Chapter 65: History of the Continents.
Aiden left the principal's office and walked toward the hall where the history class was going to take place. The wide corridor was quiet at this hour, and the soft sound of his footsteps echoed lightly against the smooth stone floor.
On his way, he recalled all the things William had said. William's words replayed clearly in his mind, each one carrying a weight of meaning. As he was recalling everything, a question suddenly came to his mind as he thought, "What is a bloodline specialty?"
He slowed down a little, his brows lowering. For a moment, the question tempted him to turn back. He wanted to go back and ask William about it, but he dismissed the thought quickly because William was always busy.
Aiden knew that if he returned now, William might be talking to another teacher or handling something important. So, he decided to ask that question later, perhaps after classes or when he found the right moment.
Then he entered the hall where William had given his academy opening speech. The hall was large, long, and filled with rows of seats arranged in a wide arc.
History was one of the classes in which all the departments sat together, so the hall was almost full. As he entered, he saw many students already sitting there. The air was filled with quiet conversation as students chatted while waiting for the professor.
There were many familiar faces. Joshua, for example, was staring daggers at him the moment Aiden stepped inside. His eyes were sharp, filled with the same bitter hostility he had shown since the first day.
David was also looking at him with hatred in his eyes, hatred so clear it felt almost solid. He had been punished severely by William because of his fight with Aiden, and he clearly had not forgotten or forgiven him.
Aaron was looking at him too, but with admiration instead of hatred. His eyes softened a little when he saw Aiden enter, as if he was happy to see him walk in. Victoria stared at him for a long time as she sat beside Aaron.
Her gaze lingered on him, thoughtful and calm. Olivia glanced at him for a moment and then quickly looked away as if she didn't want to get involved in anything connected to him.
There were other students who were looking at him as well. Some were fearful, some wanted to fight him, some hated him for no reason, while some wanted to be friends with him. The atmosphere around Aiden had always been mixed, confused, and filled with emotions that didn't even belong to him.
But eight students in particular were looking at him with the will to fight in their eyes. They were the top students of each department.
Among them was a red-haired boy with red eyes named Ian Pavlov. He had slightly darker skin and a strong, solid build. His shoulders were broad, and his expression carried confidence that came from constant combat training. He was the best student in the fire department. He was also the nephew of Logan Pavlov.
Another was a girl with dark blue hair and blue eyes. She had a petite build with sharp features, her cold expression matching the calm nature of her element. She was a first-year student from the water department named Ashley Lopez. She was the daughter of a Noble family's head knight, which explained her disciplined posture.
Another was a yellow-haired girl with brown eyes. She was smaller than most other students, with delicate features and a gentle aura around her. Her name was Angela Fray.
She was the best student of the healing department and the young lady of the Fray family.
There was a boy with dark brown hair and eyes. He was a lot bigger than other students, with a bulky body and heavily built facial features. His presence alone made him look like a bear in human skin.
His name was Henry Gorgon. He was the best student of the earth department, and he was a commoner who had climbed to the top through hard work.
There was a boy with light green hair and dark green eyes named Jack Kensington. He was a little taller than Aiden, with a slim body as if there were only bones under his skin.
Despite his thin build, his eyes carried calm determination. He was from a fallen noble family. He was the best student from the wind department.
Then there was a black-haired boy standing there named Kyle Hawthorne. He had dark brown eyes with pale white skin that looked as if he were sick.
His eyes were deep inside their sockets with dark circles around them. He was the best student of the puppeteer department and also the puppeteer prodigy from the Hawthorne family, who had the puppeteer bloodline specialty.
A boy with white hair and grey eyes was also standing there. His name was Noah Huxley. His skin was pure white, just like Aiden's, but he had a strange glow on his face as if he were the purest person in this world. He was the best student of the light department and the son of the priest of the Church of Light.
The last one was a purple-haired boy with black eyes and slightly tanned skin named Jeremy Jaegar. The expression on his face kept changing every few moments, as if he were a different person each second. He was the best student of the illusionary department. He was also from a noble family.
