Chapter 201: Guidance

Chapter 201

Guidance

“The 3 hours are up. It’s time to summarize everyone’s performance. Let’s see who has shown significant improvement and who needs to train harder,” Professor Nico said kindly.

He had no intention of criticizing students who didn’t meet their goals. For the first day of this academic year, it was merely customary to allow the professor to see who had noteworthy talent. There had been many instances where secondary students performed exceptionally well and were promoted to be a direct student, while some direct students were demoted.

Though the latter case was rare, as most direct students were already highly dedicated, there had been examples in other branches. Even the Light Elemental Branch recently removed a single student. It’s clear there’s no rule against demotion, though the possibility was there.

Professor Nico began with the fourth-year students who had just been promoted from the third year. There were more direct students in this fourth-year group than in other years. All 4 of them stepped forward proudly with their work. During the school break, they had all been honing their skills. No one wanted to embarrass themselves on the first day of the academic year.

Although the professor said it didn’t matter, their pride was at stake. To show their superiority to secondary students and juniors, they worked very hard.

Ellie watched the work of the 3 students with admiration. They were indeed talented. In 3 hours, they had managed to hone nearly 16-17 Rattus A rods. Two students honed 16 pieces, while another honed 17. This work was reminiscent of Professor Nico.

Ellie tried to emulate Professor Nico’s work earlier. She had seen him take 10 minutes to hone 1 piece. Didn’t this mean that these fourth-year students met an exceptional standard? Ellie knew Professor Nico slightly slowed his pace, possibly taking about 8-9 minutes. Even so, for students this young to achieve this, wasn’t it extraordinary?

“Good. You 3 must have trained hard over the past period,” Professor Nico praised the trio. Applause followed. The students in the stratagem branch admired such excellent work.

However, the time taken and the quality of work were not the same. Professor Nico appreciated their dedication but noted that there were still weaknesses to address.

“Even though you completed 17 pieces, 2 of them are unusable, and 4 can only be used in level 1 stratagems. This means only 11 pieces are actually perfect... You need to improve more, stay calmer, and use your eyes more. Understand?”

“Yes, Professor. I will try harder from now on.”

“Good. Now...for you. Although you made 16 pieces, only 1 is unusable, and 4 can only be used in low-level stratagems. This means you have 11 perfect pieces, which means you need to put in more effort. The same goes for you, who made 16 pieces, but 2 are unusable, and 2 can only be used in level 1 stratagems. Thus, you produced the best result in the group with 12 perfect pieces. However, the proportion of failed pieces isn’t good. You need to improve more and increase your hand speed as well.”

“Understood, Professor.

“Understood,” both students responded seriously. Even though they were criticized, they knew their level of performance was already high. They weren’t disheartened at all.

The secondary fourth-year students also presented their work to Professor Nico. As secondary students, they would receive guidance from the professor today.

Many of them had only managed to produce 4-5 usable pieces. This difference clearly showed the gap in skill level, not to mention the many pieces they had ruined and the relatively low quantity they had produced. Despite this, Professor Nico still gave them advice. Some received tips on how to better use their knives, a guidance that would help them improve significantly.

It’s no wonder people say, “The mentor’s words are as valuable as gold.” To receive such valuable guidance, they had to work hard, much like earning money to buy gold from scratch.

“Next,” Professor Nico called up the only direct disciple in the third year. This student, a young man with a small build but good complexion, was very confident in himself. After he walked up holding 13 pieces of Rattus A bone rods, the students murmured in amazement.

“He made 13 pieces? My God! No wonder he’s the only student Professor Nico saw potential in from the third year!!”

“He’s also from the Ryuger family! His strength is impressive.”

“He will definitely become a powerful stratagem creator. He’s only in the third year and can already do this much!”

Many students exclaimed, and Nico agreed. Seeing that he had produced 13 pieces after only 1 year of training, his speed was indeed greater than that of the fourth-year students. But then again...he was from the Ryuger family, so it wasn’t surprising that he had such outstanding skills.

“You’ve done quite well. Your hand speed has doubled since last year. You must have worked very hard, and for that, I commend you...” Professor Nico praised him, and the other students applauded in appreciation.

“Alright...Even though your hand speed has improved, your work isn’t yet at a commendable level. Last year, you completed 1 perfect piece, 2 pieces usable for level 1 stratagems, and 3 pieces that were unusable. This year, you’ve only improved slightly. You have 5 pieces usable for level 1 stratagems, 2 perfect pieces, and 6 unusable pieces!”

Professor Nico criticized him slightly, looking at the young man’s reddened hands before sighing. He tossed a knife for the student to hold.

“Hold it in your hand. I want to closely observe your technique again.” The third-year direct student complied, demonstrating for the professor. Nico sighed upon seeing this.

