The Isekai Police [Books 1 + 2 Complete!]

Artyom woke up in a quiet room. Calm, peaceful, and mild familiarity; an exceedingly rare combination. But one he'd also experienced very recently.

He slowly blinked twice before wiping the crust out of his eyes, and felt the hairband on his wrist rub up against his face. His heartbeat began to pick up as he took a look, but settled back down as he saw only a single band on his wrist.

After a quick call to Gus to make sure his memory of yesterday's events lined up with reality, Artyom headed to the bathroom to freshen up. Being a luxury dorm room, there was a built-in shower with hot water. He made ample use of it.

On his way out, Artyom cringed as he saw the time on the wall clock.

"Shit, I'm late," he said out loud, quickly throwing on his clothes before running out of his room.

A sleepy quietude blanketed the immediate hallway outside despite the many students shuffling around. It was the equivalent of an early Monday morning for them after all, and the gloom of a weekend gone by muffled any desire to speak or socialize with one another.

Just as well for Artyom, as it was easy to run past the shambling students who needed another hour or two of sleep, or even just a cup of coffee.

There was still enough time left that Artyom didn't need to cast a speed spell on himself, and he settled for running through the halls at a human-level breakneck pace. But in doing so, he was able to notice and stop for Neitra, who was headed to the cafeteria.

"Hey Netira, how much do you remember about your search last night?" Artyom asked with trepidation.

"Search for what?" she replied, scratching at her hair. She had a hairband around her wrist.

"The armor piece and the anti-you-know-what," said Artyom with a frown.

"Aren't we going to be doing that tonight? And what's the you-know-what?"

"Yeah, I figured," he said with a sigh. "Just meet me in my room later today. I'll fill you in on everything."

"Okay… but why do you look so tense? Did I forget something?"

"Yes, but that's not why," said Artyom, letting out a sigh. "I have to substitute teach the dueling class so Rotte can get his scholarship."

"You do? Wait, I thought-" she stopped for a second and shook her head. "Nevermind, I can't really remember much of yesterday."

Artyom's attention was mostly directed towards a nearby clock. He absently nodded and began running again. "I'll fill you in on everything after class!" He was out of earshot before Neitra could reply.

Not long after, and with a minute still on the clock, Artyom reached his destination: Classroom 204. He combed his fingers through his hair and puffed up his chest before throwing open the door and sauntering inside.

There were about thirty or so students seated at a series of small wooden desks arranged in semi-circle rows facing a podium at the front.

Several faces were familiar, such as the Holdbright Explorer trio, who all looked surprised. Fenn was also very noticeable, staring at Artyom while gnashing his teeth while red in the face.

"Excellent, you're on time!" exclaimed Headmistress Sava as she walked over to him from an inconspicuous chair sitting in the corner of the room by the entrance towards the front. "Barely."

"What can I say?" replied Artyom with a shrug. "The showers here are really good."

"A temptation that has led astray many a tardy student," said the headmistress with a straight face. "Yet this is the first I have heard it befouling a teacher."

"Ain't I a stinker? So, can I begin?"

"One moment, we're still waiting for one more person before we can begin."

Artyom simply nodded and found a nice corner to lean on.

The two were loud enough that the students were able to piece together what they were talking about, and everyone's original reactions only grew stronger in response. The treasure hunters looked to have pieced together Artyom's plan to get them into the forbidden corridor and were beaming, while smoke was rising from Fenn every time he exhaled. Literally in fact, as mana leaking from his body reacted with his fiery temper to form the beginnings of an actual flame.

However before he could spontaneously combust, the classroom door opened once again and Xerica briskly walked in.

"Sorry headmistress," she said, out of breath. "I was held up this morning because of- wait, what is he doing here?"

Artyom quirked an eyebrow at her challenge and regarded her with his own matching frown. "I could ask you the same thing. Did you need some remedial lessons in how to fight or something?"

"Oh please, that's why you must be here," said Xerica with a haughty flourish of her hair. "And who else to teach you but the greatest mage to have walked these halls?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"I'm pretty sure they all died of old age hundreds of years ago, though you probably could be mistaken for someone that old," replied a very unamused Artyom. "But I'm the one teaching this class, not you."

"You must be the decrepit one if you're losing your grip on reality like that. Headmistress Sava asked me to teach the dueling class!"

"Maybe that anti-meme hit her harder than I thought?" wondered Artyom. "The really dangerous ones could even manufacture fake memories."

But rather than continue their hostilities, they both felt something was off about this. The two turned towards the headmistress who looked back with an innocent smile.

"Oh, goodness me, it appears I accidentally asked both of you to teach!"

