Little Rabbit

Suye spread both hands, fingers splayed, and said with a straight face, "I thought everyone knew. First, become a Magic Apprentice, then a Black Iron Mage, then a Bronze Mage, a Silver Mage, a Gold Mage, then a Saint Realm Mage, a Legendary Mage, a Hero, and a Demigod. Finally, the tenth step, become a god."

Every time Suye named a rank, he folded one finger. When he folded his last finger, he had just become a god.

The five tablemates continued staring blankly at Suye, all feeling he had truly gone mad.

In the history of ancient Greece, there was no precedent of a mortal ascending to godhood.

Rumor had it that even someone as wise as Socrates had failed at the final critical moment.

Niedern smiled again and asked, "Then how will you become a Magic Apprentice?"

"First, of course, I need to find the method to become a Magic Apprentice," Suye replied, still very serious.

"Hearing him say that, do you think he has any chance of becoming a Magic Apprentice?" Niedern turned to ask the other six.

Hote scratched his head and said with a simple grin, "I feel like something's off, but when he talked about becoming a Magic Apprentice, it didn't seem wrong."

"His last sentence wasn't wrong, at least," Lake said.

The others didn't know what to say for a moment, but they all felt something was off.

Niedern said nothing more and turned to leave.

But Suye called out to him, "Teacher, I have a small question too, and I'd like to invite you to participate."

Niedern stopped, stood to the side, and waited quietly.

The six tablemates also looked at Suye curiously.

Suye smiled and said, "Now, let's switch the question. Assume the one asking is Dean Plato. Everything else is the same as before—answer within three seconds. If you exceed three seconds, you'll be judged as failing this year. As for Teacher Niedern... if he exceeds three seconds without answering, he'll be fired."

Niedern stared at Suye.

The other tablemates lowered their heads and snickered. Pallas and Rolon remained expressionless as usual.

"Hurry up and ask," Niedern said.

Suye said, "Take out your Magic Books."

Everyone took out their Magic Books. Teacher Niedern flipped his right hand, and a Magic Book appeared out of thin air.

"Alright, I'll ask now. If you were all mages and took four animals that had signed servant contracts with you out to sea on a boat. Suddenly, a storm hits, the boat is about to sink, and all four animals are injured. Fortunately, you see a small island ahead, but you realize your strength is limited—you can only take one animal with you. So, between the Tiger, the Eagle, the Rabbit, and the Sheep, which animal would you take to the island? Answer quickly! One, two, three!"

Unlike Teacher Niedern, Suye counted to three quickly, forcing the seven to pick an answer immediately.

"Show them all at once," Suye said.

The seven turned their Magic Books around.

Pallas had written "Little Rabbit."

Rolon had written "Tiger."

Hote had written "Sheep."

Jimmy had actually written "Don't choose, escape alone."

Lake had written "Tiger."

Albert had written "Eagle."

Niedern had also written "Eagle."

Rolon and Lake exchanged a glance. The top and second-ranked students of the class usually had a bad relationship, but now there was actually a hint of mutual admiration.

Suye looked at everyone's choices, seemingly deep in thought.

Jimmy asked curiously, "What's the meaning behind this question? I'm sure it's not that simple."

The others nodded.

"Want to know?" Suye revealed a mysterious smile.

They nodded again.

"Gather in a circle and discuss it," Suye said, then moved his stool back to the table.

"This guy!" Jimmy was caught between laughter and tears.

"Suye, don't leave us hanging!" Hote said, dragging his stool over to sit beside Suye.

Suye said in surprise, "For example, you chose the Sheep. Besides eating it, what other reason could there be?"

"Huh? How did you know I was worried there'd be no food on the island?" Hote looked utterly incredulous.

"Anyone who's seen you eat would know," Suye said.

"Suye, are you really not going to tell us?" Niedern suddenly asked.

Jimmy immediately grinned slyly and said, "Suye, you'd better think carefully. You're offending all seven of us at once!"

Pallas nodded firmly.

The others deliberately put on malicious expressions and stared at Suye.

The usually honest Hote suddenly stood up, his hands opening and closing repeatedly as if he were about to grab Suye by the neck.

Suye quickly said, "Alright, alright. I'll tell you at the right time. You'll definitely find out."

"That's more like it." Hote sat down.

Niedern glanced at Suye, then walked toward the podium.

Just then, Jimmy and Lake both sent Magic Letters at the same time.

"What does my choice represent? I bet my answer surprised you, and you can't figure it out." That was Jimmy's letter.

"What's the meaning behind me picking the tiger?" Lake asked.

"Guess." Suye replied to both of them with the same answer.

Both deskmates turned sideways at the same time, looked over at the same time, and rolled their eyes at Suye in unison.

Then, Suye saw Pallas shoot him a fierce glare before lowering her head to read.

"Fierce but cute..." Suye thought to himself.

Rolon and Albert seemed completely unconcerned, paying Suye no mind.

Before long, Niedern announced the end of class and walked out the door.

Hote said to Suye, "I'm going to practice Combat Skills. See you tomorrow."

"I'm going to keep training for the Long-distance Run. See ya!" Jimmy said, leaving the classroom with Hote.

Hearing Jimmy's words, Suye felt helpless. You're a mage—why are you training for long-distance running every day?

The key point was that Jimmy was last year's class champion in the Long-distance Run, and so many warriors in the class couldn't even beat him.

Suye looked at his other four deskmates.

Rolon, the noble who didn't like interacting with people, was as usual wearing a black leather armor, stuffing his Magic Book into his belt, holding a war spear in one hand and a longsword in the other as he walked out.

Like he was heading to a battlefield every day.

Pallas and Lake stared at their Magic Books, burying their heads in hard study.

Suye glanced at Albert—thin and small, with a perpetually worried face. He was sitting there now, not knowing what he was fretting about, sighing deeply.

"I'm going to practice sculpting." Albert said, shouldering his Magic Book and wobbling out the door, like a chain-smoker whose waist could snap in the wind at any moment.

Suye knew why Albert was into sculpting. He aspired to become a Puppeteer, and sculpting was an essential skill for one. He wanted to create a puppet identical to a human, just like the Puppet King Pygmalion—but Pygmalion's greatest work was his wife, while Albert wanted a male one.

Suye couldn't quite understand these figure-collecting enthusiasts.

Though he was a bit envious of Pygmalion.

Suye glanced at Pallas again, feeling a bit sorry for the kid—so young and unable to speak.

Suye counted his six deskmates once more: Hote, the Second Year with friends all over the academy; Jimmy, who trained long-distance running every day but had magical talent; Rolon, the noble never without a spear and sword; Albert, the figure-collecting enthusiast who might not even be able to lift a stone-carving hammer; a beautiful girl who couldn't speak; and finally...

Finally, his gaze landed on Lake. Out of all six deskmates, he seemed to be the only normal one.