After listening and thinking it over, Simon realized Knox's explanation truly made sense. Rick, already understanding that Knox had decided, simply shrugged.
"Alright then. Looks like I'll have to rethink my team composition."
"Hehe, I'll compensate you later~," Knox said lightly.
But in his mind, he sighed.
Well… even after saying all that, I still don't have any teammates myself.
"Is everyone up? Then let's head to the next area!"
As soon as the last student climbed up, Hong Feng took off running again without giving them even a moment to rest. The students yelped and chased after her.
Haha! There really is no peaceful moment in this class, Knox thought, feeling oddly excited.
This was nothing like normal lessons. It felt truly alive — a class in motion.
After running another twenty minutes and breaking through the forest, they emerged onto an open hill. The gentle downward slope made it easy to pick up speed.
Just as everyone was following Hong Feng—
Dudududududu!
The exact same situation from earlier was repeating itself.
The same herd of hippos that had carried them before was now climbing the slope toward them from the opposite direction.
"Uh, uh-oh?"
"A-Aren't they coming straight at us? P-Professor?!"
But before anyone noticed, Hong Feng had vanished. The assistants were gone too.
The students slowed in confusion — but the charging hippos didn't.
Danger!
Simon stopped and focused. One of the hippos was barreling right toward him, so he leapt, stepping on Darkness to propel himself upward.
Meanwhile, Knox simply watched the approaching herd.
Several of the hippos were charging right at him — yet he didn't move. His expression looked more like someone watching a litter of kittens than stampeding beasts.
From a distance, Hong Feng, the assistant professors, and a few students who had already taken shelter all noticed Knox and fixed their eyes on him. Curiosity flickered across Hong Feng's face.
Then—
A faint purple aura quietly flared around Knox. It wasn't a blazing, explosive anime-like aura; instead it was thin, subtle — more like a translucent layer wrapping around his body.
A chill swept through those watching. Some of them shuddered without even knowing why.
The hippos that had been charging straight toward Knox suddenly skidded to a stop.
Then — one by one — they dropped onto their bellies.
A moment later, they rolled over, exposing their stomachs to him as if surrendering in pure fear.
The assistant professors looked stunned, as if they were witnessing something they had never seen before.
The students were the same — wide-eyed, frozen, unable to process it.
Hong Feng, meanwhile, felt two emotions at once.
First, amazement.
Knox had released a controlled, chilling aura — the kind even many third-years couldn't manage. His precision alone was already on par with a professional necromancer.
Second… pity. Those poor hippos…
She suddenly felt like she should feed them extra later, as compensation for the trauma.
Knox simply stared at the hippos in silence.
For the animals, however, that brief stare felt like an eternity. Some students even swore they saw beads of sweat forming on the hippos' foreheads — in a weirdly comical way.
Then, Knox withdrew his aura, his expression softening into a gentle smile.
"Good kids. Go play over there, alright~?"
Somehow, the hippos seemed to nod.
They scrambled to their feet and bolted away at full speed — as if their very lives depended on it.
After "kindly" asking the hippos to go elsewhere, Knox looked around.
The students were all dealing with the stampede in completely different ways.
A female student had cast a exhaust curse, toppling the hippos in front of her and turning their bodies into a makeshift wall.
A male student had literally burrowed into the ground with dark magic and was now lying flat underground.
In another spot, several students were riding on top of the hippos and cheering, while others turned Darkness into ropes and swung up into the trees.
Everyone was escaping danger in their own style.
"Kyaahahahaha!"
Cindy floated through the air using necromancy.
Jamie layered curses over the ground, slowing the charging hippos to a sluggish crawl.
Claudia flicked vials of mild poison, irritating the hippos' eyes until they turned away crying.
Merida calmly cast a sleep curse. The hippos around her collapsed one after another… and then Merida herself fell asleep in the middle of them.
Anyone who didn't know her would absolutely assume she'd cursed herself by accident.
Knox noticed Simon standing there, half in awe, half overwhelmed.
He walked over and waved casually. "Yo, Simon. Looks like you're still in one piece."
Rick arrived a moment later, hopping down after climbing up on a staff made of Darkness.
"Hup—" he landed lightly.
