Villainous Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 83: Victory?

Chapter 83: Victory?

The tension in the clearing was suffocating.

Everyone was waiting.

The blue bird hovered above us, its glowing wings casting an eerie light on the gathered students. No one spoke. No one dared to.

<Scavenger Hunt... complete.>

The bird’s voice echoed through the clearing, clear and authoritative.

<All items have been accounted for.>

A collective sigh of relief rippled through the students—except for Class C.

My students weren’t relaxed. They were focused, standing a little too close together, eyes scanning the crowd.

Good.

They were learning.

I kept my expression neutral, but I was watching too.

Kellan was still near the edge of the clearing, his jaw clenched, his eyes occasionally flicking toward me.

Class A and B were clustered together, murmuring in hushed tones.

They weren’t celebrating.

Because they knew.

They hadn’t won.

<First place...>

The clearing went dead silent.

Everyone’s eyes locked onto the bird.

<Class C.>

Silence.

And then—

"What?!"

The outburst came from somewhere in Class B’s ranks.

I didn’t look.

I didn’t need to.

I felt the glares.

"No way..." someone murmured from Class A’s side.

"They cheated..." another voice whispered.

I smirked.

<Class C successfully retrieved all required items. Completion time: 7 hours, 43 minutes.>

The murmurs grew louder.

"How?" someone hissed.

"They’re Class C..."

I kept my face impassive, but I was enjoying this way too much.

<As the first-place team, Class C will receive additional contribution points, priority access to advanced courses, and...>

The bird paused, its glow intensifying.

<An exclusive class-wide enhancement opportunity.>

That got everyone’s attention.

"Enhancement?" Julien murmured, his brow furrowing.

"What kind of enhancement?" Wallace asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We’ll find out soon enough," I murmured, eyes still on the bird.

<Rewards will be distributed upon return to the Academy.>

The murmurs continued, but no one dared speak too loudly.

Class A’s students stood at the front all of theirs expressions were unreadable, but I could see the tension in their posture.

Class B’s students were openly glaring now, but I didn’t care.

Let them.

They had no one to blame but themselves.

Kellan’s gaze, however, was a different story.

He wasn’t looking at my students.

He was looking at me.

I felt the weight of his hatred, but I didn’t flinch.

I met his gaze, a cold smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

<The next event will begin... at dawn.>

That shut everyone up.

"Dawn?" Felix groaned quietly. "We just finished this nightmare..."

"Suck it up," Mira muttered, though I caught the exhaustion in her voice too.

<Teams will have until sunrise to rest and prepare. The next challenge...>

The bird’s glow pulsed again.

<...will be a survival event.>

A ripple of unease spread through the crowd.

"Survival?" Julien murmured, his eyes narrowing.

"Great," Leo muttered under his breath. "We just barely survived this one... and now they’re throwing us into another death trap?"

"What kind of survival event?" Garrick asked, his voice low.

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know.

But I had a bad feeling about this.

<Details will be provided at the start of the event.>

The bird’s glow began to fade, but its voice echoed one last time.

<Rest. Recover. You will need it.>

And then...

It was gone.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then the murmurs returned—louder this time.

"Survival event?"

"At dawn?"

"They’re insane..."

I ignored them.

My focus was on my students.

"You heard it," I murmured. "We’ve got until dawn."

They were exhausted. I could see it in their eyes.

"Rest up," I said, my tone firm. "Because whatever’s coming..."

My eyes flicked back toward where Kellan had been—only to find he was gone.

Of course.

"It’s going to be worse."

The students didn’t argue.

They were too tired to.

"Professor..." Julien’s voice was quiet as the others began to move.

"What is it?" I asked, keeping my tone even.

"We really won?"

I smirked.

"Of course we did."

His expression was a mix of relief and disbelief.

"How?"

"Because I don’t lose."

I clapped a hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Now get some rest, Julien."

He nodded, finally letting the tension drain from his body.

As the others settled down, I took one last look at the clearing.

Class A and B were keeping their distance, but I could feel their eyes on us.

Kellan was gone.

But he’d be back.

And I wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d play fair next time.

Dawn.

I had a bad feeling about this.

"Rest up, kids..." I murmured under my breath, my eyes narrowing.

"You’re going to need it."

The night passed in a tense, uneasy silence.

No one slept well.

Even with the illusion I’d set up around our camp, masking it from prying eyes, none of us trusted it to hold if Kellan or anyone from Class A or B decided to push their luck.

But the night stayed quiet.

For now.

Dawn came faster than any of us wanted.

The sun barely peeked over the horizon when the damn blue bird returned, its glow piercing through the fading darkness.

<Attention. The next event... will now begin.>

Groans echoed from my students, who looked half-dead.

"I hate this bird..." Leo mumbled, his face buried in his arms.

"Join the club," Julien muttered, stretching his stiff limbs.

"Rise and shine, future corpses," I said, my voice dripping with fake enthusiasm. "The nightmare’s just beginning."

"Professor..." Felix groaned. "Do you have to be this cheerful?"

"No," I smirked. "But it makes your suffering more enjoyable."

The bird’s glow intensified.

<This event... is limited to four participants per class.>

That got their attention.

Everyone perked up.

"Four?" Mira frowned.

"Only four?" Julien echoed.

"What kind of event is this?" Wallace asked, his brows furrowed.

<Event Objective: Retrieve hidden crates scattered throughout the designated zone.>

Crates.

I didn’t like that.

