Nanomancer Rising: Divine Alchemist Reborn as Academy's Worst Teacher
Chapter 62: Why the hell are you taking your clothes off?!

Chapter 62: Why the hell are you taking your clothes off?!

"Are you willing to give up on all the results that you’ve worked so hard for, all so you could start anew but with proper technique?"

Theo kept his stare locked in on Lukas, knowing full well how there was quite a lot more depth to his question than it would appear to anyone when they first heard it.

What he couldn’t tell, though, was whether or not this kid would be able to see through it, to figure out all the potential dangers, roadblocks, and struggles that would follow.

A question that would decide whether or not Theo would actually be willing to teach him the proper way, something he would only allow to happen if that kid was fully prepared for the consequences of following in Theo’s footsteps.

"That’s..."

In the end, Lukas didn’t reply right away. And that, all on its own, was already a good sign.

It was one thing to answer a simple question right away. What’s the weather? What’s for today’s dinner? What did you do yesterday?

To answer questions like that, one didn’t really need to think.

But to give the same treatment to deeper questions like, what is love, what is the purpose of life or, more currently, what would be the best path for Lukas to pick right now?

A quick answer to a question like that would only serve to expose a fool for who they were, exactly the same way a stalled, long answer to a simple question would.

That’s why, seeing how the kid actually fell into deep thought rather than giving his answer right away, Theo couldn’t help but smile a little.

"Okay then, you can take your time to think about it. And in the meantime," Theo turned his eyes over to Tesh.

"Yes, master!"

Tesh instantly rose up from her knees, her hands clutching at the edges of her robe, only for her to throw an intense stare right back at her fellow student.

"Are you going to just stand as you are, or do the minimum and turn around?" she asked in a snappy voice, all to Theo’s confusion.

Hearing this, however, Lukas’ cheeks quickly turned red, his focus scattering as he silently turned his back to her before retreating all the way back to the corner of the room like a kid just schooled by someone in a position of great authority.

’What?’ Confused, Theo stared at Lukas for just long enough for Tesh to start moving. And by the time he turned his eyes over to the girl, she already pulled the upper half of her robe enough to expose her stomach while sneaking her other arm underneath it to cover her chest.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

By the time Theo finally reacted, Tesh already brought the edge of her robe to the level of her arm-covered chest while simultaneously turning around, only to freeze when she heard Theo’s voice and look over her shoulder with confusion.

"Didn’t you mean for me to show you my bare back?" she asked, thankfully quick enough to notice that something wasn’t adding up and stop whatever it was that she was doing rather than exacerbating the situation even further.

"Are you trying to create even worse rumors than before or what?" Theo asked, momentarily confused, taking but a few seconds in silence to finally connect the dots and release a heavy sigh. "I’ve fed you with my essence as far back as during your first intrusion into this room, so there’s absolutely no need for me to do it again."

"Wait, what?!" While originally it should be Tesh’s turn to act surprised, Lukas’ shocked moan perfectly synchronized with her surprised voice right as he ignored Tesh’s earlier request and looked back, only for his eyes to widen and his head to swing straight back towards the wall when he saw Tesh with the upper part of her robe already half-off.

"What, did you really think I would go as far as to feed a stupid student a lethal dose of a narcotic?" Theo asked, his eyes widening on the spot as he decided to just be honest about that part.

The time to keep what actually happened back then a secret was pretty much over the moment she kowtowed down and struck the floor of the tribune’s hall with her forehead, begging for him to accept her as his disciple.

"Wait, if not a drug, then..." shocked, Tesh couldn’t even hold her head up to keep her eyes on Theo, "then what did you feed me back then?" she asked, her body slightly trembling as she finally managed to raise her eyes and properly look Theo in the face.

"Originally, it was a mixture of my materialized power and the drug. But, even in its diluted form, it was still a water-based solution, so I just mixed my power with the water before lying about what it is to keep you in check," Theo explained while shrugging his shoulders. "Which is why I can already tell that your situation is a bit better, but overall pretty much the same as Lukas’," Theo casually added with a shrug of his shoulders. "Your whole cultivation is based on oh-so-many different principles that it’s only a miracle-level of luck that it actually works. And just like in Lukas’s case, I should be able to help you cultivate properly... but only if you are willing to face what it takes to do so."

Theo wasn’t overexaggerating.

If he were to teach them exactly the same technique he was practicing, they wouldn’t be able to complete even a single step of it. Only by simplifying it to a great degree would it become something a person without the help of the Hive’s processing ability could hope to challenge and effectively complete.

But that, while already one hell of a hurdle, was merely the first roadblock they were going to face.

How would they cultivate beyond the level Theo would achieve before leaving the academy, when he alone had the ability to synthesize hundreds of techniques from the academy’s library into a path that actually made sense? How would they deal with their cultivation if there wasn’t a single manual for it in the library or a teacher they could ask for help later on?

All of that didn’t even include the scientific and societal ostracization they would have to face by being the lone practitioners of the craft no one else in the world ever heard about!

In the end, for anyone else but Theo, the path he walked was set to be nothing more but an endless struggle, even if it led to results other cultivators in the world could only ever dream about. And while Theo himself could push through those struggles by setting his eyes on the glorious future he could easily envision...

How could he expect his momentary disciples to ever do the same, when they had nothing but his word to trust on how there was an actual point in cultivating the way he did?

’To be honest, they would have to be stupid or insane to ever take this offer,’ Theo thought, internally sighing out as he already started to consider how else could he help them by adjusting his teachings to correct whatever he could within their established cultivation while trying not to change it too much.

And yet...

"Master, regardless of how hard it’s going to be, I’m willing to follow your teachings, even if it means starting completely anew," Tesh exclaimed, her robes finally lowered back to their natural position right as the girl dropped down to one knee and lowered her head in her plea. "What’s the point of cultivating any further in the way I did so far, if you’ve pointed out just how erroneous it is?" she asked before shaking her head. "A struggle is not an obstacle but a test of one’s character. And I would much rather struggle to grow than to live with the knowledge I willingly limited my potential!"

’That’s...’

To a degree, Theo could understand Tesh’s decision.

Or rather, as little as he understood her motives and the way her mind worked, this insane decision was well within the limits of the freak he expected to witness from her. But what happened next...

"I wish to follow your teachings too, master," Lukas, finally turning back to face Theo only to mirror Tesh and drop down to one knee. "I grew to hate just how boring my current cultivation is anyway. For me, the struggles associated with stepping upon a new, untrodden path..." he shook his head before raising it up just so he could look Theo directly in the eyes, "rather than a struggle or a challenge, it’s actually the fun, interesting part!"

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