This development is very different from the LN.
In the LN, the VP had no such backstory, he was mainly obsessed with being a better mage and surpassing Lucy. He also disliked the sword magic, but it was because it was too novel, as pioneered by Fissel. Here, he had previous students who tried to do what Fissel did, but they weren’t successful and that affected his perception of it.
In the LN, he also did not seem to care too much about the students, here he was willing to join the class and try to understand the sword (on top of actually caring for his students, at least his past students).
In the LN, the named monster was sealed and kept locked away by Lucy from just about anyone. Here, it is still restricted access, but still accessible and they are using it for training. We also did not know of this until much later in the LN version of the arc.
Also, Beryl didn’t fight the VP in the LN and the VP never told Beryl about how he can cut magic with his sword. Beryl found this out differently in the LN. Regardless,
this is still an important fact for this arc, at least in the LN.
All very interesting differences, but IMO these changes make for a better story development.
