After a brief moment of thought, Orf spoke up, “Kruse, go handle Luca’s enrollment paperwork and place him in the Third Year, Class One.”
Kruse hesitated, “But the third-year students are all mid-level professionals. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
Orf chuckled, “If we placed him in the first year, that would truly be inappropriate.”
Kruse and Fred thought about it and realized he was right.
With Luca’s exceptional full-grade aptitude, placing him with first-year students would be almost like bullying the newbies.
As Kruse nodded and was about to leave to handle Luca’s third-year enrollment paperwork.
Luca suddenly spoke up, “Teacher, I’m not here at Red Maple Academy to attend as a student.”
Everyone in the room froze at his words.
Orf looked at him in surprise and asked, “If you’re not here to study, then what are you here for?”
Orf stared at Luca, genuinely puzzled by his statement. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Luca smiled and explained, “Don’t misunderstand. What I mean is, I want to apply to be an instructor at Red Maple Academy.”
His words left everyone utterly stunned!
“Are you out of your mind? Do you even know what you’re saying?” Fred looked at Luca in shock, unable to believe his ears.
He even wondered if he had misheard! A mere Silver-grade mid-level Demonic Rune Mage, wanting to teach at Red Maple Academy?
This was pure madness!
But Luca remained calm. He shrugged and said, “The instructors here can’t teach me anything. I don’t want to waste my time.”
With his extensive knowledge and experience, there was nothing at Red Maple Academy that he could truly learn.
Given this, he figured it would be more beneficial to join as a teacher instead.
This way, not only would it be more convenient for him, but he would also gain more advantages.
After all, the perks of being an instructor at Red Maple Academy were famously generous throughout the Southern Territory.
Orf, however, found himself intrigued. He asked, “Are you sure you want to apply as an instructor? Although our academy’s instructor benefits are indeed excellent, the selection criteria are incredibly strict. It’s not something an ordinary professional can pass. Plus, your level is too low, which will make the assessment even more challenging.”
Luca smiled confidently. “Thank you for the reminder, Teacher, but I’m firm in my decision.”
Seeing Luca’s determination, Orf shook his head with a smile and said, “Very well, suit yourself. It just so happens that the academy is in the middle of admissions. I’ll arrange for you to have a special spot in this assessment.”
“But let me be clear, the difficulty of your assessment will be much higher than that of the regular students. The minimum requirement for becoming an instructor here is to reach mid-level, and while I can make an exception for you in this regard, you’ll need to impress everyone with your performance.
If you don’t meet the standards to become an instructor, you’ll lose your chance to join Red Maple Academy entirely. Every choice comes with a cost, and I hope you understand that.”
Luca didn’t waver and nodded firmly, “Thank you, Teacher.”
Seeing Orf go along with what seemed like Luca’s reckless idea, Kruse grew a bit agitated and said, “Principal, how can you agree to this? This is pure nonsense! Since the founding of Red Maple Academy, we’ve never had such a precedent!”
Fred frowned as well and added, “Not to mention, this kid doesn’t meet any of the requirements, whether it’s in terms of age or strength. If he recklessly enters the Trial Tower, he could end up in serious danger.”
At Red Maple Academy, all assessments—whether for students or instructors.
It were conducted in the Trial Tower.
The tower stood at the back of the academy and was a unique dimensional realm. The higher one climbed, the more difficult it became.
If the new student assessments were considered easy mode, then the instructor assessments were at the hardest difficulty level.
With Luca’s current strength, taking part in an instructor-level assessment could easily put him in peril.
Faced with their objections, Orf merely took a sip of tea and smiled calmly. “Don’t worry. This kid isn’t as simple as you think. Besides, young people should be challenged and tempered.”
Luca also smiled but said nothing.
If he dared to take on the instructor assessment at the academy, it meant he had full confidence in his abilities.
Seeing that Orf had made up his mind, Kruse and Fred wanted to say more, but in the end, they held back.
They knew the root of the problem lay with Luca himself.
After leaving the principal’s office, Fred grabbed Luca by the collar, his voice filled with anger. “Are you out of your mind? Do you even realize what you’re saying? Do you really think the assessments at Red Maple Academy are child’s play?”
Dean Kruse also tried to persuade him, “Instructor assessments are completely different from student assessments. There are real dangers involved! You should go back and talk to the principal, pretend this conversation never happened, and focus on your studies at Red Maple Academy.”
It wasn’t unreasonable for the two of them to be so worked up. After all, they had promised Sophia and Ryan to look after Luca properly. Now that they had finally brought him safely to Red Maple Academy and were just about to breathe a sigh of relief, Luca suddenly pulled this stunt. How could they not be upset?
Luca knew the two were looking out for him and reassured them with a smile, “Don’t worry. I’m confident I can complete it.”
In his previous life, he had taken part in the academy’s trial assessments, so he knew the difficulty involved. With his current experience and strength, he might not breeze through it, but he was certain he could keep himself safe.
