The First Lecture of the Major at the Imperial Academy’s Art Department.
As the students settled into the classroom, only around thirty students were present, unlike the previous liberal arts class where attendance was far higher, since major lectures were reserved only for those studying within the Art Department.
Given that this was a place for learning about painting, the tables were replaced with canvases and art supplies, students diligently fine-tuning their tools as they awaited the beginning of the lecture.
“I’m really curious about what the first class will involve,” one student remarked.
“With a professor as talented as him, it must be amazing,” another added.
While other students from different departments held skepticism about Rupert, who had become the youngest professor at the academy, some couldn’t help but harbor jealousy.
Within the Art Department, opinions were divided evenly.
As aspiring artists, many of them were already aware of Rupert’s prodigious talent through the picture books and comics he had created. Hence, there were quite a number of students filled with desire to learn from him.
“Ugh, my father threatened to kick me out if I don’t attend the academy.”
In contrast, some students who had chosen the Art Department merely to gain admission to the academy, rather than a passionate interest in art, were disgruntled, much like their peers from other departments.
To them, drawing was just a trivial skill.
They thought only to themselves, “What’s the point of getting better at something so worthless?”
With grades determined by donations anyway, these students seemed more intent on cultivating useful connections at the academy rather than putting in effort.
Thus, the Art Department was naturally divided into two factions.
On one side were the commoner students who truly had talent in art and came to learn out of genuine interest.
On the other were noble students for whom attending the academy was the ultimate goal in itself.
While the commoner faction had slightly more members, it was regrettable that the nobility held the controlling power within the Art Department.
“Hey, stop making noise! Can’t you guys keep quiet for once?” a noble student yelled.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“They’re really just like parasites. They don’t know they can attend the academy because of someone else’s donation.”
Though the academy had rules stating that it served as a cradle for nurturing talent and that all students should receive equal education without discrimination, this ideal was merely upheld in the beginning.
The academy was short, and life was long. This was a golden piece of wisdom passed down among the students within the academy.
While one could boast of equality during their studies, the moment they graduated, the harsh realities of society would remind them of their status.
Stories of commoner graduates being tormented by the nobility, using their school days as an excuse, had long ceased to become a topic of interest.
Thus, even within the academy, commoners had to be cautious not to provoke the nobles.
Of course, the situation was a bit different for commoner students in popular departments like the Military or Magic Departments.
“What? You’re complaining about your time at the academy?”
Since there was no discrimination against status when it came to swordsmanship or magic, commoners with skills could easily rise in society, and nobles had no reason to distance themselves from those talented individuals, creating a mutual sense of caution.
However, this was a different scenario for the Art Department, where graduates were not directly related to power.
Suddenly, someone opened the door, breaking the tense silence in the classroom.
“Hello, nice to meet you.”
Rupert stepped onto the podium with a natural grace, almost as if he had been a professor for years.
“Hello,” came the response, primarily from the commoner faction.
The noble students remained seated, arms crossed and legs crossed, maintaining their arrogant demeanor.
“What’s up with those guys?” Rupert thought, quickly realizing that the students had been divided into two categories.
The ones sitting in the back look like nobles, while those in the front are commoners.
Although all of them wore brown sweaters, white shirts, and green ties indicating their enrollment in the Art Department, it was difficult to distinguish them at first glance.
But even with identical clothing, the differences between nobles and commoners were undeniably stark.
From well-groomed hair to their delicate hands that showed no signs of ever having worked a day in their lives, their pale skin was a luxury reserved for nobles in this world.
“These guys are really bothersome,” Rupert thought, recalling his past experience teaching unruly students in a South Korean art academy. He had assumed this new batch couldn’t be worse, but seeing the frustrating expressions of the noble students made his blood boil.
“After all, they’re not the main characters, so there’s no need to care about them.”
Growing up in poverty, Rupert hailed from the Somerset family, a longstanding count family with a robust reputation.
Despite the noble lineage ranking higher than others, their number far exceeded those of lower houses, placing them firmly among the high nobility.
Recently, their finances had stabilized, allowing them to live just shy of the grandeur of the greatest noble families.
And above all, with Rupert being favored by the successor of the royal family, the noble students around him seemed almost laughable
“I’ll educate them properly, step by step.”
Even though he had been transported to this other world, Rupert, influenced by the Confucian values instilled in him from his Eastern upbringing, was secretly glad for the chance.
“Now, in order to gauge everyone’s skill level and teach the basics, I will assign your first task.”
Rupert approached the chalkboard, grabbed a piece of chalk, and neatly drew a circle of appropriate size.
Even without focusing or exerting much attention, the circle appeared perfect, as if drawn with a compass.
“A circle can be said to be the fundamental element of drawing,” Rupert declared.
Having drawn that exquisite circle with his chalk, he nonchalantly placed it down and continued speaking.
“I would like you all to draw a circle on the canvas in front of you. The size doesn’t matter, and you may draw multiple if you’d like.”
“- Students who believe they have drawn their best circle may submit their work for evaluation and then leave.”
Rupert’s words caused a ripple of surprise throughout the classroom.
“What? Just drawing a circle is the entire assignment?”
“This class seems to be a total breeze. I’ll finish quickly and then enjoy tea time.”
Noble students, who were dissatisfied learning from someone their age or younger, wasted no time in grabbing their graphite and began drawing circles right after Rupert finished speaking.
On the other hand, commoner students took a moment to hesitate, slowly pondering how to properly create a circle.
“I’m done.”
In less than a minute, a voice called out the completion of the task.
It belonged to one of the noble students seated in the back.
