Learning

Eden

Coming out of the simulation, Eden exhaled, adjusting to the sudden shift in reality. It was strange—one moment, he had been locked in a desperate battle against the High Orc Chief, his body battered and bruised, pain racing through every limb. The next, he was standing back in the training hall, completely unscathed.

The wounds were gone. The cuts, the bruises—the aching tightness in his ribs from that last near-fatal blow.

But the fatigue remained.

Eden rolled his shoulders, flexing his fingers. His muscles felt sluggish, exhaustion clinging to his bones like a lingering weight. The simulation didn't let you walk away pain-free—it left behind the exertion, the wear on his body, as if reminding him that while it hadn't been real, his struggles had been.

As he stepped off the platform, moving toward a more secluded corner of the training hall, the low hum of conversation filled the air. Students were grouping together, sharing their experiences, their voices laced with equal parts excitement and exhaustion.

"That was so difficult! Did you have three waves as well?"

"Oh my god, yeah! The first wave wasn't too bad—it was just three goblins, but the second wave added an archer! Fucker shot me in the leg, and it hurt like hell. And don't even get me started on the final boss Shaman. That fireball almost killed me for real."

"Lucky. You only had one archer? I had three! I could barely move without getting shot at."

Eden paused.

Their experiences… were different?

His brows furrowed slightly beneath his blindfold.

He had faced an entire formation of goblins—archers, melee fighters, a shaman casting spells from behind. His second wave had been orcs, brute warriors that fought without restraint. And the final wave? A High Orc Chief—strong, intelligent, and nearly impossible to kill.

He had assumed everyone had gone through the same thing. That they had all fought the same enemies, struggled against the same trial. But from what he was hearing, their simulations had been vastly different.

Before he could think on it further, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"Attention, everyone."

The room immediately fell silent.

Raella stood at the front of the hall, arms crossed, her eyes sweeping over the students.

"With the final student now finished, that concludes today's trials. Good job, everyone. Most of you passed."

A brief moment of relief flickered across some students' faces.

Then, her gaze sharpened.

"However, I am disappointed in some of you."

A heavy tension filled the room.

Raella let her words linger, her eyes narrowing. "As I'm sure most of you have already realized, the trials were not the same for everyone. The parameters of your test were adjusted based on your assessed level of strength."

Eden could almost feel the shift in the room as some students stiffened, realization dawning.

"That's why my final boss was so easy…" someone muttered under their breath.

"I had goblins, but someone else had an orc? Damn."

A few murmurs passed through the crowd, but Raella ignored them.

"We will discuss this in more detail during the lecture," she continued. "Since we started the day with field training, you will all have an hour break before we begin. Use it wisely."

With that, she dismissed the class.

Eden took a slow breath, his mind already shifting gears.

Today's lecture was going to be an interesting one.

Lecture Hall – An Hour Later

The lecture hall was large, its architecture designed much like a smaller auditorium. Students filtered in, some still stretching out sore muscles from the morning training, while others chatted in low voices.

Eden took his usual seat near the back. The chosen were spread throughout the hall—Idris sitting toward the front, arms crossed in impatience, Ceris seated calmly with an unreadable expression, Nyxen looking vaguely excited, and Seraphine adjusting her notes with quiet focus.

Raella entered soon after, stepping to the podium with her usual air of confidence.

"Now that we've gone through the practical portion, it's time to discuss the mechanics behind what you all just experienced."

Her gaze swept over the class before she continued.

"Mana Gates."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

"As most of you are aware, Mana Gates are anomalies—fragments of unstable space that appear throughout the world. They connect to unknown realms, creating challenges that Awakened must face. But what you may not know is that no two Mana Gate Trials are ever the same."

She took a step forward, her voice measured.

"Each trial is unique. When you step inside, you are no longer in your own world. You are entering a 'story' as we call it."

Some students exchanged glances, but Raella pressed on.

"The moment you enter a trial, you become part of an unfolding narrative. You will find yourself in an unfamiliar place, sometimes given a role—sometimes not. Your job is to complete that trial."

She let that sink in before continuing.

"There are two ways to do this."

She held up a single finger.

"First—participation. You get involved. Maybe the trial revolves around a monster you must slay, or a war you must fight in. Perhaps a crime syndicate needs to be dismantled, or a kingdom is on the verge of collapse. These trials require action. You must figure out the conflict and resolve it before time runs out."

She raised another finger.

