From my seat in the fourth row, I watched the classroom slowly getting fill up.
One by one, students walked in until the initial number of ten students jumped to twenty-four in the span of few minutes.
I leaned back in my chair, keeping the hand on my pocket near the chocolate, as it was really getting hard for to control my urge to eat it.
Then the door opened again.
And all the attention shifted.
A fairly young woman entered the room. Her hair was a lighter shade of blue, falling neatly over her shoulders, her lips were the most brilliant shade of red I, had ever seen in my life. Her face was perfectly sytrical. Her body was....yeah impossible to ignore.
I didn’t need to look around to what was happening.
But, I still did.
Most of the boys were staring. So were subtle in their art but so of them were not even trying to hide it. Though one fact was common, all of them were staring wildly at her skin tight dress.
The woman clicked her heels on the floor once, her eyes were calm and unreadable. Just that single action made all the chatter die down.
She walked near the desk, placing one hand on it, she spoke.
"Good morning. I’ll be your horoom teacher for this sester".
Her voice was soft, yet commanding.
"Na’s Evelyn. Miss Evelyn is fine".
A beat passed.
All of them woke up from their fantasies.
"No way...."
"I am blessed by the gods. Truly".
There it was.
The admiration and jeolousy.
As Evelyn wasn’t just any teacher, she was ranked globally on the awakened rankings under thousand.
One girl even clicked her tongue, as she watched a boy blankly staring at Evelyn.
Miss Evelyn looked at the students once more, her gaze lingered on few students whom, I recognized.
"Looks like so people still haven’t arrived" she said casually. "But we’ll continue".
She tapped the tablet on the desk, and a holographic screen appeared on it.
"Ezio Azathoth. Rank one"
Silence.
No answer.
A few students exchanged looks hearing the na. While the girls at the front sighed, like their day had been wasted.
Evelyn, didn’t react much, she nodded once and moved on.
"Aron Voss. Rank two".
Again, nothing. No answer.
"Isabelle Astrapia"
Nothing. Silence again.
So silent whispers started hering the nas, but Evelyn raised a finger and the room went quiet again. She paused for few minutes, like she rembered sothing, then continued with the roll call again.
"Alright we’ll start from rank six".
That made sense.
In the novel, it was ntioned that the clan heirs were absent for two days due to their clan etings. If I was sure, they could even show up, by tommorow.
"Rank six. Kai Crafton."
A boy stood up smoothly.
He was tall, handso, with pure blood-red hair and deep crimson eyes. His posture was straight, his whole body radiated and oozed with confidence.
"Present", he said.
Seeing him stand up, Evelyn smiled softly at his direction, with just this action, she made half of the boys enemies of kai.
I watched their interaction. Kai Crafton. Middle class, he possessed no wealthy or powerful background, his father and mother worked as professors for the non-awakened children. But, still in the novel he was one of the most powerful companion of Ezio. He reached this position through sheer talent and efforts.
So of the girls, were staring at him with literal sparkles in their eyes.
Evelyn, kept going on.
Until—
"Rank eleven. Raviel Thanarion".
I stood up.
"Present."
A few eyes flicked toward .
The roll call continued, until she reached the end.
"Rank one hundred fourty five. Elias Smith."
The room looked confused, hearing the rank.
That number hit hard.
This was Class 1-S. Only students ranked under forty were supposed to be here.
A boy stood up slowly, clearly nervous.
"Present," he said.
Murmurs broke out instantly.
I glanced at him and smiled faintly.
Interesting.
Evelyn, looked around the classroom again, her eyes stopped briefly on the empty seats scattered besides the filled one’s.
"Well," she said with a light smile, "since this is your first class — and clearly so of our top students are missing— we’ll start easy today."
A few students relaxed at that sentence.
"We’ll go over just the basics," she continued, tapping her tablet. "The world, mana, and how everything fits together to create the world we are living currently in. Nothing too heavy for your brain to comprehend on your first day."
She glanced around once more, making sure everyone was paying attention.
"So settle in," Evelyn said casually. "Class is officially in session."
...
Evelyn nodded as the room settled down.
"Good. Let’s start from the beginning. Shall we then," she said, her voice calm but steady.
"Centuries ago, the world shifted and tectonic plates drifted apart and closer. Mana appeared where there was none. That mont marked the end of the old world and the start of what we now call the ’Lost Era’ "
She paused, letting her explanation sink in.
"It’s called lost for a reason," she continued.
"Almost no reliable records exist. Cities vanished. Civilizations collapsed or evolved. What we know cos from fragnts and broken docunts, ruins, and a few surviving accounts. Everything else you see is probably a guesswork."
Her eyes swept across the students.
"Now," Evelyn said, "here’s a question. If everyone uses mana, and mana is fundantally the sa energy... then why do our affinities differ from individual to individual?"
Kai rose up.
"It’s similar to light," he said. "Different organisms perceive light at different frequencies. Mana works the sa way. It’s made of many particles, but a person can only interact with the ones they’re naturally attuned to."
Evelyn’s lips curved into a pleased smile.
"Exactly. Good analogy. Kai."
She turned back to the class.
"Mana isn’t sothing you choose inherently. It’s sothing your body recognizes. Your affinity is simply the part of mana your body understands best."
Then she changed the question.
"Next question," she said. "If the mana stored in your body completely runs out... what would happen?"
A girl near the middle stood up.
"Jennifer," if you may, Evelyn said.
"The chances are low because the body always keeps so residual mana. But if it does run out, the person has to replenish it by using potions, mana-rich environnts, or receiving mana from soone with the sa affinity. Otherwise, the body can convulse, organs can get damaged, and internal injuries can happen."
Evelyn nodded slowly.
"Well explained."
She added, "Mana isn’t just fuel for rapid consumption. It supports your nervous system, muscles, even your heartbeat once you awaken. Run dry, and your body doesn’t know how to function properly."
A few students shifted in their seats.
"That’s why," Evelyn said calmly, "mana managent is just as important as combat."
She looked around the class again, eyes sharp.
"And why recklessness gets people killed."
Evelyn tapped the desk again and a new topic lit up.
"Now, let’s talk about rifts," she said. "These are the fractures that connect our world to what we call the Abyssal Realm."
A low murmur spread through the class.
"Officially," she continued, "the Abyssal Realm is another dinsion. Unofficially? No one agrees on what it really is. So say it’s a dead world. So say it’s a prison. Others think it’s a different universe."
She shrugged lightly.
"All of those theories have supporters. None of them are proven."
As ti passed, she moved on, briefly talking about famous awakened figures and forgotten heroes who sealed major rifts, rankers who changed the balance of power, and a few nas that still caused argunts even today.
The hours slipped.
Finally, the bell chid.
Evelyn closed her tablet and smiled at the class.
"That’s all for today. Before I go —"
She paused at the door.
"I want you all to find your own answers on what Abyssal Realm actually is."
Her gaze lingered on the students for a second longer.
"And enjoy your first day at Nova," she added casually.
With that, she turned and walked out, the door sliding shut behind her.
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