Chapter 229 The King of All Beasts? Professor Nina (4k)
The first-year Beast Mastery class was an experiential course with no textbooks yet, so there was no pre-study material.
Dark leaned his chin on his hand, looking out the window with boredom.
It wasn’t until the bell rang that he turned back.
But the Beast Mastery professor had yet to arrive.
In the spacious tiered classroom, students from four different houses sat in four rows.
Most of the students had stopped their chatter as the bell rang, but a small group continued to laugh and joke around.
Minutes later, a huge body covered in long gray fur forced its way through the front door, silencing everyone in the room!
“Huff!”
As the massive body squeezed through the doorway, a strong wind swept in, carrying a pungent odor that spread throughout the classroom.
However, this was not the typical stench of a giant beast, but rather a rich, fragrant scent, like a mixture of various floral aromas.
The students’ expressions changed slightly.
Even Dark at the back couldn’t escape the mixed fragrance.
Like most of the young magi, he instinctively covered his nose.
Then, the giant turned its face toward the students and greeted them: “Good morning, hi everyone!”
“Uh-oh, I bit my tongue.”
“Did you bite your tongue?”
“It bit its tongue!”
…
Facing the whispers of doubt from the entire class, a faint blush appeared on the giant’s rugged face.
Its eyes darted around, its hands fidgeted, and it curled up, shrinking visibly!
Yet, it remained exceptionally tall.
Even Professor Pavar Jones, who had one-sixteenth giant blood, would look like a child next to it.
However, contrary to its appearance, its mannerisms were more childish than a child.
Its voice was soft and infant-like.
This made some of the frightened girls sigh in relief.
Emma in the front row raised her hand abruptly.
Perhaps thinking the giant might overlook her, she spoke up: “Excuse me, are you the Beast Mastery professor?”
“Yes, yes!”
The giant nodded hastily, its gaze filled with gratitude towards Emma: “Yes, I’m the Beast Mastery professor, Nina.”
Emma then boldly asked: “Professor Nina, are you part orc?”
Professor Nina’s expression tightened slightly as she softly replied: “Yes, yes, I am a half-Behemoth.”
Half-Behemoth!
Behemoths were the royal family of orcs!
No sooner had Professor Nina spoken when the classroom buzzed with murmurs.
Professor Jones was a half-giant, while Professor Nina was a half-orc. This was indeed the style of Saint Maryann.
Unlike Professor Jones, whose human blood dominated, Professor Nina’s lineage clearly favored orcs.
She looked like a Behemoth without horns or tusks, except for more refined facial features, showing no signs of human traits.
Moreover, she seemed quite young…
…
In the midst of everyone’s confusion, Professor Nina walked nervously to the podium and, after placing her small backpack on the desk, finally looked up: “Let me introduce myself again. I am Professor Nina, the Beast Mastery professor—this is my first class… No, wait!”
Just as the young magi began to feel puzzled, a terrifying roar suddenly emerged from Professor Nina’s voice: “I will try my best!”
The might of all beasts pressed down on the entire classroom, leaving everyone silent.
Professor Nina, however, didn’t notice and continued muttering to herself: “So, don’t tell Aunt Altair that I’m not serious. Otherwise, I’ll cry… get angry!”
She opened her hands, instinctively wanting to say “woof,” but quickly closed her mouth and straightened up to face the students below.
The students in the classroom seemed very attentive.
This self-introduction must have been successful, thought Nina, swallowing hard and feeling anxious.
…
The back of the tiered classroom had a higher elevation.
Dark, looking down from above, had his mouth half-open and a bewildered expression.
Professor Nina’s unintentional display of beastly aura could not affect him, but the students around him were mostly scared, only recovering once the pressure subsided.
“So, the first-year Beast Mastery professor is her?”
“Can I report Saint Maryann Academy for hiring child labor to the education bureau?”
“This Professor Nina doesn’t seem mentally stable… Can she really teach this class well?”
The stifling atmosphere in the classroom gradually eased as Professor Nina started her lecture.
Without a textbook, she couldn’t just read from it, which truly tested her skills.
Moreover, her courage was inversely proportional to her height; she stumbled over her words even when speaking, let alone giving a proper lesson.
It took her about fifteen minutes to explain the basics of Beast Mastery.
First-year Beast Mastery primarily focused on recognizing and understanding common magical beasts.
To deepen their knowledge, professors occasionally took students to the dungeon for temporary experiences.
Overall, it wasn’t a highly advanced course.
If it were too advanced, it probably wouldn’t be taught by a novice like Professor Nina.
…
After finishing this part, Professor Nina, trying to emulate other professors, gathered her courage and asked: “Does anyone know what a magical beast is?”
But before she finished, Emma in the first row already raised her hand.
Professor Nina pointed at her and whispered, drawing a small list with her finger: “Emma Maltis?”
“Yes, Professor, you can call me Emma,” Emma confidently replied. “Magical beasts are essentially wild beasts with magic.”
Professor Nina nodded: “That’s correct, but incomplete. Does anyone have any additional information? If not… great, please have the student in the last row answer the question, your name…”
“Robert Broheim.”
Amidst the surprised gazes of those around him, Robert slowly stood up.
His face carried a hint of confusion, but he spoke fluently once he opened his mouth.
“Emma is right. Magical beasts can indeed be explained by their literal meaning, but not all beasts with magic are called magical beasts.”
“In fact, spirit beasts, illusionary beasts, divine beasts, and even some magical animals also possess magic. The term ‘magical beast’ originally referred to—beasts that have been corrupted by magic!”
