Jack felt two piercing gazes upon him, making him feel small beneath their weight. One was a burning gaze from Hermione, the Phoenix Summoner, while the other was a cold and intimidating stare from his head, Mia. He hadn’t felt this kind of pressure in his life before. It was as though two cats were about to pounce on him like he was the mouse.
He trembled as he made his way back toward his seat, but he wasn’t entirely sure whether he should actually return to it or not. He hesitated for a moment before making a decision that caught many of the students off guard. Instead of going back to his seat, he strolled toward the door, only to halt when the teacher came in.
The class had an odd look on their faces when they saw the teacher. He was a man with brunette hair and a thick, dark beard. He wore a buttoned, long-sleeved, collared light-blue shirt, a long striped tie, a polished belt, black pants, and a nice-looking pair of shoes.
His appearance was intriguing, yet he looked like a fairly standard member of the teaching staff as the students took note of him.
He moved past Jack, who stood frozen by the doorway with uncertainty written across his expression, without giving him even a momentary glance. However, while walking forward, he suddenly almost stumbled before catching himself.
He looked down and realized that he had nearly slipped on a slimy liquid spread across the space between the students’ side of the classroom and the whiteboard. A frown appeared on his face as some students struggled to suppress their laughter.
Jack, who was shocked and terrified by the scene because he knew very well that he was behind it all, realized that this would be another problem added to his growing list of troubles. He quickly slipped out of the class from where he had been standing by the door, moving with a swift and cautious creeping motion.
"What a creep..." Candy Girl muttered with a disapproving sigh. She didn’t seem to stop chewing the sweet gum inside her mouth.
Carlo, the teacher, brought a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his stained shoes before distancing himself from the mess that had nearly embarrassed him. He looked over the students with a disapproving and unimpressed expression.
"Is this how dirty and untidy you students keep your classroom? Just like pigs? Even the school management wouldn’t tolerate this. Seriously." He shook his head as the students merely blinked at him, some tilting their heads with innocent expressions.
"I’m Carlo Blackwood, your temporary professor. You can also just call me Carlo, Karls, or whatever you prefer. I’ve been assigned here in place of your homeroom teacher because she spilled coffee all over her pretty skirt." His eyes darted over the students as he moved in front of the whiteboard with his hands clasped behind his back.
"But I’ll cover for the time being and take you through my subject." He paused for a moment. "Who would be able to guess what it is? Whoever gets it right wins five Crowns."
Crowns were the short term commonly used to refer to the nation’s currency among civilians, just like bucks for dollars. It could also be represented by W, which the majority of people used for convenience when writing or speaking about money.
"Ooh, how about, ’I don’t care, so get the fuckin’ out of here, dude?’" Mia snapped sharply with a hiss.
Carlo flinched slightly at her response, but he adjusted his long tie and ignored the harsh remark. Nevertheless, he made sure to register her identity.
He looked over the students who had raised their hands. Hermione was noticeably among them, but he missed her as he picked another particular student.
"Let me guess. It’s something about what happened back over the years?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
Carlo thought for a while before slightly shaking his head.
"Hmm, almost, but you didn’t quite hit the mark. Any other person?" he asked, looking around.
Hermione’s hand shot upward again among the rest of the class. He nodded at her, allowing her to answer.
She stood up gracefully like a blooming flower, an excited smile appearing on her face as she gently stretched and adjusted her skirt. Even Mark was awed by her elegance, watching her with approving eyes.
"I can sense that it’s something that’s worth learning about. That’s what I think it is," Hermione said.
Carlo looked at her like a precious gem as he smiled and pointed at her with approval. This elicited a wide smile from Hermione’s beautiful face before she sat down gracefully.
"Correct! That’s my girl. You’re one of a kind with that brilliant mind of yours." Carlo nodded. "Actually, I’m not exactly here for anything specific, but it also includes some events from the past. That’s why I accepted it. However, what I’m going to give you is a lecture worth it."
Mia groaned as she leaned back in her seat with a roll of her eyes. She slouched over her seat slightly. Somehow, she had wished to join Jack in leaving the class. She mostly hated those occasions during free periods when a random teacher came to take over the period. And this was exactly the case.
"As you all know, the sophomore competition test is one of the requirements that determines one’s class rank, their position in junior year, and even their eligibility to become the prestigious valedictorian. It is only a few days away. Prepare yourselves greatly for that day and perform well, if not outright win." He started before scanning across the students. "Okay, so putting that aside, that takes us to why I’m here."
"You must have heard about the Earth and how it moves and works, including the thousands of years of history that came before our current age. There were legendary ancient summoner figures like Paris and his Trojan Horse during the Trojan War against the Greek armies, including their famous heroes." He paused to observe the expressions on the students’ faces before continuing.
"I bet they don’t teach you guys enough about the rich and interesting history of the actual world and its legacy," Carlo said in a casual, steady voice as he moved toward the board. "Ever since the birth of mana and its descent upon the world thousands of years ago, there wasn’t much of a systematic order. The power-tiering system didn’t exist back then. There were five factors that had been used to determine one’s potential: strength, speed, endurance, offense, and defense."
