Chapter 19: The Genius's Dissatisfaction

"They say a dragon shows its head but not its tail; this old man is even better—he didn't show either," Lin Yuan muttered, shaking his head with a smile.

From his nonchalance about the spatial ring to his fervor for magic, and then the extra "Grand" title he mentioned, Lin Yuan was almost certain that this old mage was the other Grand Mage on the Farinos Continent, Sargeras, who was as renowned as Hawk.

However, why he would suddenly appear here and come to ask Lin Yuan about magic was beyond Lin Yuan's concern. Such top-tier figures naturally had their own reasons for their actions.

Glancing at the sky, Salaras had long since replaced Ellis, emerging halfway above the horizon and casting countless shimmering reflections on the river. In the distance, Finor Academy was gradually waking from its tranquility, with the noise of people slowly rising, occasionally mingled with the sound of explosions, which made Lin Yuan chuckle.

It seemed another student's magic experiment had failed.

After tidying up his clothes and washing his face by the river, Lin Yuan headed towards the academy. Today was the first day of classes since the Dean's return, and the academy's teaching would be stricter across all subjects. Being late would not be good.

However, as he approached the academy's entrance, he saw a group of familiar figures.

"Teacher Lin, you're late!" Several sharp-eyed students shouted as soon as they saw Lin Yuan.

It turned out to be the students of Class 3, Grade 1.

Lin Yuan looked around and noticed that, apart from Katusha, all the students were present, even Natasha's newly acquired pet, Xiao Bai, who was lazily lying there, drawing curious glances from passers-by.

"Late?" Lin Yuan looked puzzled at everyone, noticing their neat attire and high spirits. "I never said we had to get up early today. What are you all doing here?"

"It's a habit, a habit," said Lach-Campo, who came from a small noble family in a remote town of the Kuse Empire, scratching his head and smiling naively.

"Habit? I think you all just got used to having breakfast on Downing Street," Lin Yuan flipped through his robe pocket. "Look, I'm as poor as a church mouse. I don't have any money for breakfast."

"We'll treat you!" The students suddenly spoke in unison.

Lin Yuan was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"Alright, alright, you've got some conscience, knowing that your teacher doesn't have money for breakfast today. Okay, you said it, so don't regret it. I want..." Lin Yuan counted on his fingers and listed several of the most famous and, of course, most expensive breakfast items on Downing Street.

After he finished speaking, the students' faces showed no change, and they all looked at Vince, who looked worried.

"Teacher, you really are extravagant..." Despite his words, Vince nodded and led the way towards Winden City.

"Wait." Lin Yuan immediately stopped them. "We still have classes later. If you go to the city, eat, and then come back, you'll definitely be late. I don't mind, but your grades will suffer."

"What should we do?" The students finally remembered that they were no longer mercenaries from the past month; they now had to attend classes on time according to the academy's rules.

"Fools, don't you know there's something in this world called takeout?" Lin Yuan called out several wind magic students. "You guys, go to Downing Street and bring the breakfast back to the classroom. Vince, give them the money."

Seeing the students about to leave, Lin Yuan added, "Remember, the breakfast you bring back must be in its original condition and kept warm. Also, don't be late."

The students were taken aback. Downing Street was neither too close nor too far from the academy. Keeping the breakfast in its original condition wasn't difficult; they just had to move slowly. But moving slowly wouldn't keep it warm, and they also couldn't be late. The requirements were quite high.

"You're wind mages; figure it out yourselves," Lin Yuan reminded them, noticing their confusion.

The wind magic students finally realized that buying breakfast was also a way for them to practice their magic.

"Alright, hurry up and come back quickly."

After watching the students disappear around the corner, Lin Yuan was about to take the remaining students back to the classroom when a cold voice suddenly sounded from behind.

"Teacher Lin seems to be quite at ease. While other teachers are busy preparing their lessons, here you are basking in the sun at the academy's entrance. Are you so confident about today's class?"

Lin Yuan turned towards the direction of the voice, his brow immediately furrowing.

He remembered this person; he was one of the earth magic teachers at the academy, named Cruz-Tre. When Vice-Dean Kapachi introduced Lin Yuan to the other teachers, he had specifically mentioned him.

This was because Cruz-Tre was a mid-level Archmage.

In the pyramid of mages, Grand Mages naturally occupied the very top. Below them were Archmages.

Archmages were divided into high, middle, and low levels. A mid-level Archmage was already very close to the top. Even in a large empire like Kuse, there wouldn't be more than a few hundred mid-level Archmages. In Finor Magic Academy, apart from the Dean, only a handful of people, including the Vice-Dean, were of a higher rank than him.

Of course, that was not the main reason Vice-Dean Kapachi had introduced him so formally. The real reason was that Tre was less than 40 years old this year.

For most mages, becoming a mid-level Archmage was already an extraordinary achievement, as there were no more than 300 people on the entire continent who had reached this level. To achieve this at just 40 years old could only be described as genius.

In other words, Tre was a genius.

Precisely because he was a genius, he had always been somewhat不服气 towards Lin Yuan, who had been personally arranged by the Dean. In his view, the magical power Lin Yuan possessed was negligible. If it came to real strength, he might not even be as strong as some students. What qualifications did he have to teach at this academy, which was known as the best on the continent, and why did the Dean value him so highly?

Looking at Tre's expression, Lin Yuan immediately judged that he had come to pick a fight. Although he didn't know what Tre was thinking, he had no intention of giving him any good face. He just glanced at him and turned to call the students back to the classroom, completely ignoring Tre.

Tre was so angry that his face turned green. For someone as arrogant as him, being ignored was the greatest insult.

"Teacher Lin, now that the Dean is back, the rational freshmen teaching observation at the academy is about to start. You should pay more attention," Tre said.

"Freshmen observation? What's that?" Lin Yuan turned his head in surprise but only saw Tre's smug face, realizing that this was definitely not good news for him.

Seeing Lin Yuan's expression change, Tre became even more triumphant.

"Never mind the freshmen observation. I see Teacher Lin is so relaxed; I suppose there's no problem. But with the academy competition coming up soon, I wonder how confident Teacher Lin is?"

It was then that Lin Yuan realized, despite having been at Finor Academy for over a month, he hardly knew anything about it. If it weren't for Tre's mention today, he wouldn't have known about these two things at all.

However, seeing Tre's detestable, petty look, Lin Yuan couldn't bring himself to ask any further. He just nodded and led the students straight to the classroom.

Being ignored by Lin Yuan once again, Tre was almost fuming with anger.

Staring at Lin Yuan's retreating figure, he sneered and muttered to himself, "Go ahead and be arrogant. There will come a time when you'll be humiliated."