First Day of Classes, Pt 1, Instructor Thalia
[Corven Umbrovante]:
Corven woke up early the following morning, pumped and ready for his first day of class.
He was dressed in the shadow faction official student uniform of expensive looking, black blazers, a dark violet button down and matching black trousers. On the chest of the brazers, were the crest of the Shadow Faction: A black and violet bat behind the words 1st Year.
Corven's crow familiar stayed on his shoulders, its true cultivation stage mysterious sealed by itself somehow, so it appeared to be just an ordinary crow. Corven had tried to get it to stay in the Shadow Space, but it kept coming out, so Corven just gave in and let it accompany him. Crow had gathered many curious eyes from surrounding students as Corven made his way through breakfast. Most were struck with admiration by the bird, as it wasn't fully matured in terms of crows were concerned — It was basically adolescent, and, thus, many girls found it adorable. Some boys were envious by the attention Corven was getting and a few of them started to dislike Corven even more than they initially had. Corven wasn't worried too much, though. They were shrimps in his eyes, and not worth the energy to think about.
Eventually, Corven made his way to first period class at the sounding of the morning bells, meeting Celestial, Ilmari and Jabari along the way. They were initially surprised to see Corven's familiar, Crow, but they got over it. Crow even hopped off Corven's shoulder and onto Celeste's.
"Caw! Cute! Caw!" Crow said, rubbing his face on Celeste's neck.
"He's so adorable! And he talks!" Celeste was gobsmacked by Crow's intelligence. "Can I keep him? Please? I'll feed him the best of corns and everything!"
Sadly, Corven shook his head, smiling at the thought. He was about to answer, when the instructor arrived. Corven immediately willed Crow back inside his Shadow Space with the promise of more corn if he stayed. He wasn't too sure if this instructor would be able to sense the Crow's real cultivation level if he kept Crow outside his Shadow Space. It was better not to take any chances. He wasn't strong enough to take on an instructor in a fight should a situation like such occur.
Crow stayed inside the Shadow Space this time.
This first period class was 'Existential Studies & Theories,' and it was taught by a peak Demigod rank Instructor who looked to be in her early thirties, with a lean curvature figure, dark hair and blue eyes. Her name was Instructor Thalia, as she so gracefully wrote on the board when everyone had arrived.
"My name is Instructor Thalia," the instructor looked at her students, demanding respect without much effort. "I will be your instructor for this class. Can anyone tell me what is the Multiverse? How did it come into being? And how is it relative to the Five Almighty forces that govern all of existence?"
Surprisingly, it was Celeste who had her hand raised, which Thalia had to admit was impressive considering she was not expecting anyone to know the answer — First years hardly ever did the reading before the start of the semester.
'Then again, this was the prodigal daughter of House Luminaris,' Instructor Thalia thought to herself. She knew who Celeste was. 'Perhaps she'll surprise me,' Thalia thought, smirking inwardly.
"Yes, Lady Celeste Luminaris?" Instructor Thalia inquisited.
"The multiverse can be described as the different layers of reality that make up the circle of all existence itself," Celeste began, her beauty and intellect garnering the awe gazes of boys all through the classroom. "In the beginning, two different Almighty gods created two uniiverses— The one created by the Father and the one created by Khaos herself, the second of which is where we reside. These were the original layers of the multiverse called the 'Prime Universes' — They are the building blocks of which every other universe was formed from.
"There exist three other almighty entities, but not much is known about them aside from their names and occupation — There is Razera, the Almighty entity of Destruction, Progenitor of the Destroyers and Destruction itself incarnate; The Almighty Abyss itself, which is even less known about aside from the fact that god-killing monsters reside here somehow. The last is the most mysterious of the Almighties, the Almighty Writer of Destiny and Fate itself, who writes the stories of all, even the gods themselves. It's said that every god of wisdom, of fate and of destiny are envoys of this particular god.
"All five Almighties are said to be siblings that cannot die — Beings so powerful, no one, not even the Primordials or even the Archangels are on their level, nor can ever be. They are… well, almighty."
"Thank you Lady Celeste Lumianris — Very good, very true. Looks like someone really did their reading," Instructor Thalia was quite impressed. "Yes, very good indeed. The Almighties predate existence itself and each one play a key role in the maintenance of reality as well as its flow and being.
