Chapter 1660: Bruce Wayne and the Magic Stone (Part 4) (Patreon)

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After little Bruce left, the atmosphere in the hall became momentarily silent. Professor Schiller cleared his throat, capturing everyone's attention, and suddenly, everyone felt a bit nervous, fearing that the Professor would unleash his anger upon them.

"Excessive humility will make you a lamb in the eyes of evil," he began, his voice calm. "This is the first lesson you must learn at Gotham Magic College."

Professor Schiller continued, "In the magical realm, pride is not necessarily a bad thing. Here, excessive obedience to authority can be deadly. If you blindly submit to powerful beings, the consequence is offering your body and soul."

Professor Strange, leaning back in his chair, nodded in agreement with Schiller's words. But before long, Schiller added, "However, distinguishing between friends and foes is equally important. You must know who stands with you and whom you should stand with. Only by striking down your enemies and respecting and caring for your peers will all your efforts in acquiring knowledge and skills be worthwhile."

Professor Constantine nodded in agreement and, along with Zatanna, led the applause. The students below followed suit.

Professor Schiller shook his head and said, "I know this isn't the best time for a lecture, but one of the things I want to emphasize is the importance of being polite to your teachers and professors and refraining from attacking or insulting your classmates. Our school has a punishment system in place."

The students perked up at this, as they were indeed growing impatient with the lecture but were also afraid of punishment.

"We have different penalties for various levels of misconduct," he explained. "These range from community service tasks like cleaning the common room, trimming hedges and bushes, and early morning sweeping of stone paths and corridors, to more severe punishments like detention, informing parents, suspension, and expulsion, which you may have heard of in other schools."

The students nodded in understanding. Professor Schiller continued, "Different colleges have different rules, and you can inquire about them from your grade leaders... Oh, have I mentioned that our college operates on a strong grade leader system? The grade leader is the head of the grade."

A buzz of chatter filled the room. The grade leader system was almost obsolete in modern schools, with most having a student council president at most, and some even doing away with class monitors.

This wasn't without reason. Excessive decentralization of power could lead to a pronounced hierarchy among students, and many children at this age didn't know how to wield power responsibly. If a child had too much power, it could easily lead to cliques and campus bullying. Therefore, many schools in the West, especially in lower grades, had completely done away with class officer elections.

However, magic colleges were different. Students had to learn how to wield power and face authority at an earlier age. In simple terms, if you couldn't handle a grade leader, how could you possibly deal with angels and demons?

The purpose of public education was to ensure fairness, but Gotham Magic College aimed to teach students about the perils of the magical realm at an early age. A certain degree of oppression was necessary. Sheltered children and those without a backbone would only end up surrendering the school's nurturing to powerful beings.

Professor Schiller scanned the younger students below, who were mostly eight or nine years old, looking somewhat like frightened quail. His gaze paused on Barry Allen's face before he continued, "You are younger, so you will be operating as a separate grade. Next, you will write down your college choices on a piece of paper. After the sorting, we will select a grade leader for your year."

"That's why I said it's best to show a certain level of respect to directors and professors. There are many things that only we know. We don't intend to oppress students, but if you don't seek our guidance, we won't stop you. However, no one will make up for what you miss out on due to your backwardness and ignorance."

With a smile, Professor Schiller stood up along with the other professors and began distributing slips of paper to the students.

The younger students took the slips and began writing while whispering to their peers. Most of them were gleefully discussing Bruce's earlier comments about being a 'poor ghost,' which weren't directed solely at Barry. Even children from wealthy families found Barry's attitude, as if he were the only rich person in the world, quite off-putting.

Now that Barry had left early, he wouldn't be part of the grade leader selection after the college sorting. One of the key features of the strong grade leader system was that the grade leader had authority over all other students in the grade, essentially ruling over the entire grade. It seemed that the annoying blue-eyed boy would have to keep a low profile from now on.

With these thoughts in mind, the students finished writing their choices. Despite their late enrollment, they had some understanding of the colleges' reputations and chose the ones that aligned with their interests.

In the end, Barry Allen chose Rodriguez College, not because he had heeded the advice or was holding a grudge, but because he was genuinely interested in magic theory.

He had always been fascinated by magical themes and had fantasized about becoming an all-powerful sorcerer. However, what intrigued him most about magic were the strange and unusual requirements, rather than the idea of wielding a magic wand and fighting others.

After the sorting, the directors led the students to their respective college director's offices. Professor Schiller's office was located in the highest tower of the floating spire of Rodriguez College, on the same level as the student dormitories and common room. However, due to the small number of students in the college, the tower's dormitories remained unoccupied, leaving only the director's office on that floor.

