After lunch with his classmates, Norton returned to his tightly packed schedule. Unlike most students, the future Count von Carstein's days were filled with lessons from Monday to Sunday, 8 AM to 6 PM. His diligence was remarkable.
Norton's determination also inspired other students—if someone of his high status and talent worked so hard, surely they should as well. Seeing the students' increased dedication delighted the teachers, adding to the academy's studious atmosphere, which would ultimately benefit Sylvannia and the von Carstein domain.
On this particular Wednesday afternoon, Norton chose to attend a class on the formal sequence of natural magic. The instructor, Professor West, was over two hundred years old. Besides having a strong grasp of black magic, he had traveled to the wood elf territories, acquiring a wealth of Druidic natural magic—often through less-than-honorable means. His talent in elemental summoning even surpassed that of some grand Druids, making his class a popular elective for many students.
As mentioned earlier, academy faculty and students dined in the same hall, so after lunch, Norton and several students interested in the same class followed Professor West to his classroom on the fourth floor, helping him set up before the lesson began.
Professor West looked like any typical vampire noble with his white shirt, black evening suit, slightly frail yet refined appearance, and golden hair tied in a ponytail. The only unusual accessory was a wreath of twigs on his head, giving him an eccentric look.
Once the preparations were complete, Professor West clapped his hands and, with a slight cough, addressed his students, seated in a semicircle around him: "Alright, everyone, settle down. Today we'll study Druidic potions. While those tree monkeys might live primitively and have some brain issues, their knowledge complements traditional alchemy quite well."
His remarks elicited laughter from the students, reflecting a shared disdain for wood elves. It was a common sentiment among most intelligent species, who were often strict racial supremacists. Such disdain for others was one of the causes of the world's persistent conflicts.
This was particularly true among spellcasters. Ordinary people already viewed spellcasters as otherworldly, and differing values, stances, and theories among spellcasters of different races led to mutual disdain. The saying "you see the world as genitalia, and the world sees you the same" aptly applied here.
Druidic nature magic often relied on various forest plants, especially those in Athel Loren, the wood elves' temperate broadleaf forest. There, they could harness trees' power to perform magical feats that even great wizards admired.
"But still, tree monkeys are just that—take them out of the forest, and they're nothing! Without the right herbs for their addicts, they can't enter meditation. Lacking the green magic winds, they can't use strong Druid magic. Their excessive protectionism leaves them without iron or quality armor. Their backward tribal system prevents them from organizing professional armies, making them easy to defeat—just lure them out of the woods!"
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"Um, Professor West… we're supposed to discuss Druidic potions, not military tactics. Could you calm down a bit?" a student interjected, unable to resist, while Norton also suppressed a chuckle.
Years ago, West had caused quite a stir in the forest of Athel Loren, leading to the wood elves' frenzied retaliation. Scores of grand Druids and hundreds of elven rangers pursued him from Athel Loren to Sylvannia, thousands of kilometers away. Fortunately, just as he claimed, outside the forest, wood elves were like toothless tigers; otherwise, he might not have escaped back to Sylvannia.
Thus, any mention of wood elves got this teacher worked up.
"...Sorry for the tangent. Alright, let’s get back to the lesson. In recent days, we’ve covered all the materials available in Sylvannia that can be used to make potions. Today, we'll learn how to combine and mix these herbs with other alchemical items. Some of these techniques are my own discoveries, not found elsewhere, so pay close attention, everyone.”
As Professor West began his lecture in earnest, the students listened intently, some even using recording crystals to capture the lesson.
Despite his eccentricity, the professor was indeed knowledgeable. His expertise in Druidic herbology would rival that of a top botanist in Norton's past life. He could expound on the virtues of any weed by the roadside or find medicinal value in any tree bark. These herbology insights, combined with other schools of potion-making and alchemical knowledge, led to myriad applications and transformations. Such expertise might surpass that of even the grand Druids, who focused solely on their Druidic practices, unlike vampires who explored multiple magical disciplines.
The hour-and-a-half class ended with both teacher and students wanting more. While textbooks were available for self-study, having a teacher explain the material made learning faster and more insightful.
Seeing the students' eager faces, Professor West chuckled, patting their heads and saying, "If you want to learn more, just come back tomorrow. I’m not going anywhere. I’d love to see if I can train you lot into Druidic magic masters, just to see the tree monkeys' faces turn as red as a baboon’s butt, hahahaha..."
As the professor started his antics again, Norton exchanged a helpless look with his classmates, shrugged, and prepared to leave. However, before he could exit, Professor West called him back, saying, "The principal wants to see you before you finish for the day."
"What for?" Norton asked.
"Good news!" Professor West smiled mischievously.
Norton shrugged, deciding to disregard the whimsical teacher. Given that he said Principal Asta wanted to see him, it was likely true. The principal had always treated him well, so Norton resolved to pause his schedule and visit the principal.
With his mind made up, Norton informed his classmates and headed to Principal Asta's office on the third floor. Since it wasn’t his teaching time, the room was empty. Seeing Norton arrive, the principal smiled and welcomed him in.
Norton, familiar with Asta, got straight to the point: "Professor West mentioned you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, there’s something I'd like to discuss, though it’s not very urgent. I can tell you now," Principal Asta replied, eyes twinkling with mischief. Norton, lacking the experience to decipher the look, nodded to show he was listening.
“In the next few days, we'll have some new students transferring to our academy. I want you to get to know them well.”
“New students, transferring?” Norton asked, puzzled. It sounded like these students weren’t residents of the von Carstein domain but came from one of the other three families, which was unusual. However, this news seemed unrelated to him...
“Additionally, these students will be staying at your home,” Principal Asta added, finally unable to contain his laughter.
“What?!”