Beyond Phantasia

Novian’s POV

I was about to leave when I spotted the guy Iris was mad at. He was carrying a notebook with him.

“Isn’t that weird Iris?”

“What? Did you space out again?”

“No, that guy is using a notebook,” I said, pointing to the purpled-eyed student.

“Ugh. I don’t even want to think about him. Maybe he’s just a weirdo. Who even uses notebooks in today’s age? What a loser~.”

“I think it’s interesting. Ah. Gallagher is approaching him.”

“Who cares.”

I knew she cared because she turned her head. Even though that guy was rude, Iris has a soft spot. The problem, however, is Gallagher Evans, a viscount loyal to my older brother. The school preaches equality, but a lot happens when the teachers are absent.

“Don’t worry; if anything happens, I’ll intervene.”

“What do you mean, you’ll intervene? You’re a baron now, remember?” Iris said.

I gave an assuring smile.

“I’m still a Songstar.”

“Hey you! Rank 4000!”

No response from him.

“Y-you! Rank 4000!”

Again the boy didn’t respond.

Gallagher slapped the desk.

An audible click was heard.

“What?” he responded, his tone dismissive.

“Novian.”

“Yes, Iris?”

“He’s the worst.”

“Aha…”

I could only laugh at her response. That boy, Lucien, was really something.

“Y-you do you—!”

Gallagher was red.

“Court death. Blah, blah, blah. Can you please shut up, kid? I don’t have time to roleplay school bully and victim. Next class is about to start, so how about you pick up your weight and move it?”

My jaw slightly dropped.

I looked over at Iris with her equally widened eyes.

“He really is the worst.”

The exchange continued for a bit before Lucien left the scene, leaving a bright red Gallagher standing there with his small entourage.

“This…this won’t end well for him,” I sighed, “My brother will hear about this.”

“Yeah…”

Iris was still in disbelief.

…This will be an interesting year.

<><><><><>

The next class was general education, and this week’s focus was on history to give us an understanding of what we’d be doing in the upcoming weeks.

General education for history was taught by Instructor Polimor, an old woman who looked too frail for her own good.

At least this’ll be interesting.

There’s about a twenty-five minute intermission between classes. So, I decided to make my way there early and grab a seat. Hopefully, with how I acted earlier, other students wouldn’t talk or sit next to me.

The only problem now was that I had to possibly deal with Novian’s older brothers, specifically Griffin, who was a year above us. I remembered having to fight Gallagher somewhere later in the tutorial, but that should be taken care of by Novian. The fight with Griffin, though? It was possible with Novian, but with myself, it would be a problem.

While I was pondering, students began filling the empty seats in the room.

As expected, a lot of students are trying to avoid me.

The seats to the left and right of me remained empty.

That was until I noticed a certain character with pointed ears sit down.

Why is she sitting next to me?

There were still a few remaining seats open since the classrooms were designed to accommodate more students than the current class size.

It must be a coincidence.

Ding! Dong! Ding!

The bell signaled the start of class.

"Ahem. Hello all. Please refer to me as Instructor Polimor. I will be your history teacher for General Education 101. Let us begin right away."

She waved her hand, and multiple floating screens popped up.

"Please keep up as I explain the brief history of not only our world but the universe."

As she started to speak, the screens narrated her words through pictures and videos.

That’s amazing, I thought.

“In the beginning, the five primordial giants existed in unison and peace. They created creatures, humans, other specimens, and the universe itself, maintaining the natural order of life. The universe we all live in today: Phantasia. These beings — Creation, Destruction, Erudition, Nihility, and Abundance — were so powerful that nothing could harm them.”

She took a pause to let the students catch up, giving particular attention to me who was handwriting their notes.

“However, as millennia passed, the giant of Destruction grew increasingly greedy. This is where a massive turning point in Phantasia occurred. Ms. Olorona can you elaborate for us?”

The white-haired Mirian stood up.

“Yes. The records of Xeloshi state that the five giants engaged in an all-out war that lasted for centuries. Despite their immense power, Destruction proved too formidable. It killed Erudition, seized control of Abundance, imprisoned Nihility, and, in the chaos, lost Creation.”

“Very well done, Ms. Olorona. Now, the four primordial giants managed to leave Destruction heavily injured. Destruction went into seclusion to regain its original strength. However, as it slowly recovered, it continued to jeopardize the world by creating socrixes to annihilate the universe as much as possible before its return. In their final moments, Erudition and Abundance spread as much of their power and knowledge throughout the universe as they could, while the records of Creation were lost. Erudition is the reason why humans have the ability of technomancy, while other beings might possess different powers, such as shape shifting or flying at light speed. Mr. Crow, can you tell me about these socrixes since you’ve been diligently taking notes?”

Fuck. They were enemies…and…stuff….

I stood up, preparing to give an answer that wouldn't embarrass me.

[Jack of All Trades: Active]

“The Primordial God of Destruction created creatures called socrix to roam all planets with living species and annihilate them while it regained its strength. This caused discord among species, with some aligning with Destruction. Over time, the socrix evolved into even more powerful beings known as Devastations. However, those that were captured and concentrated are transformed into socriliums.”

“Correct, Mr. Crow. I admire your diligence in using pen and paper. Please…take this small notebook as a reward; it would go to waste if it stayed with me.”

Instructor Polimor then used technomancy to send the notebook flying over to my desk.

“Thank you.”

I sat back down.

How the hell? Jack of All Trades? Maybe it wasn’t so worthless after all.

Still confused, I did my best to pay attention to the lecture.

“As Mr. Crow explained, socrixes are creatures that can evolve into Devastations. Devastations are large-scale disasters that occur when a Tier 6 socrix is on the verge of breaking through to Tier 7. During this transition, the socrix goes on a rampage, consuming and destroying as much life as possible to reach Tier 7. There have been a total of four recorded instances of such events throughout Phantasia. The most recent occurred before any of you were even born — a ten-year war of pure savagery caused by a bird-type Devastation. It was defeated by not only the Dean and Co-Dean but also by many of your parents and other heroes! Truly a sight to behold!”

The rest of the lecture focused on recounting the tales of the fourth Devastation. This was pretty important, as many of the main characters' parents and ancestors were involved in battling these Devastations.

‘This was good. I was able to learn a lot more about Beyond Phantasia than I expected.”

Ding! Dong! Ding!

“Today’s lecture is concluded. Please enjoy your hour break before combat training begins.”

The instructor then left the class.

“Finally.”

I love history, but I need a break. There’s also a lot to think about with my skill now. To what extent can I use it exactly?

I began to stretch out my arms.

“Excuse me.”

Maybe if I ignore the sounds…

“Excuse me.”

I turned to face the elf. Her face was ice cold.

“Can I help you?”

She pointed to my notebook.

“What about it?”

…

…..

An awkward silence formed between us.

“Can I see it?”