Early morning, Professor Cassandra Thomas had one goal: Caffeine.
She walked across the campus courtyard, her heels clicking a rhythmic warning on the cobblestones. Her brown blouse was doing its usual heroic work, the single button straining against her chest with every breath she took. Her pencil skirt hugged her hips so tightly that her walk was less of a stride and more of a hypnotic sway.
Usually, students parted like the Red Sea when she approached.
But today, a wall of uniforms blocked her path.
One, two, three... a dozen of them. B-Class and C-Class students mostly.
"Professor Cassandra!" one of them called out, blocking the way to the faculty lounge.
Cassandra stopped. She adjusted her glasses, her eyes narrowing.
"What?" she asked, her voice dropping a few degrees. "I haven't had my coffee yet. This better be a life-or-death emergency."
"Well, um..."
The female student at the front, who had looked so determined a second ago, suddenly found herself staring at Cassandra's heaving chest and lost her nerve. She stammered, flushing red.
Eventually, a male student next to her stepped up. Lauren. A C-Class mage with a loud mouth and average talent.
"We checked the ranking results on the bulletin board," Lauren said, trying to sound bold but mostly sounding whiny. "There seems to be a mistake."
"A mistake?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "I don't make mistakes, Lauren. I make judgments."
"But... the student who cheated received an A Rank!" Lauren argued, gaining confidence from the nodding crowd behind him. "Is this a typo? Or a joke?"
"A student who cheated..."
Cassandra repeated the words slowly, tasting the accusation. She crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up in a way that made three male students forget their own names.
"Are you talking about Alex Edelhart?"
The group nodded furiously in unison.
"Yes! Everyone saw it!" Lauren exclaimed. "His spell fizzled out halfway! It vanished! There is no way that performance deserves an A. He must have used a scroll or bribed someone!"
Cassandra let out a deep, long sigh. She massaged her temples.
'These idiots,' she thought. 'They don't understand Mana Compression at all. They just see the flash and the bang.'
"Lauren. Everyone else. Listen carefully," Cassandra said, her tone sharp. "All ranks were calculated without any misconduct. There were no scrolls. No artifacts. Just raw technique."
"But we didn't see it!" a girl protested shrilly. "He failed! The dummy wasn't even touched!"
"We suspected an anomaly," Cassandra lied smoothly, "so we conducted a private retest immediately after class. In the retest, Student Alex achieved the distance required for an A Rank without issue."
"A retest?!"
The crowd erupted.
"That's unfair!" "We want a retest too!" "If we got a second chance, we could get A's too!" "He only passed because he's a Duke's son!"
Cassandra watched them bicker. Her patience, already thin due to lack of caffeine, snapped.
"Silence."
She didn't shout. She just let her mana leak out—a heavy, suffocating pressure that hit them like a physical wave.
The students clamped their mouths shut instantly.
"It is hard to believe," Cassandra said, walking forward until she was towering over Lauren, "that you all think you deserve a retest just because you are jealous."
She placed a hand on her hip, cocking her head to the side.
"But... fine. I'm a generous teacher."
The students blinked. "Really?"
"Yes," Cassandra smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile of a cat watching a mouse walk into a trap. "I will give you all a chance to prove you are better than Alex."
She raised a finger.
"But a simple retest is boring. We will do it differently."
She paused for dramatic effect.
"Next week is the Freshman Expedition. We are going into the Whispering Forest."
She looked at each of them in turn.
"If your performance records in the Expedition are better than Alex Edelhart's... I will promote you to Class A without exception. I will change your grade personally."
The students' eyes went wide.
Class A? That meant better dorms, better resources, and prestige. It was a golden ticket.
And all they had to do was beat the "weakest" student? The guy who fainted last week?
"However," Cassandra added, her voice dropping to a whisper, "if you fail to beat him... you will stop whining and accept your mediocrity. Deal?"
"Deal!" Lauren shouted immediately. "We'll crush him!" "Free A Rank!"
They looked ecstatic. They looked like they had just won the lottery.
Cassandra looked at them with pity. They had no idea that Alex had achieved a feat of mana compression that even seniors struggled with. If he managed to fix his stamina issue... these kids were going to get slaughtered.
"Why are you just standing there grinning?" Cassandra snapped, shooing them away. "Go practice. You have a week to prepare."
