Chapter 92: Professor Fisher
The sky was still dimly lit, and a girls’ dormitory at Saint Nali University was immersed in the deep sleep of the night. In the room filled with a faint fragrance, the bed at the far end was slightly raised, with glimmers of light peeking through the gaps in the blanket.
Within the bedding, a girl in pajamas was holding a pencil and writing something in a book. Due to her well-developed body, lying down made her a bit uncomfortable, so she propped herself up slightly and used a small light that flickered with a glow to illuminate the notebook on the bed.
The notebook had already been heavily used, and the current page depicted a sketch of the main teaching building of Saint Nali University, with an explanation of “Teaching Building” written beside it in Nali script.
Once the last stroke was finished, Jasmine slowly closed the notebook. A faint magical glow echoed in layers over the notebook before falling silent. She glanced at the time, turned off the light from the bedding, and got out of bed.
She had classes at 8:30 in the morning, and it was just after 7, so getting up to wash up was just right.
In the bedroom, Isabel, who was sleeping opposite Jasmine, had a peaceful sleeping posture. Her beautiful golden hair spread over the bed, fragrant and lovely. Despite having studied it many times, Jasmine still loved Isabel’s long hair, and she was also very kind.
As for Milica, sleeping on the other side, her sleeping position was not so “lady-like.” The bedding had been kicked off quite some time ago, her mouth was slightly open, one hand resting on her belly, and her whole body was at a 45-degree angle with the bed, clearly having turned over several times.
“Ah, Priest, I want to eat meat!”
Jasmine smiled slightly, helping her cover the fallen bedding, and then went to the washroom to start washing up. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she lifted her hair a bit, confirming that nothing was out of the ordinary before she began to wash her cheeks with water.
The cool water had no salty taste. It was strange how, although it was an inanimate object, the water moved like a small snake once it landed on Jasmine, perfectly adhering to her fair skin until it disappeared completely. Jasmine revealed a comfortable expression throughout this process.
After finishing up, she walked out of the washroom looking like a water lotus, wiping her fair skin, just in time to see Isabel in the living room yawning and dazed, looking as though she hadn’t fully woken up. Even her smooth golden hair had several strays sticking up, giving her a look of existential doubt.
“Good morning! I’m so sleepy. If I had known, I wouldn’t have chosen morning classes. Getting up is so painful.”
“Good morning, Isabel.”
The campus of Saint Nali University had already begun to awaken. Along with the birds chirping on the branches outside, Jasmine could hear many students leaving the dormitory. They had to hurry up too.
As she went back to her bedroom to change clothes, she called for Milica, who was still hugging her bedding and gnawing on it. The lights turned on, and they energetically walked out of the dormitory.
The three girls all had classes that morning, as it was the first day of the fall semester. Jasmine and Isabel were in the same class at the Magic Academy, while only Milica, from the art department, had to run to another teaching building. It was said she had even chosen a literature course, and Isabel was worried it might be too heavy a load, especially since she had several other science and engineering courses.
“Good luck, ladies! After class, don’t leave first; I’ll come find you! I want to meet Professor Fisher!”
After they finished breakfast, they parted ways in front of the teaching building. Milica waved her hand and ran off, while Jasmine cutely waved goodbye to her back, but was pulled along by Isabel, who said,
“We’re going to be late, stop saying goodbye!”
When they reached the entrance of the lecture hall, Isabel took a deep breath, pulling back her casual expression. As a royal, she had to maintain a good demeanor in public at all times. Sure enough, once Isabel entered the classroom, many students looked her way.
“Princess Isabel.”
“Your Highness!”
Isabel kindly waved at the classmates behind her before she and Jasmine took seats at the front of the classroom. As soon as she sat down, Isabel let out a small sigh. If it weren’t necessary, she wouldn’t want to sit in the front. Being so close to the professor made it easy to attract unwanted attention.
However, many professors knew she was a royal member and typically wouldn’t question her unless they were certain of their grasp on the subject. After all, it wouldn’t be fun if the princess embarrassed herself.
With a smile, Jasmine piled a stack of books on the desk, all of which turned out to be the recommended reading list written by Professor Fisher. Isabel couldn’t help but roll her eyes; after all, her roommate was so diligent. Many of her assignments from the last semester had been copied from Jasmine.
Just as Isabel’s gaze landed on Jasmine, a gentleman in a suit appeared at the door, holding a staff. He had an air of dashing coolness, yet his expression remained stern. He did not look at the students in the classroom but tapped the ground with his staff to draw everyone’s attention.
“Class is in session.”
