This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

In the low skies, the fully laden airship was now returning to Greybone Academy at a low-speed mode.

Carly stood alone on the third deck of the airship, overlooking the towns, rivers, and the endless fields below.

The wind created by the airship’s progress blew a few strands of her silver hair and the Wizard Robe behind her, an image of "lofty isolation" that happened to match the new bloods’ fantasies about Wizards being mysterious and powerful. At this moment, many of the new Wizards passing by on the lower deck would cast admiring and yearning glances at Carly when they saw her.

"How time flies!" Noticing the gazes of these new Wizards, Carly couldn’t help but think back to her own confused early days. However, these youngsters were definitely much luckier than her batch of new bloods had been...

"Lady Carly, we estimate that we’ll return to Greybone Academy this afternoon, two days later than planned..." With footsteps approaching, the bearded captain clomped over to Carly’s side.

"I’m aware, Captain. As for the delay, I’ll explain it to the Academy Council. Hmm... perhaps I won’t have to explain after all," Carly said, laughing lightly at the captain’s somewhat anxious expression.

"Yes!" Although puzzled, the bearded captain dared not inquire further and simply buried his confusion deep inside. Then he quietly left, careful not to disturb Carly’s thoughts.

"Attention all new bloods, we will soon be arriving at Greybone Academy. Please pack your belongings and gather on the first deck..."

Soon after the captain reported to Carly, announcements from the airship’s "Acoustic Wizard Formations" echoed the captain’s words. This caused the new Wizard Apprentices to pause their activities and look up, with a hint of anticipation and longing in their eyes.

"We’re finally arriving." Anticipation filled many new Wizards’ eyes, and some Wizard Apprentices even cast covert glances at Carly, as if they had already set a goal for themselves.

As Carly observed the increasingly orderly ranks of somewhat naive new Wizards, she hesitated, but ultimately decided to speak. Her voice, amplified by her spiritual power, was clear for all present Wizards to hear.

"To all who are about to embark on the path of Witchcraft, welcome to Greybone Academy."

"It’s that person..."

"The powerful Wizard who stopped the explosion..."

Many of the new bloods noticed Carly and started to whisper among themselves in small groups.

"Silence!" Several Second-level Wizard Apprentices in charge of ushering kept the new bloods in line with the pressure of their spiritual power. They too looked up at Carly, curious about what this legendary Apprentice, recognized as the strongest Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and preselected as a member of the Academy Council, would share with the group.

"Before you truly step onto the path of witchcraft, I have a piece of advice for everyone."

"What is a Wizard? This may be the first question you ponder upon entering the path of Wizardry, and it was also the first question about Witchcraft that my mentor asked me after I joined Greybone Academy and took up Apprenticeship..."

Carly’s voice was measured, and as she elaborated, the cluster of new Wizards quieted down to listen closely to her understanding of Witchcraft. Even the Wizard Apprentices maintaining order felt stirred by her words.

"A Wizard, fundamentally, is a scholar who uses knowledge as a lever to move the rules and gain power..." As the airship began its descent, many new Wizards on the deck were still reflecting on what Carly had shared with them.

"Alright, everyone may now leave the airship in an orderly fashion. However, don’t disperse afterwards. We need to go to the academy courtyard as there’s an event that requires your witness," Carly stopped her narrative and started maintaining order on the airship.

"Witness?" Many new Wizards were confused, and those with a bit of understanding of the rules among the Wizards were even more perplexed.

After all, they were just a group of Apprentices who had just entered the Wizard World, what could be so essential that they had to witness it?

...

The principal color of the buildings inside Greybone Academy was a murky gray, which gave off a cold and sinister visual impression. However, at this moment, the academy courtyard was filled with a dense crowd of new Wizards, and on both sides of the square, some older Apprentices attracted by the commotion had either approached on their own or were Peeping using more covert methods.

"What could it be?"

"I don’t know..."

The eerie silence and the increasingly tense atmosphere made the new bloods uneasy. They initially managed to stay calm, but as time went by, little pockets of restlessness began to surface among them.

"Silence, stand properly..." The Wizard Apprentices who were escorting them back to the academy began to restore order, and amidst the noisy atmosphere, two figures suddenly appeared in front of the new blood.

