The atmosphere inside classroom 101 felt much more tense than usual.
There were no sounds of student banter, no whispers near the windows.
What could be heard was only the scraping sound of pen tips on parchment paper and heavy sighs from several students who seemed to be struggling.
Today was the day of the Midterm Written Exam for the Basic Magic and Mantra Structure subjects.
At the front of the class, Erin sat calmly behind her grading desk.
She wore her neat professor's robe, with her blue hair tied neatly as usual, and her yellow eyes closely supervised every corner of the room.
Erin didn't just sit indifferently.
She occasionally stood up from her chair, walking slowly among the rows of student desks to ensure the exam atmosphere remained conducive and to see how well they understood the material taught over the past few months.
In the third row, Serena Rose wrote very quickly and neatly.
Her paper page was almost filled with very detailed and accurate explanations of mantra structure theory, reflecting her hard work and diligence in studying.
On the other side of the room, Leon Arven furrowed his brows deeply.
The noble youth who usually always looked confident was now staring at a question regarding complex mana flow formulas.
His pen tip tapped on the desk, while thin beads of sweat began to appear on his temples.
Leon felt the questions were much more difficult than he had anticipated beforehand.
He thought that by relying on his family's big name and magic physical training, theory exams like this could be passed easily.
However, Erin's custom-made questions demanded deep analytical thinking, not just raw memorization.
Erin, who was walking slowly, realized the difficulty Leon was experiencing.
She stopped her step right next to the blonde youth's desk.
Leon glanced briefly, feeling slightly proud-wounded for being caught struggling by the professor he once underestimated.
However, Erin said nothing to humiliate him.
Instead, Erin bent down slightly, then pointed gently using her fingertip toward question number five on the test sheet without giving the answer directly.
"Mr. Arven, try to reread the notes on basic mana circulation laws we discussed last week," Erin whispered in a voice only audible to Leon.
"Focus on how energy is reflected back to the core of the body, not on how big the formula you write is."
Hearing that brief hint, Leon's eyes widened for a moment.
A flash of understanding suddenly appeared in his head.
He remembered Erin's explanation in class a few days ago about energy balance.
Leon nodded slightly at Erin, then immediately directed his pen back onto the paper, writing down answers with a much more certain rhythm.
Erin smiled faintly, then continued her steps supervising the other students.
In the back row corner, Kai Renford appeared to be taking the exam calmly.
Although his hands trembled slightly at first, his memory went back to the private tutoring Erin gave him the other day.
That new self-confidence helped him break down theory questions well, very different from his condition during previous exams at the beginning of the semester.
The exam time continued to run until the academy bell rang loudly, signaling that the working time was over.
"Time is up. Please place your pens on the desk and collect your answer sheets in order from the front row," Erin announced with a clear voice echoing throughout the room.
Immediately, sighs of relief were heard from various corners of the class.
Some students immediately leaned their backs against their chairs weakly, while others whispered comparing their answers.
After all the answer sheets were collected on the teaching desk, Erin tidied them up neatly and carried them out of the class toward the professor preparation room.
The following days were spent by Erin in her office checking the students' exam papers one by one.
She read every sentence of the answers carefully, giving constructive correction notes on the margin of the paper for students who were still wrong, and writing small appreciations for those showing rapid progress.
A few days later, when the Basic Magic class started again, the checked exam papers were distributed to each student.
The classroom atmosphere suddenly became tense as paper after paper was returned.
Some students smiled broadly seeing high scores printed in the corners of their papers, while some others looked disappointed.
Leon Arven received his paper with a fast-beating heart.
He opened the paper fold and saw the number at the top.
Although he didn't get a perfect score, his score was much better than he estimated, thanks to the small hint Erin gave during the exam.
Leon glanced briefly at the professor's desk at the front of the class.
Erin was standing while tidying up her study books.
For the first time, pure and sincere respect grew inside the noble youth's chest toward the young blue-haired professor.
"This exam is not just a tool to judge whether you pass or fail," Erin's voice broke the classroom silence, making all students look back at her.
"A low score is not the end of everything. It is a map showing which parts we still need to study together."
Erin swept her gaze across the room with a warm look.
"For those who got satisfactory scores, don't be complacent too quickly. And for those who haven't reached maximum results, meet me after class. We will relearn the parts that are still confusing."
Hearing those words, the heavy burden usually felt by students after the distribution of exam results instantly evaporated.
There was no excessive fear, what remained was only the motivation to become better under the guidance of a professor who truly cared about their future.
Step by step, Erin successfully proved that her presence at the Royal Astra Magic Academy was not just filling an empty position, but bringing real change to young souls seeking direction in the world of magic.