"Here! He's here!"
In the huge practice courtyard, a wave of excited voices suddenly erupted.
The students turned—and saw two figures walking in under Instructor Evelyn's lead.
The man behind Evelyn drew nearly everyone's gaze in an instant.
He had a kind of indescribable charisma.
His face was already flawless, but it was that presence—that easy, commanding aura—that really grabbed people.
"Is that him?"
"Yeah. Professor Gauss."
"This is so weird… he's not even older than me."
"Who's the person next to him?"
"Probably a teammate?"
"Damn…"
…
Curiosity was human nature—whether you were a street vendor or a so-called prodigy mage, nobody escaped it.
More people showed up than Gauss expected.
He admitted he'd come partly for the money—teach a class during his free time and earn a hundred gold. Easy work. Who argues with that?
But seeing how eager these students were, the admiration in their eyes… he suddenly felt that even without the pay, dropping by to teach once in a while wouldn't be bad.
Of course—he still intended to take the money. The academy was offering it.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Gauss. Today I'll be teaching a practical class."
Last time had been mostly theory. Magic, in the end, had to be grounded in practice.
"Let's start with Magic Missile."
He picked a spell almost every professional mage learned.
Among casters, nine out of ten would study it at some point.
Simple reason: Magic Missile wasn't hard to learn. Once you became a proper caster, you could generally grasp this Level 1 spell.
It was stable, reliable, and extremely practical—basically a "national spell."
Even if someone didn't take it as their first spell at Level 1, they usually picked it up later.
Some students who hadn't attended the last talk were secretly baffled. What was there to teach? Everyone here knew it—most were even quite good at it.
Still, no one interrupted.
"If you can cast Magic Missile, raise your hand."
The moment he finished speaking, almost the entire front section shot their hands up.
As expected…
"Then today, I'm going to teach you how to cast Magic Missile with lower mana consumption."
He'd mentioned this idea briefly in the last lecture, but time had forced him to keep it high-level.
"Lower consumption? We can do that too?"
Some students looked doubtful.
They didn't doubt Gauss could do it—he was leagues above them, and his understanding of mana was clearly deeper.
Reducing mana cost meant reduced power, but it was still hugely useful—especially for Level 1–2 casters who didn't have deep reserves yet.
They needed something between a cantrip and a full Level 1 spell.
The problem was, most casters didn't dare to adjust a mature spell model.
"Of course. I managed it on my own back when I was still a magic apprentice."
Gauss said it bluntly, partly to encourage them.
Back then, he'd been weak. Aside from Mage Hand, he only had Magic Missile—and none of the mountain of feats, racial talents, or gear bonuses he had now.
"Huh?"
Students exchanged looks.
That one sentence carried a lot.
It meant: as an apprentice, he'd already mastered a Level 1 spell—and then dared to modify it, and even succeeded alone.
Was he insanely talented… or just insanely bold?
If anything went wrong, he could've blown himself up.
"Don't worry. It's simple."
"I need a volunteer to demonstrate."
"Me!"
"I'm Dale!"
"Professor, I'll help!"
A tall, slender girl in the front stepped forward without hesitation.
"Thank you, Dale."
Gauss thanked her, then focused a thread of Dragonseed power into his eyes. His emerald pupils shifted into a pressure-heavy, molten gold.
Others noticed the change immediately, staring a little longer.
Rumor said Professor Gauss's draconic blood was unusually pure. From the look of it… the rumor wasn't fake.
"Cast a Magic Missile for me."
In this state, his perception of mana flow became razor-sharp.
Dale raised her wand. Nervous under his gaze, but still practiced, she released a bright blue missile.
Judging by her form, Magic Missile was probably her main offensive spell.
The missile left her wand and hit the target ten meters away.
Bang!
Blue light splashed across the surface as the target absorbed the impact.
Dale turned back, tense and hopeful, waiting for his verdict.
Even before Gauss visited the academy, she'd already heard his name. She genuinely admired this "peer" who felt impossibly far ahead.
"Very good."
Gauss nodded, praising her.
He hadn't even looked at the target—he could read her mastery from the mana pathway alone.
By the "skill level" framework, Dale's Magic Missile was likely around mid-Level 3.
Still far from his Level 5, but already impressive for an ordinary caster.
She really did have talent for this spell—no wonder she volunteered.
"Now I'll demonstrate."
He didn't even take out a wand. In theory, he didn't need any casting motion at all—but for clarity, he raised an arm.
A missile condensed instantly in front of him, blazing with intense mana light.
Boom!
He hadn't poured much mana into it, but the projectile still launched like a cannon shell—at least twice Dale's speed.
Bang! It struck the target, making it shudder hard twice before it fully absorbed the force.
"So strong…"
Dale's hair fluttered in the shockwave, but she barely noticed. She stared at him in open disbelief.
"You didn't upcast that?"
At that damage level, calling it a Level 2 spell wouldn't sound crazy.
"No. In fact, I used less mana than you."
"But that touches on spell proficiency and mana quality."
Gauss shook his head.
With feats like Spell Mastery and Stable Casting Master, plus Dragonseed, plus Level 5 proficiency and overwhelming mana density, he could "downshift" output but still hit like an upcast spell.
