The Old Scholar

After her wild introduction, Leilani set to work immediately. 

"Right. Considering you are all of the varying year levels, you all have different subjects. So I will divide it like this, for you first years, I heard you both failed the major subjects Introductory to Advanced Magical Studies and Applications and Introductory to Advanced Magical Beastiary. I hope you both brought your textbooks on those subjects and if you didn't, well...I can always just make you both endure the same thing Michele did" She stated as she looked at Himari and Michele, with the two of them immediately bringing out two large textbooks but with Michele's being more damaged and worn out.

''Mhmm, you have an hour to read from Chapters one to four as they are the easiest in the book, I will then quiz you both on it afterwards, do I make myself clear?" 

"Yes Ma'am" Himari answered as she began to flip through the book

"Michele?" 

"Yes Ma'am" The vampire answered hesitantly as he had small phantom pains from moving his limbs as he tried opening his textbook and beginning his task of reading. 

"Mhmm. Good" Leilani remarked with a nod before shifting her gaze to the group of four 

"Now you lot. Considering that the subjects you all failed was Integral Economics and Running of a State, and State Diplomacy. I find it very funny considering your positions in life. To help you with that I will make the four of you do this" 

With the snap of her fingers, a large table appeared right beside Leilani. It was a fairly large table and atop it sat a large diagram of a map they had never seen before but to Leilani, it was as familiar as the rest of this world. 

"This is a game I used with my previous students known as Europa Diplomacy. It is a game where you each individually run a nation. From the economic policies to the cultural policies to the military, industrial and diplomatic dealings, it is a complex game with simple-to-follow instructions. Now come here and pick a nation to run" Leilani told them, with the four of them while still partially clothed, made their way to the table. 

"Alright. What nations are you choosing?" She asked them 

"This one called the...Aus..Austrian Empire" Augustine said as he pointed at the large white nation in the center of the map

"Uhuh. Alright, next" 

"I will take...this one called the...German Empire" Augustina said as she pointed at the black nation right above Augustine's 

"Mhmm. Alrighty, next"

"I will take this one called the...Duchy of France" Sinece said as she pointed at the blue nation opposite to the left of the two nations of the royals

"Aha. Ok then and Statler?" 

"I will take this one...the British Empire" Statler answered as he pointed at the red island nation separate from the continent 

"Alright then. Now that you have chosen your nations, here is the rulebook you will each share. And here are some background pamphlets for the nations you chose. Now, as you play this game I will be assigning you a lot of chapters from the textbooks to read and help guide you into what you are doing. The chapters are long but necessary to understand what will happen in the game and I will not tolerate any slacking. Am I understood?" Leilani told them as she handed over some pamphlets and books eyeing each of them 

"Yes Ma'am" they all answered back as they took the materials and began reading through them.  

With a nod Leilani then walked over to the beastkin trio, leaving the four nobles to read through their material. 

"Ok then. You three failed Advanced Introduction to Magical Flora and Fauna. While not as hard as the other subjects your fellow classmates are struggling with, I can see why you failed this subject considering you most likely abused the plants under your care" Leilani told them as she looked each of them straight in the eyes. 

"Now. To help you with this, I am going to require you to read the chapters yet again since I doubt you fully understood them the first time around. I will quiz you constantly per chapter so be warned and I will let you take care of a plant. But this time it is a plant that loves to eat flesh!"

The last statement made the trio's jaws drop as they stared at the Dean with disbelief and fright. 

"Oh don't look like that. They are practically harmless, unless of course, you abuse them. So I would tread lightly if I were you" Leilani added as she snapped her fingers and three potted plants with large spiky tendrils and a red flower in the center that was beautiful but served as the mouth of the plant as that area was lined with multiple overlapping rows of sharp jagged teeth. 

"Just like the rest I will not take slacking off, so start with chapters one to four, you have an hour then a quiz afterwards. Am I understood?" Leilani asked as she handed them the plants

"Yes Ma'am" the trio replied 

"Good" 

Finished with the trio who pulled out their books and began to read, Leilani made her way to the final student in the room who was watching everything happening. 

"Ahh. Karl Edelweiser, fifth-year student. And the only one in the room who is here solely due to a failed subject" Leilani began as she looked down at the young man who gave her a wry smile 

"Hey there Ma'am" Karl answered sheepishly as he looked at her

"Hey kid. So, I take the subject failed was Advanced Magic Implementation?" She asked as she crossed her arms, with Karl nodding  

"Yes Ma'am. I cannot conjure up enough mana from my mana pool to pass the simple requirement for us with small mana pools" 

"Uhuh, we will test that in a bit so just wait here for a moment" Leilani told him as she made her way back to the front of the room

"Right, I will be going into the opposite room with Mr. Edelweiser, I want all of you to do as I instructed, you all have an hour to read up on the chapters I assigned and I will quiz you all when I get back" 

"Yes Ma'am" The room collectively answered before Leilani and Karl exited 

Karl followed his professor into the opposite room which was much larger than the classroom they were just in. Inside it was a set of practice dummies on the far end of the room with locked and sealed weapon racks on either side upon entering, with several benches and lockers off to the far left that rounded a corner into a dressing room. This was one of the many training rooms that dotted the academy as many combat classes were required for the students as this was still a dangerous world filled with dungeons and monsters that roamed the lands. 

