Three days later, in the Vice Dean's office.
"Tell me, what's going on here?" Vice Dean Kapachi threw the stack of papers in his hand onto the table and glared at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan glanced at them; they were all reports about Class 3 of the first year, and naturally, not a single good word was mentioned.
"Today is already the second time. Including yesterday and the day before, there have been over ten incidents of your students causing trouble in just three days. Not to mention the amount of academy property that's been damaged, three other students have been injured. Lin, I don't know how you've been disciplining your students."
Kapachi's voice didn't carry much anger. After all, student troublemaking was a common occurrence at the academy, and it usually didn't require the Vice Dean to intervene personally. However, this time, the incidents were not only frequent but also concentrated on Class 3 of the first year. Moreover, the class's responsible teacher was Lin Yuan, who was highly regarded by the Dean. As a result, Mindos, who was in charge of the academy's discipline, didn't dare to handle it and pushed it to him.
"Well... I'll give them a good scolding later," Lin Yuan stole a glance at Kapachi's expression and emphasized, "It's really outrageous!"
Kapachi rubbed his head in frustration. Students who made it into Finor Academy were either magical prodigies or had influential backgrounds; neither type could be disciplined too severely. Additionally, since the Kus Empire itself revered martial prowess, the academy mostly turned a blind eye to conflicts among students. If it weren't for the fact that this time the situation had escalated so much, he wouldn't have bothered to talk to Lin Yuan about it.
"Never mind, take him back with you," Kapachi waved his hand. "Remember, if this happens again, I won't be able to protect you."
"Thank you, Vice Dean," Lin Yuan quickly bowed and said to Red, who had been silent beside him, "Red, let's go."
"Red. Tell me..." As soon as they left the Vice Dean's office, Lin Yuan opened his mouth with a serious expression.
"Hmm?" Although Red still maintained his cold face, he felt nervous inside.
"Did you win?"
Looking at Lin Yuan's earnest face, Red was both amused and exasperated. He had expected a scolding, but instead, Lin Yuan asked this question.
"You didn't lose, did you?" Lin Yuan was a bit surprised. Although Red was only a Level 1 fire mage, his control over magic was exceptional. Logically, he should have been able to defeat any peer-level mage. Moreover, he wasn't foolish enough to challenge someone of a higher level.
Red couldn't help but smile and shook his head, "No, the opponent ended up in the infirmary."
Lin Yuan immediately looked at him with new respect. He hadn't expected this young man to look so pleasant when he smiled, yet be so ruthless in a duel. Among mages, duels usually ended quickly, and with the existence of various magical shields, injuries were rare unless it was a fight to the death. The fact that Red had sent his opponent to the infirmary meant not only was his skill superior, but he was also more aggressive.
Lin Yuan glanced at the stack of reports given to him by the Vice Dean and noticed that neither Fasno nor Zona's names were listed. His suspicion gradually turned into certainty.
"Red, can you tell me what's really going on now?"
Red looked at Lin Yuan and simply uttered three words: "Fasno."
As expected.
A moment later, Lin Yuan was in Fasno's dormitory.
"Teacher, you guessed correctly. These were arranged by me," Fasno confessed without waiting for Lin Yuan to ask.
"Well then, tell me, what were you thinking?" Fasno was the student Lin Yuan valued the most. Not only did he possess astonishing magical talent, but he was also very astute in dealing with people and situations, hardly seeming like a 17-year-old boy. Lin Yuan didn't believe he would do something without reason.
"I remember when you were teaching us, you once said something like 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be in peril in a hundred battles,'" Fasno sipped his tea lightly and smiled. "At that time, I didn't quite understand the meaning, but now I have to admire you, Teacher. That saying is truly excellent."
Lin Yuan's face turned slightly red. He had copied that from a textbook in his original world.
"Since we're about to compete with Class 6, it's always good to know their strength."
"So you incited the students to provoke them?" Lin Yuan asked. "But why are the reports from the Vice Dean showing that not only Class 6 students were provoked?"
"If we only targeted Class 6, it would be too obvious," Fasno smiled. "At least now no one can say we're specifically targeting Class 6."
Lin Yuan shook his head. "Do you think others can't see through it? Believe me, Tre probably wants to kill me right now to vent his anger."
"Of course I believe that," Fasno remained calm. "But I just wanted to deny them that excuse. As for Magister Tre... I'm sure you, Teacher Lin, have ways to deal with him. The students don't need to worry about that."
