As Louise walked away with her proud and confident stride, Dak lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
"A Pokémon Egg ended up in Louise's hands, huh?"
This was an unexpected development that caught even Dak off guard.
He also realized that the energy fluctuation he had sensed earlier in Tristain's royal capital must have been from the Familiar Summoning Ritual.
"That egg's pattern…"
Dak stroked his chin, furrowing his brows.
As the owner of the Breeding House and the leader of the Pokémon League, there was no one across multiple worlds with greater expertise in identifying Pokémon Egg patterns than him.
He could accurately determine a Pokémon's species just by looking at its egg's unique markings.
A black-and-blue pattern was already an incredibly rare combination among Pokémon Eggs.
At most, only a handful of species matched:
Shinx
Cranidos
Lumineon
Swoobat
Deino
Riolu
Considering that "Void Familiars" had always been human-shaped throughout history—
"Riolu, then."
Among the six possibilities, Riolu and its evolution, Lucario, were the only humanoid Pokémon.
Its Fighting-type affinity also aligned well with this world's martial combat traditions among commoners.
Moreover, Gandálfr's ability was to wield all weapons with unparalleled proficiency.
Out of all the Pokémon listed, only Riolu had hands to actually wield weapons.
For the others, using weapons would be nearly impossible.
Taking all of this into account, Dak was now almost certain—Louise's Familiar was a Riolu.
However, he had no intention of taking the egg back.
There was no real benefit in doing so, and Louise had even helped him earlier.
Louise had already signed a Familiar Contract with the egg.
If Dak were to reclaim it now, it would be no different from stealing Louise's partner.
She would become a mage without a Familiar.
That Pokémon Egg had been randomly selected by the summoning ritual and appeared in Louise's hands.
Perhaps, in some mysterious way, the two were fated partners.
Dak had always enjoyed witnessing such moments of destiny.
Later That Day…
Dak continued experimenting with various energy combinations based on the ratios Louise had suggested.
All of them were successful.
Even Ice Magic Energy was successfully created.
It operated similarly to Ice Release (Hyōton) from the Naruto world, combining Wind and Water attributes—but it required a significant infusion of Natural Energy.
"If Ice Release is possible, could other Kekkei Genkai also be replicated?"
Dak pondered the question.
He had originally developed Ice Release only to help Esdeath master her abilities.
It wasn't that he couldn't create other Kekkei Genkai back then—he simply wasn't interested.
For someone at Dak's power level, normal Ninjutsu and even Kekkei Genkai didn't significantly enhance his combat strength.
So, he had never bothered.
However, now that he was in this new world, it might be worth experimenting with.
His base attributes were Water, Wind, and Earth.
This meant he should, at least theoretically, be able to replicate:
Wood Release (Mokuton) Magnet Release (Jiton) Lava Release (Yōton) Mud Release (Doton + Suiton hybrid)
Additionally, Dak might even create entirely new Kekkei Genkai.
After all, when combining two elements, the resulting attribute wasn't always the same.
For example:
Wood, Lava, and Mud Release all originated from Earth + Water, yet their properties were completely different. Wood Release likely had a higher Earth ratio. Lava Release likely had a higher Water ratio. Mud Release was likely an even mix of both.
This was something he could research further in his free time.
Clearly, it wasn't as simple as just merging two elements.
Otherwise, no one would have struggled for over six thousand years to develop a new magic attribute.
There were still aspects of this world's magic system that Dak didn't fully understand.
After finishing his experiments in the back courtyard, he returned to his dormitory at sunset.
A Few Minutes Later…
Longueville arrived at his door.
"This is the current Tristain Academy course schedule. Since your subjects are electives, you can freely choose any open time slots, and I will update the students' schedules accordingly."
She handed a sheet of parchment to Dak.
Glancing over it, he realized that the students' schedules were surprisingly relaxed.
While the timetable was packed from Monday to Friday, not all subjects were mandatory.
For example, "Basic Fire Magic" was a compulsory subject—but only for students with Fire Affinity.
For students without Fire Affinity, it was an elective course that most wouldn't bother taking.
For most mages, mastering their natural affinity already took up enough time.
It wasn't that they couldn't learn other elements, but for those without innate affinity, their proficiency would be almost as bad as a commoner's.
