Most teachers from the Magic Academy didn’t actually teach all that much. Besides the overly zealous types and those punished by the Principal to hold classes, the rest were mostly left to their own devices.

Among them, James Walker had a reputation for being somewhat diligent. Most of his colleagues picked at most 3 pupils for the sake of appearances and to make connections. But, he had a roster of around 15.

As the diligent teacher he was, most of his mornings were spent cultivating in his office. But on this day, an unusually rude little pipsqueak knocked on the door.

“Come in.” said James while rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I heard snoring. Was I interrupting something?”

“Nonsense. I always have time for my students. I was cultivating by the way. What do you want?”

James eyed the young man with displeasure. He was relatively well built but looked severely under-slept.

“My apologies, teacher. I was hoping you could help me with something.”

“What you need boy is a bed and a nap. But anyway, I’ll oblige you.” He gestured the youth to sit on the chair across from his desk. Then, he picked up a jug with a black concoction and poured himself a glass.

“Want some? If you drink this, then maybe you won’t fall asleep in some ditch.” The boy nodded and received the glass.

“What do you think?”

“It’s slightly bitter and my head still hurts, but I can somewhat think clearer... Not bad.”

“Right? I’m telling you, no one will drink tea anymore once I release this baby. I call it coffee, the drink of kings.”

Ethan smiled. His initial plan was to manipulate a small ball of poison using mana. When the teacher was sufficiently distracted, he would shoot it down his throat thus ending the poor bastard’s career.

“So, what brings you here?” James did not bother asking for his name. He was just a student, and not even a girl.

Last night, Ethan concocted the most noxious poison the mountains’ herbs would allow. He was confident even the 3rd rank mage in front of him would die within a minute.

“Well, I’m a friend of one of your new pupils, and I was just wondering… Will you try to f**k her too?”

James chocked on his drink and coughed with teary eyes. While this was happening, a drop of poison made its way beneath the table.

“What the hell did you just say to me?” asked the mage while rising from his seat.

“I’m sorry.” answered the youth. “I just couldn’t help but notice the collection you have behind your back.” Strapped to the wall behind the teacher’s desk was a shelf holding numerous clay figurines. Not only were they very life-like, but they were all girls in their teens wearing slightly revealing clothing.

“That is none of your business!” snapped the teacher. “How dare you accuse me of something like this?”

Ethan shrugged.

“You little shit… For your information, those figurines are my past pupils.”

‘Of course they are.’

“They’re trinkets meant to commemorate our time togeth… Anyway, it’s none of your God damn business.” James drank the rest of his coffee to calm himself down. He then slapped Ethan’s cup off the table and bellowed “Get out! While I’m still being civil.”

Ethan obliged without a fuss. The teacher’s rant gave him plenty of time to slip his poison through the table, through the cup, and into his drink. Such precision work was a piece of cake for Ethan to the point where even the holes he dug were nowhere to be seen.

“Ungrateful little shit.” grumbled James after he left. He poured himself another cup and began making plans. “I’ll have to find this friend of his and give her some real special attention.”

Unfortunately for him, neither he nor his drink would ever leave the office. Ethan left a bit of mana within the poison to keep it in check. The further away he went, the weaker his control over it became. Finally, when he reached the courtyard, the connection suddenly snapped.

Ethan smiled in satisfaction. His plan was perfect… almost. What he had yet to realize was that the poison he concocted was not just strong, but so absurdly potent that even a rank 6 demon beast would not stand a chance.

Inside the teacher’s level 3 body it ran amok. Within a breath’s time, it had already melted through most of his cells. Within 2 breaths, his clothes were gone as well. The poison then corroded the floor creating a round pit which almost reached the floor below.

Upon witnessing this scene, those who later studied the incident could only conclude that Teacher James had angered a level 4 mage. Since the list of suspects included the strongest beings in Last Heaven, the case was quickly dropped.