335 335 High Hopes
Once the third years were finished with the process, Headmistress Peach decided to ask Wolfe what he thought of the senior class this year.
Having some of them spend a year or two with him in the Fae Forest was a great way to get more Rank Two witches into the City or back to the Academy as long-term teachers, and she was eager to make sure it worked out.
“Well, what do you think? Did you find any suitable teaching candidates among the third years?” She asked quietly.
“Honestly, most of them would be, depending on their temperament. Power level I can adjust as we go, but anyone who made the third year should be pretty skilled, and it doesn’t even matter if they’ve specialized since the specialists make great Professors.” Wolfe shrugged.
If they could make it that far in the Academy, they had the skills, but not everyone was cut out for teaching.
Some of the Second-Year Witches were close enough to hear what Wolfe had to say, and they were definitely interested in the chance to go to see his Forest and what it was that made Second-Rank Witches.
They had only heard rumours for the most part, but everyone knew Mary, and she hadn’t hidden the fact that it was Wolfe’s fault she was advancing so fast.
That was because of the Pentacle, though. It was balancing her with all the other Witches in the group, even though she wasn’t anywhere near Wolfe for most of the winter.
“Is there a chance that you would hire second years?” One of the girls asked Wolfe from near the front of the line.
“If the seniors don’t fill all the teaching positions, it is possible. We have plenty of powerful Witches around, so what we need most is knowledge and a passion for teaching. Since a lot of our people didn’t finish the first year at the Academy, and we’ve been limited on books until recently, there are a lot of residents taking classes.” Wolfe explained.
“Damn. They’re totally going to steal all the good jobs. Even if teaching soldiers sounds a little scary, they’ll definitely want the job.” The girl sighed.
Peach gently shoved the first girl in line toward the fresh water and got the process moving again before they got totally derailed. But Wolfe did spend a few extra seconds with the inquisitive second year, stretching her mana system a bit more than usual so she had a better chance of finishing the year and making it through the third.
“Don’t panic if you don’t get a spot this year. Most of them will only be teaching a year or two, so there will be vacancies again next year.” Wolfe whispered to her as the Witch staggered onto the towel to dry her feet.
“I will hold you to that.” She whispered back, then nearly collapsed as her legs gave out from the lingering aftereffects of the mana flow.
There were some major gains among the Second Year students, all of whom had talent to begin with. Since they were already capable of a fairly decent mana flow, once Wolfe cleared their system and gave the mana veins a pulse of mana, a lot of them managed to get a surge of new aura large enough for those around them to feel the difference.
That was really getting the Witches’ hopes up. The first year at the Academy was the most unsure of them all, and the immediate change in a lot of the Second Year students was most aura than many of the lowest ranked students had in total.
If they could get that much in an instant, they might even pass their next round of exams.
The Second Year class went smoothly, with only a few witches forcibly rushed through by the Headmistress when they wanted to stop and flirt with Wolfe.
“Remember, students. There are a lot of others behind you. Please don’t delay with chatter. You can find and talk to him after everyone is finished if you wish.” Peach admonished the students in line.
The First years were up next, and the first one in line was Christa Abilene. She was looking somewhat better now than she had been a few hours ago, but it was still very clear that she had not had a good day. Her friends were hovering protectively over her, and the staff was keeping a close eye on her.
They were noticeably not the same friends from the High Nobles that she had been hanging out with at the start of the year, other than one third-year girl who was keeping a close eye on her.
From the looks of it, losing her Familiar and her aura had made her a social Pariah. Even her brother was nowhere to be seen. But Wolfe recalled that she had been sent to the front lines, so there was a good chance that he hadn’t made it back if he had gone with her.
Wolfe held his arms wide as she approached, and pulled Christa into a hug as he cleansed her system, then continued to let the mana flow.
Her aura sprang back to life, and Wolfe sighed in relief. It had been very close to nothing, but unlike the five witches of his Second Pentacle, the ones who had been sent to him as Servants, there was just enough that she didn’t have to start all over again.
He kept the flow as gentle as possible as her aura slowly refilled back to the state it was in when he has seen her last, then passed her to the Headmistress when she went limp in his arms.
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“Alright, I know a lot of you know the procedure already, and the rest were too busy giggling to pay attention, so let’s keep this moving. If we don’t, we’ll all be late for dinner.” Wolfe laughed, then brought the next Witch forward.