After talking with Julianna or should I say dumping the information of her sister's death on her, I went inside my own room and just sat still as I started making butterflies to train myself a little.
Julianna had gone into a frenzy as I had expected and went with the rapid fire of question after question, questions that I couldn't give her an answer to.
How was I supposed to?
What was I supposed to tell her?
Hey, I met your sister in my world? She didn't know about my transmigration and I wasn't planning on telling and broadcasting about it to the world or anyone for that matter.
And let's say if I did tell her about this what then?
How did I meet her? Well, she came to kill me.
Did she succeed? Well, I am alive as you can see.
How did she come into my world? I don't know.
Why did she come to my world? Well, to kill me, duh.
Why did I kill her? Well, she did something and I mean she was the reason why she died so I kinda lost it.
Who is she? Well, I don't remember either. Do you have any idea how long has it been since? Too long.
Where is her remains? Nowhere, do you think I will leave any evidence behind? Dream on.
Tell you everything from the beginning to the end? Well, like I said I don't remember either. This is all I fucking remember as well.
It's been too long.
I didn't even remember her face, if not for the fact that we spent almost a decade together and it was the most amazing and miserable moment of my life then I probably wouldn't have remembered her sister even after seeing her photo.
The fact that I remembered about her after seeing her photo was simply because she was an important person, just like she was.
I have broken all the promises that I had made to everyone, and they have broken all the promises that they had made to me.
But there were two promises that I remember I made to two people, one of them I was keeping to this day, and the other well... it wasn't a promise I could have done anything about until now but as far as my intentions went, I planned on keeping it now that I can.
It was only fair, those two never broke any promise they made with me either.
That was all there was to it.
But this explanation was far from what Julianna wanted and needed.
And I didn't like talking even a little about the incident, I don't even remember it. Everything's just mixed up in my head.
So, the only option I was left with was to tell her that I didn't have anything to tell her about which wasn't a lie exactly.
I heaved out a sigh.
This wasn't the problem.
It was something else though.
Julianna's sister had come to kill me, she had come to kill me with a clear purpose as if she needed to at all costs, of course by the end she couldn't really go through with it, things happened, I don't remember it all but she couldn't let me live either just like that and that was why she made me make a promise to her.
That I remembered.
I promised to protect her sister if something happened to her.
I bit my lip.
There was only one thing I could conclude, this world, my world, the other worlds connected to this one through the hidden dungeon, and maybe more, were all connected with each other.
And ...we were all living in a regressed world, no that wasn't right or maybe it was but there was another thing that could have happened, Julianna's sister was the one who managed to regress.
Julianna's sister must have come from the world before it was regressed or she herself regressed, but something went wrong or else I wouldn't have been alive.
No, her not being able to kill me had nothing to do with emotions and all that shit or the time we spent together, yes, that kinda was a factor but there was something wrong on the fundamental level, even if Julianna's sister had killed me back then I wouldn't have died.
It was just not possible.
That's why, I was damn sure something went wrong.
But those aren't the problems or questions.
The thing remained if she came from a regressed world or if she herself regressed and tried to kill me then what did it imply?
What the hell did I do or more exactly the other me do?
What could I have possibly done that she came to kill a... 6-year-old kid?
Did I do something to Julianna? No, she loved her sister but she wasn't the type to go all bonkers that she had to go back in time to kill a fucking kid for it.
And more than that, what would make a person regress and try to kill a kid instead of dealing with his adult self who had done what he did?
There was only one answer.
I, or the other me, was strong. So much so that it didn't leave her with any other option.
Julianna's sister had come to kill me, she had come looking for me, in other words, she didn't regress because of some sort of fucking whoosh shit like me who transmigrated in this body, rather she had managed to regress and came to kill me with clear intentions and goals.
But according to what I know from the novel, this world will end because of those midgets then... the hell did I end up being the target of her grudge?
I shouldn't normally have been part of anything... or that should have been the case but after my transmigration in this world, I did end up learning about my connection with Lucy.
