Villainous Instructor at the Academy-Chapter 13: Experiments

The classroom filled with the soft scratching of chalk against wood. Some students hesitated, while others dived straight into carving their runes. I leaned against my desk, watching them with amusement.

Five minutes. That was all they had.

Some of them were going to fail spectacularly.

Julien was already halfway done, his usual cocky grin plastered across his face. "Easy," he muttered. "Just like drawing a symbol, right?"

I smirked but didn't say anything. He'd find out soon enough.

Mira worked methodically, carefully adjusting each stroke. Wallace, scribbled furiously, occasionally pausing to double-check his lines. Leo, as expected, looked miserable.

"This is stupid," he muttered. "Why do we need to learn this if it's useless?"

"Because," I said, strolling past his desk, "if you don't understand the fundamentals of bad magic, you won't recognize it when someone tries to use it against you."

Leo frowned but kept carving.

Felix, bless his unfortunate soul, was already panicking. His desk looked like he'd scratched random lines into it, and judging by the sheer frustration on his face, he had no idea what he was doing wrong.

"Spineless," I called. "Are you trying to summon a demon or just inventing a new language?"

Felix groaned. "I don't know! These symbols all look the same!"

"They look the same to you," I corrected. "To someone who actually studied runes, they're as different as letters in a book."

Garrick, ever the physical brute, had taken the "carving" part too literally. He wasn't writing a rune; he was engraving it like he was etching a tombstone. The sheer force he used made the desk creak.

I sighed. "Garrick, stop manhandling the poor desk. You're writing a rune, not breaking a rock."

He grunted and eased up—barely.

Cassandra, as usual, was eerily calm. Her carving was smooth, each stroke precise. She didn't ask questions, didn't hesitate. Just worked.

Interesting.

I gave them another minute before clapping my hands. "Time's up!"

I smiled after seeing the runes that others draw, then snapped my fingers.

The chalks exploded.

A series of pops rang through the room, followed by startled yells and a thick cloud of white dust. Some students flinched back, others instinctively shielded their faces. Felix practically fell out of his chair.

"What the hell?!" Julien hacked, fanning the dust away.

Mira narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't a rune failure, was it?"

I crossed my arms, waiting for the dust to settle. "Nope. That was me."

A chorus of groans.

"Why?!" Leo sounded betrayed.

"Because I rigged the chalks, if you screw up runes then I'll let the chalks explode."

Leo stared at me like I'd personally wronged him. "You rigged them?!"

"Of course." I gestured at the remains of their runes. "Runes aren't forgiving. If I let you practice without consequences, you'd pick up bad habits. This way, you feel the mistake."

Felix, still coughing up chalk dust, whimpered. "I felt it alright."

Julien scowled at his desk. "So what was wrong with mine?"

I walked over and tapped his rune with a finger. "Your lines weren't straight. See this curve? It's supposed to be a sharp angle."

He frowned. "That small of a difference matters?"

"That small of a difference," I said, tapping again, "could be the difference between casting a barrier and setting yourself on fire."

Julien shut up.

Mira, to her credit, was already redrawing hers, far more careful this time. Wallace inspected his with a smug grin—his was still intact.

"You," I pointed at Wallace, "are the only one who got it right. Congratulations, Gremlin. You're officially not an embarrassment."

He grinned wider. "Naturally."

Leo groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "So we have to do it again?"

"Obviously," I said. "New desks. Fresh chalk. Get to work."

Wallace was still smirking, I pointed my finger at him and said. "Since you're so confident, you're now responsible for their rune carving."

Wallace blinked. "Wait, what?"

I grinned. "If anyone messes up, you take the punishment instead of them."

The classroom went dead silent. Then, as one, the students turned to Wallace with varying degrees of amusement, horror, and malicious glee.

Leo let out a wheeze. "Oh, this is amazing."

Julien laughed. "Guess being a show-off has consequences, huh?"

Wallace's smug expression shattered. "Hold on, that's not fair! Why am I responsible for their incompetence?!"

