《Teacher : Deliquent》


 Chapter 1 - Interrupted Brewing

    The sun shone brightly over the picturesque Spiral mountain range, so named because of the peculiar spiral shape the peaks of the mountains formed due to millennia of suffering the bizarre wind vortexes that were native to the area.


    The entire range was full of bizarre trees whose stems formed a peculiar helix shape. The shape allowed them to survive unharmed through the constant wind vortices. With the exception of these "spiral plants" the entire mountain range was a dead zone. Few creatures dared to trespass its boundaries and fewer still returned alive. The mountains were conspicuous in the lack of birds chirping and crickets buzzing. The terrifying winds could alive apart any creature without prediction.


    Deep within this range, around its geographical center, was a small hill that was peculiar even for the peculiar spiral range. It was the smallest mountain in the locality, but a careful analysis of the rocks would show that its origins were bizarrely older that all the surrounding mountains by several eons. The hill had bizarrely split into two near the peak and the two peaks intertwined forming a geometric double helix. The wind passing through this rock formation was several times more vicious than anything else in the spiral mountain range.


    Surprisingly, at the base of the peak''s split, where the helix began was a small opening. This opening led to a large cavern that was filled with a musty smell not very different from a vineyard. A large part of the cavern was occupied by a huge cauldron, several meters in diameter. The cauldron was full of spiral leaves, ground into a paste while a huge ladle was churning the whole mixture around as it slowly fermented. Powerfully vicious winds entered through the opening and into the cauldron, powerfully grinding its contents into a sugary malt.


    The most bizarre part of this equally bizarre scene was a man. His appearance was anything but plain. 1.8 meters tall, somewhat skinny, a moderately attractive face that looked heroic that was arrogantly smoking a rolled up spiral plant leaf. His silver hair accented his extremely youthful look, giving him a sense of sovereignty that would make others feel insignificant in front of him. Deep silver pupils that serenely gazed around him, felt like they had locked in unfathomable knowledge and made this pale young man look attractive. However, this was all spoilt by the eccentric smile on his face brimming with arrogance, as he smoked a leaf from its corner. He stood on top of the cauldron, at it''s circumference, taking a look at the malting process. Clearly, he was the brewing an alcohol in this extremely bizarre location using a never before seen technique.


    The vicious wind would occasionally threaten to escape the cauldron, but the enigmatic man kept using his hand to slap the wind blades back into the cauldron. All along, his face was in anticipation for this new wine concoction of his, based on spiral plant leaves. As the sun rise into the clear cloudless sky, streaks of sun rays gently diffracted through the cavern opening into the cauldron and reflected prismatically around the room.


    Right at that moment, a small backpack in the room''s corner vibrated. The young man frowned, gesturing with his hand towards the bag which unzipped automatically allowing a vibrating talisman to float towards him with considerable haste.


    "This is Zeta." The man nonchalantly spoke into the circular talisman, which now floated in front of his face. He clearly wasn''t happy with the interruption, irritation leaking out from his voice.


    "Zeta! We''ve finally managed to establish contact! *Cough*. On behalf of the Kingdom of Providence, We, King Ralph III, have a mission for you to fulfil."


    King Ralph ignored the irritation in the voice of the man addressed as Zeta. At this moment it was more important to appease this mercenary than worry about his pride as a ruler of the continent''s superpower.


    "Meh. I''m busy. I''ll consider when I''m free." Zeta dismissed him offhandedly.


    "Zeta! Do you understand what I did to contact you? I had to ask a favor from the King of Nevers to use the *Continental Communicator*. This is not a simple mission. The Keeper''s prophecy."


    "I don''t care what you kings do playing around. I only take up jobs that interest me and when I feel like taking one. You know the drill King Ralph. If the keeper wants me to take up a job, tell him to contact me himself."


    "The Keeper... Zeta you really are arrogant. But it''s a fact that you are the only one who can help us. The council of rulers of the Eastern continent have collectively urged me to request you to accept this mission. The fate of the continent, and may be the world hangs in the balance."


    "If the Keeper is so worried about his continent, he can contact me himself. I''m busy. Ciao!"


    Zeta unceremoniously terminated the conversation, but left the talisman hanging. An arrogant smirk on his face, he continued brewing his alcohol. Fifteen minutes passed in silence before the talisman vibrated again.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "This is Zeta."


    "ZETA!!!" A huge powerful voice thundered through the talisman as the entire mountain range shook, terrified. Zeta, however, remained unfazed.


    "Calm down Keeper Lao."


    "You dare not give me face? You have crossed the line Zeta!"


    "If you want me to take a job, come directly to me. Why send your political minions? You know very well how I feel about their slimy mouths. Besides I''m busy in a life or death scenario."


    "Making wine is a life or death scenario?" The Keeper''s voice thundered again, as his anger reached a tipping point.


    "Oh, you teleported here already? Come in, don''t stand on ceremonies. I''ve made some excellent new wine from this useless plant!"


    A golden light flashed onto the cavern, illuminating the place with excessive light that would blind any ordinary person. As the light receded, Zeta, was joined by an old man. His face had wrinkled with age and the years had eliminated any trace of facial hair. His bald head shined in the afterglow of the receding golden light as his eyes squinted at Zeta, in anger.


    Zeta tossed a corked bottle containing a translucent golden liquid to the old man.


    "Try it out, I quite like the musty sweet flavor. Be careful though, it might be too strong for your old bones." Zeta chided with a chuckle. He hopped down the cauldron as he sat beside Keeper Lao, who had already made himself at home in the cavern.


    "Hmph!" The old man scoffed. He drank the golden liquid carefully, taking in each sip gently to let the aromatic fragrance and the earthen taste travel through his body. The powerful drink filled every cell of his body with a soothing feeling of being bathed in energy.


    "Very good. So you''ve been learning to make wine now. Although this truly is good, but when will you stop this charade? A month back you were learning to draw maps and the month before that you were learning to cook! If you put your talent to learn combat skills, you''d have already ascended."


    Zeta had a weird expression on his face as he heard Keeper Lao''s comment.


    "Oh? There is someone you know who can teach me combat? Shouldn''t it be the other way around? Want me to teach you some new skills old man? I''m willing if you cut this crap about missions. I''m not interested in learning about combat, I''ve had enough of it."


    The old man almost choked when he heard those words from this abnormal brat. But he had no retort. This was because what he said was true. The brat was so far beyond the pinnacle of what combat even means it could send chills down his spine. He was simply glad that this enigmatic young man wasn''t an enemy.


    "Forget about the matter of the Kings trying to get favors in, but do this mission for me will you, you brat? I had my legacy prophecy.."


    Hearing that the Keeper had his legacy prophecy, Zeta''s brows furrowed. It appeared that the matter was very serious. What did legacy prophecy mean? The keeper was the most powerful clairvoyant mage on the continent. The legacy prophecy was his final prophecy, a prophecy so important in it''s ability to predict a future turning point, that it consumed the Keeper''s clairvoyant ability altogether. A historic turning point was no laughing matter.


    "What did you see old man?"


    "An implosion. Everything imploded. The continent, the planet, the universe, it all collapsed over itself. The dimensions cracked and bizarre worlds started overlapping ours. Ultimately everything ended. Everything imploded into a single point."


    "*Collapse!*" thought Zeta to himself. He barely managed to keep the shock from his face, smilingly nodding while listening to the old man''s words. "It''s *Collapse*!"


    The Keeper continued, not noticing the shock in Zeta''s deep eyes. "And the implosion...it all started on our continent. A power that destroyed all worlds. Right here, in Helmholtz."


    "Helmholtz? The school? I see it now. Interesting. What is your mission?"


    "For the sake of our world, we would like you to go to find the cause of this and stop it before we all die."


    "Hmm, sounds like too much responsibility old bag-of-bones. Why do you think I''ll succeed anyway. A cataclysm of this kind, what chance could a wine brewer like me possibly have?"


    "You shameless bastard! You just began brewing like a month ago! Bag of bones? Fuck! You young bastards have no respect for the old nowadays!"


    The old man went into a tirade at the smirking Zeta before he calmed down, looked straight into Zeta''s silver pupils before answering the real question.


    "Because...despite worlds all being destroyed, you survived."


    Zeta took a swipe at the bottle in his hands, acting like he didn''t hear the Keeper. The lack of surprise on Zeta''s part shocked the Keeper.


    "You...who are you really? You already know what it is right? Never mind it... Can you save us from calamity?"


    "I can, but it seems there is no time limit to this mission. It might take a day or even years. Depending on the source. I''ll have to infiltrate Helmholtz. Get me a cover."


    "Do you need a cover to infiltrate? What are you talking about?"


    Acting like he didn''t hear the old man''s grumblings, Zeta continued speaking.


    "I''ve decided! Now that I''ve learnt making wine, it''s time for my next adventure! Time to become a teacher!"


    "A teacher? With a teacher like you my continent will easily squash the others haha!"


    "Squash? You think I would train skills for free? Out of your mind? Who would go to a school to teach boring combat arts!"


    The Keeper was flabbergasted. The demonic bastard didn''t want to teach combat arts or magic at Helmholtz but wants to be a teacher? What the fuck? Helmholtz is a combat arts school!


    "Fuck? What will you teach then?"


    Zeta patted his chest pridefully as he replied with glee. "Music!"


    Music! Music! Music!..


    The voice echoed in Keeper Lao''s head. Flabbergasted, he shouted.


    "Bastard! You want to teach musical fine arts in a combat school? And at Helmholtz of all places? On my recommendation! You want me to lose all face? Fuck! You malignant bastard!"


    With a cold smirk, Zeta took another spiral leaf, rolled it carefully, and lit it aflame before rapidly putting it off. He deeply inhaled the smoke filled with essence from the leaf. The smiled triumphantly.


    "That is one of my necessary conditions to apply for this mission. A long term mission like this, who knows how many years! Take it or leave it!"


    "Fine! Have it your way!"

 Chapter 2 - Cinderella

    Helmholtz Academy was one of the five major schools for training the continent''s most talented youth. Each of these five schools were politically independent, they lay in a neutral territory that belonged to no country but the schools themselves. The countries that bordered the schools would spend countless resources to find the university in the hopes of raising a genius for their country.