<Crates are ranked by color. Higher-ranked crates contain better rewards.>

The bird’s voice echoed through the clearing as an image appeared in the air:

[Bronze Lock: Basic Supplies

Silver Lock: Intermediate Rewards

Gold Lock: Advanced Rewards

Black Lock: ???]

"Of course," I muttered. "Because why wouldn’t there be a mystery box?"

<Crates will be placed in difficult-to-reach areas. Success depends on teamwork, strategy, and efficiency.>

Teamwork.

Right.

<Participants will be given approximate crate locations. The event ends when all available crates have been retrieved... or when time runs out.>

<Time limit: Six hours.>

Six hours.

Plenty of time to get ourselves killed.

<Choose your participants.>

I didn’t hesitate.

"Garrick."

The big guy blinked, then straightened. "Me?"

"You’re built like a damn wall." I gave him a pointed look. "We’re going to need that."

"Understood." He nodded, jaw clenched.

"Cassandra."

Her head tilted slightly, those unreadable eyes meeting mine.

"You’re good at reading a situation. I’ll need that."

She didn’t speak—just gave a small nod.

"Felix."

"Wait, what?" Felix’s eyes went wide. "Why me?"

"Because if I leave you here unsupervised, you’ll trip over a twig and impale yourself on it." I smirked. "Or get eaten by a squirrel."

"I’m not that unlucky!" he protested.

"Felix..." Julien muttered. "*You once got trapped in a broom closet because the door closed behind you."

"That was one time!"

"Three times," Mira corrected, smirking.

"It was a very tricky door," Felix grumbled, crossing his arms.

"And that’s why you’re coming," I said dryly.

Felix groaned. "I hate my life."

"Get used to it." I clapped my hands. "The rest of you? Hold the fort."

Julien frowned. "Why not me?"

"Because I need someone with a brain to keep the camp intact while we’re gone." I shot him a look. "Unless you’d rather leave that to Leo?"

Leo blinked. "Hey—"

"Exactly," I deadpanned.

Julien sighed, but he didn’t argue.

"Mira, Wallace?" I continued. "If anything goes south, you know what to do."

Mira’s eyes narrowed. "We’ll handle it."

Wallace gave a tired nod, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Good." I turned to the blue bird, already regretting what was coming next.

"We’re ready."

The bird’s glow pulsed.

<Acknowledged.>

A shimmering map appeared in front of us, displaying a grid with marked locations.

"There." I pointed to the closest mark. "Bronze crate. We’ll start there."

Garrick cracked his knuckles.

Cassandra’s expression remained blank, but her posture shifted slightly—alert, ready.

Felix looked... well, terrified.

"Professor..." Felix mumbled. "You sure I’m ready for this?"

"Nope." I grinned, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "But you’ll either survive... or provide a valuable lesson for the others."

"That’s not comforting..."

"It wasn’t supposed to be."

<Event begins... now.>

The bird’s glow flared—

And we were gone.

___

Zone: Designated Crate Retrieval Area

We materialized in a dense part of the forest, far from the main clearing.

The air was thick with moisture, and the morning fog hadn’t fully lifted yet.

"This way," I muttered, eyes scanning the map.

"Bronze crate first?" Garrick asked, already moving into position.

"Start small. Test the waters," I murmured.

Felix stumbled over a root, barely managing to stay upright.

"Felix..." I warned.

"I’m fine!" he yelped, straightening.

Cassandra was already moving ahead, her steps unnervingly silent.

"Stay close," I ordered, my eyes scanning the surroundings.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Felix asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Crates," I said dryly.

"Yes, but..."

"Locked crates with color-coded locks. Higher the color, bigger the prize," I explained, eyes flicking to the map again.

"And the black lock?" Garrick asked.

"We don’t touch that unless we absolutely have to," I muttered.

"Why?" Felix blinked.

"Because anything labeled with ’???’ usually means ’instant death.’"

"Oh."

"Exactly."

The path ahead opened into a clearing, and there—

"Crate." Garrick spotted it first, pointing toward a small, partially buried box with a dull bronze lock.

"Bronze," I murmured. "Good. Start easy."

Felix knelt beside it. "Do I... open it?"

"No," I said, eyes narrowing.

Something wasn’t right.

"Wait—"

Snap.

The moment Felix touched the crate, the ground shifted.

"Trap—"

A blur shot out from the undergrowth.

Fast.

Too fast.

"Move!" I barked, shoving Felix aside.

Garrick reacted instantly, stepping in front of the threat—

Clang!

The sound echoed as Garrick’s gauntlet caught the creature’s attack mid-swing.

"Wolf."

A silver one.

Small, but its fangs and claws gleamed with mana.

"Protective guardian," I muttered.

"Professor?" Felix’s voice was panicked.

"Relax," I said coldly.

"Garrick?"

"On it."

Garrick shifted, moving with practiced efficiency.

Crack.

One solid punch sent the wolf flying back.

"It’s not alone..." Cassandra murmured, her eyes flicking to the shadows.

More.

Three.

No—

Five.

"Form up," I ordered, my cane already glowing with mana.

"Felix?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Stay behind Garrick and try not to die."

"Oh, great."

The wolves circled, their eyes glowing with mana.

"Garrick?" I murmured.

"I can hold them." His voice was steady.

"Good."

My eyes narrowed, mana flowing through my veins.

"Cassandra?"

"Ready."

"Felix?"

"Already regretting this."

"Good." I smirked.

"Let’s get to work."

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