The glimmer of sunlight warmed the skin, while the sounds of conversation and laughter filled the hallway.
But those voices suddenly stopped when a boy passed by them.
The boy had a striking feature—his height reached two meters.
However, it wasn't his physique that made people stop their conversations and stare at him.
It was what he carried on his back.
On his back was a boy with short black hair. His closed eyes made him look like a corpse.
The boy carrying him pushed open the door of a classroom.
Creak.
When the door sound echoed, everyone inside turned their heads.
Their gaze fell on the unconscious boy being carried.
The two-meter-tall boy then walked up the stairs toward the seats at the very back.
Everyone's eyes were still on him.
Finally, someone with short brown hair and brown eyes spoke.
"What did that idiot do this time? Did you fight him again, Aril?"
Aril stopped on the stairs. Everyone looked at him, and he shook his head.
"I don't know. Suddenly this fragile guy contacted me. He just said 'lake… lake…'"
Aril imitated the weak voice of the boy on his back.
He sighed and adjusted the boy he was carrying.
"So I went to the lake, and when I arrived there, I found him lying on the ground with no mana left and…"
Aril took something out of his pocket.
Several small pieces of paper with strange symbols drawn on them.
Everyone gathered around curiously.
Aril handed them to a girl with dark red hair.
"What do you think, Princess?"
Katarina took one of the papers and looked at it carefully.
Reva beside her also looked, while the others examined the rest.
Katarina raised an eyebrow, confused by the strange symbols.
Someone spoke nervously.
"Could he be a spy from the Dark Side, Princess?"
Everyone grew tense.
Katarina kept staring at the symbol, trying to understand it.
"No. There's no evil energy in it."
Everyone relaxed after hearing her words.
Someone suggested,
"Let's just take him to the medical center."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
But suddenly the boy being carried moved slightly.
His eyes were still closed, but his hoarse voice could be heard.
"No… don't… I've already been absent too many times… I might get expelled…"
After saying that, he stopped moving again.
Everyone sighed.
"How did someone like him become the class representative?"
"Our class is doomed."
"I want to transfer classes!"
Katarina looked at Alex.
"Just put him in his seat. He'll get better later… maybe."
Eventually everyone dispersed, and
Aril placed the boy in his seat.
After putting him down, Aril sighed.
The people around him didn't look much different, because the student sitting next to Alex also looked like he had fainted.
Someone spoke.
"Isn't this too depressing?"
People around him nodded.
"Rank 1 and Rank 2 in theory… both are a mess. If this continues, not only our class is doomed, but our entire year."
They all sighed.
A low groan came from the seat at the very back.
His body trembled, his eyes still closed.
A voice sounded in his mind.
'You got too excited using your talent for the first time.'
'What could I do? At least I had to know my limits.'
'You could have done it later!'
'Well, it was pretty interesting. There was nothing like that in my old world.'
'You really are strange, Alex.'
Alex relaxed his body again as his mana slowly began to recover.
But suddenly his first soul core reacted to danger.
His body moved instinctively to dodge.
Bang.
Something slammed into the wall, followed by a painful groan from the person beside him.
Alex slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurry at first, but gradually it became clear.
The entire class was staring at him.
But what worried him most was Professor Tanya standing beside the podium, observing him.
Alex looked to the side.
A girl with long black hair and golden eyes was holding her head, groaning in pain.
Alex looked forward again.
"What is this? Rank 1 and Rank 2 in theory sleeping so soundly in the morning. Did you two study all night? Alex? Mira?" said Professor Tanya.
Alex swallowed nervously and nodded quickly.
"Yes, Professor Tanya. I studied all night. You know, I'm a diligent student."
Giggles came from other students.
Professor Tanya frowned.
Mira finally spoke.
"Yes, I also studied all night, Professor Tanya!"
Whispers spread around the class.
"This is getting worse. They're not just weird—they're liars too."
"We're doomed."
"Should I transfer classes?"
Professor Tanya sighed and warned them.
"Don't sleep in class. You may be excellent students, but you still need to respect the professor."
Alex and Mira immediately straightened up and suddenly saluted.
Their synchronized movements made them glance at each other.
"You damn scammer."
"You damn gambler."
Everyone in the class could only sigh watching the behavior of the top two theory students.
Professor Tanya finally began the lesson.
"Today's topic is the Silent Mountains, a mountain range located near the territory of the dwarves. Does anyone know what the Silent Mountains are?"
The class was silent.
Katarina raised her hand.
"The Silent Mountains are a chain of mountains that act as a natural barrier, separating the land we inhabit from the monsters beyond it."
Professor Tanya nodded.
"Correct. Ten points for student Katarina."
The whole class reacted excitedly since answering questions meant earning points.
Professor Tanya continued.
"The Silent Mountains were created by the God of Light, Luminor, and the Goddess Guardian of Nature, Athika."
Alex's eyes widened and goosebumps rose on his skin.
'Krystal… wasn't my reward besides the sword also a necklace? Wasn't it called Athika's Tears?'
'Yes. The artifact necklace is called Athika's Tears.'
'Whenever I try to examine it, something always interrupts me. So what exactly is that necklace? What does it do?'
'I don't know. What I saw was a transparent red crystal necklace with liquid inside it.
Maybe it really is Athika's tears, like the name suggests. I still can't understand it.'
'Your level is too low.'
Alex rubbed his temples.
'Damn… that's troublesome if I don't know anything.'
Suddenly his face became serious as he stroked his chin.
