Chapter 5: Do You Even Deserve to Morally Coerce Me?

Erika’s provocation was entirely within Victor’s expectations, and he quickly realized it. He had no intention of sitting idly by.

Just then, the bell rang, and Victor smiled at her.

“If you have any questions, we can discuss them after the next class.”

He had already finished his lecture, and his performance was commendable—at least, no one could find any faults. There was no need to create unnecessary trouble at this moment.

But Erika had no intention of letting him off so easily. She pressed on relentlessly, saying, “As far as I know, professors have an obligation to answer students’ questions when they ask.”

“Of course, unless you’re just a professor in name only, a mere figurehead. In that case, you can choose not to answer me.”

Her aggressive demeanor didn’t displease the onlookers. On the contrary, it made them even more eager to see how Victor would respond.

“How impolite.”

Victor rubbed his forehead and sighed. In a place filled with ‘insiders’ like this, his feud with Erika was already well known.

Everyone knew about the incident where he had supposedly tried to flirt with an underage girl. Naturally, they were happy to witness the conflict between the two.

Perhaps, by catching this moment firsthand, tomorrow’s gossip headlines would already have their material.

Victor had no intention of letting these people get what they wanted. Otherwise, he would become the laughingstock of both the academy and society.

Of course, such a thing wouldn’t happen.

But he also wouldn’t allow himself to be humiliated by Erika in front of so many people.

At the very least, she deserved a small lesson.

Victor didn’t back down in the face of Erika’s interrogation. His face darkened as he tapped the table in front of him, emphasizing each word.

“This is my classroom. My rules. I have the final say.”

“And if you intend to use my title as a professor to morally coerce me, I advise you to abandon that thought immediately.”

He lifted his head, his cold gaze carrying a trace of disdain.

“I refuse to answer your question.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was about to leave the classroom. But the moment he took a step forward, the scene around him blurred, flashing with streaks of electric blue light.

In the next instant, he found himself back on the podium.

Victor focused his gaze and saw a magic circle flickering with faint blue light.

“A teleportation circle…?”

“I didn’t expect her to set up something like this at the door.”

Erika wore a smug and disdainful expression as she stared intently at Victor, as if trying to catch a glimpse of panic or fear on his face for her own amusement.

Then she spoke.

“This is my question.”

“If Professor Victor cannot answer it, then you won’t be able to leave.”

The surrounding students widened their eyes in shock.

—Holy crap?

—Is this… teleportation magic!?

“A genius student of the Royal Academy of Magic can actually set up a teleportation array without anyone noticing?”

“Is this the strength of the academy’s top students? A Tier 2 mage is this powerful?”

“To think teleportation magic could be deployed so stealthily and swiftly!”

“Her magical proficiency is simply terrifying!”

Victor hadn’t answered on the spot because, while he had inherited ‘Victor’s’ level and magic, he hadn’t inherited his knowledge.

He knew how to use magic, but he didn’t understand its principles—much like how people know how to use a lighter but may not know why it works.

He hadn’t expected Erika to hit his blind spot by sheer luck.

At that moment, Vega’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Follow my instructions.”

Hearing Vega’s voice, Victor suddenly felt more confident. A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.

“Alright, then let’s have an extra lesson.”

He pointed at the disassembly matrix within the teleportation magic circle and looked at Erika below the podium.

“All you need to do is disrupt the subtle connections between the smaller formations—it’s very simple.”

With that, he extended his hand, forming a sequence of runes. The runes shot into the core of the magic circle, flowing light dispersing into the smaller formations.

The array began to destabilize, its glow fading into darkness.

Erika’s face darkened as she watched her teleportation spell being effortlessly unraveled. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

She could clearly feel her connection to the circle weakening. No matter how much mana she poured in, she couldn’t slow its collapse.

Eventually, her link to the magic circle was completely severed.

Victor snapped his fingers, and a small hairpin from Erika’s head suddenly flew into his hand.

“I’ll borrow this for a moment.”

Erika froze, staring blankly as her hairpin was taken away.

Meanwhile, the others were still stretching their necks, eager to see more drama unfold. But then, the extinguished teleportation circle suddenly reignited—this time, under Victor’s control.

One moment, he was teleporting a flower pot from the window to the podium; the next, he was shifting a wall clock to the ceiling.

It was as if, within this room, he could teleport anything at will.

Finally, he decided to switch Erika’s seat, moving her from the front of the classroom to the very back.

Satisfied, Victor completed a final sequence of runes. After a series of smooth operations, the teleportation circle was restored to its original state.

Placing Erika’s hairpin gently on the podium, he said to her,

“Alright, you can try activating it again.”

Erika glared at him with a resentful gaze and tried reactivating the magic circle.

The hairpin on the podium suddenly vanished. But this time, it neither returned to Erika nor fell into Victor’s hands.

Victor remained expressionless, his tone indifferent.

“Congratulations, your hairpin has now been teleported to another dimension.”

Erika was stunned. No matter how she manipulated the magic circle, the missing hairpin never returned.

But Victor wasn’t done. He continued speaking.

“There’s another way to deal with this magic circle.”

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. His mage gauntlet emitted a faint glow as a golden magic formation illuminated the air.

The onlookers gasped.

“Dual casting!? And with different elements!?”

“How is that possible?”

“There’s nothing impossible about it—Victor is a Tier 3 mage!”

“A battle between the Royal Academy’s genius professor and its top student—this is worth the watch!”

Victor waved dismissively, ignoring their praise, and spoke calmly.

“A direct suppression will do.”

With that, he clenched his gloved hand in mid-air.

Boom!

Under the overwhelming magical pressure, the teleportation circle cracked apart.

Then, it vanished completely.

Erika’s hairpin was gone for good. She lowered her head, her body trembling slightly.

No one could tell what expression she wore.

Victor chuckled softly, ready to leave.

“Miss Erika, remember this: that was the professor’s answer to your question—with a small lesson attached.”

“A professor is busy. When class is over, it should end on time.”

He didn’t care about any consequences that might follow and simply walked out of the classroom.

The moment he stepped through the door, an explosion of chatter erupted behind him. But that was no longer his concern.

…

Victor returned to his office and passed the time. As the final school bell rang, he recalled the library and decided to visit, hoping to make some discoveries.

He teleported directly from the Mage Tower. The library looked exactly as he remembered from the game.

Picking up a book at random, a system prompt appeared before him:

【Would you like to learn Tier 1 Magic: Rolling Fireball?】

【Required Materials: Flame Crystal, Harpy Feather】

This was why Victor had purchased so many materials—not just for crafting, but also to use in the library to learn magic.

Since money was required to learn spells, Victor, as a lord, didn’t mind spending lavishly.

It was a loophole in the game.

Most materials could only be gathered by hunting neutral monsters outside.

But Victor could simply buy them in bulk from the shop.

Seeing that there was still time before nightfall, he studied magic relentlessly, learning nearly all the basic spells available on the first floor.

By the time he had exhausted his materials and spent most of his money, it was already dusk.

The golden light of sunset bathed the library’s floor in a warm glow.

Just then, an unusual light flickered in the depths of the library.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one diligently “studying” here.

Curious, Victor followed the glow.

When he saw the person there, he froze slightly.

“Hernie?”

It was his teaching assistant.

At that moment, she was sitting at a desk, pen in hand, writing furiously.

He could even hear her muttering to herself.

“I’ll have Professor Victor teach this topic tomorrow…”