“The demonic race, which has the ability to corrupt beasts, gathers them into armies to slaughter recklessly. They are creations of the demonic race, irrational beasts of evil. Even some mutated demonic beings that have lost their rationality are classified as magical beasts!”
“Of course, that was in the past.”
“Now, magical beasts have evolved over countless years into a new species.”
…
“Five points for Robert!”
Professor Nina excitedly raised her hands, clapping loudly.
Then she asked again: “Did you add them?”
Robert received a notification of the points added to his selection card and awkwardly nodded.
Professor Nina then happily continued her lecture.
But inside, she had already developed a favorable impression of this seemingly unintelligent boy.
Indeed, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!
Could this be the legendary top student?
…
After Robert sat down, Wit finally couldn’t hold back: “Robert, where did you learn this? I didn’t even know this!”
Robert looked bewildered: “I don’t know either, it’s as if I always knew.”
Wit: “…”
Robert frowned, racking his brain: “Could I have heard someone mention this before?”
Wit: “You often go to the military camp, maybe some of the veterans mentioned it.”
Robert: “Maybe… but it felt good just now!”
Wit: “Uh…”
…
Robert’s sudden enthusiasm didn’t attract much attention.
After all, few people understood him, and everyone had their own strengths. Perhaps he just happened to know this particular piece of information.
As for Professor Nina’s lecture, it was actually quite boring.
But the students found it unexpectedly interesting watching a giant use a childlike voice to earnestly teach.
Midway through the class, Professor Nina suddenly pulled out a jar from her small backpack, exclaiming excitedly: “For today’s lecture, I specially caught a magical beast in the dungeon. Today’s main topic will be about this beast. Everyone, please pay close attention, because the homework tonight will be to write a short paper about this beast.”
She then muttered under her breath: “Aunt Shylph said we should always assign homework after class!”
Emma and the others in the front row heard her clearly, and several faces darkened immediately.
When Professor Nina talked about this content, she seemed genuinely happy. She used two fingers to shake the jar forcefully, then put it to her ear to listen: It’s still alive!
She then happily said: “Can anyone guess what kind of magical beast is in the jar? I’ll give a hint: it’s very common in the dungeon but also very dangerous.”
After saying that, she eagerly stared at the students below, occasionally glancing at Robert.
But this time, not even Robert, who had a lot of knowledge about magical beasts, could figure it out.
There were simply too many common yet dangerous beasts in the dungeon…
Professor Nina was frighteningly naive!
…
“Is she even stupider than me?”
Even Diana questioned.
Rose nudged her arm urgently, whispering: “We can’t say that about the professor.”
Diana: “Alright!”
…
Professor Nina waited for a while but no one raised their hand. Her thick eyebrows drooped, looking pitiful, helpless, and on the verge of tears.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she saw someone raise their hand in the last row near the window!
The golden-haired youth with a helpless expression stood up after being called on.
“Dark Demon? I know you!” Professor Nina exclaimed.
“Fine, I know you know me,” Dark reminded her.
“Professor Nina, you should provide more hints! There are too many common yet dangerous beasts in the dungeon! If you’re referring to the newbie beasts like Mud Goblins, their strong odor would be a good clue. If it’s another type of beast—the Sucking Spirit—it could be identified by its ability to absorb magic.”
Professor Nina blinked hard: “Oh, that makes sense…”
Seeing that she understood, Dark sat back down.
Professor Nina: “Then, the new hint is that it can make people despair!”
…
The classroom fell silent.
After all, encountering danger in the dungeon could make anyone despair…
Professor Nina looked expectantly at the students, but no one raised their hand.
Her eyebrows furrowed again.
Dark had to step in again: “Professor Nina, could the creature in the jar be the variant of the Sucking Spirit—the Sucking Spirit itself?”
“Thank you!” Professor Nina grabbed the救命稻草, hurriedly saying, “Dark Demon gets five points!”
Then she picked up the jar and flipped it open.
Instantly, a gray shadow shot out!
But Professor Nina caught its tail with a flick of her hand, yanking it hard and slamming it onto the table with a “thud!”
The nearly flattened Sucking Spirit lifted its dazed head and let out a sharp scream!
It was both the excitement of seeing prey and the madness of smelling something delicious.
The Sucking Spirit was gray, almost like a ghost, with three perpetually empty holes on its twisted face!
They were greedy and despicable, sucking away all joy and leaving endless despair!
Dark had researched related materials earlier to solve the problem of the Deadly Sin.
However, the Sucking Spirit absorbed not emotions, but memories.
It sucked away joyful memories and replaced them with nightmares, causing people to die in despair during sleep.
This was the Sucking Spirit!
“Do any of you want to come up and try?”
So when Professor Nina said this, Dark was surprised.
“Don’t be afraid, a single Sucking Spirit cannot effectively suck away memories. And even if they do, squeezing its abdomen like this will release the memories.”
Professor Nina said this with a timid voice but demonstrated by flipping the Sucking Spirit upside down and using two fingers to pinch its tail, pulling from the tip of the tail to the tip of its snout!
The Sucking Spirit let out a sharp scream and was flattened like a thin sheet.
But when she released it, it puffed back up.
Professor Nina shook the Sucking Spirit and said, “Sucking Spirits are very common in the dungeon. They are extremely dangerous but also very fragile. Especially when absorbing memories, they are defenseless. A single cut can end them. Experiencing memory extraction firsthand will help you stay calm when encountering them.”
Her words did make some sense.
But in such a situation, even the students from the Knight Academy…
Oh, heavens, someone actually raised their hand!
It’s him, it’s him, it’s him!
Humans never lack brave fools!
Wit Gold!
Please welcome the son of the Hero!
