Chapter 105: This is the worst class I have ever taught
Aaron walked down the street, feeling dazed.
He didn't know how he walked out of Ollivander's Wand Shop, but he knew he had displeased his Uncle because, after careful consideration, he hadn't added wand-making to his curriculum.
Logically speaking, he was already planning to specialize in wandless magic, so learning wand-making would be completely contradictory.
Of course, this didn't mean that the craft of wand-making was useless.
Quite the opposite, in the Magical World, almost all Wizards couldn't do without a wand, and the specialized skill of making wands was only held by a few individuals, making it priceless; mastering it would guarantee a livelihood for life.
The problem was that his family had already enrolled him in four tutoring classes, and there was simply no extra time to learn anything else.
Back at the shop, Aaron glared fiercely at Gines, "How many different courses can I actually choose from? How is even wand-making on the list?"
"Many," Gines said meaningfully. "Specifically, it includes various languages, life skills, combat styles, professional techniques, and so on.
Since the establishment of the Gaius Family, each generation's patriarch has left some options for the next generation.
With thousands of years of inheritance, there's only what young master can't think of, not what the family can't teach."
"Heh heh!" Aaron shook his head speechlessly, then looked at Gines with suspicion, "Are you sure you can be the teacher for all subjects?"
"How could that be?" Gines chuckled, "Young master, you think too highly of me; I only know less than one-tenth.
But young master, you don't need to worry; each course has a special teaching method that is very reliable."
"What do you mean?"
"To give a simple example, Hogwarts has a History of Magicclass, and the Professor teaching it seems to be a ghost."
Aaron suddenly understood but also felt that something wasn't quite right.
The Chamber of Secrets of the Gaius Family would not be known to outsiders, which ruled out the possibility of hiring famous teachers with vast capital, but their family couldn't possibly raise hundreds of ghosts for the sake of so-called teaching staff; that was too absurd.
However, he didn't ask further; all his questions would be answered once he returned.
"Is there anything I need to prepare in advance?"
"Get enough rest and adjust your mindset; that's the only thing you need to prepare."
More than an hour later, the two men and one dragon returned to the Chamber of Secrets in the Castle.
Gines skillfully opened the armory and then made a gesture of invitation, allowing Aaron to choose a suitable weapon first.
He didn't pay much attention and casually walked to a shelf, picking up a longsword.
"Are you sure it's this one?"
"Confirmed."
Gines nodded slightly, also took down a similar longsword, and began teaching.
"Basic swordplay is the core of swordsmanship, including thrusting, cleaving, upward slash, parrying, clouding, pointing, collapsing, intercepting, wrist flower, and so on."
With each term, Gines personally demonstrated the key movements, and only after confirming Aaron's nod did he proceed to the next movement, taking more than ten minutes to complete the demonstration.
"Young master, do you have any other questions?"
"Hmm... no questions, but is that all?"
"That's all; these are the core of swordsmanship."
"But this is the first lesson!
Isn't it a bit too hasty to just teach me these few movements?"
"Not hasty; it's quite necessary.
Young master, you are just a beginner; teaching advanced sword moves to a beginner would truly be irresponsible," Gines said earnestly. "In every future swordplay lesson, young master, you will have to practice basic movements for an hour and a half until you have completely mastered them.
As for the remaining half an hour, it will be... practical combat training."
"I see, practical combat is the main point, right!" Aaronchuckled, "Basics plus sparring, it sounds like there's no problem, but isn't you, the teacher, a bit too relaxed?"
"Young master, you're mistaken if you think that," Gines said meaningfully. "In fact, the teacher is always more tormented than the student."
"Is that so?" Aaron gave him a deep look, highly skeptical.
The Professors at Hogwarts might be qualified to say such a thing, after all, each of them had to teach hundreds of students and were too busy to even grade homework.
Besides that, they also had to handle various disputes and solve all kinds of learning problems for students.
But Gines was only responsible for him; three-quarters of a lesson's time could be openly used for slacking off, and it didn't seem related to torment at all.
Gines nodded, smiling without speaking.
The formal training quickly began. Aaron gripped the longsword in his hand, but he hadn't even completed half of his first movement when a silver longsword rested on his shoulder.