Artyom and Xerica were speechless.

"But I'm sure-"

"Whatever. You can teach them, Xerica," said Artyom, turning to leave the room.

"Excuse me? I'm the lead mage of the Hero's Party, my time is much more valuable than yours!" she shot back.

Artyom looked at the Holdbright Explorer trio, who were beginning to frown, but he pushed off the feeling of guilt. He could find another teacher and convince them to sign off on letting them into the forbidden corridor with him as their chaperone. He'd proven himself in this school enough to get a faculty position after all, and maybe he could leverage that to get "proof" of that to open the locked door?

"Hey, you said it yourself, you're the greatest mage in this school," replied Artyom. "You're obviously the most qualified, by your own words."

"Too qualified to have my time be spent-"

Before she could finish, the door slammed open once more and both Rotte and Tommy ran in.

"Come on, why did you have to hog the bathroom like that, now we're late!" shouted Rotte as he looked for an empty desk. "You could've let me go first so I could've made it on time at least."

"I said I'm sorry," replied Tommy. "But I really had to go, it was an emergency!"

The two stopped their bickering when they noticed everyone was staring at them now. The other students, the headmistress, even Xerica and Artyom.

"Well, this changes things."

"Very well, perhaps you're right for once," said Xerica as she stood straighter with a smile.

"Yeah, in that you're not qualified for this job," replied Artyom with a scowl. "I'm teaching this class."

Before their argument could devolve into something more bitter or violent, the headmistress walked in between them with a pleasant smile. "I just thought of a wonderful idea," she said. "Why don't you both teach the class? Neither of you are teachers by trade or class, so you likely don't have any Skills to manage this many students."

Artyom couldn't help but scowl. He saw the look in her eyes, she was definitely planning this from the beginning!

Before either of them could respond, Rotte ran towards Artyom's side with a wide smile.

The two would-be teachers turned towards Tommy, who in turn looked conflicted about who to choose. However, his gaze fell onto Rotte, who looked at him with a frown, which made up his mind.

"I pick Xerica," said the hero, slowly walking up to the woman's side.

With the line now drawn in the sand, the other students began to get up and walk over to either teacher. The treasure hunting trio all understandably walked over to Artyom while Fenn strutted over to Xerica's demesne.

The others soon followed. Most had their attention on who was on each side rather than the teachers, trying to stay with their friends or avoid any classmates they didn't get along with. Of note were several timid-looking children trying to keep their distance from Fenn as they moved along the walls to reach the very back of Artyom's side.

A few were focused on the teachers however, and not for the best reasons. Some young adults moseyed up towards Xerica with the closest facsimile of swagger they could pull off, while others did the same for Artyom with similarly seductive or demure expressions.

However, the teachers' attention was on Tommy.

"Why don't you join my class instead?" asked Artyom. "I can teach you real magic and how to become the best mage you can!"

The words went in one ear and out the other. He was too busy glaring at Fenn, who in turn was busy glaring at Artyom.

"Forget about it, he's with me!" said Xerica, gloating at her latest victory. "Enjoy teaching your class of losers, they'll never measure up to my new students."

Artyom took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He didn't like Xerica, and didn't like her showboating on him like this, but right now? It wasn't important. He was a teacher and could allow the trio of treasure hunters to come with him into the corridor. He needed a way to get Tommy to join his class so he'd be able to talk to him more. Especially without the other homicidal party members interfering.

Many ways to do so flashed through his mind, from throwing down an ultimatum to get him to switch, or sabotaging Xerica's class to make her look like an incompetent teacher.

But despite all of that, Artyom still felt a kindling of frustration towards the redhead grow within him until it was a full blaze once again. It refused to fully go out. And for that reason, he chose the most straightforward approach.

"I'm a better teacher than you. Give me the worst mages in the school, and I would make them better than the best under your tutelage."

"I would say the same, but the other way around," replied Xerica. "Actually, even if you had a team of graduates, they'd probably end up weaker after 'learning' from you!"

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" said the headmistress, butting in once more. "Your two classes can duel against each other every week to check their progress!"

Artyom knew this was bait. Sava wanted to give them an even bigger reason to teach the kids as much as they could in the time they had here. And he was biting.

"Sounds good to me, see you on the battlefield," said Artyom.

Xerica just nodded smugly, having had her fill of verbal combat.

"Excellent!" exclaimed the headmistress. "Xerica, I'll take you and your students to your reserved classroom so you can teach in peace."

"Another reserved classroom? She did plan this out from the start!"

They left the room with half the class, leaving the remaining students with Artyom.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Take a seat and let's begin."