"Now, can anyone tell me what is the multiverse?"
"The Multiverse is the existence of every universe given form by probability," Marxes answered immediately. "It is the creations of the almighty gods, specififcally The Mother, who created the very first primordial which gave birth to the Prime Universe, and from that universe, every other came to be, and with them, other primordials.
"Some universes are their own multiverse, too, like Yggrressal, which is the home universe of the House of Gaetir, one of the 8 Great Houses of our cultivation world. Plus it is its own mini-multiverse, consisting of the 9 realms. It is also the domain of the Aesir and Vanir gods, hence a multiverse within a universe."
"Very good, Mister Ilmari," Instructor Thalia commended. "Can you explain to everyone what we know on realms in general? What are the different types of realms that we know of?"
"There exist some realms that are just for mortals, which we refer to the 'Mortal Plane' while the realms that exist strictly for higher lifeforms like gods and celestials, we refer to as the 'Immortal Plane' or the 'Divine Realms' Whether its the Celestial Heavens of the Primordial god Aether, or the deepest levels of the Infernal demon lords of the hell dimensions, these realms make up various planes of existences in both the Mortal Planes and the Immortal Planes across every universe. It is a long and strenuous study to learn about, but it is still one worth knowing, especially for those with the potential to become Celestials, as, when one does, they ascend to the Immortal Planes."
"Very well said, Mister Ilmari," Instructor Thalia clapped in approval. "Very well said, indeed. Perhaps this year's student body won't be too disappointing yet." she muttered that last part but everyone present was a cultivator so they pretty much heard her quite clearly, though no one said a thing against her.
"Many realms exist today exist today that we are still learning of or discovering," Thalia said, after a moment of awkward silence. "Some realms have been lost to time and remembrance. These realism are amongst a list of realms that are called 'Lost Realms'."
Instructor Thalia went over theories about existence and a few other things that Corven was sure to remember to write down for reabsorption later. During this, his mind began to wander…
He wondered if anyone else knew anything about the Shadow Realm, or whether or not it was an Ascended Dimension or a Constant Realm or not. He thought not, considering it was not in the textbook and it wasn't mentioned once during the class discussion.
'Guess that old man was right when he said his people have basically erased the Shadow Realm from common knowledge,' Corven thought, slightly relieved somehow. 'I guess it's for the better this way. That way, my family's enemies can't undo the seal somehow or use that information against me.'
"Mister Corven, I asked you a question," Instructor Thalia's voice suddenly brought Corven back to the present.
"Uh, yes, Instructor?" Corven was slightly confused. He wasn't really paying attention to the instructor as he had already read the textbook; he pretty much already knew the lesson she was giving. Plus, considering the glances of disgust she was giving him, he wasn't keen on paying attention to the instructor how she'd like him to, and it seemed that that she had asked him a question to intentionally disorientate and embarrass him, from what Corven figured out.
Seeing Corven's confused face, Instructor Thalia sighed, smiling internally in malicious victory. 'Every year, there's always one. Somebody who was a troublemaker. By embarrassing this one, I'll prevent others from causing trouble in my class. Afterall, no matter how talented one was, without academic smarts, they'll get nowhere.'
Still though, Instructor Thalia was slightly annoyed with Corven. She had not been present at the Avouching & Sorting Ceremony, but she had heard of the splash the young man had caused. To see such talent being wasted on such an individual was… disappointing, to say the least.
"I said, what is the event that cost the loss of countless realisms called?" Thalia asked, knowing Corven wouldn't be able to answer her question.
'Slightly different meaning than what I was told. Guess most people think the Sealing was an event that killed off or lost several realms; not used as fuel to seal the Chaos Realm,' Corven thought to himself. 'Interesting…'.
"The Sealing," Corven answered, surprising the Instructor, who thought he was not paying attention. "The answer is the Sealing. The cost of the event were the Lost Realms. Most records of these realms are lost to time. Only a handful of families actually have knowledge of them."
Instructor Thalia was perplexed. She was certain that Corven would not have known the answer to her question. He wasn't even paying attention the first two times she asked him! She had assumed that he was a troublemaker. Perhaps she was wrong…?
'No, certainly not likely,' she thought. She was never the instructor. She knew when a student was a troublemaker and her gut told her that Corven was one, most definitely.