Leading the charge, the majority of noble students declared they were finished, prompting Rupert to move toward them for a review of their drawings.
With confidence, they displayed their circles.
“Is this supposed to be a circle? I see great potential in you, but it seems we’ll have to start from scratch.”
Rupert’s words were laced with mockery, causing the students to bristle and almost argue back, but they quickly retreated under the chilling gaze of his indifferent expression.
However, one student challenged him, “Could you explain why? Didn’t you ask us to draw a circle?”
“You call this a circle? This is far from what a circle should look like.”
Rupert marked up the shaky, uneven curves that made an attempt at a circle, pointing them out to the students.
“W-What’s wrong with that?!”
“Yeah! What does a circle have to do with skill in drawing!”
The students, not just the one critiqued but also those around him, protested, as if they were grasping at straws.
Yet Rupert didn’t respond to their complaints, quietly returning to the podium and picking up the chalk once more.
He proceeded to draw larger and smaller circles next to the one he had originally made.
The students were astonished by the nearly flawless shape of the circles, regardless of size.
But Rupert didn’t stop there; he drew a cross within the medium-sized circle.
Then, following the vertices of the cross, he began sketching, transforming the circle into a human face.
In addition, he started tracing countless curves onto the smaller circle, creating a beautiful flower.
The larger circle was merely enhanced by a few added lines, yet it morphed into a magnificent whale swimming in the sea.
All of this was accomplished within a matter of minutes, leaving the students speechless, unable to utter a single word of admiration.
After all, they had been accepted into the academy, recognizing themselves as talented in drawing.
However, Rupert’s skill was on an entirely different level.
Unperturbed by the students’ sense of inferiority and shock, Rupert continued speaking as if it were completely ordinary.
“Is this acceptable as well?”
The noble students, caught up in their earlier frustrations, suddenly found themselves speechless.
Rupert simply repeated, “Again!” before returning to his place at the podium, forcing the noble students to grumble to themselves as they began circles once more.
In contrast, the commoner students who had been hesitant at first, found themselves successfully crafting surprisingly decent circles.
“This is harder than I thought!”
“Exactly! Since it’s a curve instead of a straight line, it’s tough to keep it steady.”
“If you soften your wrist a bit more…”
Rupert watched over them with a satisfied expression.
This was not solely a menial task. Knowing how to draw a circle properly was a necessary step to begin their journey into the art of drawing.
Moreover, it served well for assessing talent.
Anyone who could draw a straight circle could reasonably consider themselves somewhat gifted in the art.
It might sound easy to accomplish, but it was deceptively challenging.
Only then did the students realize just how impressive the circle drawn on the chalkboard was.
Having personally attempted it, they understood just how complicated it was to replicate that seemingly simple shape.
“You have passed.”
Commoner students with a genuine interest in art and some degree of talent began passing Rupert’s drawing assignment one by one and received the sketch tasks for the next lecture before exiting the classroom.
Meanwhile, the noble students were still lamenting…
“Damn it! Why can’t I draw it properly!”
“What does this even have to do with drawing skills?!”
Continuing to receive unfavorable critiques from Rupert, they could be seen scowling as they persisted drawing circles.
Having trouble concentrating, they grew anxious and frustrated, all while watching commoner students they assumed were inferior earn their approvals and leave.
“…Professor, the lecture is about to end.”
Ultimately, all of the noble students failed to pass before the scheduled end of class.
One of them, holding back their aversion to calling Rupert ‘Professor’, forced themselves to ask, “Aren’t students with less skill required to draw during breaks just to keep up?”
“Oh, those who lack skill will need to keep drawing until their break if they wish to catch up,” Rupert casually replied, prompting unease to spread across the faces of the noble students.
‘As long as they are enrolled in my class, they might just become my future precious slaves… I mean, employees, so I’ll ensure they learn from the foundation up.’
Rupert had no intention of teaching lazily, as there was a minimum level of talent required to enroll in the Imperial Academy.
Unaware of Rupert’s underlying intentions, the noble students could only groan as they resumed their attempts at drawing circles.
Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
“Students, in addition to the assignment I gave you, you will also need to come back next time with a properly drawn circle.”
– See you next time.
With a smile finally appearing on his face, Rupert waved farewell to them.
*
“How about mixing illusion magic with telekinesis?”
Surprisingly, the Magic Department’s classes were closely related to the Engineering Department as well.
One of their major classes required collaboration between both fields, and within this lecture, students teamed up to submit items made from magic engineering by the end of the semester.
The professor would merely provide answers to students’ inquiries, demanding pure, unfiltered creativity from the students.
Amelia Bluewell, a well-known figure in the Magic Department, was in the process of determining the magic engineering item she would submit alongside the engineering students.
“So, what you’re suggesting is to create a magic pen that can draw exactly what’s in our minds?” a team member asked.
Amelia had proposed exactly that – a magic pen, a miraculous tool that could automatically draw what the user imagined.
“Yes, with this, I think it can be utilized in various fields.”
Everyone agreed. Even the engineering students believed that having this pen would make creating blueprints a whole lot easier.
Explaining what they had seen to others could also become remarkably convenient.
Moreover, it could be used to sketch wanted posters for criminals, providing endless applications.
“That’s a great idea! How did you come up with such a thought?” another student exclaimed.
“…I just happened to think of it,” Amelia shyly replied.
Although it seemed like there must have been some other triggering moment, the engineering students were already lost in a daze at the sight of Amelia’s bashful demeanor.
Teaming up with Amelia, one of the greatest beauties in the empire, was sheer bliss for them.
Moreover, the fact that they could witness such a shy side filled them with determination to create the magic pen at all costs.
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