After waking up, the trio quickly freshened themselves up and prepared for classes.
They walked through a series of marble corridors until they reached a giant door. Zenyph opened it and led them into a spacious room with rows upon rows of school desks, which filled most of the area. Near the front wall stood a massive crystal orb, surrounded by floating crystals arranged in a semicircle. A crowd of students gathered around the orb, staring intently at the various scenes projected inside.
Everyone looked at them strangely when they entered. Most likely wondering why two girls followed him, others probably noticed how sexy the two were. But no one questioned it.
"What are you looking at?" demanded Asura loudly, glaring coldly at everyone. The entire room fell silent instantly.
"I... Um..." stammered the blonde man nervously.
"Is there a problem?"
"No." answered the blonde-haired man obediently.
"Then go back to your business," ordered Asura as she pushed past the blonde-haired student, roughly knocking him into a nearby table.
Zenyph smirked, pleased that Asura didn't let her emotions rule her, she was perfectly rational, especially after yesterday's incident. But that didn't mean she was heartless or cruel. He wondered if he was slowly influencing her behavior or if he was just imagining things. Maybe it was a bit of both, whatever the case may be, he knew she wasn't completely evil. She was just misunderstood.
After all the seats were filled, the old man Professor Gareth finally appeared.
"Welcome everyone, to your second homeroom of the year. Today, we'll discuss the results of the Velos event. Some very exciting things have happened. But before I reveal anything, let's review what occurred on planet Genesis." he declared enthusiastically as he began walking towards the podium, where the floating crystals hovered above.
Zenyph focused on the crystal screens intently, watching footage of an 'ancient civilization' using what appeared to be guns and some magic in between. They were fighting Abyssals.
"Some of you may have stumbled upon ruins but it was impossible to read the ancient text right?" asked the professor as he held his gaze on Zenyph for a split second longer than necessary.
There were some nods but most stayed quiet, no one wanted to admit they had no clue.
"Good, you're probably curious what those images were then, well allow me to enlighten you." he proclaimed proudly as he snapped his fingers and a bright light enveloped the entire classroom.
"What is this?" asked one student curiously.
"Planet Genesis is the birthplace of the Abyssals, only humans lived on said planet before it was invaded by the Abyssal, and was later conquered by the First Empress. According to legends, the First Empress discovered Planet Genesis when she was a little girl." the old man explained as he paced around the podium.
"Okay, but what's the connection between that and our class?" probed another student impatiently.
"Be patient and you will find out." rebuked the ancient teacher sternly.
The ancient man sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. He seemed extremely worn out as if he had been doing something important all night.
"This is only a small portion of what was written on those ruins you saw, I am not revealing everything at the moment. The most important thing to know is that these humans were the first to fight Abyssals and they lost. Mostly due to their lack of information on mana and how to wield it. Luckily for us, the First Empress used ancient human knowledge to form our current Empire, which is why we call it the Lusean Empire." the ancient teacher declared authoritatively, leaving no room for anyone to challenge his word.
"So how does that connect to today's topic?" questioned another student inquisitively.
"Usually you would learn more about Abyssals after reaching blue mana rank or after you graduated to the second year. But due to the recent invasions in the elven Silverglade Kingdom, the Cynosures have decided that every class from now on will teach you about the different species." declared the ancient man as he scanned his students intently, searching for any signs of resistance or doubt.
"Hold on, what do you mean different species? Aren't there only two? Nameless Abyssals and Named Abyssals?" asked someone incredulously.
"Aha, no. There are a lot of species of Abyssals, some even more dangerous than the Named ones. As I said, the Cynosures have deemed that it is necessary for your safety to understand the basics about them. So over the months, you will learn more regarding their specialization." announced the ancient man calmly, continuing to pace the podium.
"There are currently six known types of Abyssals. Starting from weakest to strongest: Nameless, Named, Animus, Griz, Lyke, and lastly Pseudo-Gods." Hearing the last species, there were audible gasps around the classroom.