Even though in the original novel I should never have been part of this world or anything, nothing could change that a connection between Lucy and me should have existed.
In other words, I was connected to this world and involved even if I wasn't aware of it, even if it almost seems insignificant.
And for Julianna's sister to go and chase after thi—
I bit my lip.
I stopped trying to think.
I shouldn't.
Because that line of thought was dangerous.
It was too dangerous to tread on.
And I was, in the end, working on the assumptions.
Assumptions, I made.
That's why, I stopped trying to think any further.
Damn it.
It was impossible to do so, more so when I had already reached the conclusion.
This world, my world, and all other worlds were connected like a spider's web, all threads connected.
Now then, who is the fucking spider?
Are we just made as a trap for its prey? And if the prey exists for the spider, that would mean, there exists a whole fucking other side of the world that none of us could have ever dreamed of.
The simulation theory, huh? What a fucking joke.
.
.
.
.
Days passed by and Noah remained cooped in his room, he didn't come out, all he did was just stay still as he watched the butterflies fill the room he kept making one after another.
He ate his burger, took a bath, and then kept training his energy components by making the butterflies, that was all he did all day long.
Noah didn't realize the frightening pace with which his proficiency was increasing in each of those components of World's Will.
He wasn't even bothering to look up at his status when it was all happening.
But then, he stood up.
His eyes fell on the calendar, the month ended. It was the beginning of the new month.
In other words, the next big event of the novel was about to happen.
A class re-shuffle based on their worth that the academy has decided on, the bracelets that were chipped with non-interactive AI which evaluated the students on the amount of effort they had put in and the improvement they had shown since the day of the entrance ceremony, on this basis, they would be given a rank and based on their rank, they would be allotted their classes.
This time, the classes would represent hierarchy, students from certain classes would be considered higher in the hierarchy, and certain ones mid and then the lower ones, you know the drill.
The privileges that the students were enjoying for free in the first month would be taken away, they would now be given based on the class.
And this is how discriminatory actions among the students would finally start to spring out.
The bracelet Noah was wearing showed him his rank.
Rank - 1
Once he saw his rank, he tore it apart and then threw it in the trashcan.
He picked up his phone on which there was an e-mail that had come from the academy. He didn't check it, as he stood up and left his room.
He already knew the content of the e-mail, it was the allotment of the classes based on everyone's rank.
Noah knew the class he was allotted, or more accurately the class Rank 1 was allotted in the novel.
Before he could leave his room, his phone rang up, and looking at the caller he picked it up.
"What is it?"
"Your class?" Lucy asked
"It's the same as yours, you should already know about it."
"..." Lucy maintained silence and then after a moment of hesitation spoke up "Julianna reported you, you know about that, right?"
"Doesn't matter, it's me who killed her sister, not Noah, there's no evidence, hell they can't find one if they went to my world and tried looking for it, the only thing is my confession to her which must have been recorded by the academy device"
"I took care of that problem... still, what are you going to do with Julianna?"
"Nothing"
"...I see, I will meet you in the class then" Lucy cut the call and Noah put the phone back in his pocket as he left the room.
And then walked across the hallway, towards Julianna's door, and pressed the doorbell, again and again, in succession.
The door didn't open.
No one came to open it even after he waited for 10 minutes.
And then, he finally started walking towards the class, giving up once again.
.
.
.
.
I waited, my face down on the desk as the class was now filled with 21 students, me included.
It was like how I had expected, in the novel there were a total of 20 students in this class but with me involved it's now 21, they didn't remove the 21st student but just increased the class size, unlike other classes which were based on ranks and evaluation of the students.
The students of this class were based on how the academy found them to be the ones with the most potential or something along those lines.
This was like a special class in that regard.
Of course, since this is kind of a special class which is above all the other classes it's unacceptable for the students of this class to have a lower rank than the students of other classes and that will be the first task they will be given.
