Villainous Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 121: Shadow duel

Chapter 121: Shadow duel

When I returned to the training field the next day, half of Class C was already there.

Julien was stretching like he was preparing for a duel. Leo was sitting cross-legged, muttering what might have been prayers. Wallace was tweaking something that looked suspiciously like a landmine, and Felix—well, Felix was trying to tie his boots and failing. Miserably.

"Good morning, my future disappointments," I announced cheerfully.

Julien raised a brow. "What’s today’s theme? Pain? Humiliation? Existential dread?"

I tossed a scroll at him. "Team formation drills."

Leo groaned immediately. "Teamwork? With them?"

"Consider it your biggest challenge yet. You’re going to form squads of three. Your mission: capture the banner in the center of the field." I pointed to a tall flagpole stuck in a small hill. "You’ll be scored on coordination, execution, and how little you embarrass yourselves."

Wallace looked up. "What if we explode the banner?"

"You lose points."

"What if someone else explodes the banner?"

"You still lose points."

"What if Felix—"

"Wallace," I interrupted, "I know where this is going."

Felix looked up mid-boot-knot. "Wait, what?"

I clapped once. "Teams are randomized. Julien, Felix, Wallace—Team Misfire. Leo, Garrick—you two are Team Brute Logic. Since we’re missing Cassandra and Mira, this’ll be a two-team match."

Leo paled. "You mean we’re outnumbered?"

"No, you’re heavier. Use it."

I dropped a smoke pellet because drama is important, and by the time they finished coughing, the exercise began.

___

Within three minutes, Team Misfire had already collapsed into chaos.

Felix was hiding behind a tree, whispering, "I’m the scout, I swear," while Wallace argued with Julien over whether his portable catapult was within regulation.

"You can’t just throw Felix like a boulder!" Julien yelled.

"He volunteered last night!"

"I WAS ASLEEP!" Felix screamed from the bushes.

Meanwhile, Team Brute Logic was just... walking in a straight line.

Leo shouted, "We need a strategy!" and Garrick responded by lifting a boulder and casually tossing it at Wallace’s catapult.

It exploded in a puff of fire and gears.

"...Effective," I muttered, jotting notes.

Julien, covered in soot, muttered, "We’re gonna die here."

"Don’t be dramatic," I called out. "This field isn’t even technically cursed anymore."

Felix ran across the battlefield screaming with a lit smoke bomb in each hand. "I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!"

"You never do!" Leo shouted back.

In the middle of it all, Wallace tried to activate his prototype "trapweb," which did successfully catch Julien, Felix, and himself in a net made of slime thread.

Julien just gave up and muttered, "I hate everything."

Garrick reached the flag, picked it up, and stared at the carnage behind him.

"Do I... win?"

"Yes," I said. "You win the privilege of dragging your classmates to the infirmary."

Leo threw his arms in the air. "FINALLY! A USE FOR HIM!"

___

As the sun set and I passed around stale academy biscuits—my form of mercy—they lay groaning on the grass.

"You said this was about teamwork," Felix wheezed.

"And you worked together," I said.

"We failed!"

"Yes. Together. That’s the lesson."

Julien stared up at the sky. "I’m going to lodge a complaint."

"Feel free," I said, already walking away. "They’ll just forward it to me."

___

Back in my quarters, I sat by the window and opened my notebook. The pages were filled with diagrams, spells, and scrawled commentary. None of it from a library.

Just mine.

But there was a weight in the back of my thoughts still... the name that had vanished.

Caspian Arvell.

And the words that replaced it: The Phantom Duelist is watching.

I tapped the page slowly, eyes narrowing.

Watching me... or them?

Either way, the next lesson might need more than sarcasm and net traps.

I closed the notebook and exhaled.

"Alright," I muttered. "Let’s see who blinks first."

The next morning, I awoke with the usual weight of impending doom hanging over my head. This time, however, it was mixed with a certain prickling feeling on the back of my neck. The thought of The Phantom Duelist hadn’t left my mind since last night, and the pressure was starting to feel suffocating. There was something about that name—Caspian Arvell—that tugged at my instincts, pulling me toward a direction I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

I threw on my usual instructor’s robe and glanced at the clock. Class C would be arriving soon.

I had a feeling it was going to be another disastrous training session.

But first, I needed to find out who, or what, The Phantom Duelist really was.

___

By the time I arrived at the training field, Class C was already assembled, though they looked a little more tired than usual. I gave them a moment to straighten themselves up before speaking.

"Let me guess," I started, surveying the group, "everyone’s aching in places they never knew existed? Fantastic. Today’s training is going to be... mostly about survival. And I mean that literally."

