The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy-Chapter 177: Silverleaf Academy (XXV)

"System...?"

Getting into the portal's room, I muttered to myself.

[Do you need something?]

"Do you have any other uses?"

I couldn't help but ask curiously, after all, if it could give me visions of the future, maybe it has some other features.

[No.]

Of course not.

Who was I kidding?

I'm not the protagonist.

"Fuck you."

[...]

"Haaa..."

Letting out a sigh, I checked the progress of the portal, and by the looks of it, it should be completed by Sunday.

"That's nice. I could also use the portal to visit Zeva and... maybe Eleonora. I'm still pissed that she won't offer me the Dragon's Heart."

Why is she so obsessed with having me as her disciple?

It's not like she's going to gain anything with that, except for the fact that I'll need to start attending her academy.

Taking a last glance at the portal, I turned away and headed down the quiet hall toward the training room.

I could already hear the thud of footsteps, the sharp crack of wood clashing against wood, and a very stern voice echoing over it all.

Chaerin.

But… she wasn't laughing this time.

I leaned on the doorframe and peeked inside.

The moment I saw her, I almost didn't recognize her.

Chaerin stood tall with her arms crossed, a serious look on her face and not a single hint of her usual giggles, as she observed the pair of girls clashing in the middle of the room.

Leaf lunged forward, her wooden sword arcing low.

Ruli met it with a sharp parry, lightning sparking faintly across her blade as their weapons collided.

CRACK!

Then, Chaerin's voice rang through the air.

"Leaf! Your form is too floaty. Ground yourself when you swing, or Ruli's going to keep pushing you back."

Leaf let out a grunt, adjusting her stance with gritted teeth.

"And Ruli, no brute forcing! That spell was Gale Disruption, a wind-based feint, not Thunder Slam! You're overcharging it."

"But I like Thunder Slam!" Ruli protested, a few sparks still crackling from her fingers.

Chaerin's eyes narrowed.

"And I like not getting turned into a fried chicken nugget. Do it again!"

I raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"…Wow."

She was much better at teaching than I thought.

Chaerin glanced over, her ears twitching slightly when she noticed me.

Her strict aura softened just a bit, her cheeks warming.

"Papa," she said softly, then looked back at the twins.

"No breaks. Just because he's here doesn't mean you get to slack."

"Uuuugh!!" Ruli groaned.

Leaf threw me a silent save us look, but I just raised my hands in surrender and leaned against the wall.

"I'm just here to watch. Teacher Chaerin's in charge."

Ruli pouted but returned to her stance.

"Alright!" Chaerin clapped, immediately back to instructor mode.

"Ruli, activate Storm Step. Leaf, follow it with Whisper Fang. You've seen how the Elven Duelists use that combo. Let's try to mimic it."

The twins nodded—and moved.

Ruli vanished in a sudden crackle of light, reappearing to Leaf's left with a flash of static.

Leaf reacted instantly, her body twisting like wind through grass, her blade slicing diagonally upward with a gust-infused arc.

The spells weren't perfect.

The sparks fizzled halfway, and the gust that followed was more like a strong breeze than a blade of wind—

But it was working.

"Not bad," I muttered, watching their movements carefully.

Chaerin turned slightly, catching my eyes again.

This time, her smile was small—but proud.

"They're getting better."

"More than better," I replied, folding my arms. "At this pace, they'll hit D-rank in combat capacity by next week."

Chaerin beamed quietly, then turned back toward the girls.

"Alright!" she called out.

"Short break. Hydrate and stretch. You've got ten minutes before we start again with shadow drills."

The twins immediately collapsed onto the floor like puppets with cut strings, gasping for air.

"Uuuugh, I hate wind spells," Ruli muttered, flopping on her back.

"They're elegant…" Leaf whispered between breaths, "…but so hard to control…"

I walked over, handing each of them a cold towel from the mini-fridge nearby.

"Good work," I said gently, kneeling down between them.

"You think so…?" Leaf asked, her eyes shining just a bit.

"You didn't die," I teased, "so yes."

"Yaaay…" Ruli mumbled from the floor, half-dead.

Chaerin padded over and sat on her knees beside me, sipping her juice box with quiet satisfaction.

"I didn't expect that I would like teaching," she said after a moment. "It feels… like something I can do, you know?"

I looked at her.

"Chaerin…"

"Hm?" She tilted her head.

"You're amazing."

Her cheeks instantly turned pink.

"M-M-Mou~!! Don't say that with a straight face! I'll melt!!"

I reached over and softly patted her head.

"Melt later. You've got students to whip into shape, remember?"

Chaerin puffed her cheeks.

"You're the worst, Papa."

"And yet," I said with a smug smile, "you're still calling me that."

"…Shush."

I chuckled quietly.

Watching the twins slowly get back up—laughing, groaning, helping each other stretch—it really did feel like a family.

"By the way," I said, narrowing my eyes a little, "now that I think about it… both of you awakened the same second element?"

I looked between the two of them.

Ruli nodded first, then Leaf followed, her ears twitching slightly.

'Wind, huh?'

That could increase their speed for assassination, so a very good element indeed.

But then, something tickled at the back of my mind.

I turned to Leaf, squinting slightly as an idea sparked to life.

"Leaf, c'mere."

She blinked in confusion, tilting her head like a curious cat. Still, she approached without complaint, soft steps padding across the floor.

