When Theory Hall ended, the entire eighth generation made their way to the dining hall. Most of the children were quieter than usual, thinking about the expectations placed on them, or the information they had learned on the state of the world.
When the meals were served and Thirteen was seated next to his friends, he looked over to Four.
"Hey, what do you think about all this? Nobles and the like." Thirteen asked.
"Nothing much, I'll just do whatever makes sense in the moment. Instructor Piers said it right? The world is changing, and one man can match an army. So, I'll just be the best army in the kingdom, then noble or not, nothing will get in the way." Four replied with a rather nonchalant attitude that Thirteen admired quite a bit.
"I dont think it will be that simple." he replied. "Honestly, I'd rather have nothing to do with nobles, schemes, or spying. I'd rather just fight."
After swallowing his food, Nine joined the conversation. "Think about it this way. We haven't learned etiquette or subterfuge yet, only how to cultivate and how to fight. With that being the case, surely combat skills are the highest priority. Maybe you won't even have to deal with any of the other stuff."
"It could be fun though" Ten added with a bright voice. "Sneaking through a manor to steal some… document? Who knows."
The conversation continued as gradually the whole dining hall became rowdier, the many groups that had formed over their stay here eagerly discussing the matter amongst themselves.
Thirteen noticed however, that Forty-five, who sat to his right, remained rather silent throughout, replying briefly only when asked her opinion. Leaning to the side a bit, thirteen spoke in a quieter voice than earlier, as the others continued to talk eagerly among themselves.
"The instructor mentioned the royal academies, is that where you would have gone before all of this?" He had spoken without thinking and immediately regretted it as he expected the topic to be an unpleasant one for her. However Forty-five didn't seem down as she did last time it was mentioned, and replied quickly.
"Yeah. My dad was so excited when he learned I was a meta. Any meta is guaranteed entry to the academies, I remember him bragging about it to whoever would listen" She recalled with a nostalgic smile.
"I can imagine so. A commoner attending one of two royal academies? I have no idea how Headmistress Helga would have reacted, if I was not adopted here, I mean."
Forty-five went silent for a bit more, before speaking once more. "We weren't… I mean. My dad, wasn't a commoner. He used to be. But he was granted a barony for his military service." She spoke somewhat hesitantly, as if not sure whether she should continue, but was glad to see Thirteen's eyes showed only surprise and not rejection.
'Thank the spirits' She thought as she relaxed slightly. Forty-five had never had anyone she would call a friend growing up. She was only a baron's daughter, the lowest rank of nobility, and so on the few times she did meet other noble children, they seemed to scorn her to please their parents.
And yet, she was always warned off from mingling with commoner children by her mother who was, herself, a commoner. Her mother was always contradictory like that. Trying to live up to what she thought a noble should be.
Gradually, Forty-five joined the group's conversation in earnest, and the time for their break passed quickly.
——
Sitting on a cushion within the grand cultivation hall, Thirteen stared at the man on stage. Much like with Theory Hall earlier, the usual speaker, Nicholas in this case, stood a few paces back, while someone else took the speaker's position.
Thirteen had seen this man only twice before. First was when he and the rest of the eighth generation had been gathered together for the first time and had been assigned their names, or rather, numbers. The other time was when the children were each assigned cultivation arts.
Both times, Thirteen had only recognized the man because he seemed both healthy and thin, something that Thirteen had rarely seen at the time. And both times, the man had stood behind Nicholas silently, watching the children.
The thin man, dressed in a long robe that Thirteen had not seen on any of the helpers or instructors, spoke to the crowd of children.
"My name is Eudes Clarke.
"You will not see me often during your stay in this institute, but I recommend you remember me.
"Today is a special day for every one of you. Your horizons are being broadened as you learn about this world and the expectations of your king. With that in mind, today is a good day to have our little talk.
"This world, the one you sit upon at this very moment, is but one of many within our grand cosmos. Instructor Piers has taught all of you the most fundamental cosmological knowledge im sure? That this planet is a sphere orbiting the sun, and that the moon orbits the planet?"
The man, Eudes Clarke, paused for a moment to look to Nicholas who confirmed with a tiny nod.
"Good. Then it can't be too much of a stretch for you to understand at least this much. There exist not one or two, but thousands of worlds like this one.
