I couldn't say I was very fond of lectures, but if my goal was to get into university eventually (because a degree would put me further along the path of becoming a mercenary-hero like Dad), then I had to get used to it.

Honestly, I wasn't that bad with theory and lectures and cla.s.ses. Of course, I was nowhere near w.a.n.g Zhong's Mary Sue levels of being the top at the theory cla.s.ses, nor was I at s.h.i.+ba Tatsuya's G.o.dlike levels of topping theory exams and cla.s.ses. Plus those two weren't just excellent at theory, they also turned out to be invincible in combat. These Mary Sue protagonists could just do about anything. Anyway, I digress. Unlike those G.o.dlike protagonists who were talented at everything and were virtually undefeatable, I was a normal, average guy. Sure, I had a nuke spell, but I could only use that once a day, and people tended to beat me up before I could finish casting it. Furthermore, while my grades were above average, they were nowhere near the top.

Top ten percentile, at best. Twenty-five percentile most of the times. Definitely not the peak like w.a.n.g Zhong or s.h.i.+ba Tatsuya or any of those Mary Sue protagonists infesting web novels and light novels. On the other hand, I was also different from the cliché hotheaded protagonists who completely flunked their exams and tests. I at least bothered to study, so I was consistently scoring above average.

Even so, that didn't mean I had to like studying or attending cla.s.ses. To be honest, I was neutral. I didn't love attending cla.s.ses, but I didn't hate them either. Somewhere in between. That said, I did have a lot of other things I preferred to do over attending cla.s.ses. Like reading manga and web novels or watching anime, for example.

"We're here for an exchange session, aren't we?" Dong Fang Yue Chu complained, evidently liking it a lot less than I did. "Shouldn't we be training and having mock duels and all that?"

"Lectures are important too," Harrison told him. As expected of the captain of Jing Tian Academy's team. "There's no point doing nothing but train and fight when we don't even know what we are doing. We also need to learn tactics and strategies, and also magical theory if we want to better refine our casting."

"Ugh…I understand all that, but…ugh…"

"Don't worry. We all find these lessons dry and boring too." Lily laughed and a.s.sured him. "I feel you."

"Strategies and tactics, huh?" I murmured to myself. My view of Dad was that of an individualistic hero who often operated solo, with only his summoned spirit as his companion. Now that I heard his story, I understood why he was so inseparable from Angelica. Even so, I rarely saw him fighting with a team (probably with the exception of Uncle Glen), and I always envisioned him as this solo guy who always fought alone.

That was what I ended up aspiring to be. A hero without any sidekicks…an individualistic person. However, reality had struck and I realized how very little I could accomplish by being alone. Along the way, I had received help from so many people. My friends at the Black Roses. Dong Fang Yue Chu. Troy King. Craig, Theodore and the rest. Even Harrison. In the Spiritual Road, I had survived with the help of Lilith (okay, maybe she survived with my help, but honestly, I doubted we could have toughed out the forest if we were alone).

Reality was so different from ideals. I realized that the heroes I often read about rarely had sidekicks (unless he was Batman, and even so the Dark Knight trilogy didn't feature any sidekicks), but now that I thought about it, they always had a whole crew of support behind them. Tony Stark had Jarvis, his buddy James Rhodes, Pepper, Happy, etc. Even Bruce Wayne had Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox supporting his vigilante endeavors. Superman had his parents. And while he was fighting, Lois Lane and Laurence Fishburne's character were on the ground helping civilians evacuate the city. I wasn't even going to talk about the Justice League movies. By the way, I'm talking about the movies instead of the original comics because they happened to be the ones I watched recently, as compared to the comics I read long ago.

Even heroes needed help. There was no shame in admitting that you couldn't save the world and protect the innocent on your own.

We stepped into the cla.s.sroom and sat around one of the tables provided. Students from several schools were already there, and there were still a few other schools trickling in long after we settled down. I caught sight of Riley and Brutus, and waved at the former.

"Friends of yours?" Theodore asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, they helped me yesterday when I got lost."

"How did you even manage to get lost here?" Craig scoffed. "The dormitory building isn't even that big."

"No, I actually left the dormitory building to train in the gymnasium, and then went to the library shortly after that."

"Oh, I heard about that!" Pearl said excitedly. "Didn't you guys hear as well? Richard had a duel against Lilith again yesterday."

I groaned inwardly. I didn't want anyone to know if I could help it. I almost lost that match, and I wasn't sure Draco could defeat Kagutsuchi. Furthermore, I didn't want people knowing that I had Draco as my trump card.

"Settle down, everybody."

The teacher strolled in, clapping her hands and drawing everyone's attention to her. No, I'm not going to comment on her figure or the Porter clan's genes. Please. Let's stop that nonsense and stop objectifying women's bodies. It's disgusting.

"As you all know, today we're going to talk about tactics and strategies. You might be wondering why. Well, there has been quite a few changes to the tournament format recently, as well as the magic curriculum. This year, particularly, has seen a major alteration where the higher-ups placed a greater emphasis on team combat. The ministry of education and magic has recognized that the ranking tournaments are too…impractical in preparing our future mages for battles against monsters. On the battlefield, what is important isn't individual strength, but teamwork – how well you work together with your team. Consequently, today, I'm going to share several tips on team tactics with you all. You should be honored – you're among the first to receive a taste of the revised curriculum, which will be starting next year."

