The Mob Character Who Woke Up!-Chapter 49: The S Rank professors!

The morning sun bathed the grand stage in a halo of pure gold light.

The old Vice Principal finally stopped his endless droning about tradition and began to speak what the assembled crowd of excited students actually wanted to hear.

"Mana is not a gift from the heavens. It is ammunition for the war you will all face. Out there beyond these safe walls, in the treacherous Dungeons and the hostile Frontiers, the elements do not care about your feelings or your dreams.

"Fire burns flesh without discrimination. Ice freezes blood in your veins. Lightning kills instantly and without mercy. Choosing your path today is not about picking your favorite color like some casual hobby.

"It is about choosing how you will survive when the world tries its absolute best to eat you alive."

He straightened up dramatically, sweeping his arm toward the impressive line of legendary figures standing behind him.

"Choose wisely, students. For your choice today determines your weapon tomorrow."

Kaizen’s heart began to beat wildly in his chest. He still wasn’t completely sure what to choose, but he couldn’t afford to not choose anything at all either.

The old Vice Principal began the official roll call.

"First, representing the prestigious Department of Elemental Magic..."

He pointed to the left side of the stage.

"Professor Ilyra Snowveil, Master of Cryomancy!"

A stunningly beautiful elf with silver hair and ice-blue eyes waved a delicate hand through the air, instantly freezing the moisture around her into a shimmering mist of diamond dust that sparkled like stars. The students roared with appreciation.

"Professor Borik Deepmantle, Master of Geomancy!"

The stocky dwarf professor stomped his boot against the stage floor with tremendous force, and a massive pillar of solid stone shot up from below to catch him perfectly like a throne rising to meet its king. The crowd went absolutely wild.

"Professor Ralnor Farlar, Master of Electromancy!"

A Storm Elf with static electricity crackling visibly in his silver hair stepped forward confidently. He didn’t wave or bow or make any dramatic gestures. He just blinked once, and a bolt of lightning struck the stage directly behind him with a deafening crack, leaving behind the sharp smell of ash hanging in the air.

"So cool!" the students screamed in unison. "I want to be a lightning god too!"

"Hey, don’t you know there’s a rumor going around that he’s actually one of the Ninth Bolt members!"

"Ninth Bolt member?! Are you being serious right now?!"

Kaizen was genuinely confused as to why the students were getting more buzzed about this rather short Storm Elf and this mysterious Ninth Bolt organization instead of focusing on the actual magic demonstration.

’Man, is this the pathetic extent of my knowledge about this world?’

’Why don’t I know about something as apparently important as the Ninth Bolt but somehow know about other random things?’

Kaizen was very confused by the gaps in his knowledge, but an idea quickly came to his mind. He cast a wary glance at the buzzed protagonist standing next to him and deduced that his theory might indeed be correct.

The Vice Principal continued announcing the legendary professors.

"Professor Kaelis Ashborne, Master of Aeromancy!"

A mysterious man wearing flowing robes that seemed to move on their own stepped forward onto the stage. He was hovering three feet off the ground without any visible effort, creating a localized tornado around himself that spun his cape dramatically like something out of a movie.

"And finally for the elemental department, Professor Seris Wind, Master of Pyromancy!"

Kaizen blinked in confusion.

’Wait.’

A woman stepped forward with absolute confidence. She was tall, clearly human despite her exceptional magical power, and radiated this haughty confidence that practically screamed "Royal Pain in the Neck" to anyone paying attention. She wore crimson robes that flickered with actual embers floating around the fabric.

She snapped her fingers with a sharp crack, and a massive firebird erupted from her palm in an explosion of flames, screeching across the sky before dissipating into thousands of sparks that rained down harmlessly.

"WOOOO! LADY SERIS!" the crowd cheered enthusiastically.

Kaizen frowned deeply, his brain itching with inconsistency.

’Seris Wind? From the Wind family? But she’s using Fire magic?’

He looked over toward where Lance Wind was standing several rows across from him in the crowd. The Trash Young Master had this hard, unreadable expression frozen on his face, but the slight tremble of his lips and the way his hands clenched into fists conveyed that there was definitely some painful history between this professor and him.

Lance Wind used a Fireball spell in Chapter 1 of the game. Now Seris Wind is revealed as the Pyromancy Professor. But the Wind Family is literally one of the Six Great Noble Houses famous throughout the entire Republic for their mastery of Wind magic. It’s literally in their family name for crying out loud.

’Are they related somehow?’

Kaizen scratched his chin thoughtfully.

Did the entire family bloodline suffer some kind of magical mutation? Or did the author of this world just get incredibly lazy with naming conventions?

Why is the Wind family obsessed with committing arson instead of controlling air currents?

"So cool!" Leo shouted right next to Kaizen’s ear at maximum volume, interrupting his lore analysis completely. "Fire is so manly! I definitely want to learn that! Or maybe Lightning instead! What about you, Best Friendo? What are you picking?"

Kaizen covered his ringing ear with his hand. "I’m picking silence. Is that an option on the form?"

"Haha! You’re so funny, Best Friendo!"

"The human makes good jokes," Gad added from his perch on Leo’s shoulder while stroking his beard. "I like this one."

The Vice Principal wasn’t done with his announcements yet.

"And for those of you blessed with a mind for creation rather than destruction, we have the Department of Craft and Code!"

"Professor Velka Quorin, Master of Alchemy!"

A woman with permanently stained fingers and wild hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in weeks held up a glass vial filled with swirling liquid. It exploded into a massive cloud of purple smoke that somehow smelled exactly like fresh blueberries. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Professor Thrain Lockforge, Master of Artifice!"

A gruff dwarf wearing a mechanic’s oil-stained apron revved up a chainsaw-sword hybrid weapon that hummed with concentrated mana. The crafting nerds scattered throughout the crowd completely lost their minds with excitement.

The Vice Principal cleared his throat loudly.

"These are the paths laid before you today! Choose wisely and with serious consideration! Your chosen element will decide whether you survive the treacherous dungeons as heroes or become fertilizer for the moss as forgotten corpses! The official selection forms will be distributed in the appropriate elemental tower buildings surrounding the campus!"

The old man paused to catch his breath before continuing.

"Also, all of you will be required to sit through every single elemental class for at least two mandatory sessions. You absolutely must learn the most essential survival spell from each elemental magic discipline, something that will be desperately needed for your survival when the inevitable crisis comes!"

"Make sure you think this decision through carefully, students. After all, your entire future lies in this single choice."

The Vice principal was about to conclude the meeting, and the students were eager to just run into the elemental towers when they suddenly heard a scream.

"WAIT!"

A shrill scream cut through the magical voice amplification system.