The other freshmen might have been oblivious to it, but Xiao Lin became increasingly aware of how their batch of freshmen were treated differently.
From the unprecedented attendance of the dean at the opening ceremony, to the sophomore year leader representing the student union and taking over the class monitors' course selection duty from the instructors, it was surprising that the freshmen would be taught by someone with such high qualifications. It was a little overkill.
Xiao Lin remembered what Chen Yu said the previous night. The substitute teachers for freshmen were usually third-year or fourth-year students. After all, freshmen courses were very basic, and senior students were more than capable of being up to the task. Even if the courses were slightly more advanced, any ordinary graduate could shoulder the responsibility.
"My surname is Dai. You can call me Professor Dai." The young man opened up the heavy textbook, which immediately triggered a raucous protest.
"Professor? Are you kidding me? You look like you're the same age as us, maybe even younger! The academy can't be pulling our leg, right!" Some people were not convinced of the professor who looked so young.
The young man did not get angry and simply placed both hands on the textbook. "I'm a hundred and twenty this year. As the saying goes on Earth, I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice!"
120 years old!
Everyone was stunned yet again, but before they could question him further, the young man waved his hands, "Also, I personally hate when people talk in my class without my permission, so this is a little bit of punishment for you!"
Professor Dai effortlessly threw a dark-green orb of light, which then entered into the mouth of the boy who spoke earlier. The boy began dancing to dance around. To his horror, he discovered that he could not say a single word.
"The Taciturnitas spell lasts for half an hour. If you don't stop, I'd be happy to temporarily turn you into a statue."
The authenticity of those spells was a good deterrent. The entire classroom fell silent at once.
Professor Dai patted his belly with satisfaction and reopened the textbook. His voice resonated all throughout the hall. "Norma is actually a transliterated name. It's derived from the humanoid language of Planet Norma. Based on verifiable history, Planet Norma has been around for twenty million years since the birth of its sentient intelligent beings."
Professor Dai was just about to speak enthusiastically when a girl sighed. "We don't seem to have any textbooks."
The girl knew that she had made a mistake and hurriedly covered her mouth. However, Professor Dai's lecture had stopped and he smiled, "I never distribute textbooks in my classes. If you really need them, you can head over to the Logistics Department and exchange points for them after class. I, for one, don't recommend it!"
Professor Dai's tone became stern and he lifted the heavy book up. "Everything you're learning now is preparation for your future. Are you going to bring such a thick textbook to the New World?! Again, let me state the rules: do not interrupt when I speak!"
Professor Dai did not have the slightest pity for the girl; the green orb from the Taciturnitas spell emerged from his palm and the girl could only stare dryly with an open mouth.
Xiao Lin looked at the poor girl and could not help wiping off the cold sweat from his forehead. He had nearly complained about not having a textbook earlier, but lucky for him, he held it back.
Xiao Lin turned his head and glanced at Gu Xiaoyue out of habit, then silently noticed that she had a pen and was engrossed in writing at breakneck speed. She had a light-yellow notebook placed on the table.
In fact, there were pens and papers in the dormitory, but out of the 60 people in class, Gu Xiaoyue was the only one who brought a set. In fact, most people had not fully come to terms about actually being in a school with classes, let alone take notes.
…
The freshmen were very quiet. Even the sound of Gu Xiaoyue's writing was drowned out by Professor Dai's loud lecture. Although the book on Professor Dai's desk was open, he lectured fluently without ever looking down. He did not pause at all, as if Planet Norma's history had been etched firmly in his mind.
Xiao Lin had to admire the man. He may have looked mediocre, but he was no doubt a man of substance. It was hardly surprising that he was a 120-year-old professor, but Xiao Lin felt like ridiculing the professor for bringing such a ridiculously huge book to class when he already memorized the text. Did the man not feel tired at all?
The question was answered fairly quickly. When Professor Dai introduced the racial makeup of Planet Norma, he paused, looked down for the first time, and said, "In order to for you to better visualize each race more vividly, I'll show you some virtual images."
Professor Dai lifted his finger suddenly and a brilliant band of colored light was drawn out of the book. The light quickly spread throughout the surroundings and finally formed a lifelike holographic image of the creatures. Even more amazing was that the images blinked and made low growls.
The creature of that race was tall, sturdy, and looked truly quite hideous. It had wild boar-like fangs and resembled a gorilla, while its gray-black skin was covered with dense and terrifying scars. It was extremely realistic, just like from a real creature from a movie.
The few girls sitting in the front row cowered in fear, but they seemed to be even more afraid of Professor Dai's Taciturnitas Spell and swallowed the screams that approached their lips.
Although the rest did not say anything, their eyes all lit up. Compared to Planet Norma's history, everyone was obviously more interested in the magical displays that Professor Dai conjured.
However, Professor Dai did not explain the spell and simply pointed to the ugly creature. He raised his thunderous voice again, "This creature is called an Orc. They are one of the oldest races on Planet Norma. Orcs are barbaric, savage, and extremely aggressive. They live in a tribal society and survive by looting and hunting. They are fond of scars and often regard the scars gained from battle as symbols of honor."
Many people had already guessed that when they saw the magical image of that race. When Professor Dai affirmed it, they all had weird expressions, as if wanting to say something, but they were hesitant to speak.
As a veteran otaku, Xiao Lin was naturally very familiar with that image. After battling in various major video games, it would be an insult to his title of Gaming Nerd if he did not know what an Orc was.
However, Professor Dai told everyone that the Orcs were actually the inhabitants of Planet Norma and were ancient creatures of another planet. In that case, what could be said of all those similarly-shaped orcs in Earth's various video games?
Xiao Lin could not contain his confusion and finally raised his arm up high. With two people serving as lessons, he did not dare to talk without permission in Professor Dai's class.
Professor Dai looked up at Xiao Lin and nodded. "Do you have a question?"
Xiao Lin brought up the question which many people had. Why was the appearance of Planet Norma's Orcs so consistent with the depiction of Orcs in Earth's online games?
Professor Dai remained silent for quite some time after hearing the question. With a look of confusion and befuddlement, he asked slowly, "I haven't been to Earth for more than half a century. Can anyone please tell me what an 'online game' is?"
The class fell silent. Even some of the girls, who never played video games before, looked at Professor Dai as though they pitied how out of touch he was.