Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 300 - Oz Lazarus

Introduction to Practical Studies.

As the name suggests, it was a class that covered everything about practical application.

‘The pressure of 150 students is quite something.’

These weren’t just any 150 students. They were 150 students boasting formidable skills within Ivecar Academy. Especially, these were the ones who had won the fierce competition for course registration, so their competitiveness and desire for improvement were as certain as their skills.

The goal of this class was to satisfy these students.

-You have achieved an achievement!

-You have acquired likes for achieving the [Great Lecturer] achievement!

-You have gained ’10’ likes!

The achieved achievement was Great Lecturer.

‘Because I’m now conducting an official class for 150 students.’

Originally, Ethan had planned to reduce the number from the previous class capacity of 75 students.

But.

‘I’m glad I took on this challenge.’

Ethan realized how important connections were.

‘I already knew connections were important. But experiencing it firsthand is different.’

Therefore, he intended to expand his network more efficiently. Fortunately, Ethan had a suitable method.

‘The reason why Regia became an untouchable figure within the imperial palace.’

It was because he was the mentor of an extraordinary individual.

‘It’s good to become an extraordinary person myself, but.’

It was also important to establish good relationships with extraordinary people.

‘I have an easy way to form deep relationships with extraordinary people.’

The relationship between a teacher and a student. What could be deeper than the bond between a mentor and a disciple?

‘It’s the deepest relationship next to that between parents and children. The teacher-student relationship is as deep as that between lovers.’

Ethan planned to build a vast and solid network through these 150 students. If properly established, there would essentially be no one in the Holy Empire who could touch Ethan.

Unless it was behind-the-scenes maneuvering, at least no one would dare to confront him directly.

‘I can be certain of that.’

“Alright, let’s hear your question. Student, your name?”

“Oz.”

He answered briefly. At his rather insolent tone, the expressions of other students turned sharp.

Especially Mason, who looked like he was about to stand up right then and there.

Almost no one in this place was unaware of Oz, so except for the freshmen, everyone knew very well what kind of student this Oz Lazarus was.

Meanwhile, Max Jurod was quite tense.

Though branded as a problematic student, Oz’s talent was real. Currently, Max was the top student in the third year, but that was only possible because Oz wasn’t there.

Before Oz took a leave of absence, Max had never once held the top position in his year.

From his first year of enrollment until he took a leave, Oz had never once lost the first place.

He only lost that position because his harassment of teachers became such a problem that even the principal had to step in, but the top spot had always belonged to Oz.

Max, who took the top spot after Oz’s leave, knew this well. That’s why he didn’t boast much about being the top student.

He hadn’t taken it by skill. He was just holding onto it while Oz was away.

Truly overwhelming talent. Equally overwhelming problem child. That was Oz Lazarus.

When such an Oz raised his hand, all the students wore expressions as if thinking, ‘Here we go.’

Ethan gazed at Oz Lazarus while using his ability.

Oz, seen through the Eye of Horus and Sleeping Dragon’s Sight, was astonishing.

‘His potential is even more outstanding than Mason’s. I’d only heard about it.’

Oz dies.

Originally, he was supposed to die, caught up in a major incident that would lead to the downfall of Ivecar.

‘I heard about it when I was playing on the followers of the Moon side. They said they almost failed because of one student.’

That was when Ethan first heard Oz’s name. But he only knew the name, not what kind of student he was.

‘Even more talented and more problematic than Mason. Interesting situation.’

“What is Introduction to Practical Studies?”

“It’s a class that teaches elements necessary for practical application.”

“So we learn things that are helpful in practical situations?”

“That’s right.”

“What kind of things are helpful in practical situations? What is practical application? Do we have sparring matches based on practical situations?”

Oz started firing off questions.

However, they didn’t seem like questions asked out of curiosity.

‘What desperate eyes.’

Usually, students who ask questions have bright, sparkling eyes. And at the end of those gazes is curiosity.

But Oz was different.

It was a gaze trying to thoroughly probe for Ethan’s weaknesses.

And at the same time, it was desperate.

Eyes that seemed to have little attachment to life, but in reality, harbored a deeper desire to live than anyone else.

‘A square peg.’

The square peg of Ivecar Academy.

Square pegs are bound to be removed sooner or later.

‘That shouldn’t happen.’

Solving the problem of square pegs isn’t about removing them.

‘It’s about finding the right place for them. For that…’

“Come forward, Oz Lazarus. I’ll briefly answer your questions.”

Proper education was necessary.

***

When Ethan told him to come forward, Oz grinned as if he had been waiting for this.

It was always the same pattern.

He would provoke the teacher’s temper and observe how they respond, what kind of lesson they would show.

After that, it was easy. He would just demonstrate it better than the teacher, and that would be the end.

No matter how excellent a teacher was, none could surpass Oz’s talent.

Except for just one, Claudie Hyde.

Claudie Hyde didn’t allow Oz in his class from the start. Therefore, Oz couldn’t confirm whether his talent surpassed Claudie’s.

Excluding Claudie, whom he hadn’t seen directly, most teachers fell victim to Oz’s talent, and more than half of them quit.

He could reproduce exactly what the teachers had built up over their lifetimes just by seeing it once. They despaired, feeling that all their years of effort had been meaningless.

“Now, everyone watch. Oz Lazarus, who has stood here, will represent and show how this Introduction to Practical Studies will proceed.”