"Because," I said smoothly, "if you understand runes so well, then you should be able to help them, right?"

Felix's face lit up. "So if I screw up, he gets in trouble?"

"Exactly," I said.

Felix immediately turned to Wallace. "Buddy. Pal. Best friend. Teach me."

Wallace grabbed Felix by the collar. "You will learn, or I swear to every damn rune in existence, I will personally make sure your next screw-up is intentional."

Mira chuckled, already redrawing her rune with more care. Even Garrick looked amused.

I clapped my hands. "Alright, no more stalling. Wallace, your suffering begins now. Everyone, get to work."

Wallace groaned but knew there was no escape. His smugness had officially backfired.

Julien leaned over, grinning. "So, teach, what happens if he messes up?"

I smirked. "Then he gets double the punishment."

Wallace paled. "You're making up rules as we go!"

"Welcome to life," I said. "Get used to it."

With a defeated sigh, Wallace turned to Felix, who was looking at his chalk like it was a cursed artifact. "Alright, listen up, dumbass. Start with the framework. If you mess up the base structure, nothing else matters."

Felix nodded like he understood—he absolutely didn't.

Meanwhile, Leo was taking full advantage of the situation. He deliberately slowed his movements, drawing his rune at a snail's pace. Wallace narrowed his eyes. "Stop trying to sabotage me, you little gremlin."

Leo hummed. "Hmm. What was that? Go slower? Got it."

Julien snickered. Mira rolled her eyes. "You're all insufferable."

I leaned back, satisfied. The best way to make them take rune carving seriously? Give them someone to blame if they failed.

Wallace sighed dramatically, rubbing his temples. "I hate all of you."

Felix beamed. "Love you too, buddy."

"Less talking, more carving," I called out.

Wallace muttered something under his breath, but he got to work.

I laughed and leaned against the chair, then take out the Book of Alchemical Cuisine.

Flipping through the pages, I skimmed past several ridiculous recipies.

-Dragon Scale Soup.

-Everlasting Bread.

-Moonflower Stew.

I sighed.

This book was either written by a genius or an absolute lunatic.

Then, a particular recipe caught my eye.

[Mandrake Flower Cookies –Enhances mental clarity and focus. Side effects include mild hallucinations if improperly prepared.]

I raised a brow.

So, a cookie that could sharpen the mind... or make someone trip into another dimension if done wrong.

Interesting.

I checked the ingredient list.

-Ground mandrake petals (carefully extracted to avoid toxins)

-Honeyroot syrup.

-Crying flowers Ash ( it can be used as flour substitute.)

-A drop of morning glories dew.

I tapped my fingers against the desk, mulling over the recipe. Mandrake was already tricky enough to handle, but Crying Flowers Ash? That was an alchemical ingredient that required careful processing. If prepared incorrectly, it could induce a mild paralysis instead of acting as a flour substitute. And Morning Glories Dew... well, that was just annoying to collect.

Still, a cookie that enhanced mental clarity? That could be useful.

Or hilarious, depending on who I tested it on.

I glanced at my students, watching them struggle with their second attempt at rune carving. Wallace was muttering threats under his breath while Felix somehow managed to make his rune worse. Leo was still moving at a snail's pace just to mess with Wallace.

Yeah. Definitely hilarious.

I snapped the book shut. "Mira! Where can I get crying flowers Ash?"

Mira stopped carving, her fingers tightening slightly around the chalk. She turned her head slowly, her sharp eyes narrowing at me.

"Why are you asking me that?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice.

I leaned back in my chair, smirking. "Because you're the one that plays with curses."

Her expression didn't change, but I saw the way her fingers twitched. A small, involuntary reaction.

"That doesn't mean I know everything about rare alchemical ingredients," she said smoothly. "Besides, Crying Flowers aren't cursed. They're just inconvenient."

"Inconvenient and tied to strange whispers," I pointed out. "Which, coincidentally, sounds exactly like the kind of thing you'd mess with."

