Wisteria teleported himself straight to the doorsteps of the Sorcery University of Flora. The campus itself was large, consisting of twelve large buildings for classes and administration, a gated dorm, as well as two large stadiums for sports and events. If one was to go from one end to the other end of the university by foot, it would take them at least forty-five minutes.

After checking in with the university principal, he walked to the men's dorm where he'd stay during his time as an instructor. Once he arrived to his room, Wisteria waved a hand and opened the 'pocket' dimension to retrieve his luggage. He set the bag on the floor next to his bed and sat next to it. He raised his dominant hand and inspected the area of the wrist where the rune had been placed before burying his face into it. It was hard to believe he was going to have one-on-one study sessions with the Necromancer, with whom he would eventually fight to his death!

He thought of several solutions, such as avoiding contact at all, but that would only make it obvious that he lied to get out of there. If that were to upset the Necromancer, he could be speeding up the process to his death. Instead, he convinced himself that the best course of action was to visit the Necromancer at least once or twice before completely cutting personal ties. That way, he could place the blame on his own pathetic self for not having the talent for runes, and say, 'good-bye, until the next time we try to kill each other~'

Having experienced such an eventful day, he didn't bother climbing onto the bed and fell fast asleep on the floor.

The following day, he woke up sore all over his body perhaps due to the stress from the Dark Forest, or having slept on the hard floor. Either way, he didn't want to ruminate about the unavoidable. Furthermore, that day was the day that he was to meet with the protagonist--- the first day of extracurricular classes!

He dressed himself in a formal black attire and clipped on a set of jeweled wisteria-shaped earrings on his earlobes. He gathered a few items into his hands with a swish of his fingers and left his room.

As he strolled down the halls of the university building towards his new classroom, he caught his own reflection on a mirrored wall through the corner of his eye. He straightened his lapels and fixed his hair as he walked, but came to a stop as he was hit with a sudden realization.

He had involuntarily dressed up exactly as the novel described him on the first chapter he was introduced! Even though it wasn't his intention to avoid everything that was written in the novel, he still thought he'd pick and choose what to follow and what to avoid. But, as he saw himself dressed in the black attire and jeweled earrings, he realized that he didn't have much autonomy from the plot as he had thought...!

--Tap, tap--

"Are you here for the extracurricular class?" A female voice came from behind him.

"Are you nervous?" Another female voice came from the same direction.

He turned around to follow the source, and came face-to-face with two petite young ladies with the same face! He could tell they were students of the school by the white and forest-green colored uniform. And by the tint of blue of their hair, he quickly recognized who they were--- Valerian and Violet Azure, the talented twin sorceresses who also attended classes with the protagonist!

"No, I'm--"

The two lively siblings pulled on him by his arms and dragged him in front of a door. He could hear the voices of three people conversing from the other side, his heart beginning to palpitate expectantly.

The moment the sisters slid the door open, a very attractive young woman sat on a desk by the window surrounded by two very attractive young men. Her auburn hair draped down to her shoulders, barely covering the collar of her white uniform shirt. As she turned her head to glance at his direction, Wisteria saw the mirage of roses blooming behind her for a second.

There was no mistaking it. She was the novel's protagonist, Fleur-- The flower of flowers.

And, of course, the red-haired and blonde-haired individuals besides her were the male leads, Admon and Lupin.

"Stuck to her like gum..." He whispered to himself, chuckling at the accurate image he had painted in his head.

"Who is that?" One of the young men spoke up, sunlight reflecting on his bright red hair.

"We think he's new!" Violet replied.

"He was frozen on the hall, so we brought him here!" Valerian added, "I think he's nervous."

"Did you even stop to ask first?" The blond-haired young man retorted, "You two always do whatever you want."

"Lupin--" Fleur scolded quietly.

"Rude." Valerian replied.

"Third-wheel." Violet added.

"Girls--" Fleur tried to speak up.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?"

