The second chance of the uncrowned king - (Isekai)

Point of view — Brendu:

"Ugh! My head… why did I drink so much?" I open my eyes slowly; everything looks strange around me. My brain ignites in flames as I ignore the hangover and try to recap everything that happened yesterday. "How embarrassing…" This is Maki's room — yesterday I nearly forced him to let me sleep in his room; alcohol pushed me to places I shouldn't have gone.

Yesterday I confessed many things I never thought I'd say to someone new in my life, but he never laughed or showed bad intentions; he always listened and tried to understand. From the bottom of my heart I don't regret having done it—thanks to the alcohol and all the built-up stress I managed to let out things I'd been holding for a long time. "I was lucky to meet him; I don't want to imagine if I'd told someone else." I let out a relieved sigh.

I pull the warm blanket off me to look at the pajama I changed into before sleeping; my face turns red immediately. I'm not wearing any underwear! I took it off expecting something more, or so I remember… at least he didn't come into the room; he wouldn't have done anything to stop me in that moment. I would have lost my innocence the same day I met him—my family would have cast me out for a thousand reasons.

His room is very tidy and clean; it smells nice. I take a shower to calm my nerves before going to classes. When I'm ready and leave the room, he's already gone. I try to remember yesterday—Maki told me he's a substitute teacher and had to give his first class early.

Substitute teacher? I hadn't questioned it then—how did he become a substitute teacher? That's something I should ask him later, and he'll be teaching third-year courses, skipping the first two years—that's more normal. Yesterday he already showed his strength in that brief moment; it would be a waste to put him with a group of emerald ranks.

On the table I see scrambled eggs with bacon and a couple of toasts. "Enjoy your breakfast; don't forget to heat it before eating. If you want something to drink, just take whatever you like." Maki left a note and made breakfast before I left. On the table there's water, coffee, tea and other infusions. "How kind of him." The breakfast was delicious—I hadn't had homemade food in a long time.

"I must reward him somehow…" That's my last thought before leaving his apartment and heading to my first day of classes.

Point of view — Maki.

Students filtered in little by little before class started; some came alone, others in groups. Most of them looked like they'd slept little or were hungover; only a few looked fully focused and ready to learn. But there was one thing they all had in common: each of them stared at me strangely as I sat at the desk.

The classroom has the teacher's area to one side; in front of me there are bleachers where students can sit, and on the other side of the room there's a rack full of double swords, daggers and axes. In the middle of the room there's a huge patch of earth where practice and training will take place.

"You can do this—don't make a fool of yourself on your first day." Glia makes her last joke before going back to sleep; she'll stay in that state while she keeps healing my cube. According to the calculations, it'll be two weeks.

"As if I could make a fool of myself." She laughs lightly before giving me some encouraging words. I helped some people in my previous life when new members joined the gym; I wasn't exactly a teacher, just someone who pointed things out and helped with some exercises.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm substitute teacher Maki Vichag." They all stopped talking to listen; each of them had a face of total disbelief.

"I understand—it's hard to believe me because I look really young, just like you." I stand in the middle holding two wooden twin swords I'd taken beforehand. "Everyone come down here; we'll do some warm-up exercises before we start." None of them moved from their seats; they just stared at each other and murmured.

I wait a few seconds before continuing. "Is no one going to come down?" Some of them begin to stand up, hesitating whether they're doing the right thing.

Finally one of them spoke—a black-haired boy standing with eyes of the same color, over 180 cm and with a slim build. "Why are you the teacher? How could someone my age or younger teach me anything? I'm not here for games—stop acting and go call the real teacher." If I remember correctly, this young man is the son of a baronet; I've tried to memorize photos of the nobles' children.

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The cliché situation I'd imagined finally happened; I let out an internal sigh before speaking. "Are you questioning Director Susan's orders? If so, I'll personally deliver your complaint about her mismanagement." I see the noble click his tongue before looking away. "If we can't solve it another way—have a duel with me. If you beat me, I'll go to the Director myself and tell her you should be the new teacher." I smile maliciously.

The thin young man laughs softly before jumping down into the arena. "Those are your words—don't back down after you lose." He goes to the weapons section to take two daggers.

