"Well well, no time for breaks," said Shanson passing a jerky-like food to Cori.
"What's this?" Cori asked.
"I call it dried meat floss, I bet you will like it," Shanson said with a grin.
Cori took a bite and was immediately reminded of the pork floss bun from his neighbourhood bakery. Immersed in nostalgia, the seemingly hard-looking piece of meat disintegrated upon touching his tongue.
"How do you make this?" marvelled Cori.
"No time to chit chat, got to rush for the next class!" Shanson said throwing a teleportation stone onto the ground, "Quick! jump in!"
Cori swiftly followed, tailgating the angel slime. "So that's how they save on expenses...," his thoughts distracted him as he fell through the ceiling onto his seat with resounding fireworks.
"Wow, the fifth of November sure came early this year," commented Shanson with a chuckle.
Cori: "Fifth November?"
Shanson: "Ah my bad, I mean 5th of Scorpio. Every 5th of Scorpio a batch of graduates will raise their wands with their right hand and create fireworks in the evening skies. Everyone will be wearing their mask on that day except the graduates."
Cori felt increasingly confused, "So Scorpio is the 11th month? We have 12 months here?" The fireworks sprung into action after Cori finished his sentence.
"Hahaha, yup. Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. Each month except for Pisces alternates between 30 days and 31 days. Pisces has 28 days, and one additional day for every leap year," said Shanson.
Cori: "But what do you mean by November?"
Shanson: "Ah it's just an ancient language which means the month of Scorpio."
"Not from where I came from," Cori thought, wondering if Shanson was from Earth like him. The tutor barged into the room right when he was about to throw a question at him.
"Class, Marvyn won't be teaching today because he is sick despite being a holy priest," Kareem said with a hint of annoyance. "Instead, I will be educating you on the fundamental religious history of this world in his stead," he said whipping out his wand with a sharp snap.
"Please pay attention lest you enjoy repeating," Kareem said tapping his wand on the table. "You, the one in black, tell me the meaning of religion," the archmage asked.
"People who follow and spread the deity's teachings," he answered.
Kareem: "Hmmm... close but not quite. What you just described are devotees. You, the one beside Cori- What is religion?"
Shanson: "A system of worship."
Kareem: "Commendable. It is crucial to comprehend that mere belief in a deity or god does not inherently form a religion. A structured system must be established. Yet, it is essential to acknowledge that some lesser deities or gods are unauthorised to institute such a system. By examining your systems, you may ascertain which deity or god crafted your framework and observe your well-being. You can do that in your own free time. So what is the difference between a cult and a religion?"
A slime with a horn answered, "A cult exerts control over the individual's thinking and decision-making processes while a religion seeks to influence but not control the individual."
Kareem: "An astute observation, though there is a minor correction to consider. When someone is entangled by the cult system, it will seek to manipulate and control the devotee, effectively making them a puppet. However, if the devotee possesses a resolute will and an unshackled spirit, they have the potential to resist and even dominate the cult - becoming the next cult leader. The cult's system seeks to isolate the devotee to exert greater control over their physical and mental state. This system is not governed by any gods or deities but is rather the manifestation of the cult leader's egotistical spirit."
Kareem waved his wand and created an illusion of 13 signs -Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus.
Kareem: "These thirteen system types were once deployed under the auspices of various ancient gods and deities, with Ophiuchus being the rarest among them. Following the great war, the ancient gods and the creator reached an agreement to replace all existing system types with the world system. This transition led to numerous advancements that shape our world today. For the remainder of today's lesson, please form groups of five. Your task is to analyze and discuss the differences between the ancient system types and the world system type."
Cori felt perplexed. "The names of the thirteen system types were similar to the zodiac signs on Earth. Is there some sort of link?" he wondered.
"Bro your fireworks are blinding," a blue slime chuckled breaking Cori's thoughts.
"Oh, hi I'm Cori. Nice to know you," he replied recovering from his daydream.
"I'm Sky and this is Meimei and Gate," Sky introduced the two blushing slimes.
"Hey, I'm here too!" Shanson joked.
"Ya ya. We're friends of Shanson, shall we work on this project now?" said Gate jittering nervously like a jelly.
"Relax, we got this. Right Cori?" Shanson said with a wink.
"We do?" Cori questioned.
Kareem: "For the sake of fairness, you will be unable to see or hear from your system in this class. You will have to rely on your research."
A series of groans could be heard in the background including Cori's group.
"Lucky for you, I went to the library and prepared the readings," Gate said taking out her thick voluminous books from her inventory.
"I... I can take notes," said the red slime blushing with a hint of pink.
"Ok, we will each take a book to read and whenever we find something of interest Meimei will note it down for us," said Shanson with the rest bouncing in agreement.
Cori took the book on the 13 ancient system types and discovered upon reading the glossary something astonishing- the gods behind the 13 Zodiacs were similar to those on Earth.
"Capricorn- an ancient system created by the Ancient God of the Forge.
Aquarius- an ancient system created by the Ancient Goddess of Wisdom.
Pisces- an ancient system created by the Ancient God of Seas.
Aries- an ancient system created by the Ancient God of War.
Taurus- an ancient system created by the Ancient Goddess of the Harvest.
Gemini- an ancient system created by the Ancient God of Thieves.
Cancer- an ancient system created by the Ancient Goddess of Marriage.
Leo- an ancient system created by the Ancient God of the Sun.
Virgo- an ancient system created by the Ancient Goddess of the Hunt.
Libra- an ancient system created by the Ancient Goddess of Love.
Scorpio- an ancient system created by the Ancient God of the Underworld
Sagittarius- an ancient system created by the Ancient King of Gods.
Ophiuchus- an ancient system created by the Ancient Goddess of Medicines."