"Yes, Professor!"
The mob dispersed, running off to spread the news.
Cassandra watched them go, finally free to get her coffee.
"Idiots," she snorted, turning back toward the lounge. "But at least it will make the Expedition entertaining."
She took a step and paused.
"Wait... if Alex fails, I have to grade thirty retests."
She froze.
"That kid better not screw this up," she muttered darkly. "Or I'll kill him myself."
****
Meanwhile, on the path to the Academy.
Alex was having a great morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the female students were wearing the standard-issue, thigh-skimming skirts that defied wind resistance.
He was busy admiring a group of third-year seniors walking ahead of him when—
ZAP.
A chill shot down his spine. It wasn't cold; it was the primal sensation of being hunted.
"Ugh," Alex shuddered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Is someone talking shit about me? I feel a disturbance in the Force."
He looked around paranoidly. Seeing no assassins, he shrugged.
"Probably just a draft."
He continued his walk, reaching the classroom right on time.
He strolled in, ready to take his usual seat in the "mob character" corner. But as soon as he crossed the threshold, the atmosphere shifted.
Silence.
It wasn't the respectful silence of a library. It was the heavy, judgmental silence of a courtroom.
Dozens of eyes locked onto him. Some were confused, some were jealous, but most were deeply suspicious. If looks could kill, Alex would have been disintegrated on the spot.
He slid into the seat next to Hanks.
"Hey," Alex whispered, leaning in. "What's going on? Why is everyone looking at me like I kicked a puppy?"
Hanks stared at him, bewildered. "Are you serious? Even I am looking at you like that. What happened to you?"
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"Haven't you checked the results?"
"No," Alex shrugged. "I was busy this morning. I figured I'd check during lunch."
"Don't bother," Hanks muttered, looking at the blackboard. "You got an A."
"Oh. Nice."
"Nice?!" Hanks hissed. "Alex, you got an F in every practical assessment for the last year. Last week, you fainted because a fire spell was too bright. And suddenly, you get a straight A? Of course everyone thinks it's suspicious! They think you bribed the judges!"
"Well," Alex mused, rubbing his chin. "If you put it that way, it does sound suspicious."
"That's the main reason," Hanks continued, lowering his voice. "But... there's something else."
"What else?"
Hanks looked him up and down, squinting. "Are you seriously asking me that? Didn't you look in the mirror today?"
"Mirror? No," Alex replied nonchalantly. "My maid dresses me, so I just stand there like a mannequin. I trust her judgment."
"Tch." Hanks clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "You rich brats. Must be nice."
He gestured vaguely at Alex's face.
"You look... different."
"Different how?" Alex frowned. "Did I get a pimple?"
"No. You look..."
"You look more charming."
A feminine voice came from directly behind them.
Alex and Hanks turned around in unison.
Sitting at the desk behind them was a girl. She was leaning forward, resting her chin on her crossed arms.
Gravity was working overtime.
She was wearing the standard uniform, but she had unbuttoned the top two buttons. Because she was leaning forward, her massive breasts were pressed against the desk, spreading out like soft dough. The valley between them was deep, pale, and perfectly framed for viewing.
"Uhh..."
Alex and Hanks froze. Their eyes locked onto the target like heat-seeking missiles.
"Well," the girl continued, oblivious (or perhaps very aware) of their stare. "You were cute before, in a 'helpless little brother' kind of way. But today?"
She tilted her head, her messy brown hair falling over her shoulder.
"You feel different. You look... manlier."
She reached out and poked Alex's shoulder.
"Did you take something? Are you working out? Your skin is glowing."
Alex blinked, finally tearing his eyes away from the cleavage to look at her face.
It's the Internal Circuit, he realized. Untangling that mess released the stagnant mana. My skin cleared up, my posture fixed itself, and my aura changed.
"I just started a new routine," Alex said, flashing a smile that he practiced in the mirror. "Glad you noticed."
The girl blushed. "Oh. Well... it's working."
She didn't sit back. She stayed leaning forward, giving them the best view in the house.
Hanks nudged Alex under the table.
"Dude," Hanks whispered, eyes wide. "She's practically eating you with her eyes. What the hell kind of routine is that?"
"The kind you can't afford," Alex smirked.