'You can be a troublemaker and be attentive, right?' she thought to herself. 'Perhaps he was acting like he was not paying attention to let her drop her guard, when, in actuality, he actually was?'
As if to test that theory, she shot a side glance at Corven, curiously suspicious. Corven was yawning silently as he looked out the window, almost blatantly showcasing his boredom and uninterest.
This seemed only to fuel Instructor Thalia's annoyance and frustration, though. She was used to having attention and respect by all students and people she's met. As a Peak Demigod ranker on the precipice of reaching the beginning stages of CHaotic rank, and she was a proud instructor at Mythorus Academy —- She deserved her due respect.
While having her internal turmoil, her facial expressions were fierce and angry — all aimed at Corven, who, when noticing the glare, was taken aback. 'Did I say something wrong?'
Corven, ever the genius, thought 'No, I'm too perfect to have said something wrong. I wonder… No, is she one of those women that like younger men? I'm barely 15! That's nasty!'
Corven physically gagged at the teacher. Before turning away, which only caused Instructor Thalia to get pissed off even more. 'Did he just gag in my direction? The audacity!' Instructor Thalia was furious, even more convinced that Corven was a troublemaker somehow, and would make sure that one day, she'd prove it and the whole academy would know it.
Celeste, who was watching their little interactions, also mistook Instructor Thalia for flirting with her betrothed, 'Is she… making love-y eyes at my future man?!'
Celeste gave Instructor Thalia her most deadly glare she could muster. She knew their marriage was to secure her place as the head of House Luminaris, but she had no intentions of sharing Corven with anyone — Corven was her man. And hers alone!
Instructor Thalia, noticing Celeste's intense glare and killing intent, found herself panicking. 'Why is the princess of House Lumianris glaring at me like that? What did I do?'
However, when she thought about it, she could only guess the reason the lady heiress of a great house was glaring at her had to be related to Corven. 'Did that little shit say something about me to the princess? A rumor?'
Instructor Thalia could only think this was the case, as she increased her own glares at an unsuspecting Corven, who had long gotten lost in his own thoughts, no longer interested in the lesson…
[Marxes Ilmari]:
Marxes, who had been paying attention to the whole thing, rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe how immature some people were. It was honestly amusing. And, as the instructor went back to explaining theories, studies and the lesson, Marxes took his notes, although he, too, had already finished reading the textbook — plus anything he may need to know, he could just use his technopathy to learn about through the web — he still wanted to cover all his bases.
"Meanwhile, I want you all to study up on the known realms and which power reigns over them," Instructor Thalia spoke over the noise of bustling students. "In the book, it goes over these dominions, so study. That will be your homework for this week. You will be quizzed on the topic next week. You are dismissed."
Eventually, the first classes ended and Marxes found himself getting up and readying himself to go to his next class, Alchemic Studies & Potions Mastery course.
"Man, I'm going to have to be honest," Jabari nonchalantly began admitting. "I understood hardly anything Instructor Thalia said. How am I going to pass the semester if I can't understand what's being said in the lecture?" He had his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner, not bothering to put away his own books as he had never even taken them, or anything else, out from his storage ring to begin with.
"Maybe if you stopped being a hyper spaz, focus on the lesson, read the material and stop talking about ancient Egyptian tombs and histories and, I don't know, pay attention, you would pass the class," Marxes offered his friend.
Jabari and Marxes had known one another for a long time. Marxes' mom had been a big aid with Jabari's family rising in influence of the last few millennia, helping House Ausar rise to prominence, especially after the Greek sacking of Egypt and, of course, whenever they had re-acquired it— the two families families have been very close since, including Marxes and his many brothers he's acquired throughout the millennia.. Of course, Marxes is only 15 years old, but his mother is really old, despite looking so young, as is the case with many higher level cultivators.
Anyway, House Ilmari were not a member of the Shadow Covenant — not that Marxes would know anything about such an alliance — but the two houses of Ilmari and Ausar have been business partners for millennia, even since the times of Pharaohs and kings, when House Ausar had just escaped the Shadow Realm, and was just rising to power — As such, Jabari and Marxes has since practically grew up together and have had a deep relationship, and though Marxes was older by a few months, their brotherly bond has remained strong… albeit, with slight annoyances, but considering Jabari's ADHD and Marxes' OCD,, it's a wonder they get along so well at times
"Nah, I'll figure something else out," said Jabari, nonchalantly as he got up, waiting for Marxes to get up. "What classes do you have next? Do you know?"
