All-around teacher at the magic academy

"Emma, ​​are you all ready? The first stage of the academy's internal selection competition is about to begin." Aurora stood outside Emma's door, her voice tinged with urgency.

Today, Aurora deviated from her usual style, opting not to wear her signature black dress.

Clearly, a long skirt wasn't the best choice for the upcoming fierce competition. She specifically selected a pair of well-tailored trousers, which not only allowed her greater freedom of movement but also subtly showcased her leg lines—an advantage that long skirts couldn't highlight in the past.

Nevertheless, she maintained her all-black attire, because she firmly believed that black could bestow upon her an indescribable noble air.

"Emma, ​​why are you so slow?" Aurora stood outside the door, her patience seemingly exhausted, and urged her anxiously once more. The long wait made her frown.

"Coming soon!" Emma's voice came from inside the room, tinged with urgency.

Today's selection competition made her extremely nervous. Last night, she tossed and turned in bed, her mind filled with thoughts of the upcoming competition.

The excitement overwhelmed her, and every time she tried to relax, the thought of the selection competition would surge back like a tide. She worried that her nervousness would cause her to be late the next day, and this anxiety made it even harder for her to fall asleep.

Exhausted, she finally fell into a deep sleep at three in the morning. Sure enough, she woke up later than usual and didn't have time to dress up as carefully as she usually did. Urged on by Aurora, she hurriedly washed up and rushed out of the room.

"Judging from your appearance, you didn't sleep well last night, did you?" Aurora looked at Emma with concern, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Ugh, don't even mention it. I didn't fall asleep until after 3 a.m.," Emma sighed, her face full of disappointment. She was worried that today's match would be affected.

"Don't take it too seriously," Aurora comforted softly. "After all, we're only first-year students. This selection competition is more of an experience for us. It's only natural that we lost to the seniors."

“You’re right,” Emma nodded. Although she agreed with Aurora, deep down she still longed to give it her all.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. The selection competition is being held in the back mountain of the academy. We need to hurry over there." Aurora waved her hand, signaling Emma to follow.

“Okay, let’s go,” Emma replied, composing herself to prepare for the upcoming challenge.

...

The mountain behind the college.

"Teacher Leon!" From afar, Leon's voice pierced the morning tranquility. Leon saw him waving from a distance and raised his hand in response.

Leon, with Ilya in tow, walked steadily toward the direction where Professor Lean was.

"Professor Lian, you've arrived very early." Leon greeted her with a smile, somewhat surprised that she had come so early.

"Yes, I didn't have anything else to do today, so I came early." Teacher Lian answered casually, then his gaze fell on Ilya next to Leon, and he asked curiously, "And who is this?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce you. This is Ilya, whom I mentioned to you before," Leon introduced concisely, without going into too much detail.

On the one hand, he didn't want to bring up Philip's past again in front of Ilya; on the other hand, he had indeed mentioned that period of his experience to Professor Lean before.

"Oh, hello, Ilya." Lean looked enlightened, thinking to himself, "No wonder Professor Leon has been so busy lately, he must have been busy with her affairs."

“Hello, Professor Lian.” Ilya responded politely, her gaze shifting between Lian and Leon, feeling slightly uneasy, but she still maintained a respectful attitude.

"What are the rules for this selection competition?" Leon asked curiously, having not previously delved into the specific details of the competition.

His main reason for coming today was curiosity about whether Hansen could pass the selection. He couldn't help but worry that if Hansen couldn't even pass this hurdle, did it mean that his teaching achievements were nothing special?

"The rules are the same as in previous years, using a speed-based format. The entire competition is divided into three stages: forest, canyon, and river."

All registered students will participate in this competition, with the aim of directly selecting the top 40 who will then proceed to the next round of elimination matches. The elimination rounds will be held over the next two days, using a head-to-head format, with the winners advancing to the next round until the top ten are determined.

The competition begins the moment the whistle blows, and students must traverse forests, canyons, and rivers in turn. Fighting between students is strictly prohibited, and any violation will result in disqualification.

The first 40 students to reach the finish line will be considered winners; the selection process ends once the 40th student arrives.

Leon listened attentively to Professor Lian's detailed explanation, and he thought the selection process was reasonably well-organized.

This competition seems to be designed to test the breadth of students' magical knowledge; those who are only proficient in one or two spells may find it difficult to outpace their opponents in terms of speed.

Although this competition wasn't entirely fair, it was a traditional rule of the academy and had nothing to do with him personally. He also understood the academy's position: no matter how outstanding a student was, if they only excelled in one type of magic, the academy wouldn't give them full recognition.

"The competition should be starting soon, right?" Leon guessed that it was about time, and most of the students should have already arrived at the venue.

“That’s right, there’s less than half an hour left,” Teacher Lian confirmed.

"There should be some obstacles in the forest in the first stage, right?" Leon didn't think the competition would simply be about crossing the forest.

He turned his head and looked at Ms. Lian, noticing the constant smile on her face, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are there any special features in the forest?"

“In the forest of the first level, we have arranged some summoned beasts, which are creatures summoned by the teachers to block the students’ progress. Among them are some elemental spirits that I summoned,” Teacher Lian explained.

"So that's how it is." Leon suddenly understood, but then he wondered why no one had told him this beforehand. He could also use summoning magic. Leon felt isolated, and his mood became somewhat depressed.

"What's wrong, Professor Leon?" Lean noticed his unusual mood and asked with concern.

"It's nothing." Leon shook his head, trying to put those distracting thoughts out of his mind.

“Let’s go. We can wait at the finish line. The dean and the other teachers should already be there,” Lian reminded him.

Leon then realized why he hadn't seen any other teachers after waiting for so long. But he was also puzzled. "Mr. Lean, why aren't you with the other teachers at the finish line?"

When Lian heard the question, she simply smiled and did not answer, seemingly hiding some reason that only she knew.