(Rodova Military Academy – Faculty Staff Room, Professor David’s Cabin)
The faculty staff room was eerily silent, save for the occasional scratch of quills against parchment and the low hum of the enchanted lamps overhead.
At this late hour, most of the other professors had either finished their classwork preparation or abandoned the effort entirely, leaving their work for another day.
But Professor David?
He thrived in moments like these.
There was something cathartic about grading exams, about holding the futures of his students in his hands, about determining who would pass and who would suffer that gave him a sadistic joy.
It was his own little version of judgment day.
And he enjoyed it.
Which was why, even though the clock was approaching midnight, he continued to grade the papers, relishing every mark that he deducted from the papers of the privileged big lineage students.
*SCRATCH*
With a practiced flick of his wrist, he flipped open the next paper—a Du family student’s miserable attempt at passing his mid-semester exam.
48 marks.
David’s lips curled into a smirk as he reached the final question.
If he were feeling merciful, he could find a way to award three extra marks for effort—perhaps in Question 3, where the student’s answer, while technically wrong, at least showed the right train of thought.
However.
David wasn’t feeling merciful today, not towards the big family students at the least.
’Failing builds character—’
He mused, as with a single stroke of red ink, he marked the paper with a cruel 48/80, before scrawling a short, dispassionate comment:
"You almost made it. Try harder next time."
And with that, he tossed the paper onto the ’Failures’ pile, with absolute satisfaction plastered all over his face.
"On-to the next!" He declared, as he pulled the next paper from the stack, which just happened to be Su Yang’s paper.
"Oh? It’s my birthday come early—" David said, reading the name on the paper, as his previous smirk widened into a full-fledged grin as he flipped it open.
"Oh? That’s wrong…. That’s wrong…. That’s ridiculously wrong….. that’s a poem…." David said out-loud, as he filled Su Yang’s paper with streaks of red and snarky comments.
He had already expected that this was going to be fun based on Su Yang’s reaction while writing the answer sheet, however, he did not think it was going to be THIS fun.
Final score - 9/80.
For a moment, David just stared at the paper, before letting out a slow, deliberate chuckle.
Su Yang had been so catastrophically bad that it almost amused him.
The answers were horrifyingly wrong, riddled with contradictions, random guesses, and at one point—what looked like an attempt at poetry rather than an explanation of mana circulation.
"Oh I’m definitely bringing this paper to class tomorrow…. To show the whole world that the battle genius Su Yang, is actually an idiot at studies!
What did he say to me on day one? Beware of your life outside these academy walls?
Know your place?
Well, I’ll make sure his reputation as a stupid student in theory subjects becomes a topic that’s discussed more than his battle prowess within the social circles" David said, as he tossed Su Yang’s paper to a special pile, which he reserved for humiliating students.
He could already picture it:
The opening to tomorrow’s class when he said—
"Class, behold! The worst attempt at an exam I have ever graded! Ladies and gentlemen, Su Yang has achieved the impossible—he has become the first student in the history of Rodova to not even cross single digits in the mid term exams!"
As it was sure to be a delightful lecture.
—------------
David continued his ruthless grading spree, handing out failures like a generous god of despair, as his red ink slashed through answer sheets with no mercy.
A 12/80 here, a 23/80 there, a 42/80 to a poor student, who came so close to passing, yet was still so far, as the Failure Pile continued to grow taller.
And then—he reached it.
Leo Skyshard’s paper.
As just grabbing that sheet, his smirk faded instantly, as just reading the name soured his mood.
*Crinkle*
David tightened his grip around the paper like it personally offended him, as if it were up to him, he would tear it apart without checking a single answer, but he knew that he could land into big trouble if he did that, which was why he showed restraint.
"Skyshard was writing the correct answers from what I glanced at the time…" David muttered under his breath, as he flipped the paper open with an evident frown.
"I hope he fails as miserably as Su Yang–" David prayed.
However, as he read the first few answers, his expression only darkened further.
Correct.
The first answer was flawless, frustrating David, as he flipped to the next page, skimming through the neatly written responses.
Correct.
Next.
Correct.
Again.
Correct.
His brows furrowed deeply as page after page, answer after answer, Leo’s test was coming back with zero errors, causing his mood to plummet with every passing mark.
Logically, It did not make sense to him, as it seemed to be simply impossible.
David knew that Leo hadn’t attended most of his lectures, yet some of the exact phrasing in his explanations—some of the precise wording he had used in class—had somehow made its way onto Leo’s answer sheet.
Not from textbooks. Not from general knowledge.
But from his own lectures.
Which meant—
Leo didn’t just know the material. He knew exactly how David wanted it answered.
And this surely couldn’t be a coincidence.
This had to be proof that Leo Skyshard had cheated.
"It’s impossible that he got such detailed lecture notes from someone… And even if he had, it’s still impossible to memorize them with such precision—" David thought, flipping through the pages with increasing agitation, as frustration churned within him.
He knew Leo had cheated.
He just couldn’t prove it.
And that enraged him.
For a fleeting moment, the temptation slithered into his mind—
’I could fail him regardless–’
’Just mark a few answers wrong. Who’s going to stop me?’
But then—he knew exactly who would stop him.
The Ethics Board.
If Leo appealed the grading and accused him of unfair treatment, the academy would be forced to review the test objectively, and if they found that David had deliberately failed a student who had actually answered everything correctly—
His reputation, his position, his career—
It would all crumble in an instant, and David couldn’t take such a risk.
*Grit*
Gritting his teeth, David forced himself to continue grading accurately, his mood deteriorating with every correct answer he was forced to acknowledge, every mark he was compelled to add.
And finally—
61/80.
Leo achieved a passing grade.
A high passing grade.
And just writing that on his sheet made David feel sick to his stomach, as he just couldn’t accept passing a student who had not even attended 20% of his total lectures.
It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.
Leo had definitely cheated.
But, until he could prove it to the ethics board, it was simply not important.
*Crack*
David’s grip on the pen tightened as his gaze burned holes into the answer sheet, his thoughts racing, his blood boiling, as his mind screamed for an answer that refused to present itself.
"Fucking despicable cheater… I know you cheated somehow…"
"I just don’t know how."
His fingers curled so tightly around his pen that the wood snapped in half, however, despite all his frustrations, he had nothing that could tie Leo down to a crime for now.
However, David still refused to let the matter rest, as internally he began thinking of all possible ways Leo could have cheated, determined to sniff his fraud out.