"Welcome!"
"A warm welcome!"
"Didn't expect Professor Asher would actually come to apply for the job!"
Several teachers surrounded Asher, speaking excitedly.
Really, can't blame them for being excited.
The Advanced Beast Taming Academy offering a course in pet evolution research was originally because of this special case—Asher.
Their school had always focused solely on, only recruiting top-tier beast taming students.
You could tell just from the requirement of needing to be at least a Tier 3 Beast Tamer.
The Advanced Beast Taming Academy's standards for students were extremely strict.
If you weren't a genius, you couldn't even get into the Advanced Beast Taming Academy.
And ever since Asher appeared, the upper limit of what a genius could be was refreshed once again.
After thorough and careful consideration, the school finally decided to update their standards for what counts as a genius.
If someone else can do it, then a genius must be able to do it too.
After just entering the school, Asher heard this kind of ideology: "..."
"Ahem," Asher coughed twice.
"Are you sure the students won't ambush me with a sack?"
Asher looked seriously at Harry next to him.
Harry, who had come to watch after hearing that Asher had become a teacher, didn't expect to hear something like this: "..."
"Well…", Harry originally wanted to say "definitely not." [T/N: Harry is father of June],
But then Harry remembered, 'Last semester, because one course had ridiculous requirements for its final, 90% of the students ended up failing.'
And then he heard that the teacher got mailed razor blades.
Thinking about those genius-level, but also quite fierce, students, and thinking about how difficult the pet evolution research course is, Harry shut his mouth.
"…Believe in the students, and believe in yourself," Harry looked at Asher seriously, but didn't say a single word of certainty.
Asher, now realizing that he probably really will get ambushed, "..."
'Better skip this topic.'
"I didn't think you'd really come apply," Harry sighed again.
Asher: "?"
"Didn't another teacher just say that?"
"Why wouldn't I come?", Asher asked curiously.
"Haha," Harry laughed, then said, "Here's the thing."
"When the principal added this course, the original plan was to invite you."
"But then the teachers at the academic affairs office shut the idea down."
Contact Asher?
Is he someone they could even contact?
He was at the National Research Institute.
Maybe the collaboration was going so well he'd just stay there?
They thought, Star City, the capital, its resources and conditions are definitely better than our school's.
What kind of perks could we offer to recruit Professor Asher?
They cursed harshly.
Harsh enough to wake people up.
The principal immediately sobered up.
And also realized, Asher was truly a genius among geniuses.
Trying to hire another Asher? Impossible.
The only option was to look for a budget Asher.
But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, Asher actually just showed up himself.
Hearing this, Asher was covered in dark lines, "…No wonder I thought that teacher gave me a weird look when I walked into the recruitment room."
Back then, Asher even wondered if he was somehow inappropriate for the role.
'So that's what it is…'
"Now I feel like I kinda got scammed," Asher said seriously, "I should've asked for more benefits back then."
Harry rolled his eyes at Asher, "Enough, enough, the school already gave you great terms."
"If they were any better, I'd be jealous," As he spoke, Harry winked at Asher.
"But honestly, the school giving you good perks is understandable."
"After all, you're a level-two researcher. Soon you might become level one, right?"
"A level-one researcher at your age."
"If the school doesn't offer some extra benefits, they wouldn't be able to keep you," Harry said sincerely.
"Whether someone surpasses your achievements in the future or not. At least for now, no one before you has reached that height," As he spoke, Harry nodded, clearly looking very admiring.
Asher smiled.
His gaze swept over the people nearby.
He immediately understood why Harry said those things in front of everyone.
'There must've been someone jealous of me.'
Harry publicly reiterated Asher's accomplishments in front of everyone.
In such a public setting, no matter how jealous those few people were in private, they wouldn't dare say anything, and would have to nod in agreement.
And once they agreed, if they badmouth Asher later and get exposed, they'll be the ones embarrassed.
Understanding all this, Asher gave Harry a grateful smile.
Harry, seeing Asher had caught on to his move, also smiled and waved at him with a small arc of his hand.
'No big deal.'
'Just a small thing.'
Not to mention they came from the same city, Asher even figured out a new evolution path for the Little Fire Fox, letting June's fox evolve into the even stronger Flame Queen.
Harry already owed him one for that.
From an age perspective, Harry also saw himself as Asher's senior.
Helping Asher a bit? Totally normal.
"Want me to show you around campus?", Harry raised an eyebrow and said.
Asher nodded.
Seeing this, the other teachers stopped crowding around Asher.
They all just gave him a quick greeting.
"Let's all get together sometime, Teacher Asher!"
"Yeah yeah yeah! I wanna hear how your brain even works!"
"LOL! Like even if Teacher Asher told you, you'd understand!"
"Can't I even dream a little?"
Everyone laughed and joked, all looking warm and friendly.
Asher also smiled and nodded, agreeing to their invitations.
Finally, the crowd around Asher dispersed.
Only Harry and Asher remained, walking along the lake inside the campus.
From time to time, Asher saw two water-type beasts jumping out of the lake.
"These guys," Harry noticed Asher's gaze and said calmly, "Don't underestimate them."
Now that Asher was a teacher too,
Harry's way of addressing him automatically switched to the more peer-like "Teacher."
As for the fact that Asher was decades younger than him and roughly the same age as his daughter—
Harry threw that straight out of his mind.
Achievements make people respectable.
Especially when Asher's accomplishments far surpassed them old folks.