"Second—noninterference. You do nothing. You stay out of events, you let the world play out as it naturally would, and you simply focus on surviving until the trial ends on its own."

She paused, her golden gaze settling on the class.

"This second method, while technically an option, is frowned upon. You never know how long a trial might last. Some could conclude in days. Others? Years."

A few students visibly tensed.

"And if you stay in a trial for too long?" Raella's voice dipped slightly. "Your soul begins to corrupt."

A hushed silence fell over the hall.

Eden's fingers tapped idly against the desk.

"Corruption occurs when you stay in a Mana Gate for an extended period without progressing toward its completion," Raella explained. "You begin to lose yourself. Your memories, your identity—it all starts to fade, overwritten by the narrative of the world you've entered."

Her expression darkened slightly.

"If your soul becomes fully corrupted, you die."

Some students swallowed hard.

Raella continued.

"There are an infinite number of possibilities for trials. You could find yourself in the past, reliving historical events. You could end up in a future timeline, where the laws of mana are completely different. Some trials may take place in alien worlds—or even universes where reality itself does not follow the rules you know."

She leaned forward slightly, her voice steady.

"The most common trial is a mix of past and fiction. You may find yourself in a recorded historical event, but details will be altered. Perhaps a war that originally had no mana users will suddenly be filled with mages. Or a kingdom that was supposed to fall might now have a chance at survival because of your presence."

Her gaze swept across the room.

"Your job is to navigate that world, figure out its laws, and complete the trial before it consumes you."

Raella straightened, tapping the podium twice, the rhythmic sound echoing through the silent lecture hall.

She let her gaze sweep over the room, watching the tension settle, the weight of her words still pressing down on the students. Some sat in quiet contemplation, others furrowed their brows, deep in thought. A few still looked unsettled—grappling with the idea of corruption, of losing oneself in a trial that could stretch far beyond their understanding.

Then, her tone shifted, becoming more measured, calculated. "Now, I know many of you are wondering why the VR trials were different for everyone. Some of you had to fight nothing more than a handful of goblins, while others were thrown against orcs and even a High Orc."

She folded her arms. "This is not a mistake. It was done on purpose."

Some students exchanged glances, murmuring among themselves.

Raella continued, undeterred. "You see, in real Mana Gate trials, the difficulty is always adjusted. No matter what the trial is, it will never be completely impossible to clear. It may feel like it. It may push you to the brink. But the trial will always scale itself to your level—just enough so that success is within reach."

Her golden eyes gleamed.

"Always remember that. No matter how hard a trial may seem—no matter how desperate the situation—it is never impossible. You just need to figure it out."

A silence settled over the room as her words sank in. Some students seemed relieved. Others remained skeptical.

One boy in the middle row raised his hand hesitantly. "Professor, how does the trial determine our 'level'? Is it based on raw strength? Mana capacity?"

Raella gave a small nod, as if pleased by the question. "Good. That brings us to the next point."

She began pacing slowly, her voice carrying through the hall.

"These trials don't just throw random obstacles at you. They calculate your strength using several different metrics. Combat experience, mana efficiency, battle instincts, endurance—all of it is taken into account. However, the most important metric, the one that plays the largest role in determining the difficulty, is your Awakened Ability Grade."

A few students straightened at that.

"As you all know, awakened abilities are ranked based on their potential. The standard rankings are as follows."

She lifted one finger. "Awakened. The lowest and weakest tier."

A second finger. "Ascended. Abilities with more power and control, but still usually basic."

A third. "Transcended. Abilities in this tier begin to veer from normality, some abstract abilities start showing up within Transcended, however it is clear that abilities in this tier are more versatile."

A fourth. "Sacred. Rare. Abilities in this category define their wielders, shaping them into forces of nature. Just one person with a Sacred ability can change the flow of a battle drastically"

She paused for a moment.

Then, she raised her final finger.

"There is a proposed fifth rank. One that has never been documented but has been theorized to exist."

A hush fell over the room.

"Divine."

The weight of the word hung in the air.

"No ability has ever been officially classified as Divine," Raella continued. "But there are stories. Legends. Figures from history whose power defied what was considered possible. It is believed that should an ability of this level exist, its user would surpass the limits of awakened strength."

She let the silence stretch before moving on.

"The trial takes an average of these grades from the participants challenging it and uses that to adjust the difficulty. If a group consists mostly of Awakened and Ascended abilities, the trial will not generate enemies suited for a Transcended or Sacred-level opponent. If, however, you were to enter a trial with someone of Sacred ability…"

Her smirk returned.

