Chapter 4 Genius or Madman

Yvette's POV

Seeing how fierce Hardwin looked, I didn't dare say much and quickly followed him.

Hardwin led me into the teaching building. Along the way, we encountered many people wearing dark blue robes, chatting and laughing, no different from students at any ordinary school.

When they saw Hardwin, all the students immediately stood at attention and nodded respectfully: "Professor Hardwin."

Hardwin nodded slightly in acknowledgment, while not forgetting to urge me to hurry up: "Faster! Time is limited!"

I felt a bit uncomfortable, thinking to myself—I am following you, aren't I? Why so fierce? Nothing like Mr. Wetherell!

But I only dared to think this, not daring to clash with this fierce-looking man.

Entering the teaching building, Hardwin pointed to the enclosed wooden rooms on both sides: "This is St. Daye Academy's basic classroom for new students. For the next month, you'll be learning the basics here."

"After a month, once you pass the basic exam, the academy will determine if you qualify and then decide which house to assign you to."

Looking at the classrooms on both sides, I was confused. "These are the classrooms? Why do they look kind of shabby?"

They really did. St. Daye Academy was built underwater, with blue skies and white clouds outside, everything peaceful, and the teaching building was very grand and impressive—so why did these classrooms look like someone's storage room?

Hardwin snorted coldly: "The last thing you should trust here is your own eyes. Every classroom has its own hidden world."

He began introducing them to me: "This is the space-folding classroom, with vast starry skies and deserts inside."

"This one is the time-flow classroom—half an hour passes outside, but a whole week passes inside."

"These two are your Potions class and Rune Studies classrooms..."

By the end, I suddenly understood: "I see, thank you for explaining, Professor Hardwin!"

Hardwin glanced at me, his eyes still full of complicated meaning: "Treasure this month. If you don't build a solid foundation, you'll have a hard time ahead."

I quickly asked, "Professor Hardwin, what exactly do the basics include?"

Hardwin was clearly impatient, but perhaps remembering Wetherell's instructions, he slowly began to speak.

"Generally speaking, the first lesson is always perception and meditation. You need to sense the ambient magical energy around you and learn to use it."

"Besides sensing energy, you also need to precisely control magic power. Additionally, you'll learn professional knowledge in the field of magic, including St. Daye Academy's history and the history of magic."

...

Hardwin said a lot in one breath. I just felt my head swelling, and a bad feeling welled up inside me.

"Professor Hardwin, if... if I don't pass the basic exam," I looked at him, asking tentatively, "will I be expelled directly?"

To be honest, I was a bit scared, because throughout my life, I'd never properly succeeded at anything!

Although Wetherell said this was because my magic was out of control, what about this time? Wouldn't my magic go out of control again? Wouldn't I mess things up again?

Moreover, I knew nothing about magic. Passing the exam in one month seemed impossible!

Most importantly, Wetherell had already erased my parents' memories, and their real daughter had returned home, which meant I had no way back!

"If you really are Cecilia's daughter..." Facing my worries, Hardwin's tone was unusually calm, "then you won't fail."

I frowned: "What do you mean? Was my mother very strong before? How strong exactly?"

Wetherell only told me that my mother was one of the most talented magicians in the past 50 years, and also the best student he'd ever taught.

But I still didn't have a clear picture.

Hardwin thought for a moment: "She wasn't just a once-in-a-century magical genius, she was a madwoman! A madwoman who could single-handedly overturn the entire magical world!"

I nervously swallowed, Hardwin's words echoing constantly in my mind.

Genius! Madwoman! A madwoman who could overturn the magical world!

What kind of genius must my mother have been? So much so that when mentioning her, Hardwin's lips and hands were trembling.

"Professor Hardwin, could you tell me more specifically about my mother's achievements?"

I had developed a strong interest in my mother and desperately wanted to know more, but Hardwin wasn't willing to reveal more.

"You'll learn about some things later. Knowing too much now won't do you any good."

"Oh."

Just then, a man with fire coming out of his head and swinging a giant tail rushed over.

My face changed drastically, and I quickly hid behind Hardwin.

Oh my God! Was this a person? This was clearly a lizard on fire! That giant tail alone was enough to make your scalp tingle!

"Move aside!" the man shouted loudly, heading straight for the window, clearly intending to jump out! "Everyone move! Don't block the way!"

I gently tugged at Hardwin's sleeve, wanting him to move aside with me.

But Hardwin remained unmoved, simply extending his hand coldly, making several specific gestures in mid-air, murmuring softly: "Golden Cage! Hold!"

The next second, a golden cage appeared out of nowhere, directly trapping the man inside.

At the same time, chanting sounds came from within the cage. The flames on the man's head instantly extinguished, and the giant tail behind him disappeared as well.

In less than two seconds, the man had returned to normal appearance, kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Professor Hardwin! I was practicing transformation magic, why did you trap me?" The man tried to defend himself.

Hardwin's tone was very cold: "You violated school rule number 36—transforming inside the teaching building and disrupting normal teaching order. You must be punished."

"Starting now, you'll wash clothes for everyone in the announcement classroom for one month, without affecting normal classes and magic practice."

The man's eyes widened, clearly not very convinced: "Professor Hardwin, I didn't mean to, I was just..."

Before he could finish, Hardwin ruthlessly interrupted: "Two months, starting now. One more word, one more month!"

The man deflated like a punctured balloon, his head drooping: "Yes, whatever the professor says."

Listening from the side, I was already dumbfounded. This punishment was too severe, and he showed no mercy at all!

I made up my mind that I absolutely couldn't violate school rules in the future, and definitely couldn't talk back to professors, or I'd only die a worse death!

Of course, breaking rules wasn't the key—not getting caught was...

Hardwin waved his hand, the golden cage disappeared, and he walked away without looking back. I quickly followed, my attitude more respectful than before, my head lowered a bit more.

No choice—I couldn't afford to provoke this kind of big shot. Better to go along with him. I didn't want to wash clothes or clean toilets.