Puff—
"Hey, did you hear about the new Assistant Professor joining the Applied Combat Theory department?"
A lazy, feminine voice echoed in an empty conference room with two people sitting right next to each other.
"Damn it, Professor Heide, don't smoke in the meeting hall." The other professor next to her complained.
"That wasn't my question, Professor James," She leaned closer to him, smiling, "Am I bothering you~?"
"Tch!" The brown-haired, decently handsome, glasses-wearing man clicked his tongue and avoided eye contact.
"Yeah, I have heard about him." He changed the topic, "Seemingly, he is at Phase-5, and younger than us."
"Mhmm!" She nodded, "But strangely, he wasn't interviewed by the Department chair and the faculty, but personally by the Provost."
"Well," He shrugged, "There are no rules against that."
"But," She nudged him with a knowing grin, "You know what that means, right?"
Every professor who had heard about it realized that the Provost had a personal agenda in this.
But no one said anything openly, especially since the Department Chair had given him her approval as well.
"Silence!" He rebuked her behavior, maintaining his serious demeanor, "The walls here have ears, remember?"
Puff—
"Party pooper."
Tak, Tak—
Suddenly, she put out the cigarette, threw it in her purse, and straightened her posture.
The other professors were starting to pour inside now.
And in mere moments, every seat in the conference room was occupied, and finally, the door opened for the final time.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to the door, eager to see the newest addition to the faculty.
A relatively tall man, around 190 cm, with a lean physique, entered the room with a sharp, analytical gaze.
Wavy, midnight-blue hair fell over his brow, framing a handsome face that had an uncanny symmetry, and striking features that made him look a lot younger than he was supposed to be.
Although his electric-blue eyes were heavy-lidded, they held keen intelligence and caution.
Conventionally, he was very attractive and carried himself with an easy-going persona, but the air around him was somewhat overbearing.
Walking in front of the table, his gaze acknowledged everyone present in the room.
He started, "Good Morning, esteemed faculty of the Imperial University. My name is Caius Foster, an assistant professor in the department of Applied Combat Theory."
His eyes scanned the room as he saw everyone nodding at him slightly, acknowledging his introduction.
After that, Caius briefly outlined his research achievements and contributions.
It was just a formality that every new addition to the faculty had to perform.
"And, due to the direct orders from the Department Chair, I would be taking over the classes of Associate Professor Dr. Timothy Rimer."
Everyone raised their brows and turned their head around towards a certain individual in the back.
"Huh!?" The man in question was jolted awake. "Wait, wait—"
He stood up abruptly, sliding his chair back. "What do you mean by my classes?"
Caius' lips rose a bit, smiling, but his eyes weren't, "Exactly what you heard, Dr. Timothy Rimer."
He walked forward, halting next to his chair, as he handed him a piece of paper, "Here is your Letter of Termination. You can leave."
Professor Timothy was outraged and angered by the patronizing behavior of the newbie.
He turned around and grabbed his collar all of a sudden, "What is the meaning of this, newbie?"
But the thin smile on Caius' face never faltered, as he looked down on Timothy, who was a few inches shorter than him.
"It's an order from the Department Chair, professor," He calmly said, "Please go consult her if you have any complaints."
Timothy gritted his teeth, seeing the condescending look in this newbie's eyes.
Blazes wrapped around his hands as he threatened to burn Caius if this continued.
Caius' eyes remained unchanged, "I wouldn't do that here, if I were you, professor."
He looked around and said, "Please, mind your surroundings and your 'status' when interacting with me."
He was right. The professors present here were all highly-regarded mages in their own fields, and overstepping their boundaries could be proven fatal here.
But Timothy was an impulsive and arrogant person. He was too haughty to back down at this point.
His status and family background allowed him to be this haughty.
He didn't let him go, as the flame started charring Caius' upper chest skin and his skin under the jaw.
A few professors immediately wielded their spells, ready to separate them at a moment's notice, but Caius stopped them, signalling with his hand to leave it to him.
They were skeptical, concerned, but most of all, curious. They wanted to see what this new professor was planning.
"Would you be able to handle the aftermath of this, Professor?" He asked, his voice low.
"Do you even know whose seat you're eyeing, newbie?" Timothy whispered back, his confidence rising due to the others not intervening.
Grab—
Caius grabbed his hands with his own, pressing on the ablaze hands firmly.
Kugh—
Timothy frowned, looking at his hands being pulled away with no resistance whatsoever.
'What's with this absurd strength?' Timothy groaned as his hands were twisted behind his back, with no regard for his shoulders being rotated to an unnatural angle.
Argh—
"The Department Chair did inform me that you might react unsavorily, but I guess I still underestimated you."
"Let… me go… You bastard."
The other professors watched the scene unfurl with curious eyes, not bothering to intervene.
Caius took out a pair of handcuffs from his long coat and cuffed him.
"Please, make your way to the Department Chair's office, professor." He glared down at him, "Don't lose your face anymore, you cannot even use your mana with that cuff on you."
But Timothy's eyes made it clear that he would still resist.
One of the Senior Professors present there came forward and put his hands around Timothy's shoulders. "Leave this guy to me, Professor Caius."
Caius smiled, "I would appreciate that, Professor."
"Please make your way to the infirmary, professor." James stepped forward, enquiring about the burns Timothy had caused.
"Ah! No need." Caius chuckled, waving his hands around his chest in one smooth motion.
The burnt part of the skin started to shed and grow new skin.
It took a few seconds before the burn was gone, and it only left a patch of scar that would also heal with time.
"I am a healer, by nature."
The rest were amazed. A Phase-5 Healer variant with that kind of strength was not a common sight.
"You will regret this," Timothy growled, "Caius Foster, was it?"
"I couldn't care less about my own survival, professor," Caius replied imperturbably, "Good luck."
The remaining professors were kind of impressed and appalled at the same time.
The way he handled the situation was calm, yet in such a patronizing way.
But the way he didn't even flinch at the second-degree burn was… distressing.
"Thank you for your time, esteemed professors," Caius gave them a curt bow, "I would take my leave now."
His eyes lingered on a particular part of the wall before he began to leave.
———「Death Variable Averted」———
◆ Objective: Help the protagonist avert every possible death variable.
◆ Progress: 1/???
「Rewards:」
◆ Plot Relevance: +0.2%
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