    Although the schools themselves weren''t under the direct jurisdiction of any kingdom, they were heavily influenced by the neighbouring nations because of their source of funds, resources and students. Over time, the continent''s major alliances had formed around these five big schools and even named after them. The locations of the schools ensured that no country was a neighbour to more than a single school. There were also several countries that didn''t border these prestigious schools, but the next tier of schools. These were the minor alliances.


    Helmholtz in particular was a school with one of the largest territories under its belt. It was a neighbor to six kingdoms - Mainz, M¨¹nster, the Livonian Order, Tuscany, Bavaria and Venice. Excluding The Livonian Order, which was a religious hegemony, and Venice which was a merchant republic, the others were all traditional monarchies under a king. Bavaria was the biggest power amongst these kingdoms and along with Venice one of the biggest monetary contributors to Helmholtz Academy.


    So when the managing director of Helmholtz Academy received an urgently delivered secret letter from the Monarch of Bavaria himself, he was perplexed. Political isolationism of the academy was one of the major jobs he had to handle, but with the substantial contributions the kingdoms made in helping run the territory, it was difficult to maintain this neutrality. Wiping the sweat on his forehead, the dean carefully opened the letter.


    ****


    My dear friend Karl,


    It is my belief that over the past few decades the Helmholtz Academy has been overemphasizing on combat training and magic research with a singular focus that has churned out very capable generals and princes for our kingdoms raising our pride.


    There is however, a dearth in teachers in the fine arts at Helmholtz. We need to teach our youth the finesse of living aristocratically, being able to appreciate fine arts and display talents in a multitude of directions.


    After discussing with all our members of the Helmholtz alliance, we each decided to propose a tutor of fine arts,in the hope that Helmholtz can offer these lessons as electives for the youth of our alliance.


    I have personally recommended a music teacher after the personal recommendation of His Graciousness the Keeper himself. The teacher may appear to be ordinary, but considering how the Keeper seems to appreciate his talent in music, he can''t be so simple.


    I hope you will accept him as a professor at the academy and allow him to teach music.


    Your good friend,


    Wilhelm Gottfried III.


    ****


    Dean Karl had a unique expression on his face. On the one hand he was relieved that the request the alliance had made was relatively light, while also respecting the neutrality of the Academy. But at the same time he was perplexed. King Wilhelm was the antithesis of a fine arts connoisseur. He was a the prototype of a perfect muscle brained king. Even the Keeper was involved. He wondered if they were to act as spies, but it wasn''t as if the Academy wasn''t full of spies already.


    However, he had little choice on the matter. He had to simply announce the creation of new fine arts electives courses. This music teacher, he was looking forward to see what he had that could impress the Keeper himself. He wasn''t sure about the reasoning behind this sudden policy direction, but he could only play the waiting game to find the threads playing behind the scenes.


    The next day a new circular had spread out across the entire Helmholtz campus. The sudden introduction of new courses made instant waves among the students. But when they saw that they were fine arts courses, their faces crumpled.


    "What the heck? Who wants to study these garbage courses?"


    "I cannot fathom what the director is thinking. Six new fine arts courses? Did I come here to sing and dance? Who has time to read poems?"


    "History seems like the only course that seems worthwhile in this list of garbage. We could learn about war tactics and the like. Thankfully these courses are all electives, or I would have truly revolted!"


    "Shut it dumbass. As if the academy would give a shit if you rebelled?"


    Conversations of these kinds were echoing through all the dorms. In an upscale girls dorm in the academy, two girls were sitting on a sofa. One was reading the notification flyer with a smile.


    "Are you planning to join any of these courses?"


    "Perhaps..perhaps not. It all depends on the tutor after all. Even if I like the subject, a terrible tutor will just make me hate it."


    "Hmm, I think history can be quite an important subject, especially to learn from the mistakes of our predecessors. But is it worth spending time listening to some old man instead of reading a book from the library?"


    "A good teacher would condense the most important bits into a short period. It might be worth checking these electives out. I wonder how the art and music instructors would be?"


    "I hope there is a hottie amongst them!"The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "I don''t think that is likely. After all, one can''t exactly become an expert at a young age can they?"


    "What a travesty!"


    ****


    While the academy was in a vibrant mood, five people stood in front the academy gates. The guards respectfully greeted these five people who had a scholarly erudite air about them.


    "Dear Sirs and Madams, would you be the new fine arts professors?" A guard cautiously asked.


    "I don''t know about the others, I''m the new history teacher." A burly gigantic man overflowing with muscles gruffly spoke. His gruff voice made it quite difficult to understand what he said. He exuded powerful martial energy, a violent fiery energy birthed in fire, frightening the guard.


    "Can you escort us to meet the dean?" An old interjected. She exuded a frosty power that dropped the temperature in her immediate surroundings.


    "Indeed! Please follow me!" One of the flustered guards immediately led them to the dean''s office who immediately greeted them. As they sat on a round table, the seat for the sixth professor was conspicuously absent.


    "Dear professors, it would be great if you could introduce yourselves so I can address yourselves." The Dean calmly said. He appeared old and wrinkly, but his eyes held power and made the teachers gulp hesitatingly.


    "I''m the history teacher. Name''s Phillip." Said the burly man.


    The old woman then volunteered her name. "This woman is the dance tutor. I am known as Dante."


    An old scholarly man then rose and speak elegantly. "Good morning Dean. I have been asked to handle the Literature elective under the request from the Kingdom of Mainz."


    Following him was another scholarly man rose and spoke with a very royal air. "Greetings sir. I am Gunter, the etiquette tutor from the inner palace of M¨¹nster."


    Finally the last person stood up and spoke gently, but with an air of aloof coldness in her voice. "I am Camelia. I am here to instruct willing students in the intricacies of painting art."


    "Thank you professors. I warmly welcome you to our Academy. As you can imagine, Helmholtz is primarily a military and research academy. Although it does have a wide variety of courses, it has focussed fairly narrowly on the military foci. The director decided to expand our focus by announcing electives for the fine arts. I hope you enjoy interacting with our students, and I hope that they learn the ways of the nobility and aristocracy."


    "Unfortunately, it seems the music teacher is late. What a farce, has he already dug his grave?" The litterateur snidely commented. The dean shook his head wondering where the music tutor was.


    ****


    At the entrance, a young man with silver hair and pale skin was strolling without regard for the gates. He was wearing a white t shirt and black shorts, smoking a cleanly rolled spiral leaf. Thick sunglasses covered a large part of his upper face that wasn''t already hidden by his unkempt but mysterious silvery hair that glowed.


    Seeing this queer looking fellow, the guard was slack jawed. What the fuck was this douche doing walking into the gate?


    "Sir, do you have some work at the Helmholtz Academy?" He cautiously asked. The guard knew that appearances can often deceive and took no chances.


    "Oh? I''ve already arrived? Not bad, looks like a nice place. Tell me bro, how are the women here?"


    "Fuck! You dare slander the students of our prestigious academy at its gates? You want to die?" The other guard who was looking from afar was enraged and started bellowing.


    "Damn bro, you lost your screw? Why are you shouting? Was just a simple question!"


    "You...!" Before the enraged guard exploded, the first guard stopped him and looked towards this mysterious youth.


    "Sir, we are simply doing our job here. Can you tell us what work you have at the academy?"


    Hearing the guard, the mysterious kid nodded, then replied.


    "I''m here to rent a house. I was kicked out by my previous landlord, I heard they wanted a music teacher here and would offer a place to live. So I was like, damn! That''s perfect for me!"


    "What the fuck? You are the music teacher? I REFUSE to believe!" The enraged guard lost all semblance of rationality. Looking at his outburst the silver haired man simply smiled.


    He took out a red letter with the seal of the Bavarian monarch himself. Seeing that, the first guard who had remained calm throughout had a trace of panic.


    "Dear professor, you are already late! Please let me guide you to the Dean''s office to be introduced!"


    The man nodded and replied. "As you command brother. I''m looking for some tips to enchant some hot women here too! Don''t be stingy!"


    The guard was perplexed. He wondered how this ruffian became a professor at an elite academy like Helmholtz. Without saying a word further, he led him to the dean''s office. The young man entered just as the other tutors had decided to take their leave. The guard quickly disappeared.


    Just as the fine arts professors were impatiently beginning to take their leave, they saw the queerly dressed young man who barely looked 20 enter with a swagger. The room suddenly became pin drop silent. All the teachers and the dean were flabbergasted at the scene. However, the dean was the dean. He had seen many things over the years. He was the first to regain his wits.


    "Dear young man, are you perhaps our music teacher?"


    "As long as I get food and lodging for free!" The young man gleefully nodded and replied.


    "Insult! An insult to the teaching profession!" The burly man lost his mind and began enforcing his aura to dominate the carefree young man. An enormous fiery energy suddenly tensed the room as it directed towards the silver haired guy, who simply acted scared.


    "Woah! Muscle head calm down! Why are you attacking me?"


    The history teacher Phillip stopped himself and retorted. "Hmph! A puny mortal like you is going to teach music? What a disgrace! You don''t even have a shred of battle qi?"


    Everyone looked at the silver haired man with disgust or shock with the exception of two people. The Dean''s eyes sparkled. Those eyes had seen many things over the years, and wasn''t surprised easily. *Qi Decomposition! How deeply has he hidden his ability? I cannot sense a shred of energy from him!* Along with him was the old dance teacher, who smiled wryly.


    "Dear professor, can you introduce yourself to us?" The dean ventured. He realised that this young man was not ordinary. But the ability the dean noticed couldn''t correlate with the young man''s age!


    "Umm, I''m a 23 year old guy. My previous landlord threw me out because I kept forgetting to pay the rent. Then I heard about your school hiring a musician as a teacher in return I could get food and a house! So I came!"


    The young woman who was of a similar age chuckled at the response. She realised that he was play acting to test their patience on purpose. She ventured a question.


    "Music teacher, how do we address you? Could you tell us your name?"