"Yes. Alchemic Studies & Potion Mastery," Marxes stated, as he began to get out his seat.
"Damn, I've got Combat Strategies, but at least we have fourth period Combat Training together. All first years are required to have that for the fourth period," Jabari said, face concentrated slightly, before regaining his hyperactive vigor from earlier. "I can't wait to challenge someone for their spot in the student ranks. No one from the first years are in it yet. I'm hoping to be the first of our year to get into the top 100."
He had just gathered his books and supplies into his spatial storage ring when he noticed Corven and Celeste coming his way.
"Good luck man," stated Marxes before looking past Jabari, eyeing the approaching Corven and Celeste with a squint. "Corven? Do you need something?"
Corven had arrived before them.
"I was planning to go to the Adventurer's Guild Building in town after classes today," Corven said. "I'm planning to get my Adventurerors' license so I can begin doing local missions and improve my combat techniques with experience. You guys wanna come? Celeste is already coming with, but Cimon was planning to get some cultivating done, or something, and, even if he wasn't, he already has his license."
There are 3 types of Adventure's badge: Blue, Red and Black, and each type is separated by stars. One can be a Blue level Adventurer with 1, 2 or 3 stars, for example. Blue level adventurers are of the Awakened Stages, Red was of the Ascendant Stages and Black was of the Transcendent Stages. Although there are technically 4 more cultivation stages, they are divine stages in nature and gods don't typically follow the same rules when clearing their dungeons, and they don't answer to anyone mortal, so no one decided to add any more types of Adventurer ranks than they already had.
"Yeah, totally," jumped Jabari, before Marxes could answer. "I should get my license as well, now that I'm a student here. If I were in my House's domain, I wouldn't need it, but, considering monsters out here are different and I don't want to fall behind on my combat experience and whatnot, I should go ahead and get my license."
"Yes, for once, you said something smart," agreed Marxes, nodding his approval. "I will come, too. With an Adventurer's license, I will be able to have much freer access to the Deep Dark Forest around campus and the town, where the beast lurks in great numbers. They are the perfect ingredients and materials/test subjects for blacksmithing and for my research. I have been behind in my beastial research, so getting my license is perfect. I shall come, too."
Most Ilmari nobleborn were geniuses. All of them were born with the technopathic skills that allow them to access technology in ways no one else could. They all usually had one of two unique quicks that they did on the side, like business or marketing. For Marxes, it was actually blacksmithing and beastial researching/experimentation. Usually, just corpses, but sometimes Marxes needed live specimens for his research and would pay an arm and a leg for a powerful Adventurer to get the job done rather than wasting time doing it himself. Now that he was at school, however, he could not do that anymore; it wouldn't be wise. He could not only use the experience, but he also had to abide by rules and regulations of the campus and the town itself when making a mission for the mission board — It was less taxing and more beneficial to just get the job done himself in such an instance.
Marxes had been focusing on his blacksmithing business recently, especially with the great snake that was previously causing him trouble now dead. He had hit a bump in his research and this was the perfect opportunity to bypass it. Plus, if he got the license, he could enter the Deep Dark Forest whenever he wanted without requiring any kind of permission or needing to pay extra, unlike if he had just made a job board request.
"Oh, that's good to hear," Corven responded, sounding pleased. "I have actually been thinking of a business idea. I wanted to go over you guys with. Perhaps we can go over it sometime later, too."
Marxes was honestly surprised. He had assumed Corven was from a powerful noble house secretly and that he would have already had a powerful business going on already, like most heirs of powerful noble lineages. Why would he want their view on the matter? Wouldn't he already have that sort of professional counseling already?
It did not matter much to Marxes the reason, though. He knew anyone strong enough to take on a Tier A Great Snake was one with a talent that many would envy. If his mother or relatives were present, then they would have immediately tried to make a connection with Corven after learning of his potential.
"Yes, that would be—-," Marxes began but was interrupted.
"A business? Hell, yeah! That'd be so fire!: exclaimed Jabari, interrupting Marxes.
Marxes just turned to Jabari with an exasperated look, to which Jabari looked puzzled. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
'This oblivious fool,' Marxes sighed inwardly, but, when Marxes turned back to give his answer, Corven was already gone.