Chapter 105: An Internship That Will Never Be Dangerous

As the empire's premier institution, Rhine Magic Academy naturally did not allow its students to merely talk without practice. Statistics showed that 80% of those who graduated from Rhine would face battles against magical beasts. Therefore, it was essential to let them engage in combat with various creatures in advance to gain experience. This was what they called “intimate contact with magical beasts.”

Ruby had waited at the academy until the day of the extracurricular internship but saw no signs of activity, which puzzled him. Despite his current demeanor, Ruby had experienced outings in his childhood. Shouldn't the scene have been dozens of buses lined up to pick up students, who would excitedly marvel at the passing scenery as they traveled to their destination?

Yet, Ruby never expected this academy to be much more straightforward than he imagined. The group he led was simply brought into a plain room with no decorations. Then, the head instructor personally activated a teleportation array. As a blue magical circle lit up beneath their feet, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves inside the hall of another building.

“What’s wrong?” the keenly perceptive magic prodigy girl asked, sensing Ruby’s sigh, as if his dreams had been shattered.

“Should I say I’m a bit disappointed, or something else...” Ruby felt as if his childhood memories had been stifled and instead began to examine the room. Before him stood a spacious staircase that split into two at the second floor, leading to independent rooms arranged neatly on both sides—likely the dormitories for this internship.

“Welcome to Rhine Magic Academy, everyone. I’m Zam, the dormitory supervisor. Over the next ten days, I’ll be taking care of your daily needs,” said a middle-aged man who had been waiting there since early morning. After Ruby and the students settled in, Zam opened a large door behind him, revealing lush greenery and sunlight. It felt as though the house was nestled deep within a jungle, with a forest stretching just beyond the entrance.

“Do you know where we are?” Majuna could smell the scent of lake water, indicating this was not just a forest but likely near a large lake. The manuals mentioned all this, but the proud magic prodigy girl had been too lazy to read them beforehand.

“This is Thousand Islands Lake, according to the internship handbook. But it’s better to see it with your own eyes,” Ruby said as he stepped out of the villa to observe the two-story building. While the other students remained oblivious, Ruby began to move. He placed his foot on the windowsill of the first floor. Perhaps due to defensive considerations, the villa was built from stone, providing him with excellent footholds. Using both hands and feet, he climbed swiftly, soon grasping the underside of the second-floor balcony. With a strong pull, he hoisted himself up easily. Then, balancing on the narrow balcony railing, he leapt to grab the rooftop eaves, climbing up in seconds.

“That’s a monkey!” Ximei, lucky to be grouped with her favorite teacher, blurted out as she watched Ruby scale the roof in under ten seconds. Other students nodded in agreement. The rumor that Ruby was not human was likely about to spread throughout the campus.

“Tsk, showing off,” Majuna scoffed, though behind her disdain was a hint of envy toward Ruby’s agility—she probably would never pull off such feats in her lifetime.

From the villa’s rooftop, Ruby took in a fine view. The island was not large, roughly a kilometer in radius. Using the telescope Eve had crafted, he could see a vast expanse of emerald lake water in the distance, with many other islands scattered nearby.

This was the largest freshwater lake on the Sacred Continent, famous for its thousands of islands formed over time by nature. Rhine Magic Academy, flush with funds, had purchased usage rights for twenty of these islands, where they conducted extracurricular internships. The islands were home to magical beasts carefully contained by the academy, serving as a whetstone to sharpen students’ skills.

“Teacher Ruby, are you really human?” After Ruby finished surveying the surroundings and returned to the ground, the students completed roll call. Fifty students and two teachers were assigned to each island; Ruby’s partner was Bai Yu. Now, she looked puzzled and asked Ruby, glancing at Ximei beside him.

“Of course, a human,” Ruby replied seriously, gently pushing aside Ximei, who had been begging to learn monkey-like skills. He wasn’t sure why people lately questioned his humanity.

The students accompanying him were all first-years, with a few familiar faces—Ximei and her girlfriend Ailian, Eve, and the ever-present magic prodigy girl.

“Students, as you can see, although we are deep within the forest’s heart and surrounded by countless magical beasts, there is no need to worry. This villa is protected by an absolutely secure magical barrier. No beast can breach it. Moreover, the badges you hold are inscribed with level-seven defensive magic. You can activate them anytime by channeling your mana,” Zam explained. He had distributed badges to every student and outlined the rules.

Though being surrounded by magical beasts sounded frightening, the academy did not place students here to watch them fight. The goal was mostly to familiarize them with beast attack patterns and behaviors to prepare them for the future. Hence, the playful term “intimate contact.”

The beasts in the forest were all level three or below, posing little threat since even an ordinary level-three mage at the academy could dispatch several. Level-four beasts were forbidden here; if one appeared, the natural progression of level-four scavengers would swiftly eliminate it, ensuring absolute safety. Since the academy launched this program, no student had ever died.

As for the badges, even if all the beasts in the forest banded together, they could not break the defensive magic barrier. Elite students, however, disdain using the badges, as it would bring disgrace to their career. Historically, only one unlucky fellow had ever activated his badge by accident—he tripped while walking and was mocked until graduation.

“Well then, no time to waste. After settling your belongings, let’s begin,” Zam urged.

Following his suggestion, the students quickly started their first day of field practice. Honestly, the level-one and two beasts posed no real threat, so most students treated it as a fun outing. Indeed, even Ruby, who lacked magic, easily took down two or three beasts with ease.

This extracurricular internship turned out to be unexpectedly simple and peaceful.