The Transmigrated Professor

Alpha Class, Star Academy

“Now then, class, today we will be talking about Ranks and the significance of Stats!” Professor Harua announced as the students in his class settled down.

Harua Kane was a man of pre-Catastrophe Egyptian descent as well as a B+ Rank Hero. Before the academic year started, along with Ray Laxon, he had also applied for the post of Professor of Mana Theory. 

However, despite Ray’s lower Rank, the Academy still decided to choose him over a B+ Rank Hero like Harua. No doubt, foul play was done behind the scenes, considering he was the son of the Aurum Guild’s Guildmaster.

‘His knowledge regarding mana is better!’ - That’s the reason they gave for not hiring him.

Bah!

These kids were future Heroes. Theory wasn’t going to do shit for them. 

They needed to learn how to use mana in practical fights, and as a B+ Rank Hero, Harua was a better choice than the weakling Ray.

‘I say it’s karma that the Aurum Guild went down like it did.’

Snapping out of his thoughts, Harua turned back to his lecture.

“Now, where was I? Right- …Awakened Ranks were established as a means of measuring one’s power. When a person first Awakens, their Rank is E, and their Stats start at 1, which is slightly higher than the average person, who studies have found to be around 0.7. In rare cases, if someone has trained highly in a particular aspect, a new Awakened can have their Strength or Agility stats higher than 1.”

“As an Awakened trains and increases their Stats, their Ranks increase proportionally, going from E to D, C, B, and A. Although it's just something that human scientists assume, once a person moves to S Rank, they can be said to be in the realm of demigods. Of course, making this transition is much harder than the usual rise in Ranks due to the major difference in power levels of an A+ and a S Rank.” 

“In our human population of one billion, there are about ten million registered Awakened—both Heroes and Villains. Among them, there are only 300 Awakened who have managed to cross over the S Rank threshold. That means you only have a 0.003% chance of ever making it among the ranks of these demigods. You should be proud to know that among our faculty, we currently have 10 S-Rank Heroes, including your own homeroom Professor, Mrs. Amore. This is the main reason why the Star Academy is said to provide the best resources and nurture the most High-Ranking Heroes as compared to the other Academies.”

Hearing such words, the students felt goosebumps as they fidgeted in their seats. Although they have been told about the importance of Ranks since they were young, this was the first time they truly understood what it means to be an S Rank, a pseudo-god walking among the Humans.

Of course, to Rhian, who was once an SS+ Rank Duke, this lecture was more like his life story rather than something to be taught.

‘A person who hasn’t even crossed the A+ Rank barrier can never truly explain the ecstasy of power an S Rank feels.’

His fist tightened in anger, remembering once more just how low he had fallen.

As Rhian was occupied with his thoughts, one of the students raised her hand. “Professor Harua, if Professor Misa is so powerful, how come we students don’t feel anything even though we stay next to her all day long?”

“That’s a very good question. The reason behind this is that the transition from A to S Rank is not achieved by just increasing your Strength or Agility Stats or increasing your mana capacity. To achieve this Rank, one has to gain complete control over their mana. Once they are able to achieve this, an S Rank can suppress their own mana so that even advanced measuring technologies would read them as ordinary Unawakened civilians.”

This!

This was Rhian’s main problem. 

Increasing Stats was the easy part of being an Awakened. He just had to train his muscles and Martial Manual diligently. 

The main problem was his control over mana. For Rhian, who had lived centuries as a Demon, controlling mana in a human's body was like a fish trying to swim on land.

He was completely out of his element.

Old habits die hard. If Rhian used the demonic way of controlling mana in his now human body, his internal organs would liquefy, thus killing him.

The previous Professor, though lower ranked than this one, was much better at explaining how humans controlled mana. 

Sometimes, he would even ridiculously imagine that the Professor knew Rhian was an ex-Demon and was helping him train in his human body.

But that was impossible! 

His reincarnation was a magical phenomenon that had never been seen in the history of the universe. Even the Demon King, who had lived for millennia, couldn’t have guessed this, much less a human who had barely lived for a few decades.

“Moving on, after the S Rank, comes the SS Rank. SS Rank Heroes are in a league of their own. Some might even compare them to natural disasters. Uncontrollable and cataclysmic!”

Harua felt proud of his lesson, seeing all the students listening to him intently with gleaming eyes.

‘...except for that guy.’

The infamous Rank #1 first-year student, Rhian Vermillion. 

Even before Harua had entered the Academy, he had known about Rhian via news channels. This was a boy from a very ordinary, insignificant background and yet had been ranked higher than students with resources far above his means.

Maybe his undeserved ranking in the Academy had gotten to his head.

In each of his lessons, his golden eyes would glaze over, as if he were listening to the most boring thing in the world.

‘Arrogant bastard! Unless weaklings like you start studying mana theory like me from an early age, it will be very difficult for you to rise to higher Ranks in the future.’

Unfortunately, since Rhian was protected by the Academy, Harua, a newly appointed Professor, couldn’t reprimand him without good reason.

