Chapter 109: Study Problems
Leo's life at the Rodova Military Academy only grew progressively worse after that day, as Professor David's hatred for him became even more blatant following the incident.
Before, David at least attempted to maintain a thin veneer of fairness in his efforts to kick Leo out of class. But now? He didn't even bother to hide his contempt anymore.
Every day, as soon as the lecture began, his first order of business was to target Leo—calling on him with a question completely unrelated to the subject being taught at that moment.
And the moment Leo inevitably failed to answer?
"Get out—"
"Out—"
"There's the door—come back when you're actually serious about this lecture—"
That was all Leo heard, day after day.
While he excelled in every other subject, Basics of Magic Theory remained the one class he was almost guaranteed to fail.
Thankfully, Mu Ryan went out of her way to share her lecture notes and classwork with him, making sure he stayed updated on what was actually being taught.
But even then—reading from notes and experiencing a lecture firsthand were two entirely different things.
As biased as he was, Professor David was an exceptional educator, and missing his lectures cost Leo far more than he wanted to admit.
With the mid-semesters scheduled in just a month and a half, Leo had no choice but to double down on self-study, spending countless hours in the library, absorbing every book he could find on magic theory—because if he didn't?
He had no hope of passing the class.
—----------
"Motherfucker—" Su Yang cursed, as yet again today, he was kicked out of Basics Of Magic Theory Class alongside Leo.
At the start of the year, Su Yang was completely unbothered by the kick-outs, as he did not really care about the subject in the first place, however, with midterms rolling around, he finally began to panic, as the reality inevitably set-in.
"Even Principal Alric can't save us from failing the midterms, even if we complain about the professor's bias to him.
Because while Principal Alric is the highest functioning authority at Rodova, he isn't the undisputed highest authority.
Above him stands the Ethics Board, the governing body that oversees the academy's operations—and they will absolutely not tolerate any corruption of the academy's fundamental principles, one of which is equality for all students.
The Ethics Board doesn't care whether we pass or fail. Their stance is clear—all students must pass the mandatory subjects taught to them.
And because of that, this is a situation where we're on our own.
We need to find a way to pass—because if we don't, we'll be forced to repeat this subject as seniors.
And if we fail again?
The academy won't grant us a graduation degree—crippling our chances of recruitment into any major powerhouses." Su Yang said, as he grabbed his hair in panic.
"Oh really? Now you feel afraid? But back when you were getting kicked out, you always wanted to spar…
Why not now? Yeah? Come on, Yang, let's go bash it out like brutes." Leo taunted, watching as Su Yang's face darkened even further.
Unlike Leo, who was still keeping up with the coursework despite being thrown out of lectures, Su Yang hadn't even tried.
He had ignored the subject entirely, and now, with the midterms looming closer, he was panicking even more than Leo.
"Don't fuck with me, Skyshard. Today's not the day for jokes… You need to help me study, or I'm failing those midterms for sure." Su Yang said, his voice bordering on desperation.
Leo exhaled, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"Fine—" he muttered after a brief pause, gesturing for Su Yang to follow him.
"We'll go to the library, but you're studying from the books yourself.
I'll teach you some basics, but everything else—you'll learn on your own while I focus on my studies." Leo clarified, making it abundantly clear that he wasn't going to babysit Su Yang, only assist when absolutely necessary.
—---------
(Two hours later, inside the library)
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Su Yang repeatedly slammed his head against the desk, frustrated beyond belief as he failed to grasp even the most basic concepts of magic theory—such as elemental infusion into mana.
Leo watched in mild amusement as his so-called 'genius' of a friend turned into a struggling student.
Thud.
The librarian threw a piece of chalk at Su Yang's head, as if he finally had enough.
"You… Su Family boy! Mind your manners, or I'll throw you out of my library!" He barked, his glare piercing as Su Yang immediately stopped banging his head.
However, the red imprints on Su Yang's forehead, made it clear just how much pain his brain was in.
"I'm screwed, Skyshard… Even with your tutoring, I can't grasp shit." Su Yang grumbled, looking like he was on the verge of throwing the book across the room as Leo let out a long sigh.
Teaching Su Yang was much harder than he had anticipated.
The arrogant Su Family young master—so naturally talented in combat—was proving to be an absolute idiot when it came to pure theory.
As despite Leo's best efforts to guide him, Su Yang had barely made it past the first five pages of the Basics of Elemental Infusion textbook, which meant that the road ahead was going to be brutal if Leo truly wanted to get him through the entire syllabus in the next 45 days.
"Just keep at it. There's no other solution." Leo said coldly, offering Su Yang the only advice that mattered.
Su Yang scowled but begrudgingly returned to his studies.
It was clear from his face that he hated every second of it, but he still endured—because despite his personal disinterest in the subject, failure was not an option.
"Thankfully, there's a friendly match between the Rodova Circuits Team and the Nature Academy Team tomorrow, here in Rodova.
That should improve my mood again." Su Yang muttered, his tone finally perking up a little, as Leo's ears subtly perked up at that information.
The Rodova Circuits Team had already visited two different military academies for friendly sparring matches, but this would be the first time they would be playing host—welcoming the Nature Military Academy for an exhibition match.
'Tomorrow, I'll finally get to see the actual Circuits Team in action…
Get to measure just how strong they really are…
And understand exactly where I need to be if I want to join them at the Circuits.'
A quiet flicker of excitement stirred within Leo.
But he didn't show it.
Instead, he remained laser-focused on his studies, burying himself back in the books.
Tomorrow's battles were tomorrow's problems.
For now—he needed to make the most of today.