Of course, to say two figures might be somewhat inappropriate since one of them looked disheveled at the moment, even his spirit was dull, and only his eyeballs could move slightly. He was limp and didn’t resemble a living person.

"It’s Dean Lucien! He... in his hands, that’s Master Morgan!" some of the older Wizard Apprentices couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

Everyone knew that although Wizard Morgan had a poor reputation among the Wizard Apprentices, he was a genuine Formal Wizard, a committee member of the academy. Yet such an extremely tragic sight was now publicly displayed within the academy, shocking many Wizard Apprentices deeply.

"Kill him, Lord Lucien, kill him..." Yet, in the eyes of some Wizard Apprentices, a light of hatred burst forth, but they dared not speak out, nor did they dare to look at Wizard Morgan, who was still alive, fearing his revenge once he was freed from this humiliating situation.

"Welcome to Greybone Academy, I am Vice Dean Lucien Kevin." Lucien tossed Wizard Morgan forward, letting him fall to the ground like a rag doll.

"I’m sorry that our first meeting has to be in such circumstances, and I also regret that due to some internal issues of ours, you all were subjected to the deliberate attack of metal bombs on your way to the academy..."

As Lucien spoke, he picked up Wizard Morgan, who was struggling to stand, and continued, "And now, I am here to give everyone an explanation."

"This is Frank Morgan, former committee member of the academy, and the true culprit behind the airship explosion. His purpose was to take revenge on the academy’s new teaching system and to create and collect wraiths through extreme methods of death..."

Lucien’s calm voice resonated in the ears of each new Wizard, as he began to list Frank Morgan’s deeds, turning their initial confusion and unease into a growing sense of anger and fear.

"What on earth is he trying to do?" Some Formal Wizards, who were spying on Lucien’s actions through Witchcraft or other means, furrowed their brows listening to his narrative.

In their view, for Lucien to kill Frank Morgan was something that could be done in an instant; there was no need for all this fuss, nor was there any need to explain anything to these lower-level Wizard Apprentices.

Was Lucien going through all this trouble just to humiliate Frank Morgan one last time before his death?

While these Formal Wizards were baffled, Lucien looked at the numerous new Wizards with a smile and delivered the final words of this trial.

"And now, his fate is in your hands, the hands of you victims." Lucien gazed at the new Wizards before him, "You, the 217 new Wizards involved in this incident, will serve as the final judges of First-level Wizard Frank Morgan, the former committee member. Your upcoming votes will decide his fate..."

The square, which was previously filled with some noise, suddenly quieted down.

Many older apprentices’ eyes widened as if they were seeing illusions.

After a brief silence, a roar erupted, and the whole square seemed to explode into commotion. Each apprentice found it hard to contain their desire to express themselves, and even many Wizard Apprentices who were only remotely observing rushed out of their laboratories or residences to join the crowd at the square, their faces showing uncontrollable shock.

You must understand, a Formal Wizard, however disreputable, is still a Formal Wizard. They might fall due to conflicts with one another, but never has a Formal Wizard died under the judgement of apprentices!

And these were a group of rookies, still naive and just stepping onto the path of Witchcraft, who had not even systematically learned the Meditation Method!

It was like a group of serfs suddenly taking the noble seat at the judging bench of a noble court, pushing the reigning king to the guillotine.

This was no longer merely outrageous; it was a complete reversal of the natural order!

"Dean, I feel like this should not be done this way, perhaps we should at least give Morgan the basic dignity he deserves..." In Lucien’s mind, voices of spiritual power transmission from other Formal Wizards echoed, but he remained unmoved, continuing to preside over the trial of Wizard Morgan.

"I... I choose...forgiveness." The first new blood was pushed onto the judgment stand in a somewhat flustered manner. He looked at Wizard Morgan beside him with fear, overwhelmed by the fear of a mysterious and powerful Wizard rather than anger, ultimately not daring to take the first step in judgement.

"I... forgive."

"Forgive..."

One by one, the new Wizard Apprentices took the stand, but the results made Lucien frown slightly.

However, when the 19th new blood took the stand, he looked at Lucien first and then said firmly, "Dean, I choose to judge!"