It's Tuesday today and Aston's already at school.
Once again, he's 30 minutes early and is already at the classroom. Mary isn't here yet so he was spending time on his own, reading a book that he borrowed from the library.
The book was nothing too special. It doesn't talk about magic at all, instead its topic is about the career options for cultivators. He knows that its still too early for him to even be concerned about this but a little bit of advance knowledge wouldn't really hurt.
He passed time like this as his classmates slowly arrived. When there's only five minutes left before class started, Ashton kept his book and stretched in his seat. That's also when Mary arrived and sat next to him.
"Yo, cutting it real close there." He greeted.
"I blame those two." Mary sighed in a tired manner, she's of course referring to Alice and Blake. "They're still not used to getting up early yet they're the ones insisting that we go to school together. I swear if this happens one more time I'll just leave them behind."
"They'll get used to it. Relax."
"Yeah I hope so too." She sighed, "But I've been friends with those two for practically all my life. I know that's a tall order for them. They won't learn unless they suffer."
"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." He replied.
"Yeah."
The two of them talked to each other until the professor arrived. When the clock hits 10am, Ashton felt a sharp sensation coming in front of them. He felt a presence which made him look there.
All of a sudden, an old man appeared in front of the class.
He was bald but there are some strands of white hair still attached to his scalp. He sported a long gray beard and he had the appearance of a kind grandpa. His back is already bending downwards and he has a cane which he used to stabilized himself
The old man was wearing a loose green shirt with the Academy's badge on the right chest side. The shirt is tucked inside his white pants and he's wearing a brown leather boots.
His eyes were closed, but Ashton could feel his gaze. The old man had this kind smile on his face as he scanned the class. He cleared his throat and said:
"Good morning 1st year, Class C. My name is Aleck Hamilton, I am your Professor for History. Nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you too, Prof. Hamilton."
The old man looked pleased as he nodded. He then slowly tapped his cane towards where his desk is. He pulled out the chair but instead of sitting in front of the desk, he place the chair in the middle of the aisle in front of the students.
"Whew. I hope you kids don't mind me sitting here. Old me can't stand for long periods of time. But don't worry, I can still do my job just fine." The old professor smiled and sat on the chair.
Ashton blinked and his gaze briefly glanced at the rest of the students. Well, as he expected, at least half of them are bored. It would seem that History is going to be one of those subjects huh...
"Okay, before we start the class. Let me tell you a few things about me. I know some of your aren't interested in that but if you can humor me for a bit, please do listen."
The old professor then brought up his profile for everyone to see.
"As you can see, again my name is Aleck Hamilton. I am 97 years old this year and I have been a professor here for about 40 years now."
'Holy hell, that is mad...' Ashton exclaimed inwardly.
He couldn't believe that this old man is 97 years old already. He hasn't met anyone this old before and he still looks like he has a few more years left for him. This is insane!
Not to mention, 40 years of tenure? Holy crap, that is some made loyalty right there.
"I used to be in charge of Modern Technology and Advanced Science but I've gotten too old to handle the activities meant for those subjects and it became stressful too. That's why I got transferred into History and Alchemy now."
"Moving on to my style well...I require nothing from you kids. My subject should be easy enough so as long as you pay attention you should pass. I'll be informing you about tests and examinations ahead of time so that you can prepare."
"I'm not strict when it comes to attendance, so long as there's a student in this classroom, I'll teach. I'll only record the results you'll give to me so if you fail, it means that its your fault, not mine."
"The only thing that I request from you kids is to never resort to underhanded tactics in order to make yourself look good."
The Professor opened his eyes for the first time and looked at the students. His kind smile also disappeared.
Much to their surprise, the old man's eyes were pure white, which made him look freaky and intimidating.
Ashton felt goosebumps on his arms when he sensed the gaze of the professor.
"You see, old me never really liked cheaters."
The weight behind those words were not to be taken lightly. It might sound like a warning but in truth, it's a threat.
Before the students realized it, the old man's expression already changed. His eyes closed again and his kind smile returned.
"...ah but well, that's just for old me's preference. Just don't do it, okay?"
The students nodded and the professor looked pleased. Then he started checking the attendance. He said that he's only going to do it once since he's good at remembering names and faces. He said he's glad that not even his old age affected his memory.
After everyone's called, the old man moved-on to the lesson properly...
"Now, now. Since most of you here passed the entrance exams, I'd assume that you know the brief history of our world." He said, "You might've heard it from us adults or read it through books..."
"The story of how our peaceful world suddenly got invaded by Foreign Races who pushed us to the brink of extinction. The rise of the Heroes and the eventual establishment of the Last Bastion. To summarize, that is our History."
The students found themselves nodding in agreement with the old man.
"But of course, this is just the summary." He said, "There's so much more to the story. Most of these information are too sensitive to be included to what the public knows. But since you all are here, you must know it."
"Because in order to ensure the longevity of our race, we must not make the same mistake again. Well, that's the goal anyway but for all we know, History just repeats itself sometimes."
"Still, it's good to know how far we've come. Looking back to our past isn't a waste of time. We do it for reference to ensure that we're walking at the correct path."
"Now, if we're going to start looking back to our history, it is only proper that we must start at the very beginning, no? So, let's go ahead and do that."
Professor Hamilton raised his cane and stabbed it on the floor. All of a sudden, a curtain of light enveloped the students.
Their surroundings started warping around them, it was as if they were truly going back in time. This went on for a few minutes until it stopped.
Everyone then found themselves surrounded with an endless blanket of ice but they weren't cold. As they looked around, snow filled their vision as well as the gloomy skies above.
"Before we continue, I must let you kids know that this is just a depiction of what happened back then." The old professor said this to grab their attention. "As we never really developed a machine that allows us to observe the past in a safer environment, we can only use these kinds of tricks."
"Anyways...welcome to the extreme north - the place where it all began. As you can see, the environment here is harsh. No regular humans can survive in this place, but surprisingly, there are tribes here. Let's have a look at them shall we?"
Their surroundings warped again, it's as if they were zooming in to somewhere now. And they were.
Beneath the snowy mountains, there are several establishments that appeared. Said buildings were covered with snow but they are visibly noticeable.
The students could see people around, wearing clothes made out of animal skin. They are thick and covered in fur. These tribesmen are holding pre-historic weapons and the craftsmanship was obviously horrible.
As the class observed closely how the tribe lived, Ashton sensed movement at the corner of his eyes. He could've sworn that a shadow passed by and he felt uncomfortable.
He felt his senses alerting him as he involuntarily tensed up.
Ashton blinked one time and when he opened his eyes, he saw the shadow standing in front of them as it dug its sharp claws to heart of a human who never saw it coming.
Ashton swallowed down hard and thought:
'That went from zero to a hundred real quick.'