A puzzled expression came up on her face, then replaced with her usual ice-cold demeanor.
"I see, Mr Wei. A lack of female company has rendered you a simpleton. "
As always, her sass was unparalleled.
Do I continue on this path, where I had ventured before, or walk the unknown path? Do I risk the butterfly effect here?
A perplexed expression must have shown on my face, because she soon looked equally confused.
Do I teach them now, or fight? What difference does it make? The future is most certainly uncertain, or is it uncertain whether it is certain? If a minor split in the timeline is concurred, will more people die?
I clenched my fist. Was it the right decision to drag her into this now? Her skills were unparalleled, but it wasn't right. With this, a tremor rocked the terrain.
My eyes widened. Did it already begin? A roar in the distant background revealed itself to belong to one of the titanic beasts, piloted by the first few Pioneers.
Followed by a scream within the school compound.
With a deep breath, I prepared to tell her.
"Listen, I'm just gonna say it now. Our world is about to crumble, and we have to stop it. Do you understand?"
"Teacher, I'm sure you have no idea what you're saying. Maybe, this is an earthquake or maybe a landslide."
A hobgoblin stumbled onto the second floor, its hands soaked in crimson fluid. For a split second, it seemed to be quiet. Then, rage and fury consumed me whole. The reason why I fought came back to me.
Because of these damn aliens.
I lunged towards it before it could react, kicking it in the face and sending it tumbling down the staircase from where it came. "Hobgoblins, the most common type of enemy we will encounter. Are you convinced yet?"
Evelyn looked a little fazed, but she soon snapped out of her trance and looked me in the eyes fiercely.
"I don't know who you are, but you are most definitely not Mr Wei."
"You have to believe me. Understandably, it seems like my demeanor has changed a lot."
"I've noticed since the moment you ran out of the staff room. Your manner of speaking is a lot more tense and terse than usual."
I clicked my tongue. This girl. She's too smart for her own good. But that's also what made her good.
"Do you believe me that I'm Mr Wei, but from the distant future? If you come with me, I will guarantee your safety. Our government won't be able to protect us citizens with their limited intel and technology until much later."
Evelyn narrowed her eyes at me, then sighed. "Let's go evacuate the school before this place becomes a bloodbath." I nod, before sprinting off with her in stride towards the classrooms. I notice the doors sealed shut and curtains drawn over the window panes. It seems that the school assumed a shooting preventive measure and locked down the school.
Sooner or later, this place would become infested with goblins. I began to knock on every door and tell each class to evacuate quickly, under the false premise that the coast for shooters was clear. Using my authority as a teacher, I led the classes down to the concourse on the first floor.
Carefully controlling the volume of my voice, I commanded for everyone to move together in pairs if need be and to stick together as a group. I gave them a basic announcement about the invasion of extra terrestrials and mentioned the possibility of goblins approaching the school, whether they believed it or not. Most had their heads resting on their knees, their eyes seeing far beyond the ground, unaccepting of the reality they faced.
Some were like Evelyn, with strong enough courage to overcome the first hurdle: fear. With the first step taken, the rest would follow suit to complete the journey of strengthening the human body. However, there was an exception to this rule. It would be a negative step at the start and begin counting down from there to an impossibly large debt, which would swallow the person's soul whole.
Courage was important. But admitting you didn't have courage was crucial too.
The soul was an important core function of humanity that allowed us to have an edge over the extra terrestrials. Soul energy harnessed could easily tear apart yourself too.
"Courage. Isn't that a sort of... ideal? Like, it's not supposed to exist as a power, right?"
"It's not, but due to a mutation of ley line energies within the Earth's mantle that lay dormant for millennia, it empowered emotions and feelings of humanity permanently, and attracted extra terrestrials to Earth."
"Interesting..."
"Until you master soul energy, do not fight any monsters. Soul energy is a delicate process that can be channeled innately, but refined carefully with the help of certain technologies. If too much soul energy is used, it can permanently damage your soul and kill you."
"That's where your doctorate in chemical engineering helps, right?" Evelyn says in a deadpan tone.
"Yes, but I had to spend many years researching the technology. We need to acquire multiple materials on Earth... and from the aliens first."
"And... here we are. The first order of business. A base."