To get the higher rank before the end of the day.
You might ask, the students who didn't work until now and ended up being in this class would have no reason to try hard enough to get the higher rank, so why would they bother? The reason for that is simple, the penalty for not getting in the top 21 ranks will be expulsion.
Someone called out to me as I turned my head towards the voice.
"Um... hey, it's your turn to introduce yourself"
Fucking introductions.
I waved my hand in dismissal, gesturing for them to exclude me from this.
And exclude did they do me.
They moved on to the guy sitting behind me, the protagonist of this novel, Aqua.
I am not being an attention whore or anything but I swear the way these kids just excluded me that easily? Like not even a little try in urging me to introduce myself?
Fucking hell...
Once the introductions were done, some chatted and some sat idly by in their seats waiting for the teacher to arrive like I was, Aqua tried to engage with me but I just waved my hand.
I wasn't really in the mood to talk.
I wasn't in the mood for anything.
In these last few days, I had come to peace with things.
Yes, unexpected things happened and yes, their implications are quite grand and all but what did it matter to me?
That's right. It doesn't concern me.
The promise with Julianna's sister? All right, I can look after her.
What did the other me do for Julianna's sister to try to kill me? Well, fuck that part. That was the other me, I am not the other me, so who cares?
The idea that there's this one big spider who created us all and the shit? Isn't that like, your good old talk about there's only one god and all?
And hell, maybe it's just the second plot boss who is the spider… okay, let's scrap that idea, it's bullshit.
The second plot boss can't use all the components of the World's Will in other words, he can't be the one who created the worlds or anything like that.
So, the spider remains a mystery and I was no Buddhist who wants to attain nirvana or some shit.
I was fine not learning about the truth of the world and all.
So yeah, I was kinda back to normal now still feeling shit though.
The classroom door opened and all eyes turned towards it as a woman with unkempt hair and a bit messed up clothes appeared.
I knew her name, Laura Spencer, the homeroom teacher of this special class, at least that's how it was in the novel.
"All right, settle down. Give me 10 minutes and I will explain the shit, no one is going to interrupt in the middle and if you did, your ass will be in the infirmary, got that? After 10 minutes, if you still have any questions, I will listen."
Her words brought silence in the classroom, the way she spoke was the last thing a student would expect their teacher to speak like.
Truly, this woman doesn't give two shit about anything, does she?
"My name is Laura Spencer, an S- ranked. I will be your homeroom teacher for the next 3 years, you got any problems you come to me, you create any problems, the bill of that will be on me so unless you enjoy getting your ass beaten, don't go getting involved in unnecessary troubles.
Now, let's move on to the things you little shits must be dying to know about right now. The bracelets and the rank showing on it are your grade rank, it refers to your rank in your grade. If you are interested in knowing your academy rank—the rank you have in the entire academy, then you can just look it up on your phone in the installed app or just double-tap on your bracelet.
These ranks you are given are on the basis of the improvement you have shown since the entrance ceremony, how much you improved, how much work you put in, how consistently you did the training, your class performance, your marks in quizzes, and all that shit.
These ranks determine which class you will be part of, the lower your class the more of a trash you are, and the higher your class the less of a trash you are. So, these ranks are important.
Evaluations are made each month and based on that your rank either goes up or down or it can just stay the same, the case if it goes up, on the basis of how much it was raised you could get into a higher class and if it goes too down, you could end up in a lower class.
The higher the class the more privileges you have and the lower your class the fewer privileges you have, the system is supposed to represent how the society works.
Talking about this class, it's the cream of the crop, the best of the best among the first years, you people are beyond your peers and as such you are part of the special class, you aren't just a higher class, you sit at the top of the hierarchical chain.
Now, some of you in this class have a rank that is not acceptable from someone who is in the special class, at the top of the hierarchical order and as such all those who have a rank below 21 will need to go and obtain that rank by the end of the day, failure to do so will result in your expulsion.