As soon as she stood before me, I slowly raised my hand—and placed it on top of her head.

Her shoulders jumped, her breath catching slightly.

"M-Master?"

"Resist."

I simply uttered those words.

"Huh?"

Her confusion barely had time to settle before I forced a surge of mana into her.

It wasn't gentle.

It was pure pressure, pure and heavy, like an invisible wave crushing down on her small body.

Leaf gasped, knees trembling as her instincts flared up.

"Use it," I said calmly.

"Defend yourself."

"I—I don't—!"

CRACK!

A pulse of magic crashed into her like a wave, not enough to harm—but enough to threaten.

Leaf's body reacted.

Wind coiled instinctively, but it wasn't enough.

The pressure deepened.

I was forcing her to dig deeper and use her water element.

And then, something inside her snapped loose.

A ripple of soft blue mana bloomed around her like a mist.

SHAAAA!

Water suddenly erupted, swirling in a spiral.

Not wild—not uncontrolled.

A perfect, rippling dome formed in an instant, shimmering like crystal and humming with resistance.

BOOM!

The second wave of pressure I pushed toward her shattered against the dome.

A fifth-level spell.

A self-generated Water Barrier—designed to absorb blunt force impact and convert it into kinetic dispersion.

She did it.

Her eyes widened, stunned.

"W-What… was that…?"

"You used your water element," I said, stepping back.

"Not wind."

I didn't know why, but she had her water element blocked somehow, which made me quite surprised.

Because of that, she could probably only use her second element that I had sent Alaine to help both of them awaken.

She looked down at her trembling hands. Water still rippled at her fingertips, dancing like threads of liquid silk.

"You…" she whispered, breathless, "you forced me to…?"

I nodded slowly.

"It was buried under your wind. Water was always there. You just needed a push." I tried to explain in simple terms.

Her water mana was somehow sealed, and upon taking a closer look at her meridians, it was really being blocked by a small whirlwind.

So, I simply needed to use pressure to crush that whirlwind.

"Pheww~"

Chaerin whistled softly from the side, arms crossed, thoroughly impressed.

"Wow… Leaf, that was beautiful."

"Y-Yeah," Ruli added, eyes shining.

"You looked like a little lake goddess or something!"

Leaf's cheeks turned rosy, and the barrier finally began to dissolve, melting into droplets that clung to her hair and lashes.

"Name it," I told her, smiling slightly.

"It's your spell now. Something fitting."

She looked down, thoughtful… then softly whispered:

"…Tideglass Shell."

I smiled wider.

"...Perfect. That spell could be very useful, and it seems to have reached at least the fifth level, so be careful when using it."

"Mhm!" Leaf nodded seriously at my words.

Then, I turned to Ruli next.

Her expression was already expectant.

"H-Hey, what about me?" she asked, fidgeting slightly.

"Don't I get something cool too?"

I chuckled, stepping toward her with a slow pace.

"Oh, don't worry…" I raised a hand, my fingers cracking with a dense silver-colored mana.

"You're getting something alright."

Her eyes lit up for a moment.

Then they widened in alarm. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"W-Wait, that feels—!"

ZRRMMMMM—!!

My fingers brushed against her chest, just over her core, and I poured mana into her.

Not just a little.

I shoved it in deep.

"Ghh—aaah!"

Her back arched as the energy surged through her body.

Sparks crackled around her feet, lightning dancing wildly with nowhere to go.

"Too much—! I-It's too much—!" she gasped, knees buckling as the excess mana overloaded her channels.

"M-My body can't—!"

"Shut up and take it."

I stepped closer, placing my other hand on her lower back to steady her as her entire frame began to tremble.

Magic burst from her fingertips.

Her lightning trait activated on reflex, but the output was unstable—chaotic—blasting bolts in every direction like an uncontrolled storm.

Chaerin had to cast a barrier in the background to protect Leaf, who was just staring with wide eyes.

"Don't resist it," I murmured in Ruli's ear.

"Let your mana spiral outward. Find the convergence point."

"I-I don't know what that means!!"

"You will."

And she did.

CRACK—BOOM!

A bolt of pure, condensed lightning erupted from her body, coiling around her like a dragon.

The mana reached its peak—and just when it felt like she would burst, she channeled it.

Right into her palms.

ZRRMMM—ZZZZT!

Two blazing lances of lightning formed, shaped like twin spears.

The mana calmed.

Her breathing slowed.

And then, in a dazed voice, she whispered:

"…I did it?"

She looked down at the spears.

Sizzling, hot-white lightning contained in concentrated, weaponized focus.

"…Twin Bolts of Judgment," she muttered softly, naming it as if in a trance.

Then she blinked, her cheeks flushed bright red.

"W-Why are my thighs shaking?!"

I smirked.

"You were overloaded. That was about thirty times your normal input."

Chaerin gave her a deadpan look from the side.

"You looked like you were gonna explode and cry at the same time."

"D-Don't say it like that!!"

Leaf just clapped quietly.

"You looked really pretty, Ruli…"

"Y-You too, dummy!"

And with that, I stepped back, crossing my arms.

Both girls had awakened fifth-level spells, shaped directly from instinct and pressure.

Just like real mages.

"Good," I muttered.

"Rest for now. We'll be pushing harder tomorrow."

Their eyes widened in horror.

"Eh?!"