All of them were looking at Aiden. Some were curious, some wanted to fight him to check who was stronger, while the remaining were simply observing him. Aiden took a glance at them and then walked toward Aaron and Victoria. He sat beside Aaron, one seat away from Victoria.
Aaron didn't say anything as he gave Victoria an apologetic smile. Victoria saw this and sighed softly. Aaron had told her about how Aiden had opened up to him.
So she had told him to be the middleman and help them become friends. But Aaron was too overwhelmed by Aiden, and he didn't dare to say anything to him, so he just smiled at her apologetically.
Victoria had already predicted that this would happen, but she still had a small hope inside her heart.
Aiden sat there and then closed his eyes as he waited for the professor to come. This was one of the classes in which he could learn something new, so he looked forward to it even if he didn't show it on his face.
After fifteen minutes or so, a man in his early fifties entered the hall with a book in his hand. He had white hair and brown eyes. Some wrinkles on his face showed his old age. He was wearing casual green trousers and a shirt.
He walked to the front of the hall, then stood in front of the speaking desk and said in a loud voice, "Silence!"
As soon as he said these words, the air around them began to become heavy. All the students stopped talking as they felt suffocated by the pressure that suddenly filled the hall.
Even the top students of every department felt slightly suffocated. But Aiden didn't feel anything at all. This pressure was nothing compared to Michael and William, who were stage 5 mana cultivators.
In fact, it was even weaker than the pressure his mother and father exerted. So this meant that the man was a stage 3 mana cultivator.
The old man also noticed that Aiden was completely fine, and he felt completely surprised. In all his life, no stage 1 mana cultivator had been able to breathe so easily in his presence.
He thought that Aiden was using an artifact to protect himself, so he directed all the mana pressure toward Aiden. Aiden's body felt a little heavy, but he still endured it easily.
This left the old professor dumbfounded as he thought, "This child definitely has a stage 4 mana artifact protecting him. He is definitely from a strong family background."
But in truth, Aiden had not used any artifact to protect himself. He had endured it all with his own strength. He didn't use the stage 5 illusionary mana artifact unless it was necessary. He wanted to grow strong, so he didn't want any protection.
The man cleared his throat as he lifted his mana pressure and said, "My name is Walter Malleus. I am your history teacher."
He stopped for a second and then continued, "From now on, I will teach you history, but there are some rules that all of you have to follow in my class. First, there will be no talking during lectures."
"Second, no student will be allowed inside the hall if they are late. Third, if you want to ask a question, you will use a mana spell to tell me. Fourth, if you don't agree with any lesson that I teach you, you can argue with me, but you should have a valid reason to do so. Understood?"
All the students listened to every word clearly and then said in unison, "Yes, sir."
After that, Walter opened the book in his hand and said, "Now I will tell you about the history of this continent. The things I am about to tell you are not known to the common folks or anyone outside this academy. This history is only known by the students of this academy."
"Now, first I will tell you about how the four continents were formed. At first, all of these continents were one. There was no separation between them."
"But two hundred years ago, a war between high-stage mana cultivators occurred. It was not at the level of stage 5 but stage 6. Many stage six mana cultivators fought over an artifact that could change their lives. No one knows what that artifact is, but it was the key to becoming a stage 7 mana deity."
"All the stage 6 mana cultivators in this world fought each other for that artifact as the world was plunged into chaos. It was a complete hell, as even mid-stage mana cultivators couldn't survive."
"Their battle created the gaps between the continents. Their attacks split the earth, and the four continents were eventually made. The war went on for almost half a century. After it ended, almost all stage six mana angels died, while a few of them survived."
"No one knows where that artifact is and where those angels have gone. This concludes the history of how the continents were made. Even if this is just a myth from old times, many people still believe in it."
Then he took a deep breath and asked, "If all of you have any questions, you can ask me now."
Everyone who heard his words was completely stunned, except for a few people who already knew about this from their family. Aiden was also a little surprised, as his parents had not told him about this. No student asked any questions. There was complete silence.
Walter saw this and continued, "Okay, now if you don't have any questions, I will now tell you about our continent's history and how noble families came into being."
Author's Note: This chapter begins to reveal the dark history of this world as Aiden learns about it.