“Sigh, last year, I wasn’t cautious enough in teaching you. It seems I really made a mistake. You’re holding the knife more like an apprentice. If you’re going to be a direct disciple under my instruction, you shouldn’t have such an embarrassing posture,” Professor Nico scolded. The young man’s face turned bright red.

“Alright, follow my lead. Use your index, middle, and ring fingers as the base to support the knife, while your thumb rests on top. Your thumb will be what moves the blade. This will stabilize your hand more. Also...release your magic power through the three supporting fingers. Since they don’t move much, your magic power control will be steadier.”

“Any students who aren’t holding the knife correctly should adjust their grip. Initially, you might find the sudden change uncomfortable, but in the long run, it will benefit you greatly.”

“Remember...Only untrained apprentices without guidance release magic power through their thumbs while using only their index fingers to move the blade. If you do this, your work will fail more often. Keep that in mind.”

Professor Nico used this opportunity to instruct his own students. Teaching the correct way to hold a blade wasn’t something he often did in the past, as many students already knew the basics. Because of this, he never checked thoroughly. If it weren’t for the unusually low success rate of the student, despite his hard efforts, he wouldn’t have asked the student to demonstrate.

“Of course, you’ve done very well. Your determination is commendable. Even with the wrong technique, you still managed to achieve this much. I’ve never seen anyone try as hard as you. You’re also a direct disciple I’m proud of.”

He patted the young man’s shoulder twice. The student quickly saluted with tears in his eyes. Even though he was from the Ryuger family, he wasn’t acknowledged as a direct descendant. His training came from his own efforts, so it wasn’t surprising he didn’t know these basics.

Professor Nico then called up the third-year secondary students. Their work was evidently worse than the direct student’s, even with the wrong grip, so they received a lot of criticism and advice. Many of them hadn’t improved from their first year, which gave Nico quite a headache.

He looked at the second-year students, noting that Nadia’s preliminary work showed promise. So, he called Nadia next. The confident girl walked up, holding 8 pieces of her work, a truly outstanding result.

Ellie looked at Nadia’s pieces, then at her own work, sighing with relief that she wouldn’t embarrass herself too much. She had managed to produce 6 pieces. With the thought that...if Professor Nico took 10 minutes per piece, as a new student, she should take more time, so Ellie spent 30 tedious minutes honing on 1 piece of Rattus A rods.

Ellie knew she could work much faster, but there was no need to show off here. Using precise power and focusing to keep her hand steady—if anyone thought she lacked focus, they were blind.

Someone who must use concentration to control numerous spores daily and now being at level 4, how could she not handle such a simple task!?

“Impressive hand speed. Last year, the student from the Ryuger family made 6 pieces. This year, someone broke the record with 8 pieces,” Professor Nico teased Nadia.

In fact, after assessing her abilities earlier, he already knew that Nadia had more potential than the previous Ryuger student. However, there was no need to mention it. Sometimes talent comes with opportunity. Student Nadia was an important young lady from her family, so it was not surprising that she received more excellent training.

"Alright, let’s see how well you did. Starting with the pieces usable for level 1 stratagems, there are 2 pieces. Only 1 piece is perfect, and the remaining 5 pieces are unusable...But it’s alright. You’re still new to controlling your magic power, so it’s not unusual to struggle. However, your hand speed is decent. After this, I’ll assign you tasks to help you practice magic power control more effectively."

Professor Nico was slightly disappointed after examining her work. Although her speed was quite good, having only 3 usable pieces was too few. Ideally, at least half of them should be usable.

He looked at another disciple who had just learned the techniques today. He really wanted to skip over her, knowing Ellie’s work would likely be subpar. He wasn’t sure if she had even completed 1 piece. Initially, he planned to check on her before time was up, but after seeing and advising other disciples, the 3 hours had already passed. But even if he had gone to check on her, it wouldn’t have been possible to teach her everything in just a few minutes.

Deep down, he didn’t want to expose her shortcomings, but all the students were watching. This was a tradition. If he didn’t review her work, how could she be considered his disciple?

"Student Ellie."

"Yes," the girl nodded confidently, walking up with her work in hand.

"Hmm? She made 6 pieces?"

"They actually look like completed works. That’s surprising."

"Didn’t she only just learn how to do this? How did she produce so many pieces!?"

"Making 6 pieces is the same as last year’s direct student, right...? Could it be that she has abilities comparable to other direct students!!?"

"Don’t get excited yet. Maybe none of the 6 pieces are usable."

"So what? Even if they’re unusable, it doesn’t mean she’s weak. Her hand speed indicates significant potential for improvement."

"That’s true. Let’s see what Professor Nico has to say." The other students were excited when they saw Ellie presenting a decent number of pieces. Ellie nodded in satisfaction. At least she had done well enough. Whether the pieces were usable or not depended on luck.