The crowd quickly dispersed from the awakening stage.
Diana lingered for a moment, her gaze lingering on the empty platform before she turned and left.
As the Director of Discipline, she had a mountain of paperwork to handle.
Soon, only four people remained on the massive stage: Asher, Chloe, Claire, and Luna.
However, each of their expressions painted a completely different picture.
Asher was practically glowing.
He looked like a man who had just struck gold, barely able to contain his excitement.
Luna remained huddled in the corner, her posture tense and a bit self-conscious, though she was shooting cautious glances at Asher much more frequently than before.
As for the twins, Chloe and Claire were staring at Asher with deeply conflicted expressions.
There was a mix of skepticism, sheer confusion, and perhaps a tiny, almost imperceptible sliver of gratitude in their eyes.
Even though the twins had acted stoic and indifferent during the ceremony—not even bothering to step forward and introduce themselves—they were still just eighteen-year-old girls.
How could they not be devastated?
They had just watched their peers awaken C-Class and B-Class magic while they were slapped with bottom-of-the-barrel F-Class ratings.
But as daughters of a prestigious family, they were expected to bury that disappointment.
Asher’s completely unexpected choice had undoubtedly brought a small flicker of warmth to their frozen hearts.
But only a flicker.
“Listen here, old man.
If you think this little stunt is going to help you woo our aunt, you’re dreaming!” Chloe, the purple-haired sister, took a step forward, sizing Asher up with narrowed eyes.
“You might be somewhat decent-looking, but you’re way too weak.
Our aunt is a genius.
She’s on the verge of breaking through to Tier Four and entering the Transcendent Realm!
Once she does, she’s almost guaranteed to be transferred to the Fiore First Magic University!”
She crossed her arms, her chin tilted up defensively.
“I’m sure you know exactly how prestigious that is.
It’s the highest institution in all of Fiore!
The professors there all hold high-ranking positions in the Magic Council.
The gap between you and her is a massive canyon!”
Before Chloe’s words could even settle, the white-haired sister, Claire, chimed in.
Her tone was much softer, even a little playful.
“Honestly, you are pretty handsome.
Visually speaking, you and Aunt Diana would make a really cute couple…”
“Ahem!” Chloe shot her sister a vicious glare.
Claire stuck her tongue out and quickly pivoted.
“But my sister is right—you’re too weak!
You don’t even rank among the guys chasing her.
You know Instructor Loke, right?
The number one instructor in our year?
His family is also one of the Six Great Families of Magnolia, and even *he* got rejected by Aunt Diana.”
“Get to the point!” Chloe hissed.
“The point is…” Claire paused, blinking hard.
“Wait, what was the point again?”
“Go play in the dirt,” Chloe muttered, shoving her sister aside.
She locked eyes with Asher again, her expression deadly serious.
“The point is, we are very grateful that you chose us.
But if you’re expecting us to act as your wingmen to get to our aunt, it’s absolutely never going to happen!”
“Right!
Absolutely never!” Claire echoed, throwing a weak punch into the air to look threatening.
Asher’s mouth fell open, his eyes widening in pure disbelief.
‘What in the world is going on?
This is a massive misunderstanding!’
Sure, Diana was beautiful, and he might have felt a slight… biological impulse…
‘Bah!
Focus!’
Yes, Diana was gorgeous, but he wasn’t desperate enough to sabotage his entire career just to be her simp!
“No, no, no!” Asher waved his hands frantically.
“Actually, I chose you because I saw that your bone structure is extraordinary!
Your magical potential is practically bursting through your skulls!
You’re both once-in-a-generation prodigies!
That’s why I took you as my apprentices!”
It was the absolute truth, but in this context, it sounded like the most pathetic, cliché excuse in the book.
Predictably, both Chloe and Claire burst out laughing.
“What, are you going to tell us we didn’t actually awaken F-Class magic?” Chloe giggled.
“Are you going to tell us we secretly have SSS-Class potential?” Claire added, giggling just as hard.
Their words hit Asher like a one-two punch straight to the jaw.
He was completely speechless.
‘Hey!
Those are my lines!’
His eyebrows twitched violently, and he felt like he was going to cough up blood.
But his stunned silence only cemented the twins’ theory in their minds.
“Look, no matter your real motives, we still want to thank you,” Chloe said, her laughter fading into a soft sigh.
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be qualified to take the Practical Combat Exams.
But don’t worry.
We’ll hire the best instructors from our family to tutor us privately.
The First Magic University might be out of reach now, but we’ll do everything in our power to get into a second-tier academy.
We won’t let you get fired because of us.”
Without waiting for Asher to reply, Chloe grabbed Claire’s arm.
“Let’s go.”
Within seconds, the two girls had marched halfway across the massive stage.
“Sis, where are we going?” Claire asked.
“Home, obviously!
Are you an idiot?”
“But… this is the way to the cafeteria…”
Chloe froze.
A furious blush crept up her neck, and without a word, she spun on her heel and marched in the opposite direction.
“Uh, sis?
That’s the way to the library…”
“Shut up!”
…
‘Oh, man.
What a disaster,’ Asher thought, watching the twins scurry away.
He let out a long, exhausted sigh.
He honestly didn’t know if having Chloe and Claire as students was a blessing or a curse.
The misunderstanding was annoying, but the real problem was that they refused to let him teach them!
What was the point of having a **[Master Teacher]** system if his students wouldn’t let him teach?
But he knew rushing things wouldn’t help.
He needed to play the long game with the twins.
Besides, he still had one more option.
“Your name is Luna, right?”
Taking a deep breath to reset his mood, Asher forced a gentle, professional smile and turned to the quiet girl in the corner.
Since the twins were a lost cause for now, all his hopes rested on her.
“Hello, Instructor Asher.”
Luna’s voice was soft, polite, and very pleasant to listen to.
She had the refined aura of a girl from a well-educated family.
However, Asher could easily read the deep suspicion swimming in her eyes.
“You’re wondering why I chose you, aren’t you?” Asher asked, his smile widening.
“Yes.” Luna gave a tiny nod.
She was genuinely baffled.
It made sense why he picked Chloe and Claire—they had a wealthy family and a beautiful, high-ranking aunt.
The only advantage Luna possessed was her face and her figure.
‘Wait…’
A sudden, horrifying realization struck Luna like a bolt of lightning.
Her eyes widened, and the way she looked at Asher shifted instantly from suspicion to sheer terror.
She instinctively took a half-step back, her hands gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, as if trying to pull it down to cover her pale legs.
Just as her panic reached its absolute peak, Asher spoke up, completely unaware of her internal crisis.
“Since you want to know, I’ll tell you the truth.
Actually—”
He stretched out the word, suddenly dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“Actually, you didn’t awaken F-Class talent.
You awakened SSS-Class talent!”