Language Class

At Aurelian Academy, in the Ancient Linguistics classroom.

Headmaster Tungus was at the lectern, teaching Runic Script in Ancient Linguistics. Most of the students were drowsy; if they were not zoning out, they were secretly doing other things.

Only a handful of students listened attentively. They were generally commoners or children of minor nobles.

In fact, if this had not been Headmaster Tungus's class, more than half the people here would have left immediately.

Those spoiled second- and third-generation heirs would not sit obediently in class, painfully waiting for it to end.

Headmaster Tungus turned around and briefly surveyed the classroom. When his gaze swept over those distracted heirs who were not listening at all, his eyes remained as still as an ancient well, as though he did not care in the slightest.

His gaze settled on the few students sitting at the front and listening attentively. A faint smile appeared on his face, only to vanish in an instant, leaving him as stern as the strictest of teachers.

"Runic Ancient Language has practical value in many fields. For example, among the seven kingdoms on this land, many ancient laws were written in Runic Ancient Language."

"However, there are very few ways to learn this language."

"If you master my course, then even after leaving the Academy and entering society, you will be able to earn the favor of great nobles with this skill."

The few commoner students seated at the front heard this, and their eyes gleamed as their hearts stirred.

To them, receiving the favor of nobles was already a leap across social classes.

Meanwhile, the heirs seated toward the back of the classroom were utterly dismissive of the headmaster's words. Some even quietly laughed aloud.

After all, in their view, no matter how well one learned ancient languages, what prospects could a scholar possibly have?

Strictly speaking, most of the children of great nobles who attended this Academy were not heirs. In the future, they would find it difficult to inherit much land, and might not even receive much wealth.

However, very few people their age could realize that while living such privileged lives.

By the time they understood it in the future, it would often be the day their social standing began to fall. They would no longer have such good opportunities to improve their skills and refine their abilities.

The seven kingdoms generally practiced primogeniture. The eldest son received everything, while the other sons received very little.

As for Locke, the original owner of this body, he had been forced to experience the cruelty of life early on before falling into the trap of an ill-intentioned professor at the Academy.

As a transmigrator, Locke stared at the Runic Ancient Language textbook and homework in his hands, deep in thought.

For some reason, after transmigrating here, he felt that his mind had become much sharper. It was as though he possessed the weight of two souls at once, so both his memory and comprehension far surpassed those of his past life and the original owner.

The Runic Script that, in the original owner's memories, had been extremely complicated, like the language of birds, with every word formed without any discernible pattern, now seemed remarkably simple to him.

In a very short time, he had memorized most of the Runic Script and its usage, and had completed the homework Headmaster Tungus had assigned.

If I'd had such powerful learning abilities in my past life, exams would have been a piece of cake. I would've been a genius student. Locke thought as he glanced at the Synthesis Magic progress floating in the air before him.

It showed that the synthesis would be complete in three minutes.

Headmaster Tungus said, "All right, we'll end the class here. After you return, make sure you complete the homework I assigned."

"And preview the textbook material I assigned in advance."

"That will deepen your understanding of Runic Script."

"Now hand in the homework I assigned last class."

Headmaster Tungus walked among the students in the front row, speaking with his head lowered.

In truth, he was only saying these words to those students.

Aurelian Academy was a very strange school. Its tuition was exorbitant, yet its graduation requirements were extremely simple.

As a result, most students here hardly listened in class.

Making friends, riding horses, playing ball, and attending banquets—those were the things the heirs at the Academy cared about.

As usual, Headmaster Tungus reached out and collected the homework notebooks from the few students around him.

After he finished collecting them, he turned and prepared to leave.

But at that moment, Locke suddenly stood up, holding his Runes homework. "Excuse me, Mr. Tungus."

"I think you forgot about me. I also completed the homework assigned last class."

Hearing this, Headmaster Tungus halted, then turned around and looked at the homework in Locke's hands. Rather than accepting it, however, he frowned.

Tungus was also an old man, with graying hair and beard, azure eyes, and elaborate aristocratic clothing.

"Locke, how long has it been since you last attended class seriously?"

"When was the last time you handed in homework?"

The headmaster's meaning was obvious. He believed that Locke could not possibly keep up with his teaching progress, so there was no value in grading Locke's homework.

The commoner and minor noble students immediately looked at Locke with mocking eyes.

They thought Locke might have gone mad.

They had all heard something about the Anjou Kingdom and the Frank Empire. They assumed Locke was doing something crazy because he had been driven into a corner.

Even for them, who listened carefully in every class and diligently previewed and reviewed every lesson, missing even one class made it difficult to keep up with Headmaster Tungus's pace afterward.

Yet Locke, after missing so many classes,

and barely doing any homework, had actually handed in an assignment today.

Locke looked at Tungus, knowing that if he wanted to break this deadlock, he had to draw the linguistics professor's attention.

Fortunately, after transmigrating and gaining the original owner's body, his memory and comprehension had, for some reason, improved enormously.

As a result, his learning ability was more than twice as strong as before.

That was why, after staying up all night studying and constantly flipping through the textbook, he had barely managed to complete the homework Tungus assigned.

Therefore, Locke insisted, "But Headmaster, I really did finish the homework."

"I suddenly realized that your class is very interesting. Those ancient languages seem to possess life itself, flowing into my own life as I study them."

Locke gave the headmaster's Ancient Linguistics class a small bit of flattery.

Headmaster Tungus frowned, and his expression shifted slightly. He gave Locke a stern look, then, after a brief hesitation, accepted the homework Locke offered him.

Seeing this, Locke quietly let out a breath of relief.

Headmaster Tungus flipped through Locke's homework. At first, he did not pay much attention to it, but after reading several pages, he looked up at Locke in surprise before beginning to read carefully.

Locke stared at Headmaster Tungus, uncertain whether his judgment had been correct.

Could he really use this method to obtain an Outstanding Graduate spot and resolve his current predicament?

He did not have much time left.

After finishing, Headmaster Tungus spoke with a trace of reproach. "The error rate is still rather high."

"Mr. Locke, the quality of your homework is not very good."

Headmaster Tungus handed Locke's homework back. He had no intention of keeping it and taking it away to grade separately.

Locke smiled bitterly inwardly. As expected, cramming at the last minute was still not enough.

After all, this was the result of forcing himself through two days of intensive self-study.

The next moment, a yellowed notebook was placed before him.

Locke looked up at Headmaster Tungus. "Headmaster, this is..."

With a blank expression, Headmaster Tungus said, "Finish the questions in there. When you are done, come find me in my office."

With that, he turned and left the classroom without telling Locke any deadline.

Joy flashed through Locke's eyes. He had gambled correctly.

He picked up the homework notebook the headmaster had assigned him separately and quickly left the classroom.

At this moment, most people in the classroom, including the minor nobles and commoners who usually listened attentively, had not realized what had just happened.

They only assumed it had been an ordinary exchange between Locke and the headmaster, and that the headmaster had merely assigned Locke separate homework to "teach him a lesson." Thus, it did not attract anyone's special attention.

At the same time, the Synthesis Cube before Locke displayed—

Synthesis complete. A level 2 item has been synthesized. Continue with level 3 item synthesis?