    "My name? Hmm..." The silver haired man thought deeply about the question for a moment before clapping his right fist into his left palm energetically. "Right! You can call me Cinderella!"


    "Ppfff.. Haha!" The woman couldn''t control her laughter. The litterateur adjusted his glasses before commenting.


    "Cinderella was a woman from a famous children''s folktale. If you don''t want to tell us your name at least make up a better one!"


    "But I like Cinderella!.. Damn, choosing a name is so hard, I understand how parents feel when they try to name their babies nows. Hmm.. Okay, you can call me John Doe."


    The dean nodded. Okay Professor Doe, let me introduce you to your colleagues.

 Chapter 3 - Musical Palace

    "Look! The guard is escorting a weirdo!"


    "He looks like he has come for a picnic! Fufu, he is in for a beating!"


    "Look how brazen this guy is. Smoking right as he is being escorted to the Dean! Is he a rich young master?"


    "Uwa...I like his hair. But his sunglasses cover his whole face!"


    Just as Professor Cinderella/Doe was being escorted over to the dean, he had already become a spectacle for the slack jawed students. They wondered if the academy now had another young master bully.


    Being chock full of influential descendants, it wasn''t unusual for there to be influential camps that attracted students. These camps would often bully weaker students. The arrival of a new young master would certainly tick off the existing camps, since a new player meant a redefining of camp boundaries and a new rival.


    Inside a regal villa named Lockhart Villa.


    "Boss, I''m hearing that the guard escorted a new student. He looks like a potential rival to our Lockhart Villa."


    "Hmph. Do you think I, your father, will give a shit about every ant that crawls into the academy trying to act like a tiger? Who do you think I am? Send some guys to show him his place!"


    "Sure boss."


    After the hullabaloo in the dean''s office, John Doe(?) walked out with his hands in the pocket of his shorts. His slippers making a slapping sound against the floor as he aimlessly trudged ahead.


    "Professor Doe!"


    "Hmm? Oh Professor Camelia, do you need me for something?" Hearing the beautiful art teacher call out to him, Doe straightened his back and replied with the surprising air of an aristocratic noble. The sudden change startled Camelia, who giggled before replying.


    "Professor...where were you planning on heading to? I doubt you have any idea about where our offices and class areas are! The dean assigned me with the information and the map. Come along!"


    Professor Doe suddenly shocked at his own stupidity, knocked his head playfully while exclaiming. "Oh! Stupid me, haha. Thank you for your reminder professor. Can I address you as Camelia? You can address me as Zeta when we talk informally."


    "...Zeta? Isn''t your name John Doe? Or is that as real as Cinderella? Pfft.."


    "He he... Zeta is a good name right.."


    "I prefer John Doe. Nice to meet you. You can call me Camelia from now on."


    "Awesome. Please lead the way Camelia!"


    Giggling, Camelia led the entourage of fine arts professors towards their offices.


    Observing how Camelia didn''t seem to have any problem directing, Doe probed. "Camelia, have you been to this Academy before? A student?"


    "Ohh, professor sure is perceptive! I was indeed a student at the Helmholtz Academy. However, I had to quit midway due to personal reasons, but the academy has always been in my heart. Now that I got the opportunity to return as an arts instructor, I couldn''t possibly give it up!"


    "Ohh, you are a woman with secrets! He he." Zeta nodded knowingly as he slapped his slippers along the way, much to the chagrin of the professor Phillip. Just as he was about to explode again, their path was blocked by five powerful looking students who looked on intimidatingly.


    Just as Phillip was going to direct his pent up anger towards the students he noticed that they wore a badge of a locked heart and immediately shut up. The Lockhart family was the family of finance ministers from his Kingdom, offending them was equivalent to signing his own death sentence.


    The students looked towards the eccentric music teacher and sneered arrogantly. "Looks like you are the new young master? You look like a dunce, I can''t believe boss sent us to take care of a retard like you."


    The music teacher rolled his eyes and stared ahead blankly for a few seconds before starting. "Huh? What? You talking to me?"


    "Is there any other young master here? Stop hiding behind old geezers if you have any guts!"


    Hearing this the lid over Phillip''s head finally exploded as he smashed down the students with his intense energy.


    "You dare insult your new teachers! I don''t care if you termites are Lord Lockhart''s minions, I have been sent here on behalf of his majesty himself and will not tolerate your actions!"


    The five students were instantly flattened as they crumpled in front of the energy that was pushing them down with the weight of a mountain. When they heard that these were new teachers and further heard Phillip''s credentials their faces ashened. The overwhelming energy receded as quickly as it arrived.


    "Hiding behind teachers! Lockhart Villa will not forget this! You better prepare yourself for hell!" The five stood up, patting themselves off dust, before warning the music teacher of dire consequences and rapidly retreating from the scene.


    "What the fuck? Why are they calling me young master? Who the fuck is Lockhart Villa?"


    When Camelia heard Zeta''s irritated comment, she laughed heartily. Even the old granny smiled.


    "It looks like the students have mistaken Professor as a student competition. Lockhart Villa, is one of the influential student camps at the academy and probably took you to be a new competition of influence and sent some people to threaten you."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "Ooh, interesting. Does Lockhart Villa have a comfortable place to sleep? I don''t like the name, but that can be changed. Hmm, looks like I''ll have to pay them a visit tomorrow!"


    Phillip was surprised by this young man''s ignorance.


    "Brat! We are teachers here. We shouldn''t fall for the provocation of some students! Besides the Lockhart family is immensely powerful and influential. Don''t get their ire. Your status as a tutor can only get you so far. A mortal like you cannot challenge a villa. I saved you this time, but don''t expect me to interfere again!"


    "Muscle bro, you sound so gruff and I can barely understand what you say. But despite your angry behavior you''ve got a nice heart. Say, let''s be friends huh?"


    "Who sounds gruff? Brat, don''t test me! My name is Phillip, not ''muscle bro''."


    ****


    After Zeta took a look at his bare bones office and his living quarters, he went to the class area. It was a relatively small area, a courtyard 50 by 50 meters surrounded by a small garden. The class area was fairly isolated from the more densely populated regions of the academy, since a music instruction required a quiet place. As per his initial instructions to the Bavarian King, Wilhelm, he was given an empty courtyard without any equipment. The requirement had puzzled the dean, who was eager to see what the music instructor was going to do.


    The sun was already setting as Zeta sat down in the garden''s lawn letting the scene settle into his mind. He exaggerated a sigh before speaking loudly to no one in particular.


    "Dear Dean, don''t need to spy on my so covertly. If you wish to ask something, you can go ahead. Come join me for a drink, I''ve got some good alcohol I brewed a couple of months ago."


    The shadow behind the tree was suddenly paralysed. The dean was shocked. He had been extremely meticulous and careful following the music teacher, but it appeared that he was busted all along! In the entire Helmholtz alliance there would be few who could have detected him so easily! His face ashen, the dean awkwardly paced towards Professor Doe, silently preparing to escape in case he was attacked by this unfathomable opponent.


    "Haha, aren''t you being a little too afraid of me? I won''t attack someone who just offered me a job, home and food!"


    Hearing this, the dean was even more surprised. He was completely seen through. Resigned, he sat beside the new music teacher silently. Professor Doe made a sudden slight of hand and two wine glasses appeared along with a clear corked bottle containing a golden liquid.


    "This is some special wine I brew in the spiral mountains using the unique atmospheric conditions as inspiration. Give it a taste!"


    Spiral Mountains! Heavens! He brew this wine in one of the continents famous dead zones? Few can even dare to go there!


    Thoroughly shocked, the Dean held the glass of golden liquid venerably, this was certainly an artifact level potion! This musician not only brewed an artifact level potion, he was downing it like evening wine? Slowly sipping it down, he could feel the entirety of his body filled with energy. The energy seeped into individual cells and filled them with vibrancy. With a sip, the dean felt like he became younger. He began drinking until he finished the glass.


    He kept the glass down, and carefully proceeded to meditate. His body began to glow golden as light radiated out forming a cocoon that completely encapsulated his aura.


    "Oh?" The musician remarked with a question, but there was little hint of surprise in it. He sat silently, sipping the wine, refilling his goblet when necessary. Fifteen minutes passed in silence before the cocoon faded away and the dean opened his eyes, a profound light emitting from them for an instant, before turning normal. The music teacher nodded.


    "You broke through the bottleneck, congratulations. Let me refill the goblet for you."


    The dean looked at the musician with gratitude. Drinking a simple glass of his wine had let him move past the bottleneck to the next stage of cultivation. The dean was now on par with the director in terms of cultivation. He took the refilled goblet and carefully sipped at the precious liquid.


    "Go ahead, ask what you want to. However, I will only answer it if I deem it fit." The musician was nonchalant. His eyes were fixed on the setting sun, his lips firmly on the goblet''s rim.


    The dean nodded, before gently asking.


    "Who are you really?"


    "I cannot possibly reveal that. Although I''ve been playing around with names here, in this academy calling me John Doe or Professor Doe is fine."


    "Are you on a mission? Or did you really come to teach?"


    "Mission? Hmm, if I come across one I find interesting I might take it up. Obviously I came to teach! I want to teach music!"


    "I hope you don''t harm our little school..."


    "Why would I harm the school? Isn''t it my new home?"


    "Will you remain here for long?"


    "That...is difficult to say. But I''ll be here as long as it holds my interest."


    "With your ability, you couldn''t possibly be an ordinary person. If you would teach our students the art of combat it would be a blessing!"


    "My skills are not for free. Nor do I teach them easily. If I find an interesting student who I feel like guiding, I will do so. However, I am primarily here to teach music!"


    "Why music?"


    "If people think I just want to teach music as is traditionally taught, they will have to be prepared to be surprised. Come with me, I''ll show you why I asked for an empty courtyard."


    The two got up, walked towards the empty courtyard. With a sudden movement, Professor Doe''s fingers now held a piece of rectangular metal with engravings that didn''t look anything similar to what the dean had ever seen before. Doe carefully placed the rectangular object in the center of the courtyard and transferred energy into it from his hands. The energy made the engravings glow and a large rectangular array formed that covered the exact dimensions of the courtyard. Doe then returned to where the dean was standing, looking with extreme interest.


