After introductions, a certain silence enveloped the room, with a simple question crossing the minds of everyone in the room.
'What now?'
"Hahaha! Was the tradition of introductions a bit too much? It seems to have left you in quite the awkward state, huh?"
No one answered.
"Well, then let's play a little game. You see, since this is the first day, besides this short hour when you stay with your homeroom teacher, you have a completely free day. So, I thought that this hour could be used to learn something in a fun way!"
This drew some interested gazes.
"The way this works is simple: you will question me about something in my area of expertise, which is history, and I will answer you to the best of my ability."
Perhaps in a different class, such an activity would not be met with that much enthusiasm.
But for the special class? They were all from a different breed compared to the other students. They had a different mentality and curiosity about the world that the other students didn't, perhaps that was why they were here instead of others.
"So who wants to go first?"
The first one to raise their hand was Jynn.
"Mr. Caster, what question do you have for me?"
"Well, you see, sir, I'm from New Nest, and I have always been curious as to the reason why it was called that."
"Ah! An interesting question to start, huh? Well, this isn't well known, you see, but before New Nest there was a city called Nest. It was a huge safe zone that allowed humans to stay hidden and safe during the Age of Monsters."
Amon smiled before continuing.
"It was said that it had a huge library that had historical records about the greatest figures of history and the answers to what one would call nowadays "The Greatest Mysteries in History," things like the origins of the First Hero, the true identity of the Grey King, and where the hell the Sage came from."
He threw his hands up with a sigh.
"However, the whole city was blown to ashes by Rex Draco one day when he was passing by. All that history, LOST! Ah! The agony!!"
'My bad, geez.'
Sincerely, he had only done so for the simple reason of traumatizing young Gideon. How was he supposed to know that that many cultural valuables would be lost?
'Wait, even if I knew, would I even care?'
"Well, next one! More questions, please!"
Suprisingly, it was Zillah who raised his hand next. With a shy and slightly trembling voice, he asked.
"Sir, what do you know about the Grey King?"
"Ah! I see why that would interest you. The Emrys family has its origins dated back to his time, it was once one of the loyal families of his court."
Amon paused and started thinking.
"There is not much to know about the Grey King. Supposedly he inherited the desires and goals of the First Hero of freeing humanity from the tyranny of demonkind. And he succeeded.
"Story records mention that he was a great warrior and a brilliant strategist. At some point he ruled the entirety of the world that was known at the time and was responsible for the defeat of the demon forces. He disappeared without a trace after leaving for an expedition meant to discover the Legendary Continent, where supposedly the demons came from."
"Legendary Continent?"
Tiana asked, her eyes glinting in curiosity.
"Haha! An old legend said that at the genesis of our world, life did not exist in our continent, nor did it exist in the islands nearby. According to legend, at the end of the Age of Gods, Demonkind was born from the darkness and swallowed the entirety of said continent. It was the dragons that then used their magic to change the terrain of this continent and transport the life from one continent to another. That was how the Age of Dragons started!
"Supposedly, the Legendary Continent not only was the home of the strongest Demon but also possessed the secrets for immortal life and apotheosis.
"Some records state that the Grey King left to find said continent in hopes of becoming immortal or to kill the Demon King and completely annihilate the demon race off the face of the world."
After that, the students kept asking questions to Amon, who answered with enthusiasm. It was good to see students so motivated to learn.
But what satisfied Amon the most was the amount of interesting questions these students asked.
"How does one separate an Age from another? How do we know that an Age has ended and a new one has started?"
"Why does such a large amount of land, such as the Great Desert, remain in no one's administration?"
"When exactly was Rex Draco born?"
And Amon answered them all correctly.
"With great changes, of course. The Age of Gods ended when the Gods stopped roaming the mortal realm. The Age of Dragons ended when Demonkind almost killed them all off and started to enslave them. The Age of Demons ended when the First Hero first started humanity's counterattack. The Age of Heroes ended when Rex Draco first appeared and decimated more than half of all civilization. The Age of Monsters ended with Rex Draco's death, and who knows how the current Age will end?"
"Where do you think monster waves come from? From places like the Great Desert and the deep sea. Monsters exist there in such numbers that society simply can't live there."
"No one knows for sure. Considering records show there is around a year of transition between the Age of Heroes and the Age of Monsters, many believe that he was born either in that period or even during the Age of Heroes."
Both the students and the teacher enjoyed themselves asking and answering questions. And until that point everyone had asked questions, except for two people.
Cù Sith and Ray.
Until Cù finally asked a question.
"Professor, how much do you know about dragons?"
"Hm? What exactly do you want to know?"
"Anything you might know."
"Haha, very well. Dragons are said to be born from the primordial fire that resides at the center of the planet, and supposedly they are the ones that discovered mana for the first time. They were the ones that discovered that Soul Power and Natural Energy could be mixed into the energy that we now use to perform magic and magecraft, mana."
As if remembering something, he approached the computer on his desk and searched for something specific.
They didn't have to wait too long to have an image projected onto the board at the front of the classroom.
The image projected several different forms of dragons. Wyrms, Wyverns, Drakes, Lindworms, and Amphiteres.
"There are several species of dragons, although a lot of them are extinct. The Amphiteres and Wyrms were extinct during the start of the Age of Demons, according to most archeologists. The Lindworms were enslaved by demons and were ultimately killed to extinction by the Grey King's forces. And the Drakes were victims of one of the biggest and quickest genocides in history, brought by the claws of the infamous Rex Draco."
Professor Amon sighed.
"Majestic creatures they are, those dragons. In the present, wyverns are the only species of dragons that are commonly seen, and even then they are quite the rare bunch."
"What about True Dragons?"
"That's quite the mystery, actually. Ever since Rex Draco became the King of Dragons around eight hundred years ago, dragons ran into hiding, to where, only the gods know. Those that refused to hide eventually clashed with Rex Draco, just to be completely obliterated."
He ruffled his own hair, seemingly in tough.
"No one knows why they hid, or if they didn't hide and were instead killed."
"But why would Rex Draco kill other dragons?"
"Mostly because he is an usurper, a different species of dragon, and because he is overall evil, I suppose. There were only two known Kings of Dragons. The first was the one that led his race through the Age of Dragons, and the second was Rex Draco, who only appeared at the end of the Age of Heroes.
"During the Age of Demons and Age of Heroes, the dragons were governed by a group of dragons called the Dragons of Sin. At the start of the Age of Monsters, Rex Draco caused great commotion, and the Dragons of Sin were quite interested in him, or so the legends say. No one knows what truly happened, but at some point they fought, Rex Draco killed them all and some of their most loyal followers, flooding most of the Eastern Continent in the process, turning it into the Eastern Archipelago."
He sighed.
"In short, he was really hated by the dragon populace, and Dragons are quite hot-headed and proud, this led to several challenges and plenty of deaths. It didn't help that Rex Draco was utterly ruthless."
Ray watched the whole back and forth of questions with interest.
'It turns out that people know quite a lot about my story, huh?. Or rather, Professor Amon knows a lot?'