Garrick raised a brow. "Survival? Like... survival of the fittest?"

"Exactly," I said, grinning. "Except this time, your ’fittest’ might just be your ability to stay conscious after a few hours of non-stop combat drills."

I tossed a bag of what looked like ordinary rocks onto the ground. "These are your weapons for today."

Everyone stared at the bag, unsure whether I was joking.

Felix squinted. "What, we’re supposed to throw rocks at each other now?"

"Brilliant deduction, Felix. But you’ll have to catch them first. We’re doing a speed and reflex drill—don’t think, just move." I could see the doubt in their faces, so I added, "It’s about understanding your surroundings, staying unpredictable, and testing your limits. Just don’t kill anyone."

Julien, ever the troublemaker, immediately picked up a rock and tossed it at Leo, who ducked, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.

"Great start, everyone!" I clapped sarcastically. "Let’s begin. The goal is simple: Avoid being hit and hit your opponent. But there’s a catch." I held up my hand, the same slow, mocking grin plastered on my face. "If I catch you being predictable, you’ll be doing push-ups until I’m satisfied. And trust me, I’m never satisfied."

The students scattered into positions, though it was clear they were still confused about the whole ’rock’ concept.

I was about to signal the start when I felt something strange in the air—like a shift. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up once again, that nagging feeling from yesterday growing sharper.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure moving near the edge of the field, hidden in the shadows. It was quick, too quick to be one of the students. My breath hitched for a moment.

I blinked, but the figure was gone, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. Was that... the Phantom Duelist?

Before I could fully process it, I snapped my attention back to the training field. "Alright, go!"

___

The students immediately began scrambling, throwing and dodging rocks, but it wasn’t long before the chaos reached its peak. Felix, as expected, was the first to trip over his own feet, tumbling into a patch of thorny bushes. Wallace had the good sense to pick up two rocks and hurl them simultaneously at Garrick, who dodged effortlessly.

"Focus, people!" I shouted. "You’re not fighting for your lives, but it sure feels like you are!"

"Not when Felix is practically murdering himself in the bushes," Leo mumbled, dodging another poorly thrown rock.

Felix’s voice came from the thorny patch. "I’m... fine! Just a little... uh, intimate with nature!"

Julien rolled his eyes. "Of course you are."

The training was spiraling into complete chaos. It was almost a beautiful sight—no coordination, no finesse, just raw, unfiltered panic. It was like a symphony of failure.

But through the madness, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching. The sensation kept growing, a quiet pressure in my chest, as though an unseen observer was waiting for something—maybe for me to notice them.

I was about to address the group again when a sudden crash broke the air, followed by a gust of wind so sharp it nearly knocked the students off their feet. I turned toward the noise, my hand instinctively reaching for a concealed dagger.

The Phantom Duelist.

I wasn’t imagining things. This wasn’t just some vague presence. Someone—or something—was here. I could feel it.

Then, like a shadow, the figure emerged. It was no one I recognized, their face obscured by a mask and dark clothing that blended with the shadows themselves. For a moment, we stood there, locked in an almost surreal staring contest. My heart was beating in my chest, every instinct screaming at me to act, to strike first.

But the figure did something unexpected—they raised their hand, not in a challenge, but in acknowledgment. And then, just as swiftly as they had appeared, they disappeared again, vanishing into the forest that bordered the training grounds.

I was left standing there, wondering what the hell had just happened.

___

"Is someone messing with us?" Felix asked, his voice shrill and filled with panic. He had finally untangled himself from the bushes, but his eyes were wide with fear.

"Shut up, Felix," Julien grumbled, still rubbing his shoulder from where he had been grazed by a rock.

I stood there for a moment, absorbing what had just occurred. My thoughts were a whirlwind, but I forced myself to stay calm. If the Phantom Duelist—Caspian Arvell, whatever the hell that meant—was involved, I couldn’t let it distract me too much. There were more pressing matters at hand.

I took a deep breath. "Alright, training’s over for today."

The students froze, shocked.

"What?" Leo asked, eyes wide. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Get some rest. You’ll need it for what’s coming next."

I turned and walked away from the field, but the questions lingered in the air. Behind me, I heard Felix whisper, "Did anyone else see that?"

But I didn’t respond. My mind was already racing with possibilities—Caspian Arvell, The Phantom Duelist, the shadow that had appeared and vanished so quickly... And what the hell did it all mean for me?

I was no longer just an instructor at Noctis Ardentis Academy. Something far larger was looming on the horizon, and it wasn’t just about teaching anymore.