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Chapter 16
‘The young master is kind to everyone.’
A sharp pain, for no apparent reason, pierced Jaylin’s chest.
Fiddling with the yellow ribbon Lionel had picked up for her, Jaylin stood dazedly before finally moving toward the building where the mock training class for subjugating magical beasts was to be held.
As soon as she entered the lecture room, she spotted Stefan frantically waving at her.
When Jaylin walked over, Stefan moved his bag from the seat beside him and began speaking at a rapid pace.
“Jaylin, hi, hi! Sit here. I reserved the seat just in case someone else took it. I did good, right?”
“Y-yeah. Th-thank you, Stefan.”
On the desk next to Stefan’s sat a boy with his head buried in his arms.
Though his face was hidden, the unruly curls of brown hair indicated it was Adrian.
Noticing Jaylin looking at Adrian, Stefan poked him in the side, but Adrian didn’t so much as flinch.
“He’s like this in every class. Doesn’t pay attention, yet his grades are always average. Total mystery, seriously.”
Shaking his head, Stefan suddenly leaned closer to Jaylin.
“W-what’s wrong?” Jaylin flinched back in surprise.
Ignoring her reaction, Stefan narrowed his eyes and pointed to one side of the classroom.
“Jaylin, see over there? Lionel’s over there. Aren’t you glad you listened to me?”
Where Stefan pointed, Lionel, Sasha, and a few other students—including Nathan, whom they had met that morning—were chatting, seated on desks or standing nearby.
At that moment, Nathan, listening to someone’s story, met eyes with Jaylin and gave her a light wave.
Following Nathan’s gaze, Lionel turned his head toward her just as Professor Wallace, the instructor for this class, entered the room and began the lecture.
“I’m Professor Wallace, and I’ll be in charge of this semester’s mock training. As you all know, the mock training this semester will be conducted in trios, where teams of three students will fight magical beasts together.”
As he paced slowly across the podium, Professor Wallace stopped in front of the desk and continued.
“No one can do everything alone. This semester, students will form teams of three, each with different abilities, and the goal is to see how effectively your team can fulfill the mission while dealing with magical beasts. Also, there’s one change from last year.”
Wallace paused for dramatic effect, stirring curiosity among the students.
Then, resting his hands leisurely on the desk, he smirked—an ominous smile.
“Team members will be decided randomly.”
The moment he said it, the students began murmuring and buzzing with unrest.
Until now, students had formed their own teams instead of relying on random selection.
Over half the class had already formed groups with others of their choosing—top students teamed up to maximize their grades, while others had picked teammates to balance strengths and weaknesses.
Despite the unrest, Professor Wallace continued unbothered.
“In real combat, you don’t always get to choose ideal companions. You must learn to cooperate with whoever you’re given. Use your unique abilities to work together and turn the situation in your favor. This class values teamwork above individual excellence.”
He clapped his hands loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Now, let’s draw teams randomly. You’ll be grouped based on matching numbers.”
Wallace snapped his fingers in the air.
Dozens of glowing orbs appeared and scattered across the room, assigning one orb to each student.
The orbs shimmered momentarily before transforming into numbers.
Jaylin received the number 3. As soon as she confirmed it, the light vanished without a trace.
“Now, who will be your fateful teammates for this semester? Numbers are marked on the tables at the front. Please gather with others who share your number.”
As soon as Wallace finished, students jumped up and rushed to their assigned tables.
The classroom erupted into chaos.
Cheering broke out from some groups where team assignments were well received, while groans of despair echoed from less fortunate ones.
Jaylin wandered through the room and finally located table #3.
Already seated there was Stefan, who had arrived first. Jaylin approached with a delighted blush.
Seeing her approach, Stefan placed a hand on his forehead.
“Oh no… Jaylin, don’t tell me you’re number 3 too?”
“Yeah! Stefan, we’re on the same team!”
Jaylin was happy. Being with Stefan was much better than being with a complete stranger.
But Stefan didn’t seem to share her joy. His expression darkened drastically.
“This semester’s grades are doomed.”
He groaned, clutching his long silver hair in frustration, then suddenly raised his head with a glimmer of hope.
“No, wait! If the last member is a top-tier attacker, we might still make it…”
Just then, someone approached their table—presumably the third and final member of their team.
Seeing who it was, Stefan waved his hands dramatically, as if trying to ward her off.
“No! Nope! Go away, Rita! Don’t come here! Shoo, shoo!”
Despite his protest, the student walked confidently up to Table 3.
She looked between Stefan and Jaylin, her face equally unimpressed.
Stefan’s expression turned even more grim.
Rita turned to Jaylin and asked:
“I’ve never seen you before, so you’re probably not from the Magic Engineering Department, right? Don’t tell me you’re… healing track or something?”
“Um, no. I’m not…”
Her face brightened—until Jaylin continued.
“I-I’m in the Magic Engineering Department.”
Rita slumped into a chair and slammed her head on the table.
“We’re totally screwed.”
Stefan wailed dramatically.
“This semester’s grades are dead! We might even fail! There are only three students from Magic Engineering in the whole class—how did all three end up on the same team?!”
Jaylin, clueless, just sat there blinking.
Once everyone found their groups and the commotion settled, Professor Wallace spoke again.
“So, how are your teams? Satisfied with your partners?”
Just then, Stefan, still clutching his head, jumped up and raised his hand.
“Professor! This isn’t fair!”
“What exactly is unfair? Hmm, your name is…?”
“Stefan. Our team has only students from the Magic Engineering Department!”
Laughter rippled through the students at Stefan’s complaint.
Flustered, Stefan pointed accusingly at the others.
“What are you laughing at? Try being stuck with only people from your major and see how you like it!”
More snickering followed.
“Three swordsmen? That’d be a dream.”
“Still better than three engineers.”
“Alright, quiet down! Stefan, is it really such a big deal that you’re all in the same department?”
“Yes! Magic Engineering has low offensive and defensive capabilities—we’re mainly support. If our whole team is engineers, we won’t even survive a step inside the hologram battlefield, let alone defeat a beast!”
Despite Stefan’s desperate reasoning, Wallace responded with a relaxed smile.
“Let’s not forget that Pelodian Winona, the founder of this academy and a brilliant Magic Engineer herself, was once the empire’s strongest sword and shield.”
“She was a legendary genius—someone on a whole other level from someone like me!”
“Hmm… well, I think you have potential too, Stefan. But unfortunately, your reasoning doesn’t quite convince me.”
Disappointed, Stefan slumped back into his seat—only to stand up again, raising his hand once more.
“Then how about this? You said you randomized the teams to simulate real battle conditions. But in actual beast subjugation missions, teams are composed of people with diverse skill sets. Wouldn’t it make more sense—both for realistic training and interdisciplinary growth—to build teams with different majors?”
Wallace nodded thoughtfully.
“Hm. That’s a reasonable argument. Very well. In the interest of fairness, I’ll reassign a few team members.”
At that, Stefan silently punched the air in triumph.