The question now is, if the evaluations happen at the end of every month, then how are you supposed to increase your rank by the end of the day? There is a way. Every month there are students not satisfied with the ranks they are allotted and we used to receive a lot of complaints about them, so the academy added a new rule for those disgruntled shits, the duel.
In duels, you could bet anything of yours on the line, and if you win get it, and if you lose you lose what you bet. The things that you could bet in the duel could be anything.
There are a few rules of the duel that you must know :
The bet you are making should be of an equal value that both the participants agree with.
The one who decides if the bet that has been made is of equal value or not is the academy itself.
The person challenged to the duel has the right to decide to agree to it or not.
If the person challenged agrees, they have the right to decide the environment of the duel area. This means they could ask for a duel in an area that could enhance their chances of victory, for instance, an assassin might ask for a duel in an environment that gives them the advantage over their opponents, or a water mage asking the fight to be in the water. The academy as you know is capable of creating any artificial environment, so it's not a problem for us.
If found cheating in the duel, it will be counted as a loss.
If you don't show up in the duel, it will be counted as your loss.
These are mainly the rules for duels.
Duels usually happen between two individuals but there are also group duels: each group must have a leader, and class duels come under the group duels.
Now, you must be wondering how you lot are going to get a higher rank if the person being challenged has the right to decide if they want the duel or not. For that, there is a way.
Every student of the academy except the person who has the academy rank 1 gets a ticket each year.
This ticket allows you to challenge anyone you want to, and the wages are your ranks, if you win you get the rank of the person you challenged and if you lose you will be given the bottom rank
The ticket can only be used once, and some of you lot are going to use it to get your ranks within the top 21 students.
So use it wisely, because if you waste it, you won't get another one of these until the year ends and you don't have that kind of time.
Now then, any questions?"
Finally, done with her damned speech she posed a question to the students in the class. I, as a novel reader had felt my memory getting refreshed.
"Um.. my academy rank and my grade rank don't make sense," Asked a girl with lavender-colored hair, her name was Ashly, an E+ ranker, one of the strongest kids in this class, and her class was Grim Reaper.
"They wouldn't, grade rank focuses on how much you have improved and grown since the last time and how much hard work you are putting in while your academy rank only cares about how strong you are, it doesn't take your hard work or improvement into account" Laura replied in a lackadaisical manner.
Ashly nodded in an understanding as another person raised their hand and posed a question.
"The number of students it's showing in the academy is lesser than what it should be, did they all get expelled?" Marianna asked, she was also an E+ ranker, and her class was Summoner.
"Well, some got expelled and some are well, got expelled…" Laura replied, her eyes squinting as she tried to avert the eye contact as she gave her answer, and I knew the reason for that.
Some were expelled and some …died.
Students who couldn't handle the pressure fell into the bottom hierarchical order and had their life turned shit committed and some died due to a few mishaps and accidents, like in duels when a safety device malfunctioned.
The academy however never released any information about the dead students to the public, they gave money to the family of the deceased or simply shut them down with power.
Quite a dark world out there.
But as the saying goes, you can't hide things forever.
Every wrong done by the academy will one day be released to the world. They are raising heroes, while in this world the term hero has lost all meaning and mostly refers to the police of sorts, some people still remember the meaning of the term, the ideal term of the hero and that's what they want to be.
I looked towards Ashly who was sitting towards the end, in the novel she was the whistleblower of sorts if you want to call her that, but she was the only person in this class who wanted to be a hero.
The greatest hero this academy ever produced was Ashly Wilson, the hero that Regis Randolph so admired and wanted and chased to make, Ashly was the very picture of it.
"Alright, you little shits. If there's nothing else you want to ask then you can take your leave. Classes will resume properly from tomorrow onwards. Those who are already in the top 21 ranks in this class could go and enjoy themselves while those who have a low rank, go and into the ranks before the day ends unless they want to be expelled. That's all for today" Saying so, Laura took out a cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth as she walked out of the class.
Leaving us all behind.