Calling him Teacher Asher?
No problem at all!
"These beasts were all carefully bred by the academy."
"They get pulled out during student evaluations to serve as examiners!"
Asher glanced over.
'Holt sh*t.'
'The weakest beast in the lake is Tier 6.'
He instantly understood what Harry meant.
Indeed.
If not specifically raised, no way they'd be this strong.
"The Advanced Beast Taming Academy really plays dirty," Asher said with a straight face.
Harry didn't feel insulted at all.
Because it was the truth.
"Keeping it realistic!"
He even winked, "And it's pretty funny watching students try all sorts of methods near finals to secretly attack and take out these beasts in advance."
Asher: "..."
"I'm guessing they didn't succeed?"
"No," Harry shook his head, "They did succeed."
'And then?'
Asher didn't think it'd go how the students imagined—
That if they ganged up ahead of time to take out the creatures used for testing, they could skip the evaluation.
"And then—"
"The school specially invited Tier 6 Beast Tamers to personally command their pets in battle with the students."
Asher went silent.
He gave a thumbs-up.
High.
Too high.
A Tier 6 Beast Tamer's pet isn't just Tier 6.
And a pet under a Beast Tamer's command is totally different from one that isn't.
Asher believed, if possible, the students would rather fight the wild, uncontrolled Tier 6 beasts at school.
"So yeah," Harry shrugged, "Since then, no student has dared to secretly mess with those upperclassmen."
"They even protect them proactively now."
Because, the school is notorious for being ruthless.
What?
One of those half-wild beasts got hurt?
No problem.
They'd just hire Tier 6 Beast Tamers to spar with the students.
Students: 'We don't need that! Seriously, we don't!'
School: 'I'm paying, my call!'
So students, while suffering endlessly, also naturally developed a habit of checking up on their half-wild upperclassmen regularly.
"Besides, pet breeding is already a course," Harry said this casually, like it was nothing serious.
"These close-to-nature chances to raise beasts aren't common."
"If they don't cherish it…", he shook his head, his face showing a devilish smile.
Asher stayed silent.
He sighed.
Then his expression brightened.
"You know what I'm thinking right now?", Without waiting for Harry's reply, Asher continued, "Thank god I'm not a student at this school."
"I'm a teacher."
"Being a student here sounds absolutely miserable."
Absolutely tragic.
But being a teacher? Totally different.
Asher was already thinking, 'Since the academy's style is this brutal, maybe I can be a little harsher too?:
'The students are used to it anyway!'
Students: "..."
'Don't come over here!'
'We are not used to it!'
Asher had no idea what the students were thinking. Stroking his chin, he began planning his upcoming lessons.
'Since they are all geniuses, and the academy aims to train geniuses, then conventional methods obviously won't work. So in that case…'
———
"You're all geniuses, I won't say much. You've probably all read the textbook by now, right?"
[First class]
Asher tossed the textbook aside, stood empty-handed on the stage of the main hall, and calmly looked at the students below.
99% of students who had indeed previewed and finished the textbook: "..."
Can they say they had a very bad feeling about this?
Next second.
"Let's jump straight into practical work."
"I know none of you have experience. I'm not expecting you to suddenly discover a new evolution path for some beast right off the bat."
"I know that's impossible."
Students: '…Well, thanks a lot, teacher!'
"So my request is simple," Asher raised one finger and smiled at the crowd of students below.
"Teams of at most two people."
"Of course, if you're confident in yourself, you can go solo. That'll get you a higher score."
"Then you need to choose one evolution path of an beast and improve it."
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
Students' faces turned pale.
"Simple, right?", Asher kept speaking.
"I think this level of difficulty is just right for you."
Students: "No!"
"Not at all!"
They screamed internally from their chests!
'Teacher!'
'Please open your eyes!'
'Yes, we are geniuses.'
'But our genius isn't in pet research!'
'You can't hit us with this kind of advanced assignment right away!'
"Eh?"
"This is hard?", Asher blinked innocently.
Some female students, who had been charmed by his looks, blushed.
Then their deskmates shook them awake.
'Don't blush!'
'He's a devil in disguise!'
"Feel free to study boldly. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me privately."
"The textbook stuff, you can figure that out yourselves. Let's use this time for practical work."
"I welcome you to come find me anytime."
"I believe by the end of the semester, you'll all produce results that satisfy me, right?"
Asher smiled.
The students looked like they'd swallowed bitter medicine.
End of semester?
Good lord!
If this were the start of the semester, they might think this teacher was okay.
But the problem is… it's already halfway through the semester.
Less than two months until final evaluations.
Asher: 'I only set the problems, not solve them!'
Just like he said, if a student comes to him, he'll definitely help them.
But if they don't…
Asher's eyes fell on the massive campus, full of interest in all the equipment and training grounds.
From his strongest pet Little Raven, down to Little White Snake, Little Jellyfish, and the Cat-Worm, they all needed to keep training.
Only that way could they grow stronger.
So...
Teacher Asher? ×
Beast Tamer Asher, who came to study. ✓
———
Harry, after seeing what Asher was actually doing at school: "..."
"How should I put this?"
"I'm honestly not even surprised," Harry said, rubbing his forehead helplessly, "This really is something Asher would do."
But thinking it over…
Harry still went to find Asher.
"I know you're not here to seriously be a teacher, but you should at least act like one."
"Your students' final grades do matter a bit to you."
The students still need to be managed.
Give them too much freedom, and they'll rebel.
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