    The array suddenly glowed brightly as the metallic plate expanded until it fit the courtyards dimensions and then began becoming thicker until it became the size of a cuboidal house. It''s outer shape then began transforming into an elegant mansion with a wooden door. The door was engraved with the two words "Musical Palace".


    Doe then turned to the dean. "It should be obvious that information about me shouldn''t be known to anyone else. Also I''ll be borrowing your help in announcing that only those who are able to open the door would be allowed to take up this elective. And those who can clear the first test in the room will each get a gold rank equipment appropriate for their abilities."


    "Gold rank! Then it wouldn''t be easy to clear the test I presume?"


    "It would be a fundamental test that would differentiate between the students who have the innate talent required to learn what I will teach and what I don''t."


    "Even opening the door to this mansion is a test?"


    "You can try it out yourself, although a portion of the test hasn''t been implemented yet."


    The dean nodded and carefully approached the door of the Music Palace. Sensing nothing amiss he carefully placed his hand on the door knob, but there wasn''t any response. However, the moment he tried to rotate the knob, he felt like the blood flow in his hand was roiled and became erratic and he suddenly felt a bout of intense dizziness. Shocked he jerked his hand back. It took him a few minutes to realise the problem and the solution, but he was shocked at the ingenuity of the test! It wasn''t a test of power at all! He was now curious to know what in the world this mysterious John Doe was going to teach his students.


    "This..."


    "So you understood after all. I am curious to see how many students can pass this door. The main test is of course much more challenging. Please encourage your students to take part, I''m depending on you to advertise about the potential reward. In my experience avarice can trump all disinterest."


    "Certainly! Most certainly, I''ll make sure all the teachers personally suggest their best students to participate if only as an opportunity to win a gold ranked equipment."


    "Thank you Dean. I shall work on my test for a bit, I hope we are done for the day."


    "Indeed, take your time Professor Doe."

 Chapter 4 - Lockhart Villa Test

    Night time at the Helmholtz Academy. While John Doe was applying the finishing touches to his Musical Palace, the notification billboards all over the Helmholtz Territory had sprung up crowds of students staring at a new notice written in large words, undersigned by the Dean himself.


    Who was the Dean? To the students, he was the most powerful and enigmatic existence inside the university. Certainly there were ancestral elders and directors who might be more powerful than him, but he was the ultimate authority in power and administration in their eyes. The dean himself signing a notice sent to all billboards with such an explosive information was hardly something the students wouldn''t learn about.


    ****


    "Dear students, the new professor for musical arts has decided to select students for his elective based on a test. The location of the test is the newly constructed Musical Palace in the courtyard of the Eastern Fountain Park. From midnight tonight, until the next 10 days, students will have the opportunity to take the test.


    The details of the test is as follows : The students must first be able to enter the Musical Palace to take the test. Once inside, the test will begin. On passing the test satisfactorily, the student will receive a gold tier equipment, be it defensive, offensive or otherwise as desired by the passing student. They would then receive the opportunity to attend the music elective with the teacher''s blessings.


    The test is not based on prior knowledge or power, but rather innate ability."


    ****


    "Holy shit! Who is this music teacher? Gold tier equipment for every student who passes the test? Even my dad cannot spare that many golden tier equipment!" Exclaimed a guy known for being extremely rich.


    "Not only has the teacher proposed a test to enter a music elective, he promises a gold tier equipment on passing. This test cannot possibly be simple."


    "I was just told by my water magic tutor that I should go take up the challenge to test myself. Moreover I can win a gold tier equipment as well!"


    "Where is Eastern Fountain Park? Let''s go there right now!"


    "I have already been there a few minutes back. The so called Musical Palace is under a powerful force barrier. I guess we have to wait till it''s already midnight."


    The cacophony was crazy and the enticing prize had turned the whole place into a frenzy. There weren''t many who didn''t hear about this surprising turn of events.


    ****


    In a well off girls dorm, two girls sitting on a sofa were discussing about the same.


    "What do you think Elena?"


    "It''s very interesting, indeed. This music teacher, I wonder who it is?"


    "En. Given the prize, I don''t think the test will be too easy. But a gold tier equipment doesn''t hold a lot of weight for us."


    "You''re wrong Claire. This teacher is extremely sharp. The gold tier equipment is not what they set up to entice us. That was for the greedy fools who list for easy prizes. What they used to entice us was the promise of competition."


    "Hmm, indeed, looking at it from that angle certainly sheds some light onto his thinking. They may be crafty, but what can we possibly learn in music, that needs them to eliminate students using a test?"


    "If I''m not wrong, the test itself will be a demonstration of some things we would learn in the elective. Let''s wait for a day before we try the test. After all, there are 10 days. Once we see the condition of the early birds we can perhaps get a better understanding of the test."


    ****


    Inside the Lockhart Villa.


    The five minions who had been sent by the Boss had returned tail tied. The Boss was enraged.


    "You fools! Why did you abuse the teacher instead of teaching that bastard a lesson?"


    "Boss, he was hiding behind the coattails of the new teachers. In the evening I met a student who told me that that Young Master was asking for directions of the Villa. I believe he will come here soon by himself!"


    "Hmph! That moron thinks he can compete with me? With my influence he dare compete with me! Put a notice on the noticeboard asking him to come to the Villa by midnight if he dares. Gather all our best fighters inside the Villa. Today he will realise the gap between heaven and earth!"


    Half an hour later, some minions had returned.


    "Boss! We have done as you''ve ordered. If he doesn''t appear here before midnight he won''t have any face left."


    Another minion then deemed it right to interrupt and explained the details of the music instructors test.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Gold tier equipment for everyone who passes the test? Hahaha! Very good, we will all go separately and ask for different equipments that form a set. Hahaha!"


    The other members of the villa looked at each other, if they planned it accordingly, they might be able to get at least three sets of gold tier equipment.


    Around 30 minutes before midnight.


    The atmosphere inside the Lockhart Villa was tense. It was the pressure before the start of a battle. There was a gentle rap on the door of the Villa.


    "Let that trash inside!" The Villa Boss screamed.


    John Doe entered in the same outfit as he had worn all day. Without any courtesy he we walked straight in front of the Boss and plumped himself into the sofa on the opposite side. He propped his legs onto the glass table like the lord of the Villa and looked calmly at the Boss. Although the Boss couldn''t see the musician''s eyes because of the large sunglasses, he could imagine the arrogance that exuded out of him.


    "You...! You dare display your arrogance in the Villa?"


    "Huh? Didn''t you invite me for dinner?"


    "Dinner? Fuck! Are you blind? No worries, I just wonder if you will continue being as arrogant when we feed you your own rocky!"


    "Haha! Keep dreaming fat ass! Why are you so obsessed over my genitalia? Do you swing the other way?"


    "Bastard! I will kill you! Chop off his Weiner right now! Kill!" He motioned at his men. Who pounced in unison at the calm silver haired young man.


    Seeing the unmoved young man, the Villa members internally trembled. Why isn''t he moving? But when they finally reached his body they realised the reason. He was intangible!


    "Pfft. You fools thought I would actually come here? I got a strong dude to perform an astral projection spell on me. However, to the outside world I''ve come into your territory unarmed and left without a shed of pain. I wonder where you''ll dig your face from after that!"


    The Villa members were flabbergasted! Who the fuck is this guy? He got someone to perform an astral projection spell? Don''t tell me he brought his protector along to the university as well, a shameless young master to the core! This silver haired shameless brat remained unfazed. He extinguished the rolled leaf that he was smoking onto the table, and then began speaking.


    "I don''t have time to waste on you guys. If I wanted it, you would already be in the hospital ward. You don''t want to mess with my protector. Neither do you want to mess with the Kingdom of Providence...right?"


    "P-p-p-providence?" The Boss was now sweating buckets. A protector who can cast astral projection, a young master from Kingdom Providence, the continental superpower! This was not someone who he could compete against! And the worst part about it was the instigator had completely been him.


    "Uh huh. Providence. Now that I have come here, I need to do something interesting, or it wouldn''t really be fun now, would it? I''ll give you guys a chance to save your faces. Sign this contract."


    The Boss slowly took the contract in his hands and began reading, his eyes now glowing with hope to save the reputation of his camp.


    "If a single member in this room, can open the door to the Musical Palace, I will leave you free. However, if you fail, you must change the name of the camp to Cinderella''s Villa."


    "Just the door? Not even the test?"


    "Yup, just the door. Get past the door and I''ll let bygones be bygones. Fail and you change your Villa''s name."


    The intimidated fat student who self styled himself as Boss, quickly signed the contract. Immediately the contract appeared on every noticeboard in the academy.


    "Oh, I forgot to mention, this was a challenge contract. The moment you signed it, it appeared on every university noticeboard. So don''t back out now.


    Oh and better not let out my identity. If I hear the word Providence from anyone on campus, I ensure you I will tear all your hearts out. Alright I''ll be off!"


    After saying that, John Doe walked out the door and disappeared.


    The Boss remained seated in shock. He suddenly got up and spoke.


    "You! Check if what he said is true! If this is really a challenge contract, we must complete it at all costs!"


    A few moments later, his worst fears had been realised.


    "Boss.." Spoke another member in doubt, "seeing how confident that Young Master was I have a feeling that it won''t be easy to get golden tier equipment."


    "Fool! We can think about the golden tier equipment later! Do you want to be called a member of Cinderella''s Villa? People reading the challenge notices would already be laughing on our faces! Who was the bastard that instigated me against this powerful enemy! We need to go immediately. The earlier we complete the challenge, the quicker the notice disappears!"


    ****


    The music teacher couldn''t suppress his laughter anymore. He had pranked this Lockhart Villa big time. In return, he was also able to generate some interesting publicity for his elective. He truly had a satisfying day.


