"Now, everyone stand up. Form a line."

The students exchanged blank looks. They set their textbooks aside and formed a horizontal rank. Was this a lesson in Blessing? Or Healing?

"Attack me," Caerus said, his voice flat. "All of you, together."

The room went still. "Professor... there are thirty of us," a boy stammered.

Caerus tilted his head. "Don't worry. When I'm deducting your credits, you'll see how well I can tell you apart".

The students shared a collective shudder. To save their grades, they had to move.

Jill, Yulia's desk mate, leaned in. "Stick to Guiding Bolt," he whispered. "It's the safest bet".

"I have something else in mind," Yulia replied. Basics wouldn't work on him. He'd only offer that high-tier look of pure, lethal disdain.

While the others prepared to coast on low-level spells, Yulia rolled up her sleeves. She was aiming for a bit of personal revenge.

"Guiding Bolt—"

"Inflict Wounds—"

"Command—"

"Fire Storm!" Yulia shouted.

The high-tier flame erupted. The class froze. This looked less like a drill and more like an assassination attempt.

Caerus... watch out!

A pale gold barrier rippled into existence. The inferno clawed at the surface like a trapped beast, but Caerus didn't move.

He squeezed his hand. The beast died. The roar of the fire faded into a tiny, pathetic flicker in his palm.

"Are you trying to keep me warm?" Caerus asked, his gaze tracking Yulia.

Yulia's jaw tightened. She hated people who showed off, but this man actually had the power to back it up.

Caerus scanned the stunned teenagers. "Nice fireworks," he muttered.

The insult hit like a physical blow. He looked at the sea of mediocre students and considered his options.

Elias had handed him a thick manual of teacher rules. He hadn't read a single page.

"No deaths," Elias had begged him. "No mental torture. Please."

Caerus wouldn't kill them. He lacked interest in slaughtering children. He raised a finger. "Metamorphosis."

The classroom exploded into chaos. "You have horns!"

"My hand! It's a bear paw!"

"My tongue... hiss... it's a snake tongue!"

Transformations swept down the line. The cure was in the last chapter of their textbook, but Caerus didn't mention that.

Jill's face went pale. "Not a lizard tail," he begged. "I hate lizards".

Yulia felt a cold sweat. She hated snakes and rats. If she grew cockroach feelers, she'd kill him.

Jill let out a shriek. A thick lizard tail thudded against the floor. He turned to Yulia, his eyes widening. "Why did Lillia get rabbit ears? Professor, you're biased!"

Yulia froze. Two snow-white, pink-tinted rabbit ears twitched on top of her head.

They followed her every movement, making her look entirely harmless. Yuna looked at her own wolf claw with envy.

"I'm not biased," Caerus said, his voice dropping an octave as he looked at Jill. "Should I favor someone who only knows a basic Detection spell?"

The students went silent. In this world, power was the only currency. Yulia assumed she had simply performed better.

She didn't know the truth. Caerus had seen her eyes—panicked but refusing to beg.

His absolute will had wavered for the first time in centuries. He had intended to give her bat ears, but his finger had stalled in mid-air.

He looked at the white fur. It was... cute.

Class ended. Caerus walked out with a detached grace. Yulia caught him at a hidden corner of the hallway.

"Lord Caerus!". He stopped and looked back.

Yulia gripped the edges of her hood, hiding the twitching ears. "Why did you hide this?"

"I never hide," he replied, leaning against the cold stone. "You were just too stupid to think I'd let you out of my sight."

"No dinner for you," Yulia hissed. "Go eat the cafeteria sludge and the charcoal peacock".

She turned to run. The wind caught her hood, snapping it back.

The long rabbit ears stood tall. Caerus reached out and pinched one between his fingers.

Soft.

Fuzzy.

Yulia: !!! Nice!

Yulia spun around, her sapphire eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and sheer grievance.

"You pinched my ears?!"

A literal god. How was this any different from a middle-schooler pulling a girl's pigtails?

Caerus didn't bother explaining himself. He simply gave the white rabbit ears another squeeze, noting the warmth of her pulse through the fuzzy texture.

"Tomato pot for dinner," he said, his voice flat.

In your dreams, Yulia thought.

Footsteps echoed from the classroom. Caerus released her instantly, his face a mask of cold professionalism. He clearly had no intention of letting the school know they were acquainted.

"Lillia?" Jill Kent hurried toward her, glancing at the professor's retreating back. "Did he dock your credits?"

"He wouldn't dare," Yulia hissed, still fuming over her ears.

Jill, having just reversed his own metamorphosis, looked shaken. "He's top-tier. A mage like that can wipe out a student's grade on a whim."

Yulia looked at her empty hands. Caerus was definitely not getting that tomato pot today.

"You hungry?" she asked, her gaze shifting to Jill. "Would you like something to eat?"

Jill blinked, assuming it was a thank-you for the spell reversal. "I guess. The cafeteria?"

"No." Yulia reached into her small satchel and pulled out a wrapped burger. "Try this instead."

She unwrapped the foil. The scent of fried chicken and creamy dressing hit the air like a physical force. It looked like bread, meat, and lettuce, but the aroma was richer than any spiced soup.

"What is this?" Jill's pupils dilated. "Did you make it?"

It was the ultimate lure. A burger was to these students what a soup-dumpling was to a tourist in Shanghai. Pure, irresistible DNA.

Jill swallowed hard. "Forget the cafeteria. Nothing they serve smells like this... can I really have it?"

Yulia offered a friendly, radiant smile. "Dig in."

Jill tore into the burger. Juice from the chicken mingled with the sweet dressing and crisp tomato. He looked like he was seeing the holy light of the divine realm.

Hook, line, and sinker. Yulia waited until he finished the last bite before leading him toward a hidden flower bed.

"Alright," she said, handing him a tool. "Start digging."

Jill froze. "Wait, what?"

"You said that lunch was worth a gold coin," Yulia said, her eyes wide and innocent. "I told you it was a favor. This is the favor."

She needed to plant, but she wasn't doing the manual labor herself.