Alonzo was surprised that someone would go out of their way to help him, especially a senior student, who were known to be busy and to mind their own business. Alonzo cleared his throat and said:
"My name is Alonzo, Alonzo Arden. Thank you for helping me. I promise to repay this act of kindness!"
Julien gave a hearty laugh and patted Alonzo on the back, almost making him trip, after which he said:
"Haha, don't mention it. I'm just making sure people behave properly. Since we've met, come sit at my table!"
Alonzo didn't refuse and followed Julien. They sat at a random table in the corner of the room, but they weren't alone. Beside them stood two other students, both in purple robes, meaning they were also in the terminal years: one had unusually green skin and rough features and was a man, while the other was a woman with beautiful purple hair and sharp eyebrows.
The green-skinned man broke the silence and said:
"Hey, July, who's the kid?"
Julien smiled and said:
"I've just met him. His name is Alonzo. Alonzo, this is Amias" —he pointed at the green-skinned person— "and this is Leah" —he pointed at the purple-haired girl. "Leah, Amias, this is Alonzo."
The two of them scanned Alonzo, but before he could say anything, Leah already spoke with a sigh:
"Don't tell me you went out of your way to save a junior again."
Amias laughed at this and said:
"Don't mind her, she's always like this. Nice to meet you!"
As he extended his hand, Alonzo shook it, but Amias didn't let go and was squeezing hard. Alonzo thought it was a test, so he also started squeezing Amias's hand.
Amias noticed and smiled.
"I wanted to see if you'd back down! I believe that even if Julien hadn't intervened, you would have dealt with those people somehow. Are you interested in joining the war club?"
Amias released his hand and waited for Alonzo's response.
"What exactly is a war club?" said Alonzo, furrowing his brows.
Julien replied instead of Amias this time:
"Clubs are groups of students with the same ideas or interests. They get funds from the academy and learn a lot of stuff! For example, in the war club—which, by the way, I'm also a member—you get to fight other people to gain experience, glory, and most importantly, rewards. But you should also consider the other clubs. I'm sorry, Amias, but the choice is still his, not yours!"
Julien raised his arms in apology. Amias frowned and said:
"Keep in mind my invitation. You'll realize after seeing the other clubs that they're much worse than us in every sense!"
Amias looked more comical than serious. Alonzo was speechless at the attitude of his seniors but managed to say after a few seconds:
"I will consider your offer, senior!"
He finished eating, got up, and bade farewell to his seniors. He went directly to his room and sat on the floor. After all, he had many things to do.
He took out the strengthening pills. According to his knowledge, those pills should enhance his muscle fibers and bone density. He swallowed one directly. At first, he didn't feel pain—he actually felt comfort, and his whole body relaxed. But all of a sudden, pain assaulted his entire body, forcing him to spasm on the ground. After a few minutes he got up. He could see stretch marks all over his body.
He didn't know if he should also take the other pill. He could handle pain—a lot of pain—but he couldn't avoid death, after all. Since the PE teacher hadn't warned him about it, he must have considered it safe. So, Alonzo decided to take the second pill too.
This time his vision went dark and all his muscles tensed up, leaving him paralyzed on the ground. He could even hear his bones snap. After a long while he stood up and went to the bathroom to look at himself. He saw that he looked more jacked than ever, even though his height didn't do him justice.
He decided to look at the books he had just received. First, he started with Shadow Puppeteer, since it was darkness-based, the most common element he had. He flipped through the pages one after another. After a few recaps, he was ready to put his knowledge into practice. He focused on his shadow and started chanting for three seconds. To his happiness, he did it! He thought it was surprisingly easy—he made his shadow move around the room, pick up objects, and throw them.
Now that he had that out of the way, he could focus on what interested him most. If he wanted revenge, he had to make use of his teleportation affinity. He eagerly opened the book and froze for a few seconds. It was so complex that he could barely understand it. Still, he patiently read and reread until nightfall.
He decided he would try more tomorrow. He didn't want to waste precious sleep time. Alonzo considered that if he skipped sleep, it would do him more harm than good, so he went to bed and slept.
The next day, he woke up early to prepare for school ,and also cause he wanted to take a look at the manual , that was given to him by the school ! After he considered he had read enough , he put on his uniform and went directly to class. He was beginning to get accustomed to his new academic lifestyle. When he reached his seat, he found some sort of sticky substance on it. It seemed his classmates were picking on him. He started chanting, and after a few seconds his shadow came to life and threw the sticky stuff onto Ansel's seat.
(Ansel's POV):
A bunch of students were watching Alonzo from a distance expectantly. Of course, the one who initiated this act was Ansel. In his mind, he had been humiliated over and over by Alonzo. He had to pay him back. Shortly after, Alonzo arrived and went to his seat. All the students surrounding Ansel, including him, started laughing.