    Right at that moment, a gong sounded from the Musical Palace. However, it sounded unlike any gong heard before. The gong didn''t create any auditory sound, but whoever was thinking about the Musical Palace could hear it in their minds. Curiously, a large crowd had already gathered around the musical palace barrier before midnight. With the absurd challenge of the Lockhart Villa and the urging of the Dean and their tutors, interest in this test was high. The first people standing in queue to attempt the test were all Lockhart Villa members.


    At that moment, midnight struck and the barrier shattered into billions of glittering particles, the shattering made the sound of a xylophone note and the individual projectiles echoed the note. The sound filled the large audience with energy that calmed them and put them into a trance like state. A few minutes passed in complete silence, before everyone opened their eyes. They felt their cultivation foundations were now much more stronger than before.


    "If just listening to the barrier shatter made our foundations more stable, what will attending this elective bring?"


    A voice in the crowd wondered.


    "This is no ordinary music course. No wonder it needs a test to eliminate students." Spoke another.


    Not far away, the two girls, Elena and Claire had awoken from their trance as well. They looked at each other surprised.


    "Claire, we definitely must get accepted into this course."


    "Yes, this was no simple magic! We can only imagine how powerful the professor must be!"


    "The Lockhart Villa, their attempt at defaming this music instructor are laughable. I feel like they are going to pay dearly for their arrogance."


    "I''m surprised you kept a note of their activities Elena, I didn''t think you thought highly of them."


    "They are trash, why would I think highly of those scum? I am simply interested in news regarding the music teacher. Did you find out who the teacher is?"


    "Surprisingly, I did not. The other five elective teachers are evident. However, instead of the music teacher, there was reportedly a new student who also appears to be some kind of young master of a prestigious family. He had a confrontation with the Villa twice today and gained the upper hand in both. Each time he was alone."


    "A young master...student? Who is he?"


    "No clue. No one knows his name."

 Chapter 5 - Test Results

    With the turn of midnight and in front of anticipating crowds, the members of the Lockhart Villa, formed an orderly queue before the entry point. In spite of their wanton behaviors, if there is anything students at Helmholtz have learnt well, it is public discipline. As a military academy, public order was considered one of the most important etiquettes to have. In this light, the Villa members unsurprisingly formed an orderly queue.


    The so called entry point was nothing but a placard placed beside a stone path that led directly to the door. On the placard were instructions to enter the house. One had to walk on the stone paths, approach the door and turn the door knob. If they successfully turned the door knob completely, the door would begin glowing golden yellow. The examinee could then directly walk past the door. If the instructions weren''t followed in order, the door would not glow.


    The first in the queue was doubtlessly the Boss of the Lockhart Villa. The fat guy trepidaciously walked along the stone steps. Gradually he began feeling some kind of pressure on his body. There stepped stones were 10 in number. He had barely taken the fifth step when he felt an incredible bout of dizziness and fainted on the spot. Some members of his villa arrived to pull him to the side. He had failed before he even reached the door.


    "Pfft. Haha! He got so nervous he fell before he even reached the door!" There were laughs all around.


    However it didn''t last long. One after another, the villa members began falling on the fourth or fifth step. Some even on the third step. At this point, the Boss had returned to try again.


    The laughing crowd had now gone quiet.


    "What''s going on? Why are they falling unconscious?" Elena asked Claire.


    "Considering that this is a music class, I''m guessing that the tutor has set some sort of trap to make us fall dizzy on the fourth or fifth step."


    "Are you sure? What about the guy that fell on the third step? And even if they fell on the fourth or fifth step, they had begun staggering by the second step itself."


    "Then the possibility is that the trap probably lies on the entire stepway, and gradually gets tougher to resist."


    "I get it!" Suddenly Elena''s eyes gleamed in delight. "Music! The stones are emitting sounds that are somehow making the people stepping on it dizzy."


    ****


    Right at that moment, a powerful guy pushed away the Villa members.


    "You fools have already lost! Stop hogging our turns! Go change your club name already! If you want to retry it, go to the end of the queue!"


    The Boss remained indignant. "How can this be? We still have 10 days! We have been tricked with an impossible test!"


    "Who asked you to take it loser?" The crowd jeered and booed at the Villa. Having been often bullied by the gang, they lost no opportunity to push them down. ''Change your name'' chants rang loudly and repeatedly, causing the Villa members to flee the scene.


    The powerful guy then began taking strong steps towards the door. However, he fell down, dizzy at the third step! The crowd was finally getting serious and the competitive spirit rising!


    As half an hour passed by, no one had gone beyond the eighth step. Professor Doe, who was sitting on a tree branch overlooking the whole scene while smoke a lit leaf wondered if he made the test too difficult.


    Finally a thin boy with no armor, wearing what looked like the black attire of a thief decided to take his turn. Other than his eyes, everything else was covered in black cloth, making him impossible to identify. He gently and daftly walked skipped over steps as he got to the door without any effort. Seeing that John Doe smiled.


    "Ooh, surprise surprise!" He then disappeared from the tree.


    As the shocked crowd looked on, the scrawny thief like figure gently rotated the door knob without any problems. The door began glowing a bright golden yellow. The person confidently walked past the glowing door like it wasn''t there.


    The crowd went ballistic.


    "It''s possible! That scrawny kid did it! We definitely should be able to do this! There has to be a trick to this!"


    ****


    Meanwhile, inside the Musical Palace, the scrawny thief had entered a blissfully white room with a large drum. Confused, the thief looked around, hoping to find instructions. Suddenly a voice sounded across the room.


    "Congratulations. You are the first student to actually be eligible to take my test. Before we begin, I want to ask you a question. Are you deaf from one ear?"


    The question mightily shocked the examinee. The thief looked around shocked, before nodding. What had shocked her was not just the fact that the teacher had figured out her condition in a go, but that his voice sounded so young!


    "Ha ha, I guessed so. Didn''t you wonder why you could walk naturally towards the door without any obstruction despite everyone else fainting?"


    "So it was because I''m deaf from one ear that I cleared the obstacle to the test?"


    The voice of a girl spoke out.


    "It might''ve helped you clear the stone steps, but you couldn''t have rotated the knob without ability. Looking at your attire, you probably wanted to clear the test to get a gold tier equipment to sell right?


    "You... How could you possible know that?"


    "Are you stupid? Look at your attire, can you possibly be well off? You are in dire need of money that you sold your own gear. Don''t worry about the gold tier equipment. From now on, till the end of the test duration you can freely enter this room and continue trying. When you go out, sell the information about how you cleared the stone steps. You will make more than you would from simply selling the golden tier equipment."


    The thief silently nodded. However, there her eyes had grown misty. How many days had she been haggling along like a thief, she couldn''t remember. But she would definitely remember the music teacher''s kindness.


    "Oh, your test. Right, it is very simple. On the bass drum in front of you, there is a drumstick. You have to use the stick to shatter the drum. Be careful, because what I said is very simple, it isn''t simple at all. Remember, although it appears to be a test of power, power is not important at all! If you get injured the room will automatically heal you.


    You can begin!"


    ****


    Outside several hours have already passed. Only two people had managed to reach the door apart from the thief. The girls Elena and Claire. Even though they had decided to wait a day until they attempted, the excitement led them to try their hand. When they reached the door, there were many cheers. However, both failed at rotating the door knob. Nevertheless, having tried rotating the door knob once, the analytical duo had already partially figured out what their mistake was. The crowd too had considerably dimmed.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    As they were discussing, a blonde male walked up. He resolutely walked along the stone steps, to the door. When he rotated the knob, he felt his entire blood roil. His body cramped up, but he didn''t give up. However, just as he was about to succeed, his legs gave way from the chaotic blood flow and he fell down. Despite this, the blonde male did not give up. He staggered up again and began rotating the door knob.


    "Its Ryan, the sword carving idol. He cannot accept a roadblock and only move forward no matter what." The crowd remnants began murmuring.


    "He has no grasp of what the door knob does, but is plowing through with sheer endurance. What a block head." Claire smiled.


    Right at that moment, on his third attempt, Ryan had succeeded. He finally staggered into the glowing door. It was the second person to slip through the door. When he appeared, although he appeared in the same room, the first person was not visible anywhere. A voice smirked.


    "You are looking for the first person to enter? Although you enter the same room, you also enter different rooms! No two examinees can meet inside this room. Your test..."


    ****


    After 5 days, the placard before the stone steps had a change. It began reporting the number of test takers. Currently it reported 70 test takers. But the number who had attempted to enter were several thousand. Which only meant that 70 had managed to enter the room.


    "The number shot up after the informant began selling information about clearing stone steps. It seems people began figuring out the mystery of the door knob once they understood the information regarding the steps."


    The scrawny thief had once again returned to the test room. She had struggled for 5 days, yet she was barely able to make the bass drum make a sound.


    "Heh..struggling huh?"


    "What do you think?" By now she had gotten used to the playful jibes from the music teacher. However, whenever he spoke, she would learn something new so she did wish he spoke more.


    "Well I would''ve been surprised if you didn''t struggle. After all what let you easily enter room is what''s stopping you from grasping the trick. There''s another guy who is cluelessly hammering the drum just like you. However, he is just a dumb guy with limitless perseverance. Think about it, if you don''t need power, what exactly do you need to do?"


    "The people I was selling information to, they would often mumble how the sound head by each ear was different, but only slightly. Moreover it was extremely difficult to hear them in the first place."


    "Correct. In that case what was tricked was actually the brain which was trying to correlate two contradictory sounds making people dizzy. You on the other hand cannot hear from one ear making such attacks useless on you. However that was two sounds that were in destructive resonance that attacked a humans perception. Here however you have to physically destroy the drum''s membrane. Okay, I''ve got to see what the others are doing as well, Ciao!"


    "Professor wait..." However she was already resigned. She knew he had disappeared.


    The reason Doe disappeared was because at that moment Elena was close to passing the test. Just as he visited her exam room he saw her making 15 cleverly positioned hits on the drum whose vibration constantly got louder, but then consecutively muffled before becoming completely silent despite the drum membrane clearly vibrating chaotically. The membrane then shattered.


