Chapter 108: Who Introduces Themselves Like That?
After hearing Viktor's request, Gwen's expression remained unchanged.
After all, it was exactly as he had addressed her.
Because she was a Knight—and so she would serve Viktor.
She walked at the front, with Viktor following behind her.
The 2 of them moved side by side, heading together toward the grand lecture hall.
And this sight was witnessed by countless eyes, drawing expressions of astonishnt from all who saw it.
"That's... Grand Knight Commander Gwen?"
"Grand Knight Commander Gwen is actually walking alongside Viktor—are the 2 of them really that close?"
"Obviously—they're engaged to each other!"
The newspaper reporters all broke into envious looks, and the wave upon wave of admiring gasps that followed left Gwen feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.
Even the tips of her ears had gone red.
These reporters are really insufferable.
That was the only thought in Gwen's mind.
The reporters, however, had no intention of caring about what Gwen thought. They looked on at this headline-worthy scene, recording it continuously with their Magic Stones.
Viktor and Gwen walking together was naturally enough to fuel a whole round of dia buzz.
After all, Viktor as he stood now was both a 4th-Tier Mage and a sitting mber of the Mage Council.
And dressed in his gentleman's formal attire, he radiated an air of steady, mature composure.
"Grand Knight Commander Gwen and Professor Viktor really make quite the pair."
"They really do."
Amid the endless comntary, Gwen had no choice but to feign indifference and hurry Viktor along toward the lecture hall.
At last, the 2 of them entered the hall together.
The lecture hall, which had been buzzing with noise, fell imdiately silent the mont Viktor made his entrance.
Viktor gave a brief nod back toward Gwen, signaling that she need not accompany him any further, then made his way up to the lecture podium.
The lights inside the hall abruptly dimd, and several beams of warm amber light converged on Viktor's figure.
Dressed in his black tailcoat, he cut a noble and elegant silhouette.
He straightened his tie and turned to face the audience below.
The entire lecture hall was packed without a single empty seat.
Gwen remained standing in a dim corner. She did not leave right away—instead, she stood quietly watching Viktor under the spotlight.
Watching him command the attention of thousands, she found herself staring with an almost dazed expression.
The Viktor she rembered had never been like this.
Confident. Proud. And powerful.
He had changed.
Changed in a way that no longer made people find him so disagreeable.
Changed in a way that no longer made people see him as underhanded or repulsive.
At last, Gwen stole one final, lingering look at Viktor, then turned and walked toward the dim doorway.
The lecture hall was utterly silent—so quiet that the audience below seed to hear nothing but the breathing of those nearby.
The Crow perched on Viktor's shoulder lifted its head, scanning the crowd.
Auréliane. Leah. Erika...
Many familiar faces.
The Princess was watching Viktor with a composed, elegant smile.
Leah's eyes were bright with excitent. Weija could tell she was cheering Viktor on with everything she had.
As for Erika...
Her eyes were filled with admiration—and a faint touch of lancholy.
It could even spot the 2 Princes seated among the crowd, surrounded by a cluster of nobles.
Behind the podium, Heni was quietly scanning the audience, every preparation fully in place.
'Professor, if anything cos up, please call on at any ti!'
Viktor gave a casual wave behind him and returned his gaze to the front.
Rashel was seated in the very first row before the podium, leaning on his Obsidian Walking Staff, stroking his long beard with a gentle, benevolent smile.
"Professor Viktor."
"You may begin."
Viktor tugged lightly at his collar, raised his head, and let his gaze sweep the room with absolute confidence—bright and striking beneath the lights.
"It is a pleasure to see you all."
"I am the Chief Professor of the Royal Magic Academy, currently serving as 1 of the 12 sitting mbers of the Mage Council, a 4th-Tier Mage with full-spectrum mastery across all schools of Magic—Viktor Clavena."
Opening with a self-introduction had been noted as a requirent in the Lecture Script.
But that string of titles landing all at once was like a single swing delivering a stunning blow to the entire audience.
What in the world?
Were those really accomplishnts a person his age could possess?
Countless people sat in stunned bewildernt—yet Viktor paid no attention to the shock rippling through the crowd below.
Even standing before tens of thousands, he remained perfectly composed. His calm, unhurried voice continued:
"Today's topic is—《On the Feasibility of Using Magic Environnts to Simulate Real Combat Training Grounds》"
Whoaaa—
The opening topic alone was enough to leave every single person in attendance utterly astounded.
Using Magic to construct actual combat training grounds? For training?
This was sothing entirely new—none of them had ever heard of such a thing.
Only a small number of students and Professors who had been privy to what actually happened during the exam allowed quiet, knowing smiles to cross their faces.
"As everyone knows, I am a combat-type Mage."
Viktor's voice rang out, and the audience below nodded in quiet agreent.
Mages were divided into different schools of specialization.
There were those who focused on healing, those who focused on construction as Artisan Mages...
But any Mage's strength would naturally shine in the area they excelled at.
The combat-type Mage was among the more common classifications, since their focus leaned heavily toward destructive power.
Duke Livi, for instance, was a seasoned combat-type Mage of long standing.
Not a single noble in attendance was unaware of that fact.
In his ti, Duke Livi had single-handedly wiped out 300,000 mbers of a border-region heretical cult.
His na was legendary. And yet, compared to Viktor...
He seed to fall just a little short.
The crater blasted into the Academy grounds that day still remained inside the Academy, left there as a landmark for visitors to marvel at.