The students who knew Oz were quite anxious.

They knew Ethan was an outstanding teacher.

“Mason, shouldn’t you at least step up and stop this? Something bad might happen.”

Max, who knew Oz painfully well, said to Mason.

Mason looked at Max quizzically.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? We should stop him! If Oz, that bastard, deliberately provokes Teacher Ethan…”

“If he’s being disrespectful, we can punish him after class.”

“Weren’t you about to grab and beat him just now?”

Yuna said to Mason, as if finding it ridiculous.

“You guys, aren’t you worried about this situation as Teacher Ethan’s disciples? You know what kind of guy Oz Lazarus is.”

“We know well. We know his impressive record too.”

“Then why?”

“Max.”

Yuna clicked her tongue and said.

“If you’re not going to focus on the class, why did you even apply?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen…”

Max sat back down.

At the same time, Ethan opened his mouth.

“Everything you learn is dead knowledge until you actually use it. Especially things like sparring are far too gentle. It’s not a fight where you aim for each other’s lives.”

Ethan said.

“It’s fine within the academy. But the moment you step outside, everything changes.”

Ethan looked at the magic students and said.

“Let’s take magic as an example first.”

Seeing this, Oz inwardly admired.

He had heard Ethan was a swordsmanship instructor, but Ethan was drawing magic circles very skillfully.

“Come at me with all your might. I will shoot a Fire Arrow at you.”

As soon as Ethan finished speaking, Oz planted his foot.

And at the same time, he smiled sardonically. The battle between a swordsman and a mage was literally a battle of distance.

If they were to spar after declaring the first move like that, the swordsman would inevitably have an overwhelming advantage.

No matter how excellent a mage is, there’s bound to be a gap in the moment of casting a spell.

Oz instantly closed in on Ethan and drew the sword at his waist to swing it.

Although the blade was completely blunted, almost like a wooden sword, it was undoubtedly a real sword.

It was enough to inflict wounds.

Swish-!

But before the sword could even touch, a powerful force made Oz retreat greatly.

“…?”

Not only Oz himself but also the watching students wore surprised expressions.

Oz slightly raised his hand to touch his shoulder. The shoulder area was slightly burned.

Only then did he realize.

That the Fire Arrow had hit his shoulder directly.

“Magic students, and knight department students too, remember this. Basically, the minimum distance at which a mage can gain an advantage over a knight is 7 meters. Based on this 7 meters, the further the distance, the more disadvantageous it is for the knight and the more advantageous for the mage. Everyone knows these facts. Even Oz Lazarus knew this, which is why he instantly closed the distance.”

The basic knowledge about knight-mage confrontations that Ethan was talking about was something everyone taking this class was familiar with.

It’s content that’s taught through rote learning from the start.

Mages widen the distance, knights close it.

“However, this basic information isn’t very helpful in practical situations. Because everyone knows it. Just now, Oz Lazarus closed the distance, but in the end, the distance widened. Because he was hit by my Fire Arrow.”

Ethan smiled faintly.

“Do you know how this happened, Oz Lazarus?”

“…Would you show me one more time?”

Oz smiled, baring his teeth.

“I’ll show you.”

Ethan created another Fire Arrow and shot it straight at Oz.

Swish-!

“Not enough?”

Ethan shot another Fire Arrow once more. Although the power wasn’t great and it didn’t cause injury, it was impossible to prevent the body from being pushed back.

It was clearly an ordinary Fire Arrow.

But as Oz was just blankly taking hits from that Fire Arrow, the students watching began to murmur.

“That Oz Lazarus is just taking the hits?”

“Usually, he’d read everything after seeing it once and either just dodge or pay back exactly the same.”

“What’s going on?”

While the swordsmanship students were puzzled, the magic students immediately realized why Oz couldn’t respond.

“They’re not all the same Fire Arrow. The magic formula composition was different. Completely.”

“Can a Fire Arrow be created with that formula? With that power?”

All three Fire Arrows were deployed with different formulas.

Oz’s talent was to perfectly imitate what he saw once. Originally, he should have grasped Ethan’s Fire Arrow after seeing it once and pressured Ethan with it.

But Ethan deployed all three Fire Arrows with completely different formulas.

‘…Ridiculous.’

Oz inwardly exclaimed in shock and cursed.

With the same posture, same breathing, he deployed the same magic with completely different formulas.

That wasn’t the same magic while being the same.

Moreover, within the academy, mana is also restricted, so there are clearly limitations.

Oz knew this well and had been toying with teachers by exploiting this point, so he knew even better.

Bang-!

At that moment, Ethan stomped his foot.

“Focus. Focus on the class.”

Saying that, he gave Oz another chance.

“What do you think is the reason you were hit by my Fire Arrow even though you momentarily closed the distance?”

Oz thought for a moment and then clicked his tongue.

“Knights must close the distance and mages must widen it. It’s because of that fixed idea.”

At that answer, Ethan grinned.

“Correct. You had knowledge in your head. Because I said I would use magic, you naturally thought you had to close the distance. So you charged towards me. Very naturally. I controlled your movements with just one word. If a mage knows where the opponent will come from, there’s no reason for them to be at a disadvantage. Unlike the knowledge you all had.”

Ethan turned his head to look at the students and said.

“This is practical application. This is what I want to teach in Introduction to Practical Studies.”

The vast lecture hall fell silent for a moment.