"The fight is simple: only simple body reinforcement with mana and Imra is allowed. It's the best way to show our weapon skill." He just shrugs his shoulders as if my words don't matter; he already seems to have himself winning in his mind. I could have offered him a collar to avoid injuries, but these people need to learn their place.

"Come when you want—I don't have all the time in the world. Class is only two hours." A small vein forms on his forehead at my words; the third-year student strengthens his body and darts toward me. His mana and Imra control isn't bad; it's normal for sapphire rank and I give him a point for not rushing straight in—he's zigzagging to find an opening.

I strengthen my body and deliberately leave some openings to invite him to close the distance. The thin noble falls into the trap; with great speed he closes the distance and tries to stab a dagger into my back and the other into my neck. His attempts to take me from behind are useless—I can see everything clearly with my Personal World.

I react by blocking his back strike with a smooth cut; he ends up disadvantaged by the sudden force of my counter. I give him half a point for not stopping there—he tries to stab my neck and I dodge with a simple head movement; my left sword strikes his leg as he tries to jump back after failing his first strike.

I let him go after hitting him. "I don't even need to move to block your attacks. I don't know how you have the courage to speak when you're this weak." The young noble endures the pain in his leg and spits to the side before repositioning himself and moving around the arena.

"If you won't come, I'll go to you." I channel a bit of simple mana into my supporting foot and move toward him. I see his eyes widen in surprise—at least he has good reactions because he tries to block my swords and escape. The first vertical cut manages to be blocked, but he loses his balance; with his other dagger he tries to block my thrust and doesn't get there in time.

His face contorts horribly as my sword connects with his stomach; he tries to run and I cut off his options. A clean cut to the thigh drops him to his knees, and with my right sword I strike his shoulder—the force knocks him to the ground and his dagger clatters away. I step closer, leaving him no choice, and plant my swords on each side of his head.

"You didn't do so badly." The fight didn't even last twenty seconds. It seems normal to me—my mana and Imra control are far superior, and my swordsmanship is many rungs above his dagger control. At least he was brave and not an idiot when attacking. "They're just bruises—you'll recover quickly if you sit down." The young noble avoids my gaze, but when I look into his eyes I realize something: he learned his lesson.

"If anyone else wants to question my skills, you're welcome—just grab some weapons and come." No one else answers; everyone is too shocked by what happened. "If there's no one, we can begin class. Those of you who want to improve, come to the middle to warm up. If anyone wants to change classes or not do anything, that's entirely up to you."

No one complains and everyone quickly comes down to the spot I indicated; they form a line. In total there are 16 students, 17 including the injured one who's going to sit down to rest. "Follow these exercises to warm up and avoid injuries during training." Being emerald and sapphire ranks, minor injuries heal quickly, but it's always better to avoid them.

Each of them follows the exercises without complaint; ten minutes later everyone is sweating and some are even panting a little. Most of those who looked tired or hungover now look normal—sweating helps expel the toxins from alcohol.

"Now, each of you take the weapon you feel most compatible with or the one you want to learn." They all follow my instructions without complaint—most grab swords and daggers, only one of them took two axes; that student looks like a bear for his size and hairiness.

"Each of you will come straight at me so I can assess your skills up close." Some look a bit scared—they glance at the poor young noble who's lying down complaining. "Don't worry—I'm only going to defend, not attack back. When I say 'stop' you must return to your position and the next person will come. If anyone is afraid they can take a protection collar before coming." I feel a little happy that they trust my words—no one went for the collars.

The ten first-year students are disappointing in their skills; the five second-years weren't that bad—only one of them was salvageable—and the last is a third-year girl like the one I just beat; she does have decent sword mastery. I'm a little surprised at the poor physical condition some of them are in—many are panting after warming up for ten minutes and practicing for two minutes with me.

"To be honest with all of you—only Yuri and Enriq are doing it decently." Should I lower my standards a bit? No—I won't. Most look sad at my words, but none of them made me take a step; I stayed the whole time in the same position. "Don't be discouraged—if you come to every class, follow all my instructions and exercises, I promise you'll clearly improve. You'll definitely be stronger than when you started." Their eyes shine with excitement and expectations. My first class as a teacher ended up starting off on the right foot after all!