"I got Theory of Combat Magic: B-; Principles of Advanced Magic: B+; Healing: A++. School points gained from daily evaluation: 2,382. Sadly, I still suck at the combat part of magic."
Another short round of applauses, with a side of whistles.
"Sigh, seems I'm not in the running for the top spot as a healer anymore." Yurial said with an apologetic voice.
"I got only Theory of Combat Magic: B; Principles of Advanced Magic: B; Warden: A; Healing: A. School points gained from daily evaluation: 2,530. At least I can console myself with the extra points."
He seemed really dejected. Taking out a specialization, the archmage's heir had scored two plusses less than a starving commoner.
"Don't beat yourself up, man." Lith said patting Yurial on his back.
"Quylla and Phloria performed outstandingly, but you are no worse in any way. Managing to score two As in both your specializations of choice is no easy feat."
Yurial humbly accepted the compliment, and so did the girls.
- "Now my only hope is that I didn't just shoot me in the foot unknowingly insulting Friya." – Lith though, trying to play both sides of the fence.
Luckily, she didn't seem upset.
"Yeah, you have done good. Mine is Theory of Combat Magic: B; Principles of Advanced Magic: B; Mage Knight: B+; Healing: A. School points gained from daily evaluation: 2,420."
"That's an excellent result for someone who's the first in her family to become a magician, with no legacy or training to speak of, except a second-rate mentor." Lith said to lift her spirit, while winking at Quylla.
It meant "I know that you and I got a worse start than her, but please follow my lead."
But instead of winking back, she blushed and looked away, leaving Lith in a daze.
"You have yet to answer my question, though." Yurial said with an inquisitive look.
Lith sighed, pondering if to tell them the truth or tune down his votes.
- "After all, I am their combat magic teacher and the fastest learner in advance magic. I doubt they will actually be surprised." –
And they weren't. There was no awkward pause before they started clapping and complementing him. Yurial even took out a laurel wreath from his dimensional amulet.
"I hereby crown you king of the hill."
"That was to be expected." Friya said. "Without you, I doubt I would have got a B in combat magic. Maybe a C, if not fail it entirely."
"I would have failed for sure." Quylla wasn't dejected at all, while saying it. On the contrary she was proud of her achievement.
"I never fought in my life, and never did much with magic beside healing."
"I would have surely achieved a solid C, maybe C+, but that's it." Phloria shrugged. "I learned a lot in these two months. Who knew that first magic was so useful?"
"I'm the same as Quylla, but for different reasons." Yurial said.
"I was so eager to please my father that I only focused on tier three magic. I always considered first magic a tool for servants. I knew nothing about it."
"If what you all said it's true, then you should go and report it to Trasque." Lith said returning the wreath to its owner.
Seeing their confused expressions at his words, he proceeded to explain.
"You heard Linjos, he is trying to change the system. New things are bound to have flaws, and need a proper feedback to be fixed. If you share with him your doubts and struggling with the course, you'll help the system, and as a result all other students.
He won't be angry at you for being honest, more likely you'll gain extra points."
"How do we know this is not a ruse for you to get even more merits at our expenses?" Doubt had reduced Quylla's eyes to slits. She didn't want to believe Lith making her look bad for his own profit, but she had learned to look out for herself.
"Easy, don't mention my name." He shrugged. "One of you can take credit for the lessons, for all I care. I'm not proposing this for points, but because I care for you and the academy.
Without Linjos, my life here would be much harder, and I think the same stand for most of us. Another thing, try to remember what he said about accepting your limits and working to fix them. I really think it would do you some good."
Lith left the room, letting them decide without him interfering.
After discussing it for a while, his words actually made a lot of sense.
"I really can't make head or tails about Lith." Yurial confessed.
"Sometimes he acts normal, but when it comes down to magic and responsibilities, it seems I am talking to my father instead of a friend. Always worrying about my future, me eating properly and learning my lessons."
"Agreed." Friya said. "At some point I started doubting he was only twelve, so I had a background check made on him. He is really twelve, and it's supposed to be the youngest child of his family. Then why do I get the impression he is…"
She struggled finding the right word.
"Raising us?"
Later, they decided to follow Lith's advice, and report everything to Trasque.
He asked them a few questions about what they had found particularly hard and challenging, and how they had overcome their respective bottlenecks.
"Seems a single Professor is really not enough." Trasque sighed. "Combat Magic has the highest rate of failure among all courses. We need to fix this ASAP. Thank you for your sincerity guys." He said snapping his fingers.
"I just raised your grade in my class by one notch. I'm really proud of your growth."
Meanwhile, Lith was in his room, taking a nap to catch up on his sleep.
A sudden knocking woke him up, prompting many curses. He was having one of his rare good dreams.
Seeing his frown, the academy's clerk apologized for the inconvenience and delivered him the new books.
The first one's title was: "Get out of my face. A comprehensive guide of all you need to know about dimensional magic."
The author's name was Khavos Rudd.