Suddenly, Alonzo stopped and said something. His shadow came to life, shocking the other students. The shadow threw the sticky substance onto Ansel's chair, making him fume with anger. He charged towards Alonzo to confront him, but before he could do anything, the teacher entered the room.
Everyone sat down except Ansel, who stood frozen, not knowing what to do. The teacher was a pale-looking man in his prime, very tall and skinny. He looked at Ansel and said:
"Do you wait for an invitation, student?"
The class burst out laughing. Ansel became extremely embarrassed, but he still didn't sit down. The teacher furrowed his brows and yelled:
"Am I talking to the walls? I said sit down!"
Ansel sat, despite knowing what was on his chair. The laughter continued, mostly from the people who had helped him with his prank, since they were the ones who knew why he hesitated.
The teacher sat on his chair and exhaled.
"See? That wasn't so hard. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's start again. My name is Claude. I will be giving lessons about the world's history and geography, helping you better understand your environment!"
Claude paused, then continued:
"You might ask, why are history and geography so important? Well, the answers are many, but I'll give you a simple one: history helps us not repeat the mistakes of our ancestors, while geography helps us explain different phenomena that happen in our daily life!"
The students looked interested in what the teacher was saying. He had a certain charm in teaching that made the students want to learn more. The only one not paying attention was Ansel. He was still embarrassed about what had happened. No matter how he tried to pay back Alonzo, he never managed to win against him. In fact, in his mind, he realized he always failed.
His mind drifted back to his childhood. His father was a baron, a low rank in the Luminari nobility. His mother came from a higher-status family—an earl's family. She always insulted him and his father, saying they didn't deserve to associate with her. His father, an alcoholic, often took his anger out on him.
One fateful day, his parents got into a heated argument, and his father accidentally killed his mother. Realizing what he had done and what the consequences would be, his father took his own life, leaving Ansel an orphan in the care of the servitors. He felt as hopeless as he did that day.
The teacher was lecturing when he noticed Ansel daydreaming, so he called him:
"Ansel, can you repeat to me what we just talked about?"
Ansel thought the entire school was against him. He cleared his throat and said, bowing:
"I am sorry, teacher. I promise from now on I will listen to what you teach us!"
The teacher sighed and continued teaching.
(Back to Alonzo's POV):
Alonzo was listening intently to what the teacher was saying. Many of the things weren't written in common books.
"Now let me tell you more about the place you live in. You might think this is just how the outside world looks, but the truth is we're trapped inside a huge sealing formation. Why don't people say or write about it? Because it's considered taboo—and I advise you not to talk about it!"
Some students were shocked at this revelation, others wore pained expressions, knowing the truth. Alonzo also hadn't known about this. This changed everything. He had to find a way out of the sealing array, but he would take one step at a time.
The teacher continued:
"People from the outside can enter this formation, but no one can exit from within—at least until now. But worry not, Luminari are long-lived people, so I believe we will soon destroy this formation and have our revenge. The people who trapped us here are the humans who allied with the dark Luminari. They defeated us in the Third Great Magic War. The dark Luminari are the fallen of our race, despicable traitors who chose to follow the Goddess of Indulgence and lost themselves in the process."
The teacher's expression saddened as he said:
"The moon you see in the 'sky' was artificially engineered to provide us light and keep our bodies healthy. The fauna outside this array is different and more diverse. What you need to know is that each race follows a God. We follow the Goddess of Nature, but she was wounded in the last war. Still, our Goddess is the most caring and loving being."
The teacher cleared his throat and prepared to speak again, but the bell rang.
"Dismissed!" said the teacher before leaving.
The students started talking among themselves about the lesson.
Phloria said: "Damn it, such huge news, and I've never heard about it in my life!"
Evelyn smiled sadly and said: "It's because it's mostly forbidden to talk about this. The royals think it would cause chaos if the truth came out."
Phloria gnashed her teeth in frustration. It was like her entire life had been a lie, but what could she have done if she had known beforehand? In the end, she just sighed.
Alonzo listened silently. In his opinion, keeping such a secret meant keeping the people safe. Panic would erupt, and revolutions would break out—at least that's what the people in his previous life would have done.
After much discussion, a person entered the classroom. He looked more like a student than a teacher. He was their height, with long blonde hair, immaculate blue eyes, and a beautiful green robe.
He said:
"Hello, students. I am your survival tactics teacher, Randon. I will be teaching you how to survive in various scenarios!"
Many students thought it was going to be another useless lesson, but Alonzo knew how important such knowledge was.
"I will be projecting images of beasts and other things directly into your minds and explaining each of them to you ,and maybe after even give you a trip to see them personally!Please do not try to resist the mind link!"
And so, the lesson began.