My summon to another world was even weirder than I expected

Unlike the last time, when they entered the room, no one was there.

After waiting for a moment and seeing that no one was coming, they looked at each other for a brief moment.

“I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Shun broke the silence in the room, causing everyone’s gaze to turn toward him.

“I shouldn’t have said those things. These days have been unlike any other. I’ve been under a lot of stress,” he said, addressing Austin, and as he looked him in the eyes, he added:

“I’m sorry, Austin, I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

“No, it was my fault. Just because I was upset doesn’t mean you should have to listen to my complaints constantly. I’m sorry.”

Hearing Shun’s apology, Austin felt embarrassed by his behavior and apologized to everyone.

For a moment, the tension in the room seemed to dissipate slowly…

Then they heard the sound of the door opening.

The wizard Albert entered the room and, without looking at anyone, walked silently to his desk.

Everyone watched closely as Albert made his way to the desk. Once there, Albert finally turned his gaze to the four students, raised an eyebrow, and said:

“How long do you plan to keep me waiting?”

The four of them snapped out of their stupor and sat down quickly. Although none of them liked his arrogant attitude, what he did to Austin last week was still fresh in their minds.

Seeing that the four sat without saying anything, the wizard raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Alfred sat down at the back of the room and said with a smile:

“So, I suppose you’ve read the books from the little list I gave you?”

Zack could see how the question had bothered the rest of his companions, and rightfully so. That list was anything but small.

Seeing that no one responded, Albert’s smile became more pronounced, and his voice took on a mocking tone.

“What’s the matter? Why isn’t anyone answering me? Could it be that our heroes couldn’t manage to read that tiny list of books in a whole week?” Alfred showed no intention of stopping, continuing to smile all the while.

Even Zack, who had known from the first day he received that list what was going to happen, was starting to get tired of this guy. Zack wondered what his superiors had been thinking when they assigned Alfred to teach them magic.

Learning and teaching are completely different things. Just because someone can acquire knowledge easily doesn’t mean they can transmit it just as easily. If Zack could choose his professors, he wouldn’t choose the person with the most knowledge on the subject, but rather the one who could best make them understand the knowledge they needed to learn at their level.

Just when everyone was fed up and it seemed like Austin was going to explode from the ‘teacher’s’ attitude, Albert stood up and asked:

“Who can tell me what mana is?”

Without giving them time to answer, Albert raised his hand.

“You, the gangly one. Answer,” he said while pointing at Shun.

Shun seemed surprised by the sudden change in topic, but after a moment, he answered:

“Mana is the essence of the world that is found everywhere.”

“Wrong,” said Albert without changing his expression.

Shun’s face twisted in disgust, thinking that the professor’s mocking was far from over. In fact, Zack and the others thought the same.

All the definitions in the books they had read were similar to what mana was. The fact that Albert said they were wrong only seemed to mean that he was mocking all the time they had spent studying in the library.

Again, Albert didn’t allow them to speak.

“Mana is the substance by which wizards can use magic. That’s all, the rest is irrelevant,” said Albert, raising his head proudly.

Upon hearing his answer, Zack started to have a bad feeling.

“Sir, if the book’s definition is incorrect, then where does mana come from? How is it formed? How does it react with the outside world?” Shun began asking multiple questions about what they had read in the books.

Zack wasn’t surprised to hear Shun ask these questions.

Back in their world, Shun belonged to the group of nerds. Although it might sound like they spent their time watching anime and debating who would win in a fight between two characters, their parents, members of high society, would never allow such hobbies.

The group of nerds consisted of students with low physical abilities and a high interest in intellectual subjects.

Physics, chemistry, geography, and medicine were the main topics of their conversations. If they hadn’t been summoned, that group would have been part of the next generation of scientists.

Upon hearing Shun’s questions, Alfred gave him a look of complacency.

“That doesn’t matter,” said Albert.

Upon hearing the answer, the four of them were stunned.

“Does knowing those things help you cast a spell? Or does knowing the nature of mana prevent your enemy from cutting your throat with their sword? Knowing those things is completely useless,” said Albert, proud of himself.

Zack’s fears grew.

“Sir, I have a question,” said Zack, hoping what he imagined wasn’t true.

“Stop calling me sir. From now on, you will address me as wizard Alfred. Ask your question.”

“If that’s the answer, then why make us read those books?”

“That is the curriculum our kingdom specially prepared for all apprentice wizards. Do you think you can teach better than the archmage?” said Albert condescendingly.

“Then, what will the next books be when we finish reading these?” Zack asked again, ignoring Albert’s tone.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I will take care of that myself when the time comes. For now, what I’ve given you is more than enough. Try to learn it by next week… if you can,” Albert replied in the same tone.

Zack’s face changed when he realized his fears had come true.

“One last question, wizard Albert.”

The wizard’s face showed displeasure at having to answer questions constantly.

Seeing that Albert’s patience wouldn’t last much longer, Zack quickly asked: “Wizard Albert, before you came to teach us, what did you do?”

“Finally, a sensible question. Before I came here, I was the second vice-commander of the combat magic squadron under His Majesty’s orders,” said Albert proudly, looking at them as though they were unworthy of him teaching them.

Zack barely managed to maintain his composure when he heard that answer. His fears had been realized.

“Enough with the questions. Today, I will teach you how to gather mana from the environment. After all, you can’t use magic if you don’t have mana.”

This week, Zack had been forgetting what the real goal of this damn kingdom was.

The kingdom never had the goal of making them great wizards who could help them overcome their difficulties. From the beginning, they were just disposable tools to be used as the king and the nobles saw fit until they got tired of them, or they became too dangerous, and they were eliminated.

The kingdom hadn’t sent them a wizard to teach them the mysteries of magic. The kingdom had sent them someone who had no idea of advanced magical theory and only used magic as a weapon.

Albert was a combat mage.