    The bass drum then disappeared and a door appeared behind it. Elena walked through, knowing she had completed the test. The entire time Doe had not interfered and so she was curious to know what kind of genius set up this test. When she entered what she left her flabbergasted. A beautiful silver haired man not much older than her greeted her with a smile, hands clapping.


    "Well done miss. You have cleared my test. You can now choose to join my music elective. About the prize, you can choose your golden rank equipment, just think about it and it''ll equip itself onto you. However I have another possibility of a gift for you. You can have the equipment or a technique on which the stone steps were based. If you choose the technique, I''ll will directly impart it to you, and you will be unable to share it with anyone else unless you have my consent."


    The young professor then stayed silent, as he crossed his legs and hugged them while sitting on the chair, looking curiously at the girl in front of him, who was in deep thought.


    After prolonged thought she ventured "Professor, could you tell me the details of the technique?"


    Laughing, Doe replied. "Haha, I thought you would never ask! It is a D rank AOE sound attack magic that uses destructive resonance to paralyse and disorient foes. However, its direct effect is pretty poor considering you folks managed to reach this far."


    But Elena had already figures this out, she smiled when she realised that he had left out precisely the information she was seeking. After finding out that he was looking for her to ask without condition she spoke again.


    "Could this technique be a part of a greater ranked skill?"


    Hearing that Doe had a wide grin on his face. His deep eyes looked into Elena''s as if she were an open book in front of him.


    "Heh, What do you think?" He smirked.


    Hearing that Elena already knew what she would choose.


    ****


    The remaining 5 days also passed by. The test finally came to an end. Five days later, with his sunglasses and bizarre fashion choice for an academy teacher, Professor John Doe went to meet the Dean.


    The Dean was seated on a roundtable with the teachers for the other electives. When they saw him, they could only sigh.


    "You''ve wrecked pandemonium in the first 10 days of your tenure!"


    Hearing Phillip''s jibe, Doe could only scoff playfully.


    "Muscle bro...could you be feeling jealous? Don''t worry, I most probably have fewer students than you do. Heh.."


    "Bastard! My name is not Muscle bro!"


    "Don''t worry bro, it''s just between us bros."


    "Who is your bro! Brat you are a curse on the academy! You turned the Lockhart Villa into Cinderella''s Villa!"


    "Pfft... So you found out. Cheh, I wanted to fantasize being a secretive protagonist in a light novel!"


    "If you became a protagonist in a novel, I''ll really change my name to Muscle bro!"


    "Haha, looks like you have bad luck muscle bro.. How did you figure out it was me?"


    "Who else could have a Cinderella fetish here, Professor Doe?" The graceful Camelia interjected.


    "What the...I don''t have a Cinderella fetish! I''m just jealous she had a fairy godmother! I wish I had one! Dance teacher, please become my Godmother, I promise I''ll lay off the Cinderella jokes!"


    "I''m too young to be your Godmother, I''d at least have to reach your age to try to aim for that status."


    "Fufu, Godmother is really good at roasting. I wish I was there to see those lackeys change their name first hand."


    "They already disbanded the Villa after changing the name. Cinderella''s Villa is now an empty Villa." Phillip responded.


    "Cool, Dean, can I take it then?"


    "Sure Professor. But what will you with it?"


    "Prevent injustice! Just kidding, I was looking for a place where my music students can perform after all."


    "Ah, you''ve already selected your students then?"


    "They selected themselves, fu.." He shot a funny look at muscle bro goading him to get enraged.


    The Dean rightfully stepped in, as he brought back the focus on the list of students who have chosen to take the electives.


    "I''d like a brief report on how you selected the students and how many there are so we can organise the class areas for you."


    The scholarly literature professor spoke first.


    "It is unfortunate that the students of Helmholtz don''t appreciate the beauty of long form literature and poetry. I barely was able to get 100 students out of all the thousands."


    How could Doe let it go?


    "Wind, flag, mind moves,


    The same understanding.


    When the mouth opens


    All are wrong."


    "What?" The scholarly professor looked at John Doe, flabbergasted. The poem that he just recited was like a slap onto the arrogance of the scholar, who had no retort. Doe just shrugged in response to the non sequitur. Everyone else chuckled.


    "Looks like Professor is quite the poet."


    Camelia commented.


    "I have a few that can capture a woman''s heart. But it''s a tragedy that your heart is made of stone, miss Camelia." Doe''s retorts flew quicker than the wind.


    Hearing that the Dean coughed, while professor Camelia blushed ever so slightly.


    As others described their numbers it finally ended up with Doe.


    "A hundred and fifty five students managed to appear for my test, seventy of which managed to clear it with a lot of help and advice from me. Of these only thirty passed the final test and they have all applied for the class and I accepted them."


    "Final test?"


    "I presented them a choice between the gold tier equipment and a D rank skill. Those who accepted the armor failed."


    "Why did they fail?"


    "Despite me showing them the power of music and sound, they didn''t believe in it enough and chose material gain. I could do without such students."


    "Aren''t you a crouching tiger now, Professor Doe?" The Scholar finally grasped his chance to respond sarcastically after being chastised by a poem.


    "Wow professor, you even figured that out? And I was considering that you were irrelevant. Damn, was I ignorant or what?" Professor Doe''s poisonous tongue knew no bounds. He responded in kind ten times over.


    The Dean intervened again and the chaotic meeting was finally brought to its conclusion.

 Chapter 6 - Godmother Dante

    As the meeting ended and the electives professors disbanded, Professor Doe walked up to the Dean. He thoughtlessly established a soul whisper conversation as he probed.


    "Say Dean, who exactly is professor Godmother over there?"


    "Oh, so she caught your eye? After you she is probably the most mysterious professor outside of the ancestors and some directors. Her name is Dante, and from what I''ve heard, she is an influential merchant from Venice. She doesn''t seem to have any combat power that I can detect. Could you?"


    "Mm hmm. She is plain human, but her astuteness and her intellect interests me quite a bit. Want me to take a look into her? Consider it a favor."


    "He he, Professor, aren''t you doing it for your own satisfaction..."


    "Stingy... It''s alright, I''ll let you know when I find out anything relevant about her."


    As he left, he thought deeply to himself. Why would she suddenly make a comment totally disproportionate to my age when I praised her? The possibility is that she knows to an extent about my abilities and aligned it with age. Perhaps she even knows I am known as Zeta. May be she was providing a false lead. It might even be a trap to lure me out. The details are too hazy right now.


    He quickly made his way to his living quarters where he made sure to sweep the area for any possibility of espionage. He then sealed the room inside a force field barrier and then recalled his transmission talisman.


    "If it isn''t the great overlord prankster Zeta."


    "Diddleditch, your mouth is still as filthy as your ridiculous name. I have a job for you."


    "Intelligence I suppose?"


    "Reconnaissance as well."


    "Someone interests you that much?"


    "Stop poking your nose into my business and do my work."


    "Ok your honor."


    "Aren''t you a snivelling bastard? First tell me what intel have you shared about me as well as all intel you have about me."


    "Ah, beyond what I told you the last time around, all Kings are aware that you''ve accepted a mission based on Keeper''s legacy prophecy. The contents of the prophecy are unknown, except that ''it threatens the future of the world as we know it'', in the words of the great Keeper Lao himself spoken to the King of Providence.


    Since then you have disappeared. Since few know how you look actually look like, you''ve disappeared from the face of the earth, contacting me for the first time since then. With your disappearance, several powerful figures have already begun raising their heads. A few kingdoms in the minor alliances have already been overthrown.


    As for information we have, we also are aware that you are a skirt chaser..."


    "Enough. Seems like you''ve comprehensively scouted me out."


    "That..is what you tell us every time we talk. I half believe that all information we have on you is wrong."


    "If that were the case I''d currently be the happiest man on earth, not cursing you Diddleditch."


    "I''m an information broker, selling intel is my job."


    "Okay, enough banter. I want you to find out information regarding the following people..."


    Zeta/Doe then proceeds to list the name of seventeen people including Dante''s. The names included people from all over the continent so that the information broker couldn''t ascertain his true target.


    "How long do you need?"


    "I already have them."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "Woah! You''ll get a good gift if you deliver well."


    "Ok here goes.." Zeta patiently heard information regarding the other people until the conversation reached Dante.


    "Okay, now Dante. This woman is very mysterious. Until three years ago she was a normal woman living in an old age home. She had no money and could barely walk. She even spoke half broken. But, she suddenly recovered from her illnesses overnight, it was judged a miracle. She then proceeded to set up a powerful trade company and took over several competitors.


    Her background is quite queer. She has never made direct requests from us, but we have traced several back to her or her machinations and a lot of them were usually espionage jobs aimed at opposing kingdoms."


    "Interesting. I''m looking forward to receiving updates on all these people constantly. Keep sending messages, I''ll peruse them as I''m free. This is your payment for the intel. A vial of sub-artifact grade potion. It is actually a unique kind of wine, this vial can easily raise your cultivation by a level or two."


    As Zeta spoke, a small vial containing the golden wine he brew appeared directly in front of Diddleditch. He excitedly grabbed onto it.


    "Sub-artifact! How did you even come across such a treasure?"


    "Keep doing your work, and you might get another vial."


    ****


    The dance teacher Dante was taking a slow walk in one of the biggest parks on campus, the Central Park. Tired, she sat down on a chair, looking at some students training to ride on horses and making them jump obstacles. As the sun would set, the sky would diffract an amalgamation of bright colors from red to purple.


    "The setting sun never ceases to amaze me." Dante said to no one in particular.


    "Not as much as your perceptiveness it would seem, professor godmother." The source of the voice was obviously John Doe. His face was expressionless, with the exception of his eyes which held a bit of surprise, but were safely hidden behind shades.


    "*Cough*. This old lady may be near her death, but she still has some tricks."


    "Oh! With the manner in which you''ve been leading your life recently, I would''ve thought you just became an eager teenager!" John Doe smirked. He procured a spiral leaf from his trouser pocket, lit it up and began smoking.


    "Heh, I suppose I was a little too conspicuous."


    "Uh huh. But that doesn''t interest me all that much. Everyone has their own secrets. I know I have mine. It was what you said at the meeting that interests me."


