"Today I've been invited to present to you in detail the two paths that will be available to you at the start of your adventure within Eternity."
At the end of her words, a translucent image appeared on the wall behind her.
On this image, two phrases were highlighted:
"The way of the loner and the way of the leader of men."
"I imagine most of you are aware of this, especially the few little shits who get the watch on their 18th birthday from their super parents," Riva explained with an air of disdain towards a few students in particular.
"It would seem that this teacher has a particular hatred for second- and third-generation rich kids," Maxime thought doubtfully.
Yet no one in the class dared to stand up and intervene during the lesson. Just the name Juggernaut was far too imposing and intimidating.
"The loner's path is the path that 99% of individuals take, or end up taking in one way or another."
"Can someone explain to me why?" asked Riva while scanning the classroom with her eyes.
Seeing no one speak up, Riva simply gave up and continued to explain:
"I imagine every one of you has heard of the expression: Only your own fist is immortal."
All the students nodded slightly at this.
Taking a student at random, Riva pointed to Samuel and asked:
"You explain to me your understanding of this expression."
Samuel stood up with little confidence and said in a slightly shaky voice:
"This expression takes on its meaning and is understood by all individuals who have already entered the Eternity world. It was first expressed by Longwy, the thief from the east during the only interview that was done with him before he disappeared again somewhere in the world."
"Oh not bad, go on." interjected Riva with some interest.
Gaining confidence, Samuel continued:
"He'd used that expression when the interviewing journalist asked him how he got stronger. After which, he first reacted with a scornful smile, then came up with the expression as if it were the logical way to go."
"That expression means that no matter how many times you die in Eternity, you'll always retain your own personal strength," Samuel concluded with a rather confident smile.
"Hmm. It's not bad, you can sit down again." commented Riva with a slight smile.
"Not bad at all Samuel, where did you learn that?" whispered Maxime suspiciously.
In his mind, Samuel had always been a very relaxed person who liked to play video games all the time, a far cry from the studious student he'd just portrayed.
"I didn't get a great talent in Eternity, so now my dream is to become a journalist, so I've been doing a lot of research on the subject. Knowing this expression is the ABC of journalism, hehe," Samuel boasted lightly, rendering Maxime speechless.
"Your comrade is right, so could someone tell me why the path of the leader of men still exists and is even extremely valued in the world's best universities, in the army and in the best mercenary groups?" asked Riva, easily covering the discreet voices of Samuel and Maxime.
A student dressed like a nobleman in the Middle Ages stood up and asked:
"Madame Riva, I'd like to respond to that answer."
Slightly intrigued and even prepared for some kind of joke Riva replied:
"Yes you can."
"Thank you madam." replied the young man while leaning in slightly.
In this world, it was rather fashionable among rich young people to imitate the style of dress and behavior of the nobles of the Middle Ages, and especially that of Eternity.
It was said that they underwent special training so that, even without strong talent, they could gradually integrate into Eternity's aristocratic circle.
As a result, they would earn more money and support, grow stronger and continue to increase their influence.
Many strong men had become so thanks to their intelligence and eloquence.
"The way of the solitary is limited by the very fact that their strength is limited to that of an individual. After all, no matter how strong a man is, can he stand up to 3, 5, 10, 20 or even 50 well-trained soldiers?" the young man explained with ease and confidence.
"Whereas a person borrowing the voice of the leader of men can easily take under his command more than a dozen ordinary men as soon as he enters Eternity with the 10 gold coins given by the game."
"That's why..."
"It's okay, sit down and stop talking so much bullshit in my class, it's annoying me." intervened Riva in a cold voice, making the young man break out into a cold sweat and sit down immediately.
Riva swept her gaze around the classroom once more, but no one dared stand up.
She looked again at Samuel, but she didn't want to question the same person twice, so her gaze naturally focused on Maxime.
"You next to the little genius, answer my question."
Maxime stood up, simultaneously attracting all the curious glances of the class, but also the mocking ones of the few elitist students in the class.
This naturally put a certain amount of pressure on him.
But having already spent two months as a leader of men, and having even put his life on the line several times already, this small dose of pressure was nothing at all.
"To answer the professor's question, the path of leading men is favored by universities, the army and mercenary groups because those who dare to take this path often have a magical talent. This magical talent in most cases gives both a strong personal strength to its possessor but also to his mercenaries, so it also has a certain attractiveness for mercenaries in the world of Eternity."
"So to sum up, those who dare to take this route generally have similar personal strength at first to those taking the solo route, but as their income increases over time, their strength will become much stronger than that being solo."
"It also means that even if they die and lose their foundation, they're still geniuses."
"Not to mention their strength if they summon their man in the real world."
Maxime explained everything in a concise yet clear manner and in a strong voice so that everyone could understand.
It impressed Riva to have such an eloquent student in her class.
She even applauded him with a broad smile.
She looked at the previous young man and said in a mocking voice:
"You see, no matter how well educated you are, you'll never be able to become an elite, because anyone who talks bullshit without realizing it, while appearing interesting, will always be an idiot in my eyes."
Samuel and Maxime looked at each other and could see both an unspoken agreement and a certain amazement at seeing a teacher so transparent with her thoughts.
It made them and a small part of the class laugh, but most didn't dare for fear of retaliation.
After all, although in Riva's eyes they couldn't become elites, they would always remain far stronger than ordinary students.
Simultaneously, the young man frowned and looked at Maxime and Samuel, remembering their appearance well.
The same was true of the few students who dressed like noblemen.
"Back to the point, our classmate explained it perfectly. The path of leading men is one regularly taken by those with magical talents."
"But if you don't have magical talent, I'd advise you to take the solitaire path."
"Who knows, maybe one day you'll be favored by nobles or even royalty, or maybe you'll manage to find some treasure. In short, the opportunities in Eternity are innumerable, so don't give up even if your talents are weak. One day you might even reach the same heights as Longwy, who knows?" explained Riva with a sincere smile, reassuring most of the students.
As Riva continued his lecture and explained the various basics to know about the two lanes, the young man who had humiliated himself turned around:
"Rolls, I want to know all about the two guys who humiliated me in front of a member of the Juggernaut mercenary group," he whispered in a voice laced with mischief.
"Okay, Winny, I'll find out," he replied in a slightly fearful voice.