Other courses, such as Alchemy and Magic Micro-Manipulation, were highly specialized core subjects but were offered less frequently.
"Then… Sunday afternoon."
"Huh?"
Longueville blinked in surprise at his decision.
"Dak-sensei, that's not a great time. On Sunday afternoons, most students won't be on campus."
For students trapped in this dull academy all week, weekends were their only chance to leave and relax.
Naturally, they wouldn't want to spend that time attending class.
"That's fine. I prefer a quiet classroom environment anyway."
Dak grinned, completely unconcerned.
Dak wanted this outcome.
At present, he lacked knowledge of this world's magical theories.
If he started teaching right away, he would expose too many flaws.
By choosing a weekend class schedule, he would at least have extra time to cram basic knowledge before facing students.
Besides, Basic Ice Magic was a course that only a handful of students could even take, and Familiar Training was a subject that hardly anyone was interested in.
No matter what day it was scheduled on, attendance wouldn't change much.
After all, to successfully merge the "Ice" magic attribute, a mage first needed a deep understanding of both Wind and Water magic.
This requirement alone eliminated at least 95% of all mages.
In this world, at least 80% of mages had only a single elemental affinity.
Of the remaining 15%, most of them did not have Wind or Water among their secondary attributes.
While the four great elemental systems—Wind, Fire, Earth, and Water—were officially regarded as equal, there was still bias among mages.
Fire, with its destructive power, and Wind, with its superior speed, were the most popular choices. If a mage had to learn a second element, they would almost always choose one of these two.
Meanwhile, Earth, which specialized in defense and golem creation, and Water, which excelled in healing and control, were less favored.
Water magic, in particular, was essential for military units but was unpopular because it lacked offensive capabilities.
If a mage didn't awaken a Water affinity naturally, few would willingly study it.
Even those who did awaken a dual affinity with Water typically prioritized their other element, treating Water as secondary.
"Alright, I understand. Shall we head to the cafeteria now?"
"Sure."
Tristain Academy Cafeteria
The cafeteria looked more like a converted cathedral.
The main hall on the first floor contained several long tables, where students sat on both sides, waiting for their meals.
Commoner servants brought out the food and served the students.
Tristain Academy had a tradition of thanking the gods for providing meals before eating, but there was no fixed meal schedule.
Even if a student came at 5 AM or 3 AM, they could still get food.
As Longueville led Dak into the cafeteria, many students were already dining.
The moment Dak stepped inside, more and more students took notice of him.
Conversations gradually died down, and soon, whispers filled the room.
Even Louise, seated among them, turned to look due to the sudden commotion.
However, her thought process differed from the others.
She didn't even consider that Dak might be a teacher.
Instead, her entire focus was on his shoulders.
She distinctly remembered reminding this junior to wear his cloak, yet here he was—still ignoring her advice.
"Hmph!"
Louise let out an annoyed huff, then turned away, continuing her meal.
"Ah~ So that's the new teacher everyone's been talking about? He's really handsome—just my type!"
At that moment, a red-haired, tan-skinned girl sitting diagonally across from Louise spoke up.
"Stop being so shameless, Kirche."
Louise instinctively snapped back at her.
Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst.
Kirche was a skilled Fire Mage, known in school as "Flame Kirche."
Although two years older than Louise, she was in the same class and had a terrible relationship with her.
The Zerbst family and Vallière family were sworn enemies.
Not only had the Zerbst family repeatedly stolen Vallière lovers for generations, but the two families also belonged to rival kingdoms with adjacent territories.
Every time Tristain and Germania went to war, the two families led their respective armies and fought bitterly.
Kirche had blazing red hair, fiery crimson eyes, tanned skin, and a passionate, flirtatious personality—qualities that made her extremely popular with many admirers.
Originally, she had studied in Germania, but she transferred to Tristain Academy to escape her parents' matchmaking efforts.
If Kirche had one true passion, it was continuing the family tradition of stealing Vallière men.
Unfortunately for her, Louise wasn't interested in romance, and no men pursued her.
As a result, Kirche had never gotten the chance to steal a Vallière lover.
"Wait… He's a TEACHER?!"
Suddenly, Louise processed what Kirche had just said.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she abruptly stood up, drawing everyone's attention.
(End of Chapter)
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