a gesture of respect toward Ellie as a duchess, since Vida typically didn’t need to pay much attention to others.

As Ellie watched the others leave, she knew her power had become a problem, just like Nara’s lack of power was an issue. As soon as the students left the room, she heard murmured suspicions about Nara’s sudden power decrease.

Nara had been silent since the power measurement, clenching her fists in anger. She believed she had done her best. If not for Ellie causing her to lose her mentor, stealing her fortune, and worst of all, scheming to make her a victim instead. Nara was convinced that the recent exposure to demonic toxin and Pink Poison was the real issue, not the awakening potion she had taken!

"I called you to stay because there’s an issue with your training," Regan sighed. After everyone else had left, he looked at the two girls in front of him with a concerned expression.

"I heard that Student Ellie has become a disciple of Professor Nico. He’s an expert in creating stratagems, so there will likely be plenty of work for you. Moreover, your training method is on the right track. I have nothing more to recommend. From now on, focus on learning from Professor Nico as much as you can, and continue to seek knowledge as you have been."

"I’ve heard that you also enjoy reading books, correct? In that case, I’ll recommend 2 books per 1 month. On the last day of the week, I’ll test your knowledge of these books. You won’t have any issues with that, will you?" Professor Regan said to Ellie. For her, he was giving special permission to skip his classes entirely, allowing her to focus on what she wanted to do, which was something Ellie appreciated.

"Understood, Professor."

"Good. But if after the test, I find that you haven’t spent time learning the important topics, next month you’ll join the others in my classes 3 times a week. Understood?"

"Understood," Ellie replied earnestly. She was confident she could read the 2 books the professor would give her. She often read while absorbing the permanent magical crystals to train her power. With increased power and better concentration, Ellie often multitasked to save time.

Perhaps...she could bring these books in to read while concocting potions...

"Alright, you can leave now. Oh...and I heard there’s a new scholarship student in the dorms. I want you to be kind to her. She seems to have a similar background to you. Her magic power foundation is quite good; she’s currently at mid-level 2. She might become quite strong in the future."

"Understood, Professor," Ellie responded before leaving. It seemed Professor Regan wasn’t lacking in observation skills. He had been keeping an eye on the new student already, and Ellie also thought the new girl was special.

Her power in connection to the earth element was quite strong. Unfortunately, she was always modest, and when studying with nobles, Zoey displayed humility. In class, when asked to demonstrate her powers, Zoey only showed a little, trying not to stand out. If she continued like this, Zoey would never truly develop to her full potential!

After watching Ellie leave, Professor Regan looked at Nara seriously. He let the silence linger for more than 10 minutes before he finally spoke in a stern voice.

"Tell me the truth. Your...power awakening was due to using a power-awakening potion, wasn’t it?" Nara stiffened when asked this. She bit her lip deep in thought, but her reaction did not escape Professor Regan’s notice.

"There’s nothing you need to hide. I won’t tell anyone about this. However, if you don’t admit it, you won’t be able to train your power correctly. The result will be that...you won’t be able to use magic power anymore."

"No, please!! I want to be a magician. Sob, sob. Professor Regan, please help me." Nara cried out in despair. She had been given an opportunity by Professor Lily, only to encounter such a disaster.

If it weren’t for that wretched Ellie, if it weren’t for her...

"Professor, it’s all because of the demonic toxin, I’m certain. You have to help me," Nara blamed the demonic toxin. She couldn’t admit to being a fraud, no matter what. If the institute knew she didn’t awaken her power naturally, they would stop her scholarship, and she wouldn’t be able to stay here.

Even though Professor Regan said he wouldn’t tell anyone, as a professor, he would still need to report this to the institute. Nara couldn’t accept that.

"The demonic toxin wouldn’t cause your magic power to decrease. It would actually trigger an explosion of power," Professor Regan shook his head.

"Professor...Sob. Actually, you might not know this, but I was poisoned with something else too, so..."

"You won’t tell the truth, will you? In that case, there’s nothing I can do to help you. I didn’t intend to expose you; I just wanted to help you find a solution. Now I understand why Professor Lucien can no longer teach you. It’s because you don’t even trust your own professors. You don’t even have the courage to tell the truth."

"The foundation of someone who would accept teaching is to first accept yourself. You probably don’t know that Lucien’s initial help to you had damaged his honor. Yet, he still insisted on protecting you as a mentor. But...you didn’t want to receive teaching from him, did you?"

"Fine. I just want to say that from now on, I don’t know how to teach you either. Luckily, you have Professor Lily as your direct mentor now. Maybe you’ll trust her more than anyone else."

Regan waved his hand dismissively. He didn’t want to deal with Nara’s issues any longer. Since she couldn’t face the truth, he had no reason to continue teaching her.

"Professor! What do you mean by that? Are you going to tell Professor Lily about this? Are you threatening me?"

"Student Nara...don’t be so aggressive. Your power will have to be announced anyway. Whether your mentor cares about how you awakened your power is up to her judgement. Lastly...I want to warn you to be aware that hiding the truth like this will not benefit you. One day, you might truly become powerless."

"That’s not true. I’ll show you. I...I, Nara, will become very powerful by becoming a beast trainer. I’ll make you apologize for such negative remarks!!"

Nara shouted angrily. She didn’t see that Professor Regan was genuinely concerned for her and instead believed he was cursing her to lose her power.

In Nara’s mind, perhaps...Professor Regan was just trying to curry favor with Ellie now that she was set to become the future lady of the Setter family!! After all, everyone seemed to be the same!!