After their meal, they returned to the Initiation Hall, where Ena was already waiting. The group was then separated into two: those who could read and those who couldn’t.

  Darvok was on the verge of crying again when he was split from Zeroth.

  Zeroth, on the other hand, tried to comfort him.

  Smiling faintly, patting Darvok's shoulders. He didn't seem to be doing well himself, but he never spoke it out loud.

  The abuse they’d gone through was apparent.

  [That rabbit kid is too much of a wuss; the wolf kid is a better wuss... He's even more afraid of everything than the rabbit, but he can still hold on well.] Aaron commented.

  He seemed to admire those who hold up strong regardless of their fears.

  Everyone waited for a short while for the teacher to come, and before long.

  A new teacher appeared.

  Wrinkled face, long sharp ears, golden hair with strands of white, a beard, and green eyes that radiated gentleness.

  A high elf—a very old high elf.

  "Greetings, Teacher Suncrest," Ena bowed slightly.

  Mojian stared...

  His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

  "K-K-K-King Suncrest?"

  That was a name from the legends—one he’d only heard about from his grandfather. Mojian hurriedly bowed deep.

  "This insignificant Mojian basks in the divine aura of the great legendary king, a symbol of an era, a pillar of this school, and a role model of the younger generation. Please accept my bow."

  Sia’s face had a complicated expression. She whispered inaudibly, “Grandfather.”

  Suncrest placed a hand on Mojian’s shoulder and gently lifted him.

  He smiled softly. “Haha, what an enthusiastic child. This old man is no king nor pillar. I'm but a simple teacher here. I’ll be teaching those who cannot read or write in the Initiation Hall."

  He made eye contact with every one of them before saying. "Children, please make sure you learn well.”

  "YES!" Mojian screamed at the top of his lungs.

  Jean didn’t know anything, so he stayed quiet, waiting for Mojian to explain later. Still, his eyes shone with wonder, unable to look away from the old teacher.

  It was then that he heard Aaron’s voice again:

  [He was the king of elves two generations ago. That elf girl is probably his granddaughter—the princess of elves. He was a crazy man. He wanted to change the world, hated racism, and everything he was forced to witness as a king. In the end, he failed. Disappeared, leaving the throne behind. He came back during the battle—that's when we first met.]

  [I built the school system. He took it upon himself to maintain it. Looking at him again, he even seems younger now than when I first met him.]

  [Brat, that old friend of mine had an even more important role. Along with another big guy and a shorty, the three of them maintained the school and protected it.]

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  A hint of happiness suddenly invaded his tone. [The big brats only grew up well thanks to them.]

  [Back then, I... We... were taken—forced to fight everywhere under unfavorable conditions. We didn’t choose where to go or when to leave. Building, changing, I did nothing of that... Remember…] He added.

  Jean’s eyes started to shine, just like Mojian’s. He looked at the old elf—whose role was simply to teach the alphabet—in a completely new light.

  Teacher Suncrest spoke again.

  “Nina, Darvok, and Jean, please follow me. The rest will go with Teacher Ena, and you'll receive a basic introduction about mana and awakening. After class, we’ll gather again. I'll explain the different stages we strive for. Now... shall we?”

  He led the way, and everyone followed to their assigned classrooms.

  The classroom was huge, a hall rather.

  Rows upon rows of seats.

  Suncrest gestured for them to take a seat and he stood at the board and started teaching.

  It was Jean’s first time being taught like this.

  Teacher Suncrest gave them a plan to learn the entire alphabet within a week. He also introduced a few simple words and gave each of them a colored book filled with images.

  On the other side, Ena’s class received a basic introduction to mana and awakening—a precious refresher to Mojian, a pointless waste of time to Sia, and a lifeline to Zeroth.

  The class lasted a little over an hour. Ena’s group then regrouped in Teacher Suncrest’s room, where he began to narrate:

  “Teacher Aaron... First, I’ll introduce him to you all.

  "He was a man born in a land without a drop of mana. He awakened at the age of thirty, due to a certain global phenomenon.

  "But that wasn’t everything.

  "He awakened with something called ‘The Curse of Energy.’ It was a gift that interfered with his body’s ability to accumulate mana.

  "He was on the verge of a great battle, fighting for the survival of his home. He studied many theories about the nature of the body. In the end, he used his curse... to break the curse.”

  Creak~

  Mojian, listening intently, gripped his desk so hard it began creaking. His heart pounded wildly—Jean could hear it.

  Taking a glance at him.

  His eyes were burning with something unspokeable.

  Teacher Suncrest continued:

  “When he first came to these lands, he stated: We're doing it wrong.

  "We all thought he was crazy, but that was only at the beginning.

  "He spent time between battles studying the different types of mana and affinities.

  Originally, we only recognized two main affinities: those who cannot release mana en masse and those who can. That was our classification—warriors and mages.

  "But Teacher Aaron revealed that there are countless other affinities we knew nothing about.

  "We all begin as aspirants. Later, we awaken.

  "Those who failed to awaken were once called ‘unblessed’—an ugly term that no longer exists, thanks to his efforts.

  "He taught that being an aspirant is a stage in itself. He also added that people here are different from those in his homeland, so he tried to normalize the path we could all follow.

  "Our main goal is to reach Ascension, so we may step into the greater universe.

  "There are three ranks to awakening, which lead to the next stage. Teacher named it after the path of his own people: Nimbus.

  Nimbus is the stage where your mana can be executed externally, freely. Here, it doesn’t matter if you can emit mana as an awakened or not.

  "In our lands, reaching Nimbus was rare. It didn’t even have a name—we used to call them transcendent.

  "Teacher Aaron broke it down into three minor stages. He said we should simplify things—not overcomplicate them."

  He paused for a moment as if arranging his thought.

  "For now, I’ll halt the topic of Ascension. Let’s talk affinities." He started another introductory topic, ready to simplify it as he did the first.

  "Teacher Aaron stated that affinities aren’t seen with the eye, but are behaviors mana exhibits inside our bodies.

  "Even racial affinities aren’t 100% inherited. There are always exceptions.

  "If mana supports your attack speed, that’s Speed Affinity.

  "If it boosts attack power, that’s Power Affinity.

  "If it produces blasts, then it resembles the nature of the Ecliptic Clan.

  "He also helped smaller races and clans to identify their unique affinities—like the Feral Affinity of the Skyborn Clan. It’s chaotic and complex, where mana supports your instincts and execution during battle."

  Jean looked intently, wanting to know more.

  Yet, to his disappointment, Suncreast moved on to the last part of his lesson.

  Suncrest sensed his eagerness, but he didn't elaborate.

  "For the last introductory topic of this lesson, I'll be introducing Gifts—abilities that appear in a rare few upon awakening.

  "Less than 10% of awakened individuals have gifts. They’re simple, like breathing—a natural ability.

  "Unlike affinities, gifts manifest on their own. You don’t need to figure them out, but you still need to train them to use them efficiently.

  "An example: the Elven Eyes of the Forest.

  "Elves can detect and see through vegetation. Though the range is small for the young, their senses inside forests are always exceptional.”