Gines lightly patted him, expressionless, adopting the demeanor of a strict teacher, "Raise your arm; the sword and arm should form a straight line."
"Yes," Aaron said as if possessed. The serious butler made him feel like a mouse seeing a cat, and he instinctively tensed up.
Swish!
The direct thrust was completed smoothly, but before Aaroncould breathe a sigh of relief, his head was flicked.
"The movement is standard, but the speed is too slow.
If you really encountered an enemy, with your drawing speed, you'd die twice over."
"Isn't this training?"
"Precisely because it's training, you can't relax; everyday Slackness could cost you your life at a critical moment."
Hearing this, Aaron suppressed his temper. He knew very well that Gines was right and immediately proceeded to the next movement.
Cleaving, from top to bottom, force reaching the sword body.
"No."
"Why?
This movement isn't particularly simple; where did I go wrong?"
"Too much force; you can't stop it at all.
Young master, what you're practicing now is technique, not strength. It's best to set a standard for yourself: to be able to stop anytime you want to is considered passing."
Aaron opened his mouth, speechless.
As expected, the upward slash movement was interrupted again.
"Controlling the force is too deliberate; it's flashy and meaningless."
Parrying.
"Your stance must be stable. With this, I wouldn't even need a dagger; I could disarm you in a minute."
Clouding.
"Too stiff; if your wrist isn't flexible, you're just a target."
...The last movement ended, and Aaron was panting, a layer of sweat on his forehead.
He practiced less than ten movements for over twenty minutes, during which his arm was slapped four times, his thigh five times, and he received three flicks to the head.
After twelve years of playing life, this was the first time he felt life was difficult.
He strongly suspected Gines was doing it on purpose and had ample evidence.
On the first day of class, teachers liked to assert their authority over students, just as Professor McGonagall used Animagus in her first class to establish her teaching prestige.
Gines, meanwhile, was writing something continuously in a small notebook. After a long while, he sighed, "I have to say, young master, you truly are the worst class I've ever taught."
Pfft!
Aaron felt his heart had been severely stabbed, a pain that pierced him to the core.
"That's too much!
Don't think I don't know; every teacher likes to say that."
"That's true," Gines nodded. "However, besides you, I've only taught the patriarch.
In other words, I am indeed qualified to say such a thing."
Aaron paused, a bitter smile involuntarily appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Having only taught two classes and being able to say 'the worst class' so righteously, his thick skin must have reached perfection.
But why couldn't he phrase it differently? How much better would it sound to say he ranked second among the students he had taught?
"Wait, do you mean my dad's sword talent is stronger than mine?"
"Naturally.
The patriarch's talent is at least twice as strong as yours."
"How did you determine that?" Aaron looked at the small notebook in Gines' hand, thoughtfully, "Could it be that there's even a calculation formula for this?"
"No, but he completed this set of movements for the first time in just ten minutes."
"Then how many times was he hit?"
"If I remember correctly, it was seventeen times."
Aaron:...That logic is not reliable at all.
"Young master, time is precious; you can't slack off in front of me.
So, don't just stand there."
Aaron rolled his eyes and continued his sword training.
Sure enough, after asserting his authority, Teacher Ginesbecame much gentler.
Although his movements were still not up to standard, at least he didn't get flicked on the head anymore.
A standard set of movements took less than half the original time; to be precise, the time spent being lectured was reduced by more than half.
Gines was also diligent and responsible; he paid attention to every one of Aaron's movements. If they were standard, he would give encouraging glances; if not, he would offer suggestions for improvement.
An hour and a half later, Gines put away his small notebook and let out a sigh of relief.
"Judging by the training results, young master, you are entirely capable of mastering these basic movements within a week."
"A week!
Barely acceptable," Aaron murmured, swinging the longsword with a slightly trembling hand. "Next up is practical combat training, right!
Although it might be a bit overambitious in front of you, I'm ready."
"Good momentum," Gines said with satisfaction, then placed the longsword back on the rack and took out his wand.
"Hey, hey, hey, what does this mean?" Aaron's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively took a step back. "Is it appropriate for you, a great Archmage, to deal with me, a beginner swordsman? Are you sure you're not bullying me?"
"Uh... young master misunderstood." Gines lightly tapped a suit of armor with his wand, and it climbed off the rack as if imbued with life.