There was an excited murmur among several students, but the majority couldn't care less. Dong Fang Yue Chu looked grumpy while Craig didn't bother to conceal the expression of boredom on his face. Theodore's impa.s.sive face was indistinguishable from his sleeping one, and I could have sworn I heard soft snoring coming from him.

Only Harrison seemed particularly interested, leaning forward as he frowned in intense concentration. I decided to leave the lesson to our great leader. I'll probably take notes as and when relevant, but I knew I would probably zone out half of the time. A quarter, if I really focused.

What's that? Why wasn't I the captain? In the first place, why should I be the captain? I had displayed no signs of leaders.h.i.+p whatsoever. I never took the initiative nor did I have any experience in commanding or issuing orders. I was the kind who tended to overcome my foes with brute force rather than strategic thinking…I guess? Even if I did some thinking, it wasn't complex strategies that weaved the strengths of a team together and cover everyone's weaknesses. It was just me being individualistic and fighting solo.

Furthermore, I was more used to taking orders from others rather than issuing orders. I could already see the stupid beta male comments, but honestly, there could only be one leader. I wasn't going to challenge and jeopardize Harrison's authority for no good reason. I could see the bigger picture – the world didn't revolve around me, my pride wasn't the most important thing, and Harrison was a far better leader than I was. Admitting that and working together coherently with everyone for the sake of the team was nothing to be ashamed of. What, on a pitch where you had 11 men in a single soccer team, were the other 10 men "spineless" beta males because they followed the leaders.h.i.+p of their team captain? What utter bulls.h.i.+t.

I honestly didn't understand what went on in the minds of some readers. Their masculine egos were so much larger than their actual heads.

Teacher Flora Porter, who was the instructor in charge of our tactics lecture, wasn't the type of teacher who allowed her students to sit back pa.s.sively and just listened. After explaining several concepts of teams, she began asking us questions.

"As you all know, there are teams that specialize in a single theme, or single element. There are teams that are built around a single…playmaker, or ace, if you call it. And then there are more conventional teams that aim to be more flexible. Maybe some of you could share what are the lineups your academies are preparing?"

There was a buzz, and then one of the students from another school, wearing a smart, almost military-like uniform, raised a hand.

"I am Leon Leo, the captain of St. Austin Arcane Academy. We are fielding a conventional lineup that is supposed to be versatile and able to adapt to any battle scenario. Our team possesses a balance of offense and defense, and thus we don't have any clear weaknesses."

"Very good." Fiona nodded in approval. "It is true that conventional teams are very versatile, and the members can cover for each other's weaknesses, which is one advantage they hold over specialized teams."

She then glanced at the other students. "Any more conventional teams, or do the specialized teams wish to respond to that?"

"Ma'am." One of the students from Aurora Academy raised his hand. "Lei Bing, of Aurora Academy. We specialize in ice magic. Our whole team does, I mean. Even though we do lack the versatility and adaptability of a more conventional lineup, I believe we have the power to overwhelm a more balanced lineup because we honed one aspect of our magic to its very peak, and any counters they have would not be sufficient to overcome our specialized magic."

"Not bad. I like your confidence, and you do raise a good point. Even for the versatile conventional and balanced lineups, they will find it difficult to rival a team that has honed one of its elements to its pinnacle. Anyone else?"

There was a clamor and other teams and students began throwing in their opinions. If you were expecting some idiot to volunteer me to speak up, then you were in the wrong story. Come on, I'm not some guy who offended other people just by virtue of existing. No one cared about me, to be frank. I wasn't even on their radar.

The dialogue became pretty heated as students excitedly and enthusiastically debated and argued over the strengths of their teams. I vaguely took notes and highlighted certain traits and specializations of each team who spoke up. Fiona was a great facilitator and moderator, who frequently stepped in to break apart groups of students before the exchange could turn into an outright conflict. She smoothly changed the topic and guided us back to the main debate when things veered off course, without even blatantly cutting in.

How impressive.

Before I knew it, the lesson was over. However, the teacher raised a hand before we could rise from our seats.

"My lesson isn't over, but don't leave just yet. You still have a special lesson after this!" she turned toward the door, where a familiar figure strolled in.

"That's…Princ.i.p.al Porter?!"

"What is he doing here?!"

There was a hush as everyone watched the legendary princ.i.p.al step into the cla.s.sroom, awestruck. He was known for resurrecting Vermillion Academy after its near destruction at the hands of the a.s.sa.s.sins Guild, for the reforms that slightly s.h.i.+fted his school toward a more research and scholarly direction rather than being solely combat orientated, without neglecting the combat aspect of the school's curriculum at all. He had also got rid of the hardliners in his school board and prevailed over the other Porter family heads after their near-annihilation upon Angelica's betrayal to become the leader of the Porter clan.

As such, everyone knew and respected him.

Smiling, the bespectacled old man looked up at all the students, his eyes twinkling mischievously. Even though he was over seventy, he was quite the energetic old man. Then again, at this time and age, life expectancies had gone up drastically, and people were expected to live for hundreds of years without any problems. No, it has nothing to do with cultivation.

Pus.h.i.+ng my gla.s.ses up, I wondered just what he was here for today.