This was the opening line from the young professor for his first class. Simple yet extremely effective; many female students in the back who had been dozing off suddenly brightened at the sight of the handsome gentleman and unconsciously gripped their pens tightly to take notes.
Fisher hung his staff and gentleman’s hat on the coat rack beside the podium, holding only a student’s roster and some notes. Isabel noticed he didn’t have anything resembling a lesson plan in his hands.
Time was almost up. Fisher adjusted his sleeves, taking out a piece of chalk from the podium.
“I am Professor Fisher Benavides, teaching the Introduction to Basic Magic course this fall semester.”
He didn’t write anything, his gaze sweeping over all the students. Though his tone was steady, it naturally conveyed an air of pressure to all the students.
“By tradition, the first class will briefly introduce the teaching style of the professor and the grading scheme for this course, but this will only take up a small portion of the class. After the quick introduction, I will begin teaching.”
As soon as he said this, many students in the back buzzed with discontent, clearly dissatisfied with Fisher’s approach. According to tradition, the first class at Saint Nali University was merely an overview of the course and an introduction to the professor without substantial teaching.
“This course—”
“Professor Fisher, by tradition, the first class does not involve actual teaching as students need to familiarize themselves with the course content. It wouldn’t be fair to those who might add or drop the class later,” Isabel spoke up, feeling the palpable focus from her classmates. Once she spoke, many fellow classmates nodded in agreement, directing appreciative glances at Isabel for her bravery.
Fisher’s expression did not change, but his gaze turned slightly cold as he looked at Isabel, the pressure making her feel uneasy. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, she stood up, as it was customary to stand when speaking formally.
Fisher broke the chalk in half, waiting for her to finish speaking before he lightly replied,
“First, the Introduction to Basic Magic is a required course for first-year students at the Magic Academy. The course capacity is strictly determined by the principal according to the number of students. In theory, there should be no adding or dropping of the class unless they drop out or transfer schools.”
Fisher’s words were neither fast nor slow, and his voice was just loud enough for Isabel to hear clearly. However, this made her increasingly uneasy, and even the classmates who had been cheering just moments ago were now silenced by Fisher’s words, relieved that it was the princess standing up instead of themselves, as they would definitely have been terrified.
“Second, your uproar is not due to the school’s custom but rather because you do not want to enter a learning state so early in the semester. If possible, you would prefer not to attend class for the entire semester. As a professor, I cannot agree with your reason for refusing to attend class, so I will disregard it.”
“Third, I dislike being interrupted while I speak, especially in class. Any opinions must be raised by hand. If this happens again, I will have you expelled from my classroom; you can go back to take another nap.”
Isabel bit her lip, her expression trembling slightly in the face of Fisher’s coldness, and then nodded as she sat down. Although she maintained a fragile calm on the surface, her legs began to tremble slightly.
As a member of the royal family, she needed to remain composed; otherwise, she would definitely cry. Fortunately, Jasmine beside her took her hand, preventing her from feeling so uncomfortable. She took several deep breaths to calm herself.
“I understand. I’m sorry.”
The classmates behind her shrank back in fear, regretting choosing this professor’s class. If they had known, they would have chosen a different professor for the Introduction to Basic Magic.
No way, after class, they needed to find someone to switch classes; they would definitely suffer under this professor’s watch!
Seeing Isabel sit down, Fisher paused for a second before continuing,
“The grading standards for this course include three components: twenty percent for weekly assignments, thirty percent for the midterm exam, and fifty percent for the final exam. This means that your performance evaluation will be given strictly based on quantification, with no participation points or subjective influence. If you want to sleep in, you can choose not to attend class, and it will not affect your grades at all.”
“I do not adhere to the gentle teaching approach, so any non-compliant behavior may incur point deductions. For example, late assignments or acts of academic dishonesty will warrant serious penalties. This is very important; if your assignment is found to be plagiarized, that assignment will receive a zero. If any form of cheating is discovered during exams, you will fail this course without any chance of appeal.”
“Okay, that covers everything I needed to say. Now I will officially start the lesson.”
As he concluded, Fisher turned to the blackboard and wrote the title of the first chapter of the course:
[Chapter One: The Essence of Magic].
With that stroke completed, his coldness finally receded somewhat, followed by his first teaching statement for the class,
“‘Magic is not a lucky miracle, but a precise structure.’ This is what my teacher taught me when I first learned magic. Now, I pass this saying on to you. I hope you can view the content of your studies with the utmost rigor and understand the splendor of magic.”
Isabel opened her mouth, gripping her pen tightly, forcing herself to quickly enter a state of learning.
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Thank you so much!
(*`*)
(End of this chapter)