As he led the students to the college entrance, Kaine, an upper-grade leader, stepped forward to introduce the college facilities to the freshmen. Kaine's success in being elected among the children of prominent families indicated his capabilities, and his introduction was both informative and engaging.

"Pay close attention to the steps beneath your feet, but not because you might fall through," he explained. "These floating steps may look dangerous, but each one is engraved with Wind and Levitation Runes. Even if you fall, you'll be blown back up. It's just a bit scary."

"I trust you've noticed the Runes on the front of the stairs as well. These Runes change daily, and the ones displayed are the same as the ones taught in Professor's class. However, they also record some interesting stories and short phrases that the Professor doesn't usually mention in lectures."

"By looking down at them while walking, you can review your knowledge and also focus on your steps, instead of horsing around on the staircase and risking a fall."

The students nodded, and Kaine smiled, adding, "I don't mean to speak ill of anyone behind their back, but Miss Harley Quinn, your senior who left with the blue-eyed student earlier, has fallen down these stairs before. The funny thing is, she falls about three times a week, as if she can never remember to watch her step."

The children laughed, and Kaine shook his head. "So don't expect her to introduce these things like I did. Let's just hope that Mr. Wayne, with his intelligence and wealth, can avoid such mishaps and not take a real tumble."

"Kaine," Schiller called out, turning his head to look at him. "You've been quite talkative today. I hope you'll be just as responsive when we review your assignments later."

Kaine laughed sheepishly and quickly moved behind Schiller. He then waved at the students, saying, "Come on, ladies and gentlemen, let's get going. We still need to have dinner after going through the instructions."

Schiller led them to the top floor, the Director's office. The room was spacious and bright, with a semi-circular shape. It featured a large, curved floor-to-ceiling window, like half of a spire, and the floor was made of polished marble. The second floor had an open design, and the walls above were lined with bookshelves.

On the first floor, there was a cozy reception area with a soft carpet and a sofa, along with a desk and chair, both adorned with bookshelves. There was also a staircase leading to the second floor and some sculptures glowing with a magical light.

"This Ancient One Spirit Sculpture was a gift to our Director from Constantine, and the Animated Painting was sent by Night Master Jim as a greeting gift... And that paper shredder over there was given to Professor Schiller by one of his top students."

"Don't underestimate that paper shredder. It can shred not only your papers but also you, so make sure your papers are not too obtrusive, or else..."

Kaine made a playful face to scare the younger students, to which Miss Spencer rolled her eyes. She smoothed her hair and said, "Don't listen to him. Although Professor Schiller may seem strict and demanding in academics, he's very kind to the students."

"For instance, we can always come to his office and knock on his door if we have any questions. He occasionally visits the common room to see us, and he's very understanding about minor mistakes we make in our daily lives, as long as you hand in your assignments on time."

"Do we have a lot of assignments?" asked one of the students.

"I won't burden you with excessive assignments," Schiller said as he approached his desk and turned to face the students. "I value quality over quantity, so as long as you meet the required word count and put in your best effort, even including the time spent on finding materials, you shouldn't need more than two hours to complete the assignments."

"Alright, gather around, children. I'm going to go over some important guidelines for this college. If you don't pay attention, your seniors won't repeat them to you because these are very basic rules."

The students moved to the reception area and sat on the sofa and the carpeted floor, following Schiller's gesture. The older students were considerate, leaving space for the newcomers and standing behind the sofa or by the bookshelves.

Kaine lit the fireplace and brought some tea and biscuits. Barry felt a bit hungry, but he hesitated to take any. Miss Spencer took the initiative, offering biscuits to the new students.

"Don't be shy," she said, handing a cup of tea to Barry Allen. "We often have afternoon tea and reading sessions like this around two or three in the afternoon in the common room. You're welcome to join; it's a great learning opportunity."

Holding the slightly warm cup, Barry felt a bit more at ease, his nervousness fading. He took a bite of the biscuit, which seemed to have been freshly baked in the fireplace, making it extra crispy and filled with the aroma of butter and cheese.

With food in their stomachs, the students relaxed. They formed small groups and chatted, though mostly about the blue-eyed student who had been so arrogant earlier since they didn't know each other well enough to talk about other things.

After a while, Schiller descended from the second floor, holding some uniforms. Kaine quickly went to take them from him.

The students noticed that Schiller was now wearing a formal Wizard's Robe. Although it was black, it had a touch of elegance and sophistication that a typical black suit lacked.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter ->Chapter 1661: Bruce Wayne and the Magic Stone (Part 5)