    "Fufu, you are too treacherous. One misspeak and you''ve caught onto me."


    "It was the first time you said something unnecessary Professor Godmother. It couldn''t possibly have been a joke. I can only presume you made some really curious judgement about me."


    "He he, you are too straightforward my self proclaimed godson. I like it. Let''s have an exchange of information, what do you say?" Dante smiled gently.


    "3 questions. No filibustering, only truths. You ask three, I ask three, we respond in kind."


    "That would be acceptable."


    "Very well, let me begin. What are the reasons you decided to take up this job at Helmholtz?"


    "Hidden in the academy is a family heirloom of this lady. It has the ability to unlock the innate talent of this body and make me younger. However, it''s history has been lost for over a thousand years. I had no choice but to enter as a tutor to find it."


    "Okay." John Doe nodded, surprised with her forthrightness.


    "My turn now. Same question."


    "I came here to experience being a teacher. Explore the power of music. And find the best students to impart some knowledge to. And of course I''m here to complete a mission. You can ask another question again."


    "Alright. I presume you won''t tell me about your mission so I won''t ask. Are you from Bavaria or spying for Bavaria?"


    "No." John Doe shook his head sideways. He then continued. "I won''t divulge information about you either, as long as you maintain confidentiality about me. Okay, my turn to ask you a question. Do you intend to harm this academy or any students within?"


    "I do not. While I do not have interest in teaching these children, I certainly wish them no harm. As long as they don''t interfere in my motive, I couldn''t care less about them.


    I''ll ask you the final question." Dante continued with a big grin, as if signing off with a victory. "You are looking for a treasure too aren''t you?"


    "Ho..I am indeed looking for a treasure. But it isn''t the heirloom you are searching for."


    When he said this, he took in a deep breath, inhaling the stimulating essence of the spiral leaf which hung between his lips. He blew out the smoke, before he turned towards Dante, took off his sunglasses and with his unfathomably deep silver eyes looking directly into Dante''s, he grinned and asked.


    "If I am not wrong, you aren''t Dante. Dante actually died three years ago of a mental illness and you reincarnated into her dead body. Is my hypothesis correct?"


    Dante''s calm and gentle eyes were now enlarged in shock. A look of fear swept across her visage as she saw the triumphant grin on John Doe''s face. She just had a simple thought. "How? How do you know?"


    "Now now Professor Godmother, we only had three questions each. Don''t ask for more than you bargained for. Like I said, you keep out of my way, I keep out of yours. You don''t provoke me and your secret remains a secret." John Doe didn''t even wait for Dante to respond and got up and began walking away. Puffs of smoke leaving a trail behind him.


    Dante just stood there confused and shocked. Not only she fail to lead any useful out of him, he completely saw through who she really was! But how? How could he possibly find out?


    ****


    Meanwhile, John Doe had arrived in front of the erstwhile Lockhart Villa. The Villa''s name had been changed to Cinderella''s Villa, but John Doe decided to change it to Cinderella''s Glass Workshop since it sounded like a cool band name. He decided to ask for Camelia''s help in painting the new name over the Villa''s walls.

 Chapter 7 - Little Thief

    This is a POV chapter (Not John Doe)


    ****


    I stealthily follow the rich fat man I''ve set my target on this time. Trying to steal can often be easy, but when one needs to steal from rich privileged people surrounded by guards like this self entitled man, it becomes exponentially difficult.


    Deception doesn''t seem to be possible under the watchful gazes of the guards, my only possibility is relying on speed and dexterity.


    The entourage has finally entered an area with several escape routes, I carefully survey my surroundings from a rooftop before making a beeline for the storage pouch in the fat man''s hands.


    Success! The fat fingers were just too easy to swipe from. The guards are looking at me murderously. I have little time to think about their curses. Left, right, right, left, into the window, onto the roof. Looks like I escaped again this time.


    Fatso''s pouch is full of goodies. I should try to sell it slowly, or the pawn shop will begin suspecting stuff.


    ****


    "This? It looks all shiny, who knows what it really is made of?"


    "Even a blind man can see that it is a silver tiered knee cap. It even boosts magic defense!" My angry voice croaks as I somehow manage to hold my emotions in check.


    "Listen kid, both you and I know where this equipment came from. Don''t give me the crap about fairness. This is all I can pay!"


    "But it''s worth at least twice as much!" I can scarcely hold back my tears. The pawn shop was clearly scamming me!


    "It''s up to you kid. Or do you want me to report you? Huh?"


    I accept the transaction without question after his threat. At the very least I have enough silver coins to last a week.


    I change my clothes in an alley and run to the hospital. Nurse Sorrow looks at me with painful eyes, I hate it when she does that, but I suppose it''s why she has such a stupid name. I wonder what is it a pun on.


    "Nurse Sorrow, I''ve brought money for the next one week. Please take care of my mother."


    "Oh little child, you are working too hard. Look at you, all soiled up. Why don''t you take a bath here before meeting your mommy?"


    "En." I nod my head like an innocent kid. This sorrowful hag won''t let me live in peace if I don''t act along.


    I took a bath and feeling refreshed, I go to my mother''s hospital room. My darling mother is as weak as ever.


    "Mommy, I''m back! How are you today?"


    "My dear princess, Tina dear, I''m doing fine. Tell me about you. How are classes going on dear?"


    She seems to be getting feebler by the day. Choking the hurt in my chest and lump in my throat, I pit on a cheerful facade. "Mommy, it was very good! I learnt lot of new things today!"


    "I''m so proud of my daughter. As long as you live a good life of honesty and pride, I would have no regrets!"


    "En!" I nodded at those words that pricked my heart. How can the poor live a life of honesty and pride? We have been thrown to fend for ourselves. As if stealing wasn''t enough, I have to see Nurse Sorrow''s watery eyes every evening, is there a bigger form of torture?


    While I leave, Nurse Sorrow stops me.


    "Child, the doctor said that you would have to perform the operation soon. If we don''t she wouldn''t have long to live."


    "Can we do it and we pay back in installments?"


    "That...it''s not possible child...sniff...you can barely pay the discounted hospital fees, we cannot do the operation without gold coins."


    "I will think of something! Please take care of mother till then, I might not be able to come often enough."


    ****


    As I walk out of the hospital and onto the market street, I notice a huge crowd of people crowding around the billboards. Going closer I can faintly make out what it''s all about.


    "Six new electives in the fine arts?"


    "Who wants these garbage courses?"


    It seems like the school decided to add a few more useless courses that I cannot possibly afford. The only good part about being dragged by mother to this Academy district is the number of fat purses which can pay for her hospital fees.


    ****


    I haven''t been able to find a suitable target yet. Trying to steal from the uber rich is really too difficult. Luckily I''ve been selling off that fatso''s silver ranked equipment.


    Several powerful looking students suddenly approach a noticeboard and pin a bounty.


    "A thieving bastard dared to steal the storage pouch of the Boss of the Lockhart Villa! Whoever can find the thief will get to become a member immediately!"


    "Wow, there was someone so daring in Helmholtz! The thief is done for, what were they thinking going against the Villa?" Pitiful comments were being spoken by the crowds.


    Don''t tell me, the fatso I stole from...was the boss of this Villa! I have to be very careful.


    ****


    Today I need to sell the remaining treasures of that Villa boss fatty. Even if I don''t get a good price, mother can at least remain in the hospital for a couple of more weeks.


    "Oh, brat! It''s you! Have you got more treasures?"


    "En!" I try to minimise conversation and quickly end the transaction. I lay out the five remaining items. The scheming bastard''s eyes begin glowing.


    "Hmm, not bad. I''ll give you 1000 silver."


    "You must be joking quoting such a ridiculously low figure." I retort angrily and decide to take back the items, but he begins bargaining.


    He finally agreed on 5000 silver and asked me to wait. It''s been at least 5 minutes and he still hasn''t given me the money yet. Suddenly there is a huge thud blocking the shop entrance.


    "Where is that thieving bastard!" Holy shit, its the Villa Boss fatty. Fuck!


    "This brat! My lord! It is this brat!" Fuck! The pawn shop sold me out!


    "Haha, say your final words before this Boss pummels you to death thieving brat!"


    Even as he said that, it wasn''t him but his goons who began thrashing me all over. What chance does a weakling like me have against these powerful able bodied men?


    As I was barely avoiding being punched and kicked in a vital spot, I noticed an opening and quickly escaped the shop through the opening in their wall of men. Trying to blend into the crowd was pointless with my conspicuous thief outfit in daytime. I kept running madly, all the treasures were lost. Luckily I had gradually sold several of them over the week. Mom can stay in the hospital for at least another week, but now thieving will be even more difficult with the bastards of the Villa following me around.


    As I was blindly running, I wildly charged into a connecting alleyway and collided into the most weird looking brat I''d ever laid my eyes on. The only thing in my mind was the huge pair of sunglasses that covered most of his face as I was falling backwards from the impact.


    Out of nowhere an arm wraps around my waist and steadies me into a standing position. As quickly as it held me, the hand was withdrawn.


    "Miss, you should be more careful when you run. Never look behind, but attend to the other three directions."This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "What..?" I''m being lectured about running from this bizarre student?


    "Running from those Villa freaks? I saw you, they cornered you well. You must be the thief that fatso was abusing huh?"


    "Nothing to do with you.." How did he figure out that I am a girl?


    "Heh... You''re still thinking about that? The moment I held your hip it was obvious. You hid it well, but you didn''t think about touch. I bet I was the first guy who touched you like that huh? Will you dream about me tonight?"


    "What the... Fuck you sleazeball!" How did he read my mind?


    "I didn''t read your mind."


    "Wha...?" He is a mind reader! Definitely a perverted mind reader!


    "Ugh I''m not a mind reader, nor am I perverted. I was just flirting, girl. Calm down."


    Who is this freak?


    "Damn! Why do you think I''m a freak?"


    "What do you think? You accurately respond to every thought I just had?"


    "Logical deduction. Plus your facial expressions can''t hide shit, no wonder you need a mask to even enter a shop. With you blushing so red that you would rival a rose, is it difficult to imagine what you thought?"