'Come to think of it, I also had a friend named Tika in my old world. Their names sound similar. I never thought her name would become the name of a goddess here. Hehehe.'
Professor Tanya continued.
"The Silent Mountains were created to protect the lands we now inhabit and the territories of other races. They separate and protect us from the monsters beyond the mountains. Does anyone know the monster ranks beyond those mountains?"
Many students raised their hands, hoping to earn points.
Alex also raised his hand.
Professor Tanya pointed at him.
Alex listened to Krystal in his mind and repeated her words.
'Sleeping Monsters, Awakened Monsters, Corrupted Monsters…'
"Sleeping Monsters, Awakened Monsters, Corrupted Monsters…"
Krystal continued.
'Giants, Corrupted Giants, Mystical Creatures and…'
"Giants, Corrupted Giants, Mystical Creatures and…"
Just as Alex was about to say the last one, everyone stared at him.
Professor Tanya showed a shocked expression.
Katarina also looked at him with an expression she had never shown before.
'Primordial Monsters.'
"Primordial Monsters."
After saying it, Alex felt confused because everyone was staring at him.
"Why? What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Alex swallowed and asked Krystal.
'What happened? Did you give me the wrong answer?'
'I don't know. I only told you what I know. That information appeared after you leveled up.'
Cold sweat ran down Alex's forehead.
'Damn… maybe that's information I shouldn't know yet.'
Professor Tanya and the others still stared at him while whispers spread.
"Primordial Monsters?"
"What are Primordial Monsters? Do they really exist?"
"Maybe he's still dreaming."
Even Mira beside him looked confused.
"I didn't know there were Primordial Monsters."
Alex looked at her and stood up awkwardly.
"Yeah… I just woke up and maybe I still can't distinguish reality from illusion. Primordial Monsters? There's no such thing."
People began murmuring again.
"He's just confusing everyone."
"I almost believed him."
Katarina stared at him intensely and whispered,
"How could he know that?"
Meanwhile, Professor Tanya only watched silently.
Alex sat down again and exhaled, still not daring to look at her.
Everyone waited for Professor Tanya to speak.
"Ten points for student Alex as well."
Her voice sounded different this time.
Alex swallowed.
Professor Tanya continued.
"The Silent Mountains provide two forms of protection. The first is the steep mountain range acting as a physical barrier, and there is also a magical barrier preventing monsters from crossing."
Her gaze swept across the classroom.
"When the mountains were first created, monsters could not cross them at all. But after thousands of years, the magical barrier has weakened. Now monsters from the Sleeping rank up to Giants can occasionally cross the mountains—though Giants rarely descend."
The classroom fell silent.
"Corrupted Giants or Mystical Creatures have never descended before… and hopefully they never will."
Everyone swallowed nervously.
"The barrier also prevents demon armies from the south from entering the territories beyond the Silent Mountains."
Professor Tanya quickly added,
"Don't ask why demons want to cross it. You're still first-year students."
The class remained quiet.
"The final defense against monsters that pass the Silent Mountains are the dwarves—and us humans or elves, who will assist if an emergency occurs."
The lesson continued for some time.
Finally, Professor Tanya looked at the time on her smart bracelet.
"Well, today's lesson ends here."
Students began preparing for lunch break, but Professor Tanya spoke again.
"Ah, one more announcement."
Everyone sat down again.
"The final exam has been decided. It will be a battle between classes. One week from now there will be a simulation. If you win the simulation, you will gain certain advantages. The rules and details will be announced later. Just prepare yourselves."
Everyone swallowed nervously.
It would be the first time they fought another class.
Professor Tanya then looked at Alex.
Alex returned the look awkwardly.
"And student Alex, meet me in my office after today's lessons."
Alex gulped.
"Yes, Professor."
Professor Tanya left the classroom.
The other students slowly prepared to leave as well.
Alex had already started running down the stairs.
Suddenly a voice spoke.
It wasn't loud or quiet, but everyone heard it clearly and stopped what they were doing.
"Isn't the class representative supposed to lead the discussion for our battle strategy?"
Alex stopped and looked toward the voice.
There stood a girl with neatly combed dark red hair and intense blue eyes.
Alex scratched the back of his head.
"Eh… really? Can't we do it later, Katarina?"
Everyone stared at Alex.
Katarina sighed.
"Do it now. We only have a week. At the very least you should tell us the general plan."
Everyone nodded and agreed.
"The princess is right."
"Will we be okay?"
"Compared to other classes, our representative seems the weakest."
"Are we going to get beaten up?"
Alex heard the complaints and clicked his tongue.
"Alright, alright. I'll explain what we'll do."
Everyone fell silent.
Alex calmly walked down the stairs.
A small smile appeared on his face.
'Should we try your new skill, Krystal?'
Krystal clicked her tongue.
'Tsk. Do you think I'm an artifact? Just do it!'
After reaching the bottom, Alex stepped onto the stage beside the podium.
His gaze swept across the classroom.
But this time it felt different.
Above every student's head, words appeared.
'Katarina Mars'
'Aril Geno'
'Reva Lina'
'Mira Xilac'
'Azka Anta'
'Kayla Neza'
Those words were their real names.
It was a new power Krystal gained when she leveled up alongside Alex, though it required mana to activate.
Alex chuckled internally.
'Wow… it works, Krystal.'
'When we level up again, will there be more information? Or new abilities?'
'Tsk. You're so impatient. But who knows…
maybe something even more surprising will appear.'