"As you are all aware, real combat experience is indispensable for anyone aspiring to beco a combat Mage."
"Yet after conducting 2 rounds of testing, I ca to realize that the vast majority of students have never engaged in actual combat—and that most of them can only execute simple, formulaic Magic."
This point resonated with many in the crowd as well, even among those who were not Mages themselves—the importance of real combat experience went without saying.
But the Royal Magic Academy simply could not do it that way.
Because they could not afford to take the risk.
Within the Academy, while a fair number of the commoner students had so preliminary familiarity with Magical Creatures, the bulk of the student body remained those of noble background.
The frail bodies of most Mages could not withstand even a single blow from the Magical Creatures outside the Royal Capital.
That was precisely why, when Auréliane had killed a Wild Ogre, the news had spread throughout the entire Royal Capital—leaving every Mage in the city in stunned silence.
While having Lecturers present during practical sessions could serve a supervisory and protective role, that very close-hand supervision would paradoxically reduce the effectiveness of real combat as a teaching tool.
On the other hand, if oversight were too lenient, the students' lives would be placed in danger.
The Academy was an institution of education. They could not gamble with their students' lives.
To protect their students, the Academy had no choice but to direct more of the students' energy toward theory classes.
Only the occasional practical session—letting students take a few swings at a Wooden Training Dummy—was permitted.
Students who had been enrolled longer might have developed so level of real skill, but for freshn, their capabilities were practically indistinguishable from those of ordinary people.
Many in the audience found themselves thinking back to Viktor's behavior that day.
Standing alone on the Magic Arena, taking on an entire group of students, without shifting a single step from where he stood.
So Viktor had actually been testing for this all along?
"And so, during the end-of-term exam, I implented a preliminary trial of today's subject matter."
As Viktor's words settled, every ear in the audience perked up with keen anticipation.
Indeed—many of those present had been eagerly waiting for this: the exam that had never once had its contents revealed.
And it seed that exam would finally find its answer within Viktor's lecture today.
Backstage, Heni was already fully prepared. In no ti, she projected the footage captured on a Magic Stone from the podium platform.
A beam of light flashed, and a screen-like shadow gradually materialized, hovering in midair.
Within the projection, nurous students could be seen fighting through that dense expanse of lush reeds.
Fla. Ice. Flowing water. Stone...
The students unleashed the Magic they had learned with full, uninhibited force, facing off against the handful of smaller Magical Creatures set for the exam.
So failed and slumped in disappointnt—only to summon their courage and challenge again.
So succeeded, their faces breaking into smiles of pure pride and achievent.
Among the flashing scenes, Duke Livi even caught a glimpse of Erika—watching his daughter navigate the simultaneous appearance of 10 Magical Creatures at the end with nothing worse than a few close calls.
A wave of deep, wordless relief and joy washed through him.
"The above footage was captured from the students' perspective during this exam."
The projection faded like dispersing smoke. Viktor spoke with quiet, asured calm.
At last, a question rose from the audience.
It ca from a noble Mage—the weathered lines and furrows on his face spoke of hard-won experience and the asured deliberation of soone who had seen much.
He raised his hand and rose slowly to his feet.
"Professor Viktor, I have a question."
"As you have described it—how would the safety of the students be ensured?"
Viktor glanced down at him, his expression neutral as he explained:
"As you saw, once a student is struck by a fatal blow, they are automatically transported to a safe location."
The elderly Mage nodded and settled back into his seat.
But questions continued to spring up one after another:
"Professor Viktor, how do the Magical Creatures appear? Will they not lose control?"
"Professor Viktor, how is an isolated space like that ford?"
"Professor Viktor, can this truly produce effective training results for students?"
"Professor Viktor..."
Viktor raised a hand and pressed it gently downward, quieting the voices in the crowd.
"There are too many questions. I will not be answering them one by one."
"I believe that seeing is worth more than hearing—resolving everything in one go is my preferred approach."
The mont those words landed, the entire lecture hall fell into absolute silence.
Everyone was left sowhat puzzled, their gazes fixed squarely on Viktor, all of them wondering just what thod he intended to use to give them their answer.
Viktor spread both hands open.
"Be ready."
"Don't blink."
No one noticed: on Weija's single eye, a faint blue light had begun to glow softly.
In an instant, wild vegetation began to erge across the lecture hall. Vast swaths of dense forest materialized like pieces of a puzzle—rising from the floor, descending from above, pressing in from all sides toward where the guests were seated. Within monts, a lush, thriving forest had taken shape.
Though it was night, a sun hung high in the sky above, its warmth falling gently across every face.
Countless people still felt the chairs of the lecture hall beneath them—yet the breeze brushing against their skin and the sunlight pouring down from above told them, without a shadow of doubt:
This place was sowhere else entirely.
Viktor stood beneath the sunlight like an envoy descended from the heavens.
Before long, seeds in the surrounding earth began to take root and sprout. Flowers blood at a speed visible to the naked eye, and insects poked their heads out from beneath the wild grass.
Not far away, enormous flower buds burst open all at once. From within them leapt countless Magical Creatures—heads crowned with flower petals, bodies wound with trailing vines.
In an instant, Viktor was surrounded by tens of thousands of Magical Creatures, as though he stood at the head of an army.
Like a commander standing tall beneath the canopy, he looked out at the crowd and smiled faintly:
"This is the main focus of today's lecture."
"I call it—a Dungeon."
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