As for being a student at Red Maple Academy, it was something that didn’t hold much significance to him.
Now that he was already Orf’s student, whether he officially joined Red Maple Academy or not didn’t really matter.
Seeing Luca’s firm resolve, the two deans sighed deeply and said no more.
“He’s still too young and impulsive,” they thought. “He has no idea just how difficult the assessment truly is.”
It’s worth noting that throughout the entire Southern Territory, the number of people qualified to become an instructor at Red Maple Academy was incredibly limited, and many positions remained unchanged for years.
For Luca to participate in the trial assessment was practically the same as courting death.
Since it was clear that he wouldn’t change his mind, Kruse and Fred didn’t try to dissuade him further. However, they both made a mental note to make sure the principal would intervene if Luca found himself in any real danger. They didn’t want him to lose his life over a moment of pride.
Soon, Luca followed the two of them and received his entry pass for the Trial Tower.
Staring at the silver card in his hand, an item description appeared before him:
[Trial Tower Secret Realm Entry Ticket: Silver-grade. Upon use, grants access to the Trial Tower for assessments. Rewards will be given based on the number of levels cleared and performance. Cooldown time: 7 days.]
Entry tickets like these were fairly common items, serving as keys to access various secret realms. Many secret realms required such items for entry.
The key point was that completing these secret realms would grant rewards. Since Luca was currently short on funds, this might be an opportunity for him to earn some money.
Luca put the entry ticket into his storage ring and then followed Kruse and Fred to the academy’s assessment grounds at the back.
Located between the Trial Tower and the rear of Red Maple Academy was a massive stadium spanning several thousand square meters, surrounded by rows of seating packed with spectators.
Many boys and girls were already waiting inside the stadium—these were all candidates who had passed the preliminary tests and were about to undergo the entrance assessment.
Luca hadn’t paid much attention initially and just glanced around casually.
To his surprise, he spotted a familiar face among the crowd: Susie.
She was wearing a blue mage’s robe, her long golden hair and pretty face making her stand out in the crowd.
Moreover, beside Susie, Luca saw another familiar figure.
It was a tall, handsome young man clad in bronze armor, wielding a massive sword, giving off a powerful and imposing aura. It was none other than Nomadey.
At this moment, Nomadey was speaking to Susie with a flattering smile.
Susie, on the other hand, kept a cold expression on her face, barely acknowledging him.
“Well, what a surprise—an old acquaintance,” Luca murmured, narrowing his eyes. Since he and Susie were classmates, he naturally knew Nomadey as well.
This guy came from a well-off family and had confessed to Susie a few times back when they were in school, only to be ruthlessly rejected each time.
But Nomadey was truly persistent. Even after graduating from high school, he was still pursuing Susie—definitely a textbook example of a “love-struck fool.”
Luca hadn’t expected to run into this guy in the game. He had to admit that Susie was quite unlucky.
Watching Susie being pestered by Nomadey to the point of frustration, Luca merely smiled and did nothing to intervene.
After all, she had barged into his room early in the morning, disrupting his sleep. Now it was her turn to experience the irritation of being harassed… a little taste of her own medicine.
“Susie, I have a Bronze Grade piece of equipment here, and it’s perfect for you! With this, you’ll definitely pass the assessment and get into Red Maple Academy!” Nomadey said confidently, holding out a bronze-bound book.
Summoners, like Demonic Rune Mages, used special types of equipment. However, unlike mages who wielded spell spears, the weapon of choice for Summoners was a codex, a specialized item similar to the spell spear.
Just the codex in Nomadey’s hand alone would easily sell for hundreds of thousands on the market.
Yet, Susie didn’t even spare it a glance.
“I’ve told you many times, Nomadey—I don’t need your things. Stop bothering me!” she responded coldly.
Nomadey’s smile froze on his face as he clenched his fist.
He had pursued Susie for years, showering her with care and attention, but her attitude toward him had never wavered.
He simply couldn’t understand what was so great about Luca, that poor kid.
Luca was just the son of a taxi driver—how could he even compare to a single strand of his own hair?
Nomadey sighed inwardly, but he had long grown accustomed to rejection.
From the moment he first laid eyes on Susie, he had sworn in his heart.
In this lifetime, he would make Susie his woman!
If one year wasn’t enough, then he’d wait for ten years. If ten years still didn’t work, then he’d try for twenty. He wouldn’t give up until he succeeded!
With that thought, a smile returned to Nomadey’s face, and he redoubled his efforts to win her over.
Watching the scene unfold from a distance, Luca shook his head and sighed.
Susie really was foolish beyond belief. How could she turn down free gifts like that? If it were him, he would have emptied Nomadey’s entire family fortune by now!
Just then, a gentle female voice echoed from beneath the Trial Tower.
“Time’s up. All candidates, please enter the Trial Tower to begin the entrance assessment!” she announced.