He refocused, replaying her casting habits in his mind. His thoughts ran fast.
In moments he had an adjustment plan.
He explained it in a few crisp sentences, then looked at Dale.
"Try again—using what I just said."
"Don't worry. If something goes wrong, I'll dispel it."
He'd specifically learned Dispel Magic recently for situations like this. Even as a "part-time" instructor, he wasn't taking it lightly.
"Okay."
Freely adjusting a spell model was dangerous.
And doing it based on an outsider's advice—someone who'd only watched her cast once—was even more dangerous.
Yet for some reason, hearing Gauss's steady voice made her trust him.
Nearby, Assistant Instructor Evelyn looked like she wanted to say something… then chose not to.
Dale inhaled, ran the key points through her head, and lifted her wand again.
"Magic Missile!"
Her casting was slower this time—careful, slightly awkward, because she was minding the details.
A blue orb formed at her wand tip, visibly smaller than before.
It trembled twice—just as people started to think it would fail—
Whoosh!
It fired cleanly, struck the target, and burst into a tight blue bloom.
It worked?!
Even Dale looked stunned. She stared at her wand, like she couldn't believe it.
Then she remembered: this was Gauss's doing.
He'd watched her cast once and somehow understood her mana flow better than she did herself.
She was completely convinced now.
"Professor Gauss, you're incredible!"
Gauss quietly released the Dispel Magic he'd been holding ready and shook his head.
"It's because your baseline mastery is solid—you succeeded on the first try."
"I just gave you a small push."
If you swapped in a student with only Level-2 proficiency, there was no way they'd succeed immediately.
"Practice until the feeling becomes natural."
"Okay. Thank you, Professor." Dale bowed earnestly.
Beside them, Alia smiled—she already knew Gauss was extremely good at teaching.
The difference was: these students only got him occasionally.
Their own team got his guidance every day.
Other students rushed forward to ask for help too.
"One at a time."
With Dragonseed-sharpened perception and his mastery of Magic Missile, Gauss gave tailored corrections—based on each student's mana strength and casting habits.
Under his guidance, many students gradually grasped the "low-cost missile" technique.
Some failed—but before any instability could bite, Gauss dispelled the spell immediately.
Still, almost everyone succeeded in the end.
The technique itself wasn't the hard part. The hard part was knowing the spell deeply enough—and knowing how to adjust it for different people.
From the upper floor, the vice principal, Kieran Zevier, watched and nodded.
Worth it.
More than worth it.
Compared to Gauss's "medicine-to-the-root" teaching, the salary almost felt too low.
The only regret was that Gauss would never become a full-time professor and stay.
A genius like this—if he could come once a month—was already a blessing.
By the end of the class, nearly all the students were sincerely won over.
Even the proud level-3 prodigies.
They had high standards, but they weren't stupid—people like them respected real skill even more fiercely.
Gauss wasn't just powerful; he could teach. Staying on good terms with him could shape their careers.
The only problem was time.
Too many students, and not enough minutes for individual instruction.
When he finished, he answered a few more questions about deeper Magic Missile refinement.
Soon it was almost time to end.
Seeing Evelyn step up to wrap the session, the students realized it was ending. Their faces were full of reluctance.
Gauss's explanations were brutally precise—he could pinpoint flaws they didn't even realize they had.
"Professor Gauss is amazing… clearer than other teachers."
"And he's so young."
"Yeah…"
…
But the more they looked at him, the more unsettled they felt.
He was too young. Young enough to trigger something close to self-doubt.
They were the "talented ones" among their peers.
So why was his magic so far beyond them—not a small gap, but an overwhelming one?
"Time's about up."
"I'll answer a few final questions—anything you want."
"It doesn't have to be about Magic Missile."
He sensed the room growing strangely quiet and decided to end with Q&A.
After a pause, a hand rose from the back.
"Professor Gauss…"
"How can we gain talent like yours?"
The student's eyes were lost.
Until now, he'd believed he was among the best of his age.
But this class had forced him to face the gulf between "good" and "truly gifted."
He had three stars on his badge—the best of this group.
So his confusion ran deeper.
Gauss met his eyes.
He paused, then answered slowly.
"You can't."
"Your talent will never become the same as mine."
He didn't serve comforting "motivational soup."
Talent differences were inborn.
And those differences were everywhere.
The hall fell silent.
Even the students who already knew he was right… felt the weight of hearing it spoken aloud.
He wasn't insulting them. He was stating fact.
"However—this doesn't matter."
"Your reason for becoming a caster… wasn't to compete with me, was it?"
He realized his precision guidance had hit too hard. The results were so immediate that it had shaken some confidence.
"You don't need to measure yourself against me."
"Even if your talent is lower than mine, you can still become a Master, reach Transcendence, or go even further."
"And that… is already enough. Isn't it?"
His tone was calm, almost plain.
Comparing themselves to him was inherently unfair.
Everyone started with different conditions.
And fairness? The world didn't run on it.
The impaired wished for wholeness. Ordinary people wished for strength. Low-tier adventurers who could never break through wished to become professional at all…
These students already stood in a future countless others could never touch.
"Class dismissed, everyone."
~~~
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