She rolled her eyes. "Just because I know some dark magic and curses doesn't mean I collect creepy plants in my free time."

I drummed my fingers against the desk. "So you're saying you don't know where to find them?"

Mira let out an exasperated sigh. "I might know. But why do you need Crying Flowers Ash in the first place?"

I tapped the closed book. "Secret."

Her eyes narrowed further. "If you poison yourself, I'm not helping."

"Noted," I said, not actually noting it.

Before she could argue, a loud snap echoed through the classroom. Wallace had slammed his chalk down, glaring daggers at Felix.

"You dumbass," he growled. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

Felix blinked innocently at his mangled rune. "No?"

"Then how the hell did you make it worse?"

Felix tilted his head, considering. "Talent?"

Wallace looked ready to strangle him.

I chuckled and checked the rest of the class. Julien's rune was passable, though still flawed. Garrick had managed not to destroy his desk this time. Leo had finally stopped sabotaging Wallace and was at least trying now.

Cassandra, unsurprisingly, had already finished. She was leaning back in her chair, staring at her completed rune with that eerie calmness of hers.

And then turned towards Mira, "So where can I get it?"

Mira sighed, rubbing her temples like she was already regretting entertaining my request. "There's a shop in the lower district. 'Grim & Grains.' They deal with obscure ingredients, including Crying Flowers Ash. But they don't sell to just anyone."

I raised a brow. "You've bought from them before?"

Mira shot me a flat look. "You really need to stop assuming I'm some shady curse witch."

"But you do know where to get them," I pointed out.

She exhaled sharply. "Yes. But they only sell to registered alchemists, recognized scholars, or... people who can prove they aren't idiots."

I grinned. "Good thing I'm a teacher, then."

She gave me a long, skeptical stare. "Are you?"

Before I could fire back, Wallace let out a strangled yell. "Felix. You idiot."

I turned my head just in time to see Wallace gripping the sides of Felix's desk, his face showed mixture of despair and fury. Felix, for his part, looked completely unbothered.

"I followed your instructions," Felix said.

"You did not," Wallace hissed. He jabbed a finger at the rune. "This is not what I told you to do."

Felix tilted his head, considering. "Artistic interpretation?"

Wallace pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to die in this classroom."

Julien, who had been watching with glee, leaned over. "Hey, teach, can I mess up on purpose? I want to see Wallace suffer more."

I gave him a slow smile. "Be my guest."

Wallace shot up. "Wait, no—"

Snap.

Julien deliberately broke his chalk in half, looking far too pleased with himself.

The class erupted into laughter.

Wallace groaned, dropping his head against the desk. "I hate all of you."

"Love you too, buddy," Felix said cheerfully.

I clapped my hands. "Alright, enough tormenting Gremlin. Back to work. Wallace, you're still responsible for them, so I suggest you figure out a better teaching strategy."

Wallace muttered something about ungrateful bastards, but he turned back to the disaster that was Felix's rune.

Meanwhile, I leaned back in my chair, mulling over my next move.

A trip to the lower district, huh?

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

This could be fun, I clapped my hands and told everyone to stop.

"Alright, that's enough suffering for today," I announced, standing up. "Class dismissed."

Wallace practically sagged with relief, while Felix cheered like he had just won a battle. Julien, of course, looked a little disappointed—probably because he had been hoping to drag Wallace into more misery.

I glanced at Mira. "You're coming with me."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You know the shop. I don't." I stretched, already making my way toward the door. "Besides, I'd rather not waste time dealing with shady merchants trying to overcharge me."

Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're insufferable."

"That's why I make a great teacher." I waved a hand. "Come on, Mira. Time to show me around the lower district."

She grumbled but stood up anyway.

Julien called out from his desk, "Hey, can we come too? I'd love to see our dear professor get scammed."

I shot him a look. "No."

"Aww."

Ignoring their protests, I strode out of the classroom, Mira following behind.