The day after the public lecture, Enid was about to begin her second class. She no longer had to worry about doubts regarding her qualifications as a professor. After her stellar performance during the lecture, she was certain that “Ines” would soon become a rising star at the School of Natural Magic.

  There were still plenty of new theories on natural magic that Enid had yet to share with the world. The reason she hadn’t published them immediately was simple:

  First, she knew any new theory of hers would challenge long-established beliefs, and springing it on people all at once would only cause confusion. It was best to take it slow.

  Second, she wanted to share her discoveries with her students first. It wasn’t out of selfishness; it was just that her four students were exceptionally gifted, with solid understanding skills and, most importantly, a genuine love for natural magic.

  Third, Enid was simply in no rush to publish papers or reports on her theories. She preferred to take it easy.

  With all of this in mind, Enid arrived at her classroom, ready to face her students with the perfect, poised attitude. The four students had probably started to unlock their latent elemental abilities from the previous class. Enid thought as she opened the door.

  But just like the first time she entered, she was immediately taken aback by the scene in front of her.

  She closed the door again, checked the classroom number, and confirmed she hadn’t made a mistake.

  Was there an issue with how she opened the door?

  Taking a deep breath, she opened the door again.

  Okay, she hadn’t made a mistake.

  The entire classroom was packed to the brim with students, and many had to stand in the back since there weren’t enough seats. Everyone watched as “Professor Ines” opened the door, glanced inside, closed it, and opened it again to walk to the podium.

  Enid checked the attendance list again. It was definitely four students, but this crowd looked like over three hundred people.

  Nino, clearly noticing her confusion, quickly stood up and awkwardly explained, “These students are from the School of Natural Magic, as well as other faculties. After your outstanding performance during the public lecture and your work on the natural elemental transformation theory, they came to audit the class.”

  He gestured toward the crowd. “Some of the assistants and lecturers who don’t have classes right now are here too. Even people from other schools like the Military Academy and the Maritime Academy have come to audit.”

  Now that Enid understood, she was still a bit taken aback.

  “Just so you all know,” she began, addressing the room, “students who didn’t sign up for the class during registration can attend as auditors, but they won’t receive any official credits. Is everyone okay with that?”

  Most of the students nodded enthusiastically. They had fought hard for the chance to audit the class. Many of them had used their connections to get in, so there was no way they’d leave.

  Credits were just a formality; the opportunity to attend a class taught by “Ines,” someone who had already made history, was far rarer than any credit.

  The bell rang to signal the start of class, and Enid reluctantly had to begin her second lecture.

  It wasn’t just Enid who was thrown off by the sudden increase in numbers; her four original students felt the same.

  Nino looked a little tense, Eleanor seemed unfazed, while Esme, with her hood pulled tightly over her head, stayed close to Eleanor, still feeling nervous in the crowd.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  It seemed like Eleanor and Esme had started to build some trust between each other. At least Esme could now stay close to Eleanor without wanting to run away or faint, which was a significant improvement.

  As for Volgan, Enid searched for a while before finally spotting him in one of the last rows of the classroom. He was as unreadable as ever, his expression giving nothing away.

  Faced with such a large crowd, Enid realized she needed to adjust her teaching style.

  She asked Nino if he had finished the homework from last week, and after he confirmed, she asked him to come up to the front and present his progress.

  Nino closed his eyes, stood at the podium, and began to sense the elemental energies around him. Following Enid’s teaching methods and a week’s worth of practice, he tried to summon an element he hadn’t worked with before.

  But he failed.

  Maybe the pressure of so many eyes on him was just too much. As the son of a baron, Nino still struggled to hold his head high in front of most other noble families. His life had been a constant battle—learning how to interact with other nobles and studying social etiquette, all while being careful not to offend anyone.

  For most lower-ranking noble families in the Stahir Empire, this was their reality.

  Nino panicked at his own failure. He had done fine during practice, so why couldn’t he pull it off now?

  The more he rushed, the more impossible it became.

  For a moment, it felt like he’d been yanked right back into those suffocating noble gatherings.

  The open contempt from the people in their seats.

  The snide laughs, the deliberate ignoring.

  His father’s disgust and anger whenever Nino touched a paintbrush.

  His older brother’s cold dismissal, and that hostile edge that came with being a rival in the inheritance game.

  Even as student council president, the way almost no one wanted anything to do with him except Eleanor.

  He didn’t even notice Eleanor in the audience, practically waving her arms off trying to signal for him to calm down.

  Then, Professor Ines lightly patted his shoulder.

  And just like that, the fear drained away.

  From the very first day, Ines had shown them an almost unreal kind of patience and gentleness, not a hint of contempt or irritation.

  She had met Nino’s timidness, Esme’s fear, and Eleanor’s wary scrutiny with understanding and room to breathe.

  That was what made her different.

  So different that Nino, who’d grown up wrapped in noble etiquette and learned to live behind a thick mask, had lowered his guard completely in barely a week. As long as Ines was nearby, he felt safe.

  Like even if the whole world looked down on him for being a baron’s son and a natural mage, Ines would still stand beside him and not let him face it alone.

  This time was no different.

  Ines stayed at his side, steady and calm, telling him he didn’t need to be nervous, telling him she’d be right there while he found his footing.

  Nino finally forced himself to breathe.

  He shut out the stares, gathered his mana again, recalled the feeling from training, and released it.

  This time, it worked.

  A sphere of dark element formed in his hands. The kind of darkness that usually sparked instinctive fear somehow didn’t feel frightening at all, not with Nino’s relieved expression and Ines beside him, smiling, bright and clean as fresh snow.

  Instead, what settled over the room was something almost… warm.

  Nino explained that he had originally only been able to sense wood-element mana. During training he’d learned to pick up fire and water too, but this was his first time ever releasing a dark-element sphere.

  The room erupted into applause.

  Nino gave a quick, awkward thanks, then turned and bowed deeply to Ines before returning to his seat.

  After that, Eleanor successfully demonstrated the casting process for the water element she’d newly sensed.

  Esme, with both Eleanor and Enid encouraging her, crept up to the podium like a frightened animal and managed to demonstrate lightning-element casting as well.

  When Enid tried to have Volgan come up next, he said he still hadn’t mastered it and couldn’t demonstrate. His face stayed blank as he spoke.

  For some reason, Enid thought she caught a flicker of… disgust on his face. Had she offended him without realizing it?

  But class was still in session, so she decided she’d talk to Volgan one-on-one afterward and kept going.

  “Alright,” Enid said, “Eleanor, Esme, Nino, Volgan, I want the four of you to keep pushing and try sensing other elemental attributes. Aim to sense all ten elements within three weeks.”

  Then she looked to the newcomers filling the room.

  “As for everyone who joined today, if you try to follow future lessons without the basic theory and practice, it’ll be rough. So I’m making an exception. I’ll go over what I taught in week one, how to train full-spectrum elemental sensing.”

  The moment people realized what she meant, the room burst into cheers, thanking her for giving them a chance.

  “Even though you can’t earn course credits from auditing,” Enid added, “anyone who performs exceptionally well, I can award personal credits in my capacity as a professor. So give it your best.”

  The cheering grew even louder. Even when Enid motioned for silence, it took a long time for the noise to die down.