"Ok then, show me what you can do" Leilani told Karl as she unlocked one of the weapon cases 

Karl moved to the opened rack and picked up the gigantic greatsword from it, taking a few practice swings before pointing it downward and away from his limbs and feet. 

"Pick a lane and show me what you can do" Leilani instructed as she gestured to the lanes in the middle of the room with targets along them

Karl walked towards the center lane and stepped on the center stone of the lane staring down the line of straw dummies that manifested between him and the final straw dummy at the far end of the room. 

"Activate!" Leilani shouted 

At her order, Karl activated his strengthening magic, a magic that is commonly used by all to augment their physical capabilities. He felt his fist-sized mana pool at work as it flooded his body and senses with a warm feeling that was familiar to all who used the spell. 

"Hmm, good. Keep it like that until I say otherwise" His professor said as she began walking around him,

She used her senses and keen magical insight as well as her magic to inspect her student's magic output. Her eyes narrowed as she switched her view to his mana pool directly, seeing the small fist-sized black pool sending out waves of white ether around his body. Nodding as she took in the details to see how she could help him. 

"Alright, make your way through the dummies. Use your sword and magic skills, GO!" Leilani commanded as she stood behind him 

Karl nodded and took a deep breath, his stance lowered, eyes narrowed and grip tightened as he lunged forward, cleaving the first straw dummy with ease from a downward slash. He then moved on to the next three and easily cut through them with swift and efficient swings, using the full weight of the greatsword in his hands to deliver powerful blows. All the while Leilani observed and took down mental notes, although pleased with the performance so far she also noted that he had not used magic attacks at the moment. Karl continued on however as he cut down the remaining dummies in his way before slashing the final dummy at the end of the lane with ease. 

"Right. Nice display....where were the magic attacks?" Leilani commented as she reset the dummies with a tap on the stone at the start of the lane 

"Uhhh...." Karl answered as his eyes widened and his realization came in 

"You do know that strengthening magic is still considered a physical attack right? the basic principle is that it helps your body. Now come on, throw a magic attack at the dummy while still using your strengthening magic" Leilani added as stared him down 

Karl hesitantly nodded as he took a deep breath and focused on the dummy in front of him, he tried to cast the basic magic attack spell of fireball but nothing came out of his hands, something that Leilani picked up on immediately. 

"Alright stop. I can see the problem already" She told him as she strode up beside him and held onto his outstretched arm

"You are still focusing all of the mana into the body-strengthening magic despite wanting to cast the fireball" She added as she looked at him 

"Uhh..how do I not then?"Karl asked 

"Simple, divert some of the mana from your body strengthening into the fireball" Leilani said 

"Uhhh..."

Leilani then frowned at him not getting it but didn't fully mind it. He was her student and he needed her help, but the fact that he was a fifth-year student was surprising to her in that he managed to get this far without knowing how to rapidly cast. 

"Right, imagine your mana pool as it is sending out the mana to all of your body which is the strengthening magic. Now, imagine a small stream of that mana going into your hand that is separate from the rest, but this stream is different and instead of the white that it is usually, it is orange, that is the mana for your fireball" 

Karl nodded as he tried to imagine it just like Leilani had described, he tried creating a separate stream but struggled to do so as his mana pool refused to cooperate despite his efforts. Leilani noticed this as Karl was shaking and small beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. After a few minutes nothing happened and Karl let out an exasperated sigh as he reopened his eyes. 

"Sorry Ma'am, its too hard" He said as he leaned on the wall

"Hmm it's fine, we have our work cut out for us then, I like a challenge" Leilani remarked as she patted his shoulder

'Let's get to work then" 

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

And so the summer class began. For the whole week Leilani was strict in overseeing the rest of the class do what she had assigned them to. She gave quizzes after every hour she assigned chapters to read. In the first quiz, Himari convinced Michele to help one another by using vampiric telepathy during the middle of the quiz as neither of them really read the readings and just acted like they did. This resulted in both of them being punished severely as Leilani caught it out the gate, with Himari being forced to uphold several large stacks of thick and heavy books with her hands and head while under the heat of the sun on one foot and Michele being forced to endure so much internal pain as Leilani detonated a magic inferno inside his body, causing him to writhe and convulse violently in pain, with Himari watching. 

"This is what happens when you cheat and try to manipulate others! Both of you will be up here on the roof deck until I say otherwise, so strap in!" A clone of Leilani shouted at them as she sat on a lawn chair with a drink in hand under the shade of an umbrella 

Meanwhile in the room, another clone of Leilani oversaw the beastkin trio as she gave them a verbal quiz. 

