The lecture hall was smaller than some of the others we'd been in, but it still held a certain quiet gravity. Stone walls lined with thin banners depicting ancient scripts, half-faded by time and lazy maintenance. It almost felt like stepping into a temple.
I sat beside Ark, with Zek and Orin behind us, and Araki across the aisle. The rest of the seats slowly filled as students trickled in — some yawning, some whispering, a few scanning the room as if unsure this was the right place.
'Huh... thirty students total,'
Since most classes are only 20 students large. That was when I noticed half of them were commoners and wearing second-year pins.
(Pins are a cheap alternative to the school uniforms for commoners.)
'Second-years? They must be taking this class again.'
I counted again, just to be sure.
'Fifteen first-years… fifteen second-years. Strange balance. Either this class is tougher than it looks, or they all got a teacher last year that favoured the nobles over commoners.'
I frowned slightly. 'Or both.'
A few murmurs passed through the room, but they quieted when the door at the front opened.
A tall man entered, white hair tied in a loose braid down his back. His robe was old but elegant — dark green with gold trim. Despite his age, he walked with the grace of a much younger man. His steps barely made a sound.
But it wasn't his movement that surprised me.
It was his ears.
'He's a high elf?'
I blinked.
I'd known Professor Barinous was old — anyone who publishes as many historical texts as he has, has to be. But I always assumed he was a human.
Seeing a high elf that aged was rare. Most elves became indolent and isolated in their later centuries, lost in old art, memories, or politics. Teaching, especially at a human-led academy like this one, was beneath most of them.
'Why would he be here?' I wondered.
The professor walked to the front of the room and stood behind the lectern. When he spoke, his voice was low but carried with ease — like warm paper turning in a fire.
"Good morning, students. I am Professor Barinous. Welcome to History."
Murmurs sparked across the room.
Ark shifted beside me, his eyes lighting up.
"Wait… that Barinous?" he whispered.
I smirked.
"Yup."
"I have his book in my room!"
I didn't need him to say which one. Legends Hidden Behind the Veil of Time — I'd seen it on Ark's shelf. Leather-bound. I have a copy of it myself. It was one of the few records that, while most think are just myths or folk tales, are actually true stories of spirits or great and powerful beings, including the Origins of several Primogenitors.
Especially the werewolf Primogenitor's story, as that one is the most popular among the people who read it. Though most people think it's just some folk tale.
I narrowed my eyes slightly, wondering…
'Does he know what they really are? Or is he just another scholar lost in the fog of incomplete truths?'
I barely had time to think further when a ripple of mana brushed against my senses — faint, but off.
My expression didn't change, but my focus shifted instantly.
'Something just moved...'
Subtle. Intentional. Not a spell cast, but a presence trying not to be noticed.
I placed my hand casually on my desk, extended my index finger, and whispered, "Glare."
A thin slit opened at the end of my finger — and the small, pupil-slit eye blinked open, shimmering with soft violet light.
I closed my own eyes and let my vision shift to his.
My finger drifted toward the back-left corner of the room.
A faint shimmer, and through it I saw them. A 6th-year student cloaked in two layers of concealment — one for light, one for mana signature.
'Nice try.'
I watched silently. 'Are they watching me… or someone else?'
The student wasn't looking at anyone in particular. But the spell was well-constructed — too practiced to be a prank.
I desummoned Glare with a thought and opened my eyes.
Professor Barinous hadn't said another word yet.
He was staring at the back corner. His expression was calm, but there was a sharpness in his gaze that made the hair on my arms rise.
Then, slowly, the professor picked up a piece of chalk from the desk.
And flicked it with a spell.
Crack—
The chalk moved like a bullet.
BOOM—
The classroom flinched at the sudden shockwave. Everyone turned to look at the back-left corner—
And gasped.
A 6th-year student stood there, dusted in chalk, their concealment completely shattered. Bits of broken magic clung to their robe like torn cobwebs. They looked stunned, half-embarrassed, half-terrified.
Professor Barinous spoke, voice quiet but ice-cold. "I do not appreciate the headmistress' little lackeys disrupting my lectures."
The student swallowed hard.
"L-Listen, I—"
"I said leave."
The student stumbled slightly, nodded, and hurried out the door without another word.
I raised an eyebrow at the professor.
He noticed.
And smiled.
*Clap*
The room snapped back to attention.
"Apologies for that interruption. It happens sometimes."
The professor's tone was relaxed again, almost amused.
"For those unaware, our esteemed Headmistress has been trying to find grounds to fire me for years. That student was simply the latest of her little informants."
The room went quiet.
One of the students — a second-year boy near the front — hesitantly raised a hand.
"Um… why would she want to fire you, sir?"
Barinous gave a slow smile.
"Because I am the leader of a very… unofficial group of faculty here at the Second Academy. We believe that this school, like all institutions of learning, should actually teach all its students."
That got a few chuckles.
He went on, eyes scanning the room.
"She, on the other hand, prefers her teachers to be little more than babysitters for noble heirs. So long as they pass their exams, smile for the fundraisers, and keep the prestige of the academy intact, she's content."
More shifting in seats now. Even the first-years were starting to get the idea.
"Have you noticed," Barinous asked, "that the nobles seem to get treated better than you?"
Almost every student nodded.
Ark's eyes darkened.
"Of course you have," the professor said. "The headmistress and a good portion of the faculty are little more than sycophants — nobles obsessed with status, coin, and control. They see you as background characters in their story."
He crossed his arms.
"But not all of us agree. There are still those among us who remember what this school used to stand for. Before she took over. Before the previous Headmaster mysteriously resigned and left the city."
A heavy silence.
The second-year students lowered their eyes. Confirming it.
Barinous's voice softened.
"She cannot fire me, because I was the previous Headmaster's mentor, and a public figure. The backlash would cause too many questions. But she can remove those under me. The previous infirmary doctor was replaced days ago for this exact reason."
He leaned back against the desk, letting his words settle.
"Of course… that's also why you're all here."
Confused looks.
I didn't speak. But I already knew.
He smiled wider.
"We — the teachers who wish for change, Amanda Arrow, Matthew Arrow, Ms Cottonflower and several other teachers — are quietly teaching you at the same standard as the noble elite. The same curriculum is used in classes 1-1 through 7-1."
(The first number is the year, and the second is the class. Jack's group is in class 1-10.)
Mouths dropped open.
Even Zek froze. "Wait… what? i thought that was the standard."
Barinous nodded.
"We do not change the written material. But we enhance it. Every lesson, every exam, every lecture — just a little more than she wants. Enough to matter. Enough to elevate you above what they expect."
Someone raised a hand hesitantly. "But… isn't that a good thing? Why does it sound like that's a problem?"
Barinous looked genuinely pleased by the question.
"Because, dear student, in doing so… we're undermining the illusion the headmistress maintains. That only nobles deserve excellence. That only they are worthy of ambition."
He straightened, his eyes gleaming.
"So yes — you're getting a better education. And in doing so, you're quietly helping dismantle the hierarchy this school tries so hard to enforce."
The room was quiet for a long moment.
Then one by one, students began to smile.
I glanced to my side.
Ark was grinning.
Zek looked like he was about to punch the air.
Orin just smirked.
Araki was taking notes.
I leaned back in my seat, arms crossed, and smiled.
'Guess the revolution really is being taught in a classroom.'