Seeing the worry lingering in Simon's expression, Knox added,
"Don't worry too much. All those hippos are under Professor Hong Feng's control. A few students tripped, but the hippos swerved away on their own. Controlling animals is easy for her — she's a druid, after all."
"…Oh, so that's how it is?" Simon nodded at Knox.
At that moment, the assistants descended from the sky, clapping loudly.
"Alright, alright, no time to sit around! Up, everyone!"
"In a bit, the hippos are going to turn around and come back! On your feet!"
At the word hippos, the students sprang up in panic. An assistant pointed downhill.
"The professor's already waiting at the bottom! We're moving out!"
Another full-speed sprint began. After they passed through a dense patch of trees, a hill covered in colorful flowers opened up before them. At the foot of the hill, Hong Feng waved brightly.
"There are no more obstacles! Run full speed to the professor!"
"Wooooo!"
The students cheered and charged down the flower-covered slope. Simon and Rick ran with them—then realized Knox had already taken off first.
The headwind swept the sweat from their faces. Dandelion seeds whirled through the air, and leaves danced down like confetti.
"Well done! Break time!" Hong Feng called out.
The students collapsed onto the ground as if they'd been waiting for that exact moment. The assistants—prepared as always—handed out drinks one after another.
Laughter spread across the field. Stories of "amazing heroics" started flying everywhere.
"Oh? Look!"
"Food!"
Kizen's aides arrived, pushing food carts. Everyone's eyes sparkled.
"Originally, you were supposed to eat after everything was over," Hong Feng said with a smile, "but I figured you'd run out of energy, so I contacted Kizen early. I hope that's alright?"
"Kyaaaa!"
"You're the best, Professor!"
And so, mealtime began. Most students practically glowed with happiness—and Knox was absolutely one of them. His eyes lit up.
The menu focused on meat—high-protein, big portions. Even plant-based meat was available for vegetarians.
With trays in hand, everyone sat scattered across the grassy field, facing the mountains and the lake while they ate.
Knox, Simon, and Rick settled under a shady tree. After all that exercise, the food tasted unreal. A moment later, Jamie, Claudia, Cindy, and Merida joined them.
"Seriously, there's no professor like her," Rick said.
"She even uses class time to feed us. You'd never see that at strict old Kizen."
The others nodded, smiling.
"But… this is a little different from what I heard," Simon said.
"What is?" Rick asked. The girls turned toward Simon. Knox quietly nodded, curious.
"I heard Professor Hong Feng is actually a very typical Kizen professor."
Rick stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
"That nature-loving, pure-water-in-human-form Professor Hong Feng? No way. Whoever told you that is completely wrong."
Simon blinked. He'd heard it directly from Loraine.
Knox chuckled. "Rick, the thing is… that 'totally wrong source' Simon mentioned? It was Loraine."
Rick froze. His head turned toward Knox like a rusty machine. The girls—and even sleepy Merida—glanced over.
"L-Loraine? As in Loraine Archbold?! Daughter of Nefthis Archbold? Special Entry No. 3?!" Rick stammered.
"Yup," Knox replied casually. "Black hair, crimson eyes, very pretty."
Rick's face went blank—like the Mona Lisa. The girls exchanged surprised looks; some narrowed their eyes, others looked curious.
Claudia leaned forward. "So… from the way you said that, Knox—do you know Loraine Archbold?"
Simon scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Ahaha… As for me, I met her before the entrance ceremony. Just that once. But Knox is… a bit different."
Rick, Jamie, Claudia, Cindy—and even drowsy Merida—turned to Knox at the same time, silently demanding answers.
Not far away, Camibarez and Meilyn subtly perked their ears.
Knox shrugged lightly. "Hm… more than just knowing her, I guess. We're childhood friends. We even lived together for years."
"WHAT?!" five voices shouted in unison.
Rick, Jamie, Claudia, Cindy—and… not Merida. They turned toward the unexpected fifth voice.
A blue-haired girl sat nearby, stiff as a statue.
Meilyn coughed and pretended to sit casually, as if she hadn't been eavesdropping at all.
Knox gently rescued the situation.
"Anyway—short version. Nefthis dragged me out of the Neutral Zone. Then she had me live with her and Loraine."
Rick slumped back, overwhelmed. So many shocking revelations in one day—his head spun.
And for some reason… the way the four girls looked at Knox after hearing "we lived together" felt oddly intense.