"Whaaat? I was talking about the fact that you hang out with us, recommended students, even though you aren't part of the class. Did you think I was talking about something else? Poohoo~" Violet mocked.

"Poohoo~" Valerian joined.

"THESE TWO--"

"Lupin, don't humor them." The red-haired young man grabbed on his shoulder. "They'll just tease you more."

"Instead of telling me what to do, why don't you say something to them? I'm sure you're enjoying it as much as they do, you hypocrite."

"I don't appreciate you taking it out on me. I'm trying to help you."

"You want me to thank you?" Lupin scoffed. "Don't waste my time, Admon."

"You--" Admon's gentle face darkened.

"Okay. Let's leave it at that!" Fleur finally said firmly and loudly. "Don't tease him too much, girls."

"Okaaay." The sisters replied in sync.

"And Lupin, remember what we talked about, right?" Fleur whispered to him, closing in to make sure only he could hear.

Lupin's cheeks rosed and adverted his eyes, "I know. I'm trying..."

Having received a reply, Fleur smiled warmly. And as soon as the bickering had ceased, she turned to their new 'classmate.'

"I'm sorry you had to witness this on your first day. It's not always like this, so I hope we didn't scare you."

"No, that's fine." Wisteria forced a smile, wondering how his life as an instructor would go with the group.

Fleur continued, "There are no assigned seats, so you can seat anywhere. We're still waiting for the new instructor."

"About that," Wisteria rubbed the back of his head and pointed at himself with the other, "I'm the instructor..."

"!!!!!!!!!!"

"How old are you?"

"What's your name?"

"Is it true that you became the Sage Successor!?"

"Aren't Sage Successors supposed to be old?"

"I'm-- my name-- yes. No--" Wisteria began to feel the overwhelming pressure of wanting to answer to all of his students' questions as an instructor should do, but found no openings to do so.

"Okay, everyone!" Fleur intercepted again, Wisteria feeling very touched and embarrassed at the same time. "Let's let him settle in first."

"Okay~"

"My bad..."

As if on queue, everyone took their seats. Being a small classroom with rows of desks and chairs, all of his four students (plus Lupin) occupied all five seats in the front.

Wisteria walked in towards the podium and set down his possessions. He cleared his throat.

"My name is Wisteria Lilac." He asserted his voice, "I'll be your instructor of this extracurricular course for the semester, so I'll be in your care."

"Mr. Lilac, how old are you?" Violet raised her hand.

Wisteria could see Lupin throwing a glare and roll his eyes at her, holding himself back.

"I'm twenty years old." He smiled, "And you can just call me Wisteria, since I'm not really a professor. You can think of me as a teaching assistant."

"Then, Wis, how come you're so young? I heard Sage Successors are old people." Valerian asked this time.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Lupin shaking his head disapprovingly, while Fleur and Admon smiled apologetically.

"It's true that many Sage Successors tend to be older, but it's not a requirement. As long as one passes the qualifications, anyone can be Sage Successors."

"Wow! You're super smart, then!" Valerian commented.

"Well, magic is not about how smart you are, but how well your magic-affinity tunes with your body. In my case, I was just very fortunate to have had the Sage himself teach me since I was young. I had years since childhood to hone my magic-affinity with lots of support."

"Oooh~ I get it, now!"

He smiled, "Anyone else has any other questions?"

Fleur raised her hand, "Mr.--- Wisteria, what's the syllabus for this class?"

"Ah-- good question!" He felt his heart beat excitedly as the protagonist called his name. "Although the school calls this an 'extracurricular class,' there's no syllabus since we won't be doing what regular classes do. First, I will need to figure out your levels, and then I'll come up with an individualized program for each of you. But, of course, if there's any area you want to focus on instead, do let me know!"

"And with that said," he continued, "for today, we're going to take a small pre-assessment! So, let's all head down to the practice stadium and get ready to show me your best skills!"