Chapter 76: The Down-and-Out Teacher Martin

Soon after, the professor of Introduction to Basic Witchcraft arrived. He seemed somewhat surprised to see Andy, but, since his class was free and open to anyone, he paid little mind and quickly began his lecture.

Andy, too, was taken aback by the professor’s appearance, for he looked quite different from the other faculty members—much more downcast and disheveled. Seeing him, Andy couldn’t help but recall a line from a film: “melancholy eyes, unkempt stubble!” Yet Andy soon stopped dwelling on such thoughts, for he found himself absorbed by the knowledge being imparted.

In no time, Andy gained clarity on many concepts that had previously eluded him and learned a great deal of new witchcraft lore. For instance, he discovered that witchcraft in this world was classified by attributes: broadly divided into light, darkness, earth, water, fire, wind, time, space, and illusion.

Light and darkness formed a pair known as the Duality. Light attribute spells were mostly healing or enhancing, while darkness encompassed curses and debuffs. Time, space, and illusion made up a trio called the Triad, representing temporal magic, spatial magic, and illusions. Most prophecy spells were a branch of temporal magic, teleportation arrays and spatial bag forging required mastery of spatial magic.

Earth, water, fire, and wind formed another group, the Four States. These were not the Four Symbols Andy once knew—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—but rather referred to elemental states.

Earth represented solidity—firm and heavy—making earth spells the best for defense among the four, but slowest, with average offense. Water represented liquidity—gentle, permeating—so water spells had weak attack but excellent endurance and penetration; some healing spells also belonged to this attribute, with moderate defense and speed. Wind represented the gaseous state—ethereal and swift—granting wind spells exceptional speed and decent attack, but average defense. Fire represented plasma—explosive and unstable; fire spells had the greatest burst and offensive power, moderate speed, and weakest defense.

Andy specialized in fire spells, so as he listened, he carefully noted the defensive weaknesses of fire magic. Fortunately, he had the Flame Baptism for healing, and his physique as a Grand Knight made him more resilient than most fire practitioners. Still, Andy resolved to find a way to overcome fire magic’s lack of defense.

He had experimented with other types of witchcraft—such as learning “Water to Ice” to freeze Katherine’s corpse. After repeated use, he mastered this spell, but found it disappointingly weak, good only for making cold drinks in summer. Compared to “Ignition,” a spell of similar level, its power was several times less.

With each advancement, the “Castellon Meditation Method” exerted greater influence on Andy, making his body increasingly attuned to fire magic, and his spellcasting grew ever stronger. Andy felt it wouldn’t be long before he became a true fire mage through and through.

Thus, Andy attended every Introduction to Basic Witchcraft class. Over time, he became well acquainted with the children who attended. Now, whenever they saw him, they would obediently greet him as “Boss Andy!”

Of course, Andy hadn’t won them over by charm alone, but by distributing copious amounts of snacks, quickly befriending the group. Besides the children, he also grew familiar with the professor.

He learned the man’s name was Martin. He seemed to be someone with a story, but Andy had no interest in prying into his private affairs.

Once they became acquainted, Andy followed the custom from his homeland and invited Martin to dine with him. Martin declined several times, but eventually accepted. After the first meal, the second came more easily. Through Andy’s deliberate efforts, the socially awkward Martin soon developed a good friendship with him, and they often drank and chatted together.

During their conversations, Andy discerned that Martin possessed considerable knowledge—his mastery of witchcraft even surpassed Stein, the mentor from Andy’s memory. Thus, Andy often sought Martin’s advice, and Martin always responded with thorough explanations.

Martin’s teaching style contrasted sharply with Katherine’s. Katherine’s thoughts were whimsical and inspired, like the stroke of genius, whereas Martin’s were rigorous and profound, as impenetrable as the great cosmic web. This was exactly what Andy needed, given his shaky foundation.

As their dialogue deepened, their discussions expanded beyond witchcraft. Andy candidly told Martin he hailed from Dallas City in Colin County and had once been the sole bronze wizard Stein’s disciple there.

To his surprise, Martin’s expression changed dramatically at the mention of Stein. “What did you say? You’re Stein’s apprentice! And… what do you mean ‘once’? What happened to Stein?” Andy realized Martin knew his mentor, so he honestly told him of Stein’s death.

In this world, the bond between mentor and apprentice was very different from the student-teacher relationship at Greym Academy. Once established, it was a lifelong connection—as close as kin, unless ruptured by grave conflict.

Thus, when Andy said he had “once” been Stein’s apprentice, Martin instinctively sensed the hidden implication. When Andy confirmed Stein’s passing, Martin’s composure faltered further. He stared blankly ahead and muttered, “Yes, Stein is gone. After the injuries he suffered back then, it’s remarkable he lasted so long.”

He said no more, only drank, glass after glass, while Andy quietly kept him company.

When Martin’s eyes were bleary with drink, he finally began to speak. His opening words left Andy both amused and helpless.

“Brandon is gone, and now Stein is gone, too. Of the ‘Three Wastes of Greym,’ only I remain!”