    "Damn, leave me alone! Did you also find me to stamp on when I''m down? Get lost!" I finally lose my calm and the tears can''t hold back anymore. I begin sobbing like a baby.


    "Hey, hey I''m sorry, I went too far. Calm down. What will people think if you sob like a baby?"


    "You..!" Bastard reading my mind again! I push him away.


    "Aah, I''m sorry. How about this, I''ll help you escape these buffoons and treat you to a snack as an apology?"


    "En." Escaping right now is the most important thing.


    "Okay, hold my hand."


    "What? How dare you!"


    "Idiot, hold my hand quickly!"


    What was he trying to do? I can hear those shrieking bastards coming here following me. I don''t have any choice but to trust this crazy boy.


    I gingerly held his hand with mine. His fingers felt as soft as cotton. I couldn''t think as my mind went blank. The bastard! He locked his fingers into mine!


    His hand felt warm and gentle and suddenly I felt warm energy enter my body through my hand. All the pain and injury was gently swept away and I felt refreshed. In my stupor I suddenly lifted my gaze from our conjoined fingers to look at twelve able bodied members of the Lockhart Villa looking at the two of us.


    I then realised that we are still holding hands in front of everyone''s view! Panicked, I try to wrest my hand out of his, but he clamps on even tighter! What is he trying to do!


    "Bastard! Didn''t you say that thief disappeared into this alley?"


    "B-boss I thought I did!"


    "Then where the fuck is he? Fuuuckkk! First that sunglasses young master and now that thief! I will show them their place! They aren''t here, search elsewhere!"


    "W-what?" I whisper.


    "Idiot, why were you trying to take your hand away? If you did that, wouldn''t he have seen you? You were trying to break the invisibility spell?"


    "You turned invisible? If you didn''t tell me how would I have known? Who are you? I never heard anyone turn invisible before!"


    "Heh... I ate an invisibility pill."


    "I didn''t know pills like these existed! Wouldn''t this be the holy grail for all thieves?"


    "Hmpf! You think such a pill can be found easily? Only a rich royalty like me can obtain such treasures!"


    "Pfft...who are you trying to fool? A slimy guy like you with an atrocious dressing sense being royalty? Then aren''t I the Princess of Bavaria?"


    "It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness!"


    "Shut up!" I glare at him. He seems to have a remarkable talent to get on my nerves. But he used a precious treasure just to save me from some goons. Doesn''t he have no monetary sense?


    "Quickly change your clothes, then we can blend into the crowd."


    "En. But it''s not like you can blend in with those stupid sunglasses!"


    ****


    I was wrong, we could blend. Because he kept holding my hand and the two of us, invisible walked for fifteen minutes, before we entered an expensive looking caf¨¦. The moment we entered, the waiter greeted us.


    "Good evening sir and madam!"


    "A table for two please!" The silver haired boy said, while winking. I stealthily pinch his palm.


    "Why did you wink! You bastard you want to die?"


    "Calm down, he will direct us to a more private table."


    Just as he said, the waiter directed us to a private table that was obstructed by bamboo sheets and a table lit with candles.


    "Who would''ve thought we would have our first date on the very day we met?"


    "What first date? You just owe me food!" This guy! What a shameless man!


    "Okay okay. So tell me, why does a beautiful girl like you need to steal from a fatass like that Lockhart?"


    "Why do you care! Just treat me to a good lunch and get lost!"


    "Damn, you really are a tigress! I''m just making conversation, woman!"


    I felt guilty for lashing out at him, when he was showing concern.


    "My mother, she is suffering from a terminal illness. I had to begin stealing to make enough to let her stay in the hospital''s care. But now she needs surgery, or she will..."


    "Okay, don''t need to force yourself. Let''s eat food."


    ****


    It was the best meal I had in years. I was really feeling grateful at this gesture from the silver haired boy. I wonder why he hides his face? He doesn''t look bad at all, if he could take off his sunglasses, I might at least see his face properly once.


    "So...I can help you with your monetary problem, I can pay for your mother''s operation and care, if you want, I can even get her treated in the best hospital in the territory."


    "How dare you? Do you think I''m a beggar?"


    "Wait, wait!" He put both his hands in the air to stop me from exploding. How dare he?


    "I said wait! Let me finish! I know that you won''t accept charity, given your aggressive behavior you would probably beat me up if I offered to do it for free. So I have an offer for you. A business transaction, if you must.


    Tonight at midnight, there will be a test held by the new music instructor. Whoever clears the test will get a gold tier equipment. I want you to go and clear the test and obtain the gold tier equipment. Bring it back to me, and in exchange for it, I''ll help you cure your mother."


    After hearing his proposition I couldn''t help but fall silent. It was a tempting offer I couldn''t refuse.


    "Well?"


    "Alright. I agree."


    ****


    It is the final day of the test. I was the first to enter the room, but I still haven''t cleared it yet.


    Selling information as per the music teacher''s advice helped me secure mother''s stay at the hospital for a few more weeks. But she needs this operation to get better. Clearing this test is my primary hope.


    Little did I know that it would be so difficult. Thanks to the friendly teacher''s advice I feel like I''ve almost reached the crucial trick.


    I wonder who the music teacher is. I wonder why he sounds familiar?


    I have finally grasped the idea. I hit each side of the bass drum, creating a powerful vibration on each membrane. I then noticed the harmony between the two vibrations. I gently caress the metallic boundary on one side of the membrane, only ever so slightly and the membranes begin dancing around chaotically.


    The huge vibrating him suddenly gets muffled and then dies it. In the silence, the two membranes exploded! A silent explosion without any blowback!


    The drum disappeared and in its place is now a door.


    "Professor, are you on the other side?"


    "Open the door and find out!" The familiar voice rang back. Over these past 10 days of endless agonizing banging drums, this voice''s occasional comments were my only source of support.


    ****


    I open the door, eager to see what lay on the other side. Mother could finally be cured!


    "Yo! Missed me?" A sight I could never have imagined. No wonder the voice sounded familiar! It was him, the silver haired boy!


    "Y-you? You are the professor?" He was no longer wearing those atrocious sunglasses. I could finally see his face in its entirety. He didn''t look bad at all. His eyes, they were almost magnetically attractive. It felt like a powerful magic. The eyes...were silver? They held an unimaginable depth to them.


    "Oi, you''ll have many more opportunities to stare at me later."


    His hateful comments brought me back to land.


    "Like I promised, I will help your mother get better. However you don''t have to worry about the gold tier equipment, in fact I have a choice for you..."


    ****


    Once again like that day, we are walking together, but this time to the hospital.


    "Hey, little thief, you didn''t have lunch today because of the test. Let''s go have a snack."


    "I don''t have any money." I weakly mumble an opposition. I actually am hungry!


    "Give me a break. Let''s go!" What the heck? He just grabbed my hand again?


    "Heh, aren''t you blushing too much?"


    "Bastard!"


    ****


    Having eaten a scrumptious meal, we leave towards the hospital. In the hospital, we are greeted by the one and only Nurse Sorrow.


    "Good evening Nurse Sorrow!" I reply cheerfully. Hopefully she doesn''t get all sorrowful now.


    "Pfft...what?" That stupid silver haired guy opened his useless mouth again.


    "Oh, this dear child has brought a boyfriend! I was afraid she would never get one! Boy, you must take good care of her!" Oh no! She started her sorrowful mourning routine!


    "Definitely, Nurse *cough* Sorrow, pfft, I will take care of this little girl."


    "What will you take care you bastard! Nurse Sorrow, he isn''t my boyfriend!"


    ****


    "Tina, my princess! You''re back! I missed you a lot dear! I heard you had exams. Are they done with? Oh who is this young man?"


    "Hello aunty, I''m princess Tina''s friend. OWWW."


    "Tina, why are you being so violent?this is the first time you''ve brought a friend here."


    "Sorry, mother. How are you doing now?"


    "I''m doing well. You just take care of yourself."


    "Aunty, can I take your pulse for a minute?" The silver haired professor suddenly ventured to my surprise.


    ****


    "Princess Tina, can you let me check your pulse?" The silver haired boy asked me.


    "You better not try anything funny here."


    "Are we not in front of your mom? Besides we''ve already dated twice, it should be normal to hold hands now."


    "Who would even date you?" I kicked him as hard as possible, but he didn''t seem hurt at all. He faked getting hurt, but I could tell.


    He suddenly had a serious expression as he took my pulse. I don''t know why it made my heart beat faster.


    "Don''t do the operation." He said seriously.


    "What?"


    He brought his face close to my ear. His breath made me shiver. "These doctors have no clue what''s wrong with your mother. Doing this operation will certainly kill her. I can cure your mother, but it will take some time."


    "Are you telling the truth?" I couldn''t believe what he was saying at all!


    "Why would I lie to you?" He replied plainly.


    "Ok I believe you... But how can I trust a music teacher over medical experts?"


    "Watch."


    He took mother''s hand and suddenly the air became warmer. Suddenly, mother''s cheeks became flushed red instead of her usual pale appearance.


    "Tina, what is happening?"


    "Just a moment mother, my friend here is trying to help you."


    ****


    Few minutes passed by, and mother looked better than she did in years.


    "I suggest discharging your mother from the hospital next week and cutting the operation out. I can cure both of you, but I''ll need to procure some special herbs to create a medicinal pill."


    "B-both of us?" Mother''s panicked voice.


    The silver haired boy seriously nodded, then stared at mother for sometime. I could not make heads nor tails of the situation, but I could see that mother increasingly became more panicked as they stared at each other. Just as I was going to stop him.


    "Am I correct?" He suddenly asked.


    "H-how?"


    "It doesn''t matter at the moment. Please follow as I say."


    Mother then looked towards me, beckoning me closer, and then whispering in my ear.


    "Listen to your friend and do as he says. Discharge me next week."


    "Mother what did he tell you? Did he threaten you? Tell me mother, I won''t leave him alive if he dared threaten you."


    "I don''t think He means us harm Tina, my princess, just do as he asks you to."


    Facing mother''s puzzling words filled with seriousness, I can only nod.