Heaven's Greatest Professor

They led him onto the stage for his punishment before her eyes, and June could do nothing about it but watch.

"Kneel!" ordered the punisher with a metal lash in his arm.

"I'd much prefer to stand," Warden said, not giving the punisher a gaze.

"It seems you do not know how it happens," the punisher continued, lashing the metal whip on the ground with its terrible swishing sound. "You're not here to—"

"Let him stand," Elder Vess said.

The punisher still didn't look convinced. Only gazing at Elder Pavlov and his serene face did he continue with the proceeding.

"You'll be on the floor anyway after two whips," he muttered and ordered again, "Take off your tunic."

Warden gave him a look, his eyes exceptionally serene as it followed the metal whip. He nodded and removed his tunic; it would be ruined anyway if he kept it on. Warden was already running low on them.

All the terrible scars of trauma and battle won displayed before the crowds of a hundred. Unknowingly, June found her fingers clasped in a fist. This was her fault…

Even with all the pleas to Elder Vess, she only managed to make sure, the proceeding of the lashing would not be a public event open to students and outsiders.

Only the officials of the academy were informed, but among the hundreds of them, only about a hundred turned up. Even still, that number wouldn't have turned up so early on such short notice unless Torin Walt acted on making sure people were there to see it. He certainly had the gall to turn up with his entourage of a dozen people.

Karz Walt, who was likely Torin Walt's half-brother, came as well. Apparently, he was Warden's roommate, and even spent time together sparring. There seemed to be some clash between the two half-siblings, as Karz Walt wasn't in Torin's camp of close confidants.

Along with him stood Aurel, who looked unsure if she should be here, Jez'arin with her solemn look, and Gene De Rossi. Elder Vess had given the free time, and this is how he decided to spend it. However, he looked more nervous than the person standing on the stage ready to be whipped in front of his colleagues, and professors.

"You have been termed with twenty lashings," the punisher announced. "You are not allowed to use your magical energy or any abilities to defend against it. If you chose to do so, you'll be shackled with suppression chains, and I assure you it would be quite ugly scene to see."

That wasn't all, the whip used in the punishment was a special kind since any normal whip wouldn't have the desired effect with high attributes. It was artificed especially so that the pain would be every bit more real than normal. It actually targets a ranker's psyche, distressing the three forms of body, soul and mind.

"Barbaric," Jez'arin mumbled, spitting on the floor, though her eyes did not waver.

June had the same sentiment. This was nothing but a barbaric practice in the name of punishment. Even though she did not have the common prejudice like many of her kin against humans, they were making it much easier for her to believe the Elven ways were better.

"Be prepared!" the punisher announced.

Warden nodded and stood straighter. Like a spear. His eyes met hers for a split second as he nodded slightly to her.

June accessed Warden's mind as he asked her to. His request was clear, only to dull the pain receptors if it looked like he could not hold on on his own. He would not give the pleasure of seeing him squirm in pain.

The first whip followed mercilessly on Warden's back in a thunderous spark. He shook a little, but he did not even let out a whimper. Back to his serene self again, reaching for the thoughtless mind, which was hard to possess under such terrible stress on the psyche.

The lash was on the very same spot on his back, leaving a close red mark crossing the soul scars on his back. Warden did not even move.

Two more followed right after in quick succession, shaking Warden a little. But he was a speer, unbroken against the tyranny of the world.

On the sixth time, Warden let out a big exhale, a sign of distress appearing on his face. He closed his eyes as the whips continued to fall on his back.

This is all my fault, June thought, feeling the quake of distress pounding on her chest. Her heart throbbed, as she carried on to dull Warden's pain receptors. Even though it was Warden who asked of her this, she found a profound resistance as she tried to access his nerves. I'm sorry, I should have—

No, Warden expressed through their link. His tone was husky, through the pain. Let this be a lesson of my folly. My mistake of acting rashly. Do not dull my nerves!

Warden, June cried as Warden began to fight her to keep his mind awake to experience all the pain. Red, bloody whip marks appeared on his body one after another, but he stood defiantly.

Please, June begged him. But even with his low attribute in mind, Warden cut her access from his mind as he closed his eyes again.

June shook as she stood and watched all the whips fall on him. She hadn't remembered how many times it had fallen, but it should have ended by now. Please, let this end this already… please…

"Professor," a voice called from her side. Aurel stared at her with deep concern. "You are… crying."

Only then did June notice hot tears bobbling down her cheek.

***

An image surfaced in his mind, as Warden felt the scaring pain of the ninth lash. The obnoxious pain surged through his core, as he found himself in some underground settling. There he found himself chained again as a tall bare-chested man whipped on his back mercilessly. His fault, he did not make the number of ores he would have to mine that day. Or yesterday.

Every day he failed, the lashing increased.

Many others lined up on the stage similarly whipped for the inability to mine ores.

There was a pain in the memory, pain in being nothing more than a slave who'd been whipped on a regular basis just for not making it in mining. Warden had to grit his teeth at all the unfairness of the situation came to him. How he survived those dark days when he had nothing to cling to?

Warden hadn't been the terrible wielder of Void energy back then. No, there wasn't even a little wisp of power in his body. He was mortal as the most common men could be, though still tall, young in his late teens, and surprisingly, his hair was black.

The lashes seemed bleak compared to the suffering of those days. How had he survived knowing many had died to these whips?

The image distorted soon and no matter how much Warden wanted to learn of his past, they vanished and he was back into reality again.

A terrible agony scourged through his mind immediately, and Warden did not think it came from the whipping.

[+24 Min4… error!]

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[-20 Mind.]

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[+4.7 Mind.]

[+2.1 Mind]

[+0.2 Mind.]

Warden opened his bloodshot eyes and felt the turmoil in his stomach from all the alteration that happened. He wanted to puke out, but he held on. Not in front of them. HE. COULD. NOT.

WOULD. NOT. SHOW. WEAKNESS.

The [Indomitable Will] triggered on its own with his willpower rising to endure all the suffering they can cause him.

The punisher was whipping on his chest, finding no avail on his back. There were dozens of terribly bloodied marks already, which meant it was about to come to an end.

He held onto the vomit that wanted to break free from his mouth.

Then he saw June, tears dripping from her eyes as she stared at… his feet. She couldn't watch him.

Warden's heart broke. He turned his eyes to the culprit who caused this. Torin Walt's eyes were glowing in pleasure as he watched Warden. The Ghost, who caused his emotions to rage, was on his side; he looked relatively bored, though he hid behind Torin Walt when he found Warden glaring.

Torin Walt snickered.

"That's enough," Elder Pavlov called. "The twenty lashing has ended."

Even still, the twenty-first lashing fell on his chest, sizzling over the already numbing pain. Warden did not wait for the crowd to disperse; he drew in his energy, which felt rather hard with all the damage the lashing caused to his psyche, and leapt from the stage to leave first.

The pain, the rage still surging through his skin, his core, his throbbing heart as he vomited out everything after covering a few hundred metres of distance.

He checked his status page to find Mind was at 29.7 points now. The whole thing with the increase and decrease in Mind felt odd, as if something was restricting him from raising his mind attribute. But Warden was not in the mood to mull over that.

He needed to do something to disperse the rage that was flowing through him.

"Warden," June's voice came shortly as she came flying after him. She had wiped the tears from her eyes, but looking at her mellow expression, Warden just could not give in to the rage. Worry written in her eyes, but she was unable to express anything in words.

"I'm alright," he said, "turns out I'm quite used to this."