Lin Yuan chuckled. Fasno had even included him in his calculations. He truly had a sharp mind.
"Alright, you're right. I'm not afraid of Tre causing trouble. But Fasno, tell me, how confident are you about tomorrow's competition?"
Fasno frowned. "Judging from the past few days, Class 6 doesn't seem to have any particularly strong students. But I think since Magister Tre proposed this competition, he must be very confident. Perhaps Class 6 is hiding their true strength."
Lin Yuan nodded. He had considered this as well. If Class 6 was really as weak as they appeared, Tre's proposal would be nothing but an act of humiliation. Although Tre was annoying, he wasn't a fool and wouldn't do something so reckless.
"I've also checked the records of Class 6 students when they enrolled. Based on their initial scores, there are no particularly outstanding students in Class 6. I've been at the academy for a while, and I haven't heard of any remarkable students from Class 6. I really can't figure out where Magister Tre's confidence comes from," Fasno added.
Lin Yuan was puzzled as well.
"Well, never mind. Tomorrow is the day of the competition, and we don't have time to think about it too much now. I believe in your strength; Class 6 won't be able to beat you."
"Thank you, Teacher."
The day of the competition arrived as scheduled. Since Tre had chosen a Sunday, when the academy was on holiday, the students all had ample time to participate.
"Lin, you have some well-trained students," as soon as Tre saw Lin Yuan, his already pale face darkened even further.
For the past few days, he had been receiving reports of Class 6 students being provoked by Class 3. Although he had tried to suppress it, several students from Class 6 couldn't bear it and had conflicts with the other side, ending up in the infirmary and still not recovered.
Tre naturally believed that these actions were instigated by Lin Yuan and was itching to tear him apart. However, since he had proposed the competition, he couldn't afford to quarrel with Lin Yuan right away. So, despite his gloomy expression, he didn't say anything particularly offensive.
"Ha-ha, thank you, Teacher Tre. If I hadn't taught them well, I wouldn't dare bring them here," Lin Yuan glanced at the students of Class 6 behind Tre and deliberately put on a surprised expression. "Teacher Tre, it seems that some students from Class 6 are missing. Have they backed down?"
Tre almost threw a fireball at Lin Yuan's face. How could he not know the reason? This was like rubbing salt into his wounds.
Suppressing his anger, Tre picked up a sealed box from the table behind him.
"Since everyone's here, let's start the draw. Teacher Lin, you go first."
According to the competition rules agreed upon by Tre and Lin Yuan, each class would send ten students to compete on stage, and whoever won six matches first would be declared the winner.
As for which students would compete, it was random. The box Tre held contained slips of paper with the names of all the students in Class 6. Lin Yuan would draw one out. Similarly, Tre would draw from a box with the names of Class 3 students, and then the two selected students would compete on stage.
"Kampus, who is it?" Lin Yuan glanced at the slip in his hand and called out loudly.
"It's me," a tall student stepped forward from Class 6.
Lin Yuan looked him over and picked up the box for Class 3.
"Feire."
Lin Yuan felt relieved. Feire was a Level 1 earth mage in his class. Although his magical power was average, his understanding of earth magic was decent. Moreover, earth magic was highly defensive, so even if he couldn't win, he wouldn't lose too badly.
The two students took their positions on the duel platform specifically designed for academy competitions, and with a wave of Tre's hand, the match began.
As soon as Tre's hand fell, both students cast their spells almost simultaneously. A fireball collided with an earth wall, leaving a trail of smoke.
Lin Yuan nodded approvingly. When facing an unknown opponent, prioritizing defense was naturally the best choice, especially since earth magic excelled in this area.
The student from Class 6 was a fire mage. In terms of offensive power, Feire, who could only use low-level earth magic, was no match. However, the situation was completely reversed when it came to defense.
Feire's strategy was spot-on. By leveraging the high defensive power of earth magic to wear down his opponent's magical energy, he would be safe as long as the earth wall held. Fire attack spells consumed more magical energy than maintaining an earth wall. If Feire could hold on, it was certain that Kampus's magic would run out first, securing Feire's victory.
Of course, Kampus was no fool either. Seeing that his fireball attack was ineffective, he stopped.
Lin Yuan noticed that Kampus glanced at Tre on the sidelines, who responded with a slight nod.
While pondering the meaning of this exchange, Lin Yuan suddenly realized that the fire elements in Kampus's hands were behaving abnormally.