"Many used tests involving the pulling of heavy pulleys loaded with tons of blocks to determine their strength factor. There were also other methods, such as the art of meditation, which was considered an efficient way to measure certain other factors."
The teacher clasped his hands behind his back.
Gasps and whispers began to move among the students as they murmured with interest. They hadn’t exactly been taught these parts of history. Some might say such knowledge was useless, but in actuality, knowledge was never a waste.
Noticing the subtle reactions from the class, the teacher continued with a smile.
"There are numerous cases where people developed something extraordinary, unique, and completely outside the established list, making the masses wary and cautious about them."
His eyes flickered when they sought the emerald-green eyes of Mark, who remained placid.
Mark only glanced at Hermione, who glanced back when she noticed him. Before long, Carlo spoke again.
"Do you have a bottle of water you could hand me? I haven’t hydrated for a while, and my throat’s getting dry."
Hermione smiled. "Sure." She handed him the bottle.
The subtle smile grew on the teacher’s lips for a second before he swept his gaze over the entire class.
"Many had thrived through hard work and effort to become infamous summoners, and they served as great figures to the public. This led to two different paths: the good or the bad. According to the authorities, there have been cases where a person’s summon grew strong and powerful enough to pose a great threat to the public and even to the summoner themselves, causing some of the recorded historical disasters. It was a pity for such a thing to happen to someone with great talent."
Hermione’s eyes gleamed at his words.
Was he even permitted to announce and talk about that to the class? Who did he think he was to judge others? Yet clearly, this was an absolute reality of the world, one that would never seem to be properly understood.
"Another among the summoning figures, whom I believe you already know and whose name shouldn’t be mentioned, is the Dark Summoner himself. He reigned when he possessed the abilities of dark powers with the aid of his brilliantly powerful summon, whose name shouldn’t be called either. Back then, he was a student who was fond of creating magical spells, charms, and divine interventions. His ambition was so great that he eventually attempted to take over the world of the Mana Age, and he succeeded."
Mia leaned forward with a slight eagerness at the mention of one of the most mighty and dangerous figures in the summoner’s world. Now that the lecture was moving toward something spicy, she was actually interested in listening.
She hadn’t exactly gotten the opportunity to understand his deeds, so this immediately piqued her attention.
"During that time, he raised numerous followers, whose names shall not be called. They all served him through mana rituals, making him much stronger and mightier. He made many people slaves to their own summons, which were placed under his service and power. He became the conqueror of the region, the dominant lord of his time."
He paused for a second before asking, "And who can guess what his goal was?"
Victor raised his hand for an answer.
"Easy as pie. He wanted to take over all unique and special summons, and even dominate the whole continents, which were far too big for his growth," he said with his arms folded.
"Correct, but you missed something there," Carlo stated before turning toward the board. "Waylon was his starting point, and he succeeded there. He even expanded his dominance and influence throughout the whole island nation, causing it to spread even further. He was tactical and smart enough to achieve this record-breaking goal. Some say it was blind greed for power and autocracy, but he was convinced that it was all for the greater betterment and progress of the world, something the majority of people were oblivious to."
Mark returned the bottle to Hermione with appreciation.
"Thanks. I hope it was a fresh bottle."
His question made Hermione give him a look.
At a certain point, the teacher began moving up and down across the front line of students like a militant. The entire class had become attentive to his worthy lecture, unlike their initial anticipation of the usual boring lesson they expected from a temporary teacher.
"His summon and its unclassed talent were something to be exalted by many throughout the region. They were both the perfect duo for each other. And he wasn’t a Dual or Tri-Summoner, yet he was able to achieve his goal. Can’t you see?" Carlo stretched both his arms as though embracing the world, a smile appearing on his face as he turned toward the students.
They noticed something subtle through the windows.
The sky had faintly changed its appearance, becoming dull and strangely blank. They hadn’t noticed exactly when it had happened, but it was a surprising and spectacular sight. The clouds shifted from their usual appearance into deep blue, gradually turning toward a grayish sapphire.
"And his aim wasn’t just to bring the world of summoners into his grasp. He wanted those who weren’t affected by Mana to see his superiority. Those who remained as they were and gave nothing to this new world were nothing more than weaklings in his eyes. The Mundies would see his superiority and be removed."
A faint, involuntary chuckle escaped his lips.
Kai glanced at Mark’s expression. Mia did the same, along with some others.
But what they saw was the face of an indifferent and almost torpid person.
This left them slightly confused and surprised.
Right then, Olivia, the homeroom teacher, came into the classroom. She avoided the mess on the floor as she strolled forward. A pair of straight black pants that gave shape to her long, slender legs had replaced her usual pencil-form-fitting skirt.
Jack trailed behind her like a caught puppy, though he still maintained the defiant posture of a ready bully.
"I think that I’ll take it from here, Carlo. Thanks for your voluntary work. It won’t be forgotten."
"Oh."
Carlo suddenly paused before composing himself from his previous stance. He adjusted his long tie before leaving the class. Not without taking a single glance at Mark, though.
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