"Alright. Question five, what is the proper procedure in extracting magic imbued fruits from magic plants? Liath your up" She said as she looked at them, pointing at Liath who was raising his hand

"In order to properly extract said fruits, one must first note down the magical properties of the plant in question. For example, if the plant has offensive type magic and is aggressive, one would need a defensive barrier spel- Ow!" As Liath was answering, the mini-me puppet of his came to life and began striking at him 

"Nyeh! What's wrong little shit?! Gonna cry?! Why don't you do us all a favor and die?!" The mini-me puppet shouted as it began wailing on Liath, with the blows from the puppts striking his head

"Gah! You fucking! AGGGGHA!" Liath retaliated swiftly as he fired back a slap but then shouted in pain as an electric shock blasted its way through him when he landed the smack on the puppet.

Leilani rolled her eyes as she then shifted to Victor who was uneasy from seeing his friend now paralyzed and stuck in an uncomfortable position unable to speak.

"Victor, continue where he left off if you know the answer" She commanded

"R...right! You have go determine what the type of magic the plant is oriented to using and prepare accordingly. After figuring it out, one must place down a barrier spell to isolate the plant from the fruit and then quickly harvest it before exiting retaliation range" Victor answered quickly as he occasionally glanced up at his mini-me puppet 

"Hmm. Three out of five, still lacking something. Smirtina can you add?" She asked as she glanced at the paralyzed centuar 

"Ah....umm. You need to properly set up defensive or offensive counterspells before attempting to put down the barrier spell as in most cases, the plant will either go on the offensive or defensive and hide the fruit in it's most likely armored shell" Smirtina answered through gritted teeth as she turned to face her professor

"Correct. Three points though since you got shocked" Leilani said as she looked at them

"Doesn't feel nice no? Having your past actions coming back to literally beat you ass? You all better get used to it, and I hope your prepared in hearing your past actions" She said to them with a grin 

"Yes Ma'am" the trio answered, at least Smirtina and Victor as they were able to speak while Liath could only look at her 

Meanwhile, another clone of Leilani was overseeing the game of Europa Diplomacy being played by the nobles. Telling them some of the game mechanics. 

"So you see, since you fail to have enough political power and the fact that your workers and citizens hate your guts, you were overthrown and thus eliminated from the game" She stated as she looked at Augustine

"Impossible! But I did everything I could to improve my image!" The brown hair prince cried out

"Oh? And what were they?" Leilani asked with crossed arms

"I gave them more working hours and higher quotas from one of my turns! I gave them more time to earn more money!" Augustine answered looking confused

"That is exactly why they hate you" Leilani told him with a disgusted expression

"What?"

"Let me put it this way. Who do you think does the work to get a nation or even your house in order?" She asked him 

"Well...us nobles of course! We-"

"Wrong already. You nobles don't do the work. You order people to do it. Its like when your father tells you to keep working for hours on end without rest, how would you feel?"

"I...I would be mad" Augustine answered still slightly confused

"And thats how the people feel if you decide to overwork them to death, oh yes. You can be overworked to death. Why do you think this world has labor laws? It is to protect working people from idiots like you who fail to grasp the responsibilities of being a noble" 

"Wha-"

"Tell me. Do you know why you people are called nobles?" Leilani asked as she looked at each of them, all of them confused by the question

"Ummm...is it because we are cho-" Augustina began

"That is a stupid answer and no. That is not it" Leilani cut her off before the rest of her answer made it out

"Nobles are nobles because they help people. The entire noble class was made to bring up those who were seen as positive forces of people who could bring about the best benefits for everyone under their care, heck you can apply that to the kings, queens, and other monarchs of the world. I have lived for so long that I have seen numerous nobles take up the responsibility of their title and do good with it, but then there are those like you who sour it with your self-centered actions and bullshit" She added as she looked at them

"Tell me this, do you wish to be remembered as a noble who did right by their title? Or a noble that is added to the garbage bin of history as those who were killed because they deserved it?" She asked them, seeing each of them form deep-thinking expressions. 

"Think on that for a while, then read through chapters five to eight about State Power and economic trade, then make your moves" She finished as she leaned back in her chair. 

Meanwhile, inside the massive training room, Leilani had taken off her black overcoat and put on some black gloves and grabbed a sword from the weapon rack. She acted as Karl's training partner and target. She always met his attacks head-on, her massive strength and years of experience keeping her from killing him outright. She clashed blades with him as they dueled along the length of the room, shouting at him all the while 

"Karl! Use your damn magic! Switch it up a little, you cannot fully rely on strengthening magic to win the day!" She told him as she easily blocked several of his slashes and thrusts 

"I am trying Professor! I just can't seem to work-" 

"Then try harder! You are a fifth year!! This lesson is integral if you do not wish to die in the world!" Leilani cut him off as they clashed blades, with Karl losing his footing as he tried to summon forth a fireball 

Leilani then pushed him away and slashed upward, knocking Karl's sword out of his hand and off to the side. Before landing a left hook to his face that sent him to the floor

"If you do not focus your magic quickly enough you are never going to get it. And if you never learn how to fully control your mana you will not pass this class or even survive out there. So get it together. Do you understand me?" 

"Yes Ma'am" Karl answered out of breath, knowing full well she was right.

A/N: And here we go chapter 14! So this one was a bit hard to write but I am glad how it turned out. If you have thoughts or comments let me know down below! And I will see yah in the 15 chapt. And as always Enjoy Yourself and Stay Safe!