"These planets are all categorized into three groups. Barren Worlds, Mortal Worlds, and Ascended Worlds."
The man stopped for a moment as if waiting for the children to catch up. "Barren Worlds are absent from all life. They are no more than a large rock in space. Mortal Worlds are those whose surface have given birth to life of any form, sentient or not.
"Now this is the important part so pay attention. The existence of life on a mortal world will trigger the creation of qi, the first ever qi native to that world. With the existence of qi, a planet gradually develops its own life and will. At first, this will is unbearably simple and primordial. It will greedily absorb all qi from its surface and feed on it in order to further develop its will.
"Over many billions of years, the planet will develop a more complicated consciousness, one capable of simple thought and more advanced instinct.
"At which point, much like a human learning to tame and breed livestock, the world will no longer greedily consume every speck of qi that appears within its domain. Instead it will release whatever was not yet digested, flooding the world with it.
"This process is how a Mortal World begins its transition to ascendency. During this process, the "left-over" qi of the world is so incredibly dense that it morphs along with the planet's simple will to become a much more mysterious force. We call this force, Flux.
"If any of you have developed half a brain cell yet, you will have no doubt realized the similarities. This world is currently transitioning from a mortal world, to an ascended one.
"During this process, the Flux being released by the planet is transforming everything into beings capable of better absorbing qi, cultivating it, and then multiplying it. It does this, because every native of the planet that dies, returns their qi to their home world. Humans, like the other animals and monsters, are crops, grown by the world to feed itself and develop.
"When the planet has developed a sufficiently complex will, it will suck back all the flux it had spread throughout the world, absorbing it to trigger its own evolution. When that evolution is complete, the planet will exhibit a genuinely advanced, sentient will, and will produce vast amounts of qi in all its many forms, excluding only flux which will never grace the surface again.
"No longer needing to consume that qi, it will be left to the inhabitants, as the world simply ages through the eons.
"Now then. Between what Piers Shepherd has told you, and what you have just learned, you now know the conditions of both the world and the civilisations founded on it. What I tell you next, will be the conditions of yourselves.
"The common life on a mortal world, when exposed to the mysterious Flux, will undergo mutations that allow them to better absorb and, more importantly, multiply the world's qi.
"Animals become Mutant Animals, faster, stronger, smarter than their less extraordinary counterparts. The degree of mutation depends wildly on the potential of the animal, both as an individual lifeform and as a member of its species.
"For this reason, each animal will exhibit varying degrees of mutation. One mutated cow may become larger and stronger than others, while another might become far superior in every way. The mutation process is a slow one that may take years.
"Those animals with the most potential, will mutate so much that their original existence becomes a limiting factor. In which case, the beast undergoes an evolution, becoming either a monster that feeds off others to grow, or a spirit beast that can absorb the surrounding qi."
Pausing and taking note of the children's expressions, he continued:
"You are all aware of this I presume. Then let me shine a light on another face of this phenomena. Why is it that humans always think themselves any different? They claim that their intelligence separates them from the rest of life, but in truth, there are always other creatures of intelligence somewhere.
"To rationalize this, they call the process of mutation something else.
"Metahumans. Correct enough as far as the term goes, but you are no more 'metahumans' than the mutant cow is a 'metacow'. This will become increasingly apparent as you age, but every one of you is currently undergoing flux-induced mutation.
"Just as one cow remained a mutant and the other evolved, not all of you will find the same end. Some will never awaken more than two attributes, while others will become knights and scholars, possessing far greater capabilities.
"Well. As humans, you are slightly different. Humans are highly adaptable, possessing more potential than most mundane life forms. For this reason, you can mutate a lot more before tapping out your potential and initiating an evolution.
"But do not assume you will not evolve as the animals do. It is merely a matter of figuring out who among you is capable of it...
"Perhaps none.
"But let it be known to everyone within this hall, that if any of you, upon your coming of age, undergo evolution into an ascendent race, there is a far grander future waiting for you that any of the kingdoms here could offer."
At this nicholas' head flicked up to look at the man from behind, his eyes barely containing the wrath within.
"As I said. You will want to remember me." The man finished calmly, before walking to the exit of the hall.