"That's enough, if you wish to know more ask me later privately. I shall be spending the entire period giving you some information on the enemies we'll face in future years." lectured the ancient teacher curtly as he eyed Zenyph for a brief second before clearing his throat loudly, returning everyone's attention back to him.
"Okay so all students that participated in Velos have been ranked based on their combat abilities. Remember, no matter how skilled you think you are or how talented you consider yourself to be, there is always someone out there who can kill you. In terms of pure skill, three major categories separate mana skills." he paused dramatically, looking directly at the floating crystals as if waiting for someone to interrupt him. When no one did, he continued.
"Beginners, Intermediates, and Advanced." he declared slowly, stressing the importance of understanding what he meant.
"And obviously if you have talent, it will help tremendously to advance to the next level faster but nothing is guaranteed." he added casually, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
"So the ranking was calculated based on one's Mana skill, Mana rank, and fighting skills. For those who barely passed, you can still continue for now, but we will decide who gets kicked out once the quarter ends. No exceptions, understand? You get a chance, and only that. Make it count." the ancient man stated solemnly, making sure no one misheard or misunderstood his words.
The whole room stayed silent.
"Alright, now the results." the ancient man exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands together gleefully.
"Of the 117 students that entered Genesis, 114 managed to successfully return home alive. In addition, 95% of the team members survived with minimal injuries."
Zenyph furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at how ridiculous that number sounded. Especially since they barely finished setting up camp when the Abyssals attacked.
"A fun fact: while 114 managed to return home, only 112 are currently alive. But we'll get to that later." said the Professor with a shit-eating grin as he looked at Zenyph.
Zenyph shook his head, annoyed that the ancient teacher seemed determined to get a rise out of him.
"Anyway, without further ado I present you the rankings!" exclaimed the old man excitedly.
He waved his hand, conjuring a list onto the crystal screen for everyone to see.
'RANK ONE'
ASURA BLOODTHORNE (Intermediate(Blood, Dark), Blue/Pink, managed to kill a Wyrm type Named Abyssal)
'RANK TWO'
ZENYPH DRAKONHART (Semi-Intermediate (Water, Fire, ???), Blue, managed to kill several Moth and Snake type Nameless)
CEDRIC PENDRAGON (Semi-Intermediate (Space, Enchantment), Blue, managed to kill several spider type Nameless)
ELOWEN EVERGLEN (Intermediate (Earth), Blue, managed to kill one Ogre type Nameless)
'RANK THREE'
CRISTINA LOTYNA (Semi-Intermediate (Earth), Green/Blue, managed to kill one snake type Nameless)
FIONA NIGHTSHADE (Intermediate (Light), Blue, managed to kill one Moth type Nameless)
ALARIC EMBERSTONE (Semi-Intermediate (Fire), Blue, managed to kill one spider type Nameless)
'RANK FOUR'
The whole class was shocked at seeing Asura's accomplishment, killing a freaking Named Abyssal and reaching Blue/Pink at the mere age of 20
Zenyph silently laughed to himself, rank two wasn't bad but he'd rather be at rank one. As for Lynette's absence in the top ranks, Zenyph guessed it's because of her uneven fangs preventing her from going all out.
Asura couldn't help but smirk, knowing full well that Zenyph wasn't pleased with his position in the rankings. Her expression was smug and triumphant. The other students murmured loudly amongst themselves about the ranking, mostly on how a loser prince could reach rank two.
Professor Gareth cleared his throat loudly, silencing everyone instantly. He continued his speech after ensuring his audience was listening.
"Now as many of you may have noticed, there are missing names but let's worry about that later. To conclude the lesson, here are the names of the three students who died during Velos. And the cause of their deaths. The trio died because they ran into a Necronic seed which was promptly dealt with by Asura." answered the professor.
"I don't see Audrey's name on the list Professor. Is she sick?" asked Cristina, an elven noble belonging to the Lotyna duke family.
"Alice isn't here either?" asked Katyana, a human noble belonging to the Worina viscount family.
"Well, let's see." said the professor as he looked at Zenyph with that same shit-eating grin, causing everyone to look at the trio.