He decided to ignore him for now and continue with his lesson.

“There is a Rank above SS+, which is the SSS Rank, as evident from the strongest leaders of the other Races. Unfortunately, humanity has yet to achieve this Rank, with our highest registered Rank being SS+. However, the Hero League President, Rufus Briar, is considered to be very close to breaking through the SS+ Rank barrier, and achieving this Rank.”

“So is the SSS Rank, considered to be achieving Godhood?” One of the students questioned.

Rhian’s ears perked up at the mention of that word: ‘Godhood’. 

Even with his centuries-long knowledge and experience, Rhian had never once come across anyone who was able to get past the SSS+ Rank. 

It's what the Demon King wished to accomplish with his conquest of all the planets. To steal their mana and break the untouchable barrier of Godhood.

Harua shook his head at the student’s question. “Unfortunately, no… Researchers have theorised that there is one higher Rank than SSS+. Till now, its existence hasn't been proven, but researchers have named it the ‘Extraordinary Rank’ or the ‘EX Rank’. Once you achieve this, you will be akin to the Gods of legends and myths, and be able to shape the world to your will.”

With his final statement, a round of applause echoed from the seats of the students.

“Now. Now. Settle down. Moving on from Ranks, let’s focus on Stats. Ever since humanity first Awakened, we have been able to see the status screens and Stats they show us. After much research, the numbers associated with these Stats were classified.”

Picking up a pen, Harua slowly wrote down on the smart board.

Strength. Stamina. Agility. Perception. Magic Power. 

Intelligence. Charm.

Stat Points Depending on Rank 

E: 1-2.5
D: 2.5-5
C: 5-7.5
B: 7.5-10
A: 10-12.5
S: 12.5-15
SS: 15-17.5
SSS: 17.5-20

“The first five Stats are the Variable Stats that can be increased with training and represent a person’s fighting ability. The last two Stats are Constant Stats - Luck and Charm, and are determined for a person from birth.”

A low groan erupted from the class as their eyes met three individuals.

Rhian Vermilion. Luke Vestillo. Rachel Briar.  

It was expected considering that the three were the most attractive first-years in the Academy and were talented since birth.

“Now, now. I know many of you wish for your Charm Stat to be higher, obviously to get a dating life, but it is what it is. You gotta live with what you got. And despite their name, these Stats are not completely constant. There are Skills and Artifacts that can temporarily increase your Charm and Luck. And…” Professor Herua stopped himself before he could say anymore.

‘And… forming contracts with Demons.’ Rhian completed the sentence. As a former Demon, he was well aware of the arsenal of boons Demons could give their contractors.

“Anyway, Charm and Luck are usually treated differently from normal Stats considering they don’t usually add to a person's individual strength.”

“But Professor. Shouldn’t Luck at least be considered in a person’s strength? High Luck can save you from dying.”

“Hmm… Is there anyone else who thinks that?” Herua asked the class.

At the question, more than half the class raised their hand.

‘Fools…’ Rhian, unlike the others, did not.

Neither did Luke or Rachel.

“Listen, you all. Luck is a very fickle thing. If you ever think that Luck can save you, you should never step into a battlefield. Such daydreams will only make one arrogant in their strength and ruin them. The only thing you can ever rely on are your own personal efforts. Never, ever rely on mysterious miracles to come to save you.”

Rhian slightly nodded his head in agreement. In true combat, only personal efforts will ever save. Unless your luck was really, really high, it's better to just ignore it.  

Herua turned back to the smart board, resuming his lecture.

“Starting with 1 at E Rank, Stats increase with increments of 2.5 for each Rank. Of course, these are just rough estimates of a person’s Rank, since in real life, Skills and manuals play as big a role in individual power and survival.”

"Earlier, it was believed that for a person to increase their Rank, all their Stats needed to cross the upper limit of their current Rank. For example, a C Rank Hero would rise to B Rank, if all of their Stats were higher than 7.5. But it was soon discarded, and with more research, it has been found that as long as the whole average of all Variable Stats crosses the threshold, a person’s Rank will rise.”

“Of course, this is only true for us humans. The other Races have genetic advantages, which give them higher points in specific Stats, despite being lower-Ranked. Elves have higher mana capacity, orcs, and beastmen have higher strength and stamina, and so on. So, if you were to ever come across them, make sure you don’t underestimate them just because of their Ranks.”

“Moving on to what these points mean, as the Stats rise, a person's power would increase exponentially. That is why, as an Awakened reaches higher Ranks, even a 0.1 difference in Points can lead to an unimaginable gap in power, a distinction not found in the lower Ranks.”

Finishing his piece, Harun ended his lecture by drawing an exponential graph on the board.

‘Ding! Ding! Ding!’

Right on time, the bell rang, indicating the end of the day’s classes.

Harun quickly collected his materials as the students got prepared for the Friday end-of-the-day homeroom period when Professor Misa would inform them of any important announcements.

As Misa took her place on the podium, the whole class silenced.

“All right, class, listen up! This week’s announcement is going to be pretty special!”