"The difficulty would spike accordingly."

A few students stiffened.

A girl near the back muttered, "So if you go in with someone way stronger than you, the trial might treat you like you're just as strong as them?"

Raella nodded. "Exactly. That's why choosing who you enter a gate with is just as important as the trial itself."

A boy raised his hand. "Professor, if trials adjust to make sure we can clear them, why do people still die?"

Raella's expression darkened slightly.

"Because difficulty is not the same as certainty."

She gestured toward the class. "The trial gives you a path to victory. It doesn't mean you'll find it. People fail because they hesitate. Because they make the wrong decisions. Because they overestimate themselves—or underestimate the trial."

She exhaled.

"Our VR system isn't as advanced as real Mana Gates. In a real gate, the adjustments are done automatically. Here, I decided your parameters based on my assessment of your maximum strength."

She let that sink in.

Then, she leaned against the podium, smirking.

"So if your trial felt brutal?"

Her golden eyes gleamed.

"That means I think you have potential."

A ripple of energy passed through the students. Some of them, the ones who had barely survived their trials, sat up a little straighter. A few exchanged glances, murmuring in realization.

"I knew it!" someone whispered under their breath, fist clenching in victory.

A girl near the front, who had struggled against a particularly relentless set of enemies, blinked in surprise before breaking into a small, determined smile.

Not everyone was thrilled, though. Some students looked downright horrified.

"You mean that wasn't a mistake?" one boy muttered, still pale from his near-death experience.

Raella ignored him, moving right along.

"Lastly, there are two more things I would like to briefly mention. First—this concerns Awakened Abilities themselves."

She straightened, crossing her arms.

"As you know, every Awakened Ability is unique. You will never meet two separate people with the same ability. However, there are broad categories that we use to define them. The three most common are as follows:

Physical—these abilities enhance your body in some way, whether that be strength, speed, endurance, or even regeneration.

Mental—these abilities boost your cognitive abilities, sharpening perception, enhancing analytical skills, or even allowing forms of mind-based manipulation. My own ability, as many of you already know, falls under this category."

She tapped her temple for emphasis, her golden eyes gleaming.

"And finally, Utility. These abilities don't enhance your physical or mental capabilities directly, but they assist you in some way. A simple example would be Night Vision. It doesn't make you stronger, but it does increase your chances of survival in the right conditions."

She let that settle before continuing.

"Of the Physical category, one of the most common types of abilities seen are those that enhance an Awakened's mana attribute. Some people are born with abilities that allow them to wield their element in a more refined or devastating way. Others are granted an ability that lets them use an attribute that isn't part of their mana pool. That is why some Awakened can wield two elements instead of one."

She paused, shifting her weight slightly.

"And then, there are the rarest cases—those whose ability creates an entirely new element."

A murmur spread through the students.

"These abilities allow their wielders to forge a completely unique force in battle. For example, I once had a friend whose ability let him mix water and wind to create fog. But it wasn't just any fog—he could see through it, while no one else could."

She smirked. "That made him an absolute menace to fight."

A few students shuddered at the thought.

"For Mental abilities, the spectrum is narrower. While useful, they don't often have the sheer destructive force that Physical or Elemental abilities possess. However, those who know how to use them well can be just as deadly—if not more so—than any brute with raw power."

Her tone was almost amused.

"As for Utility abilities, they are the broadest category by far. Some are nearly useless, while others are so strange that they defy normal classification. There is no one most common ability in this category because the possibilities are limitless."

She let that sink in before her expression shifted.

"The final thing I wish to discuss today is the topic of Legacies."

That got everyone's attention.

The air in the room tensed, students leaning in slightly, their curiosity piqued.

"As you all know, Legacies can be acquired in a few different ways. Some are built over generations, forged through time and mastery, until the system itself recognizes them as something passed down through bloodlines. 

Others are created by the world's greatest Awakened blacksmiths, their craftsmanship so advanced that the system itself acknowledges their creations as Legacies."

She paused, letting the tension build.

"And then, there is the most common—but also the most unpredictable—way to obtain one."

She tapped the podium once.

"Earning them."

The room fell dead silent.

"While rare, there are instances where an Awakened will surpass the expectations of their trial. If they overachieve, if they defy the odds, the system may reward them by granting them a Legacy tied to the very trial they faced."

Some students gasped. Others clenched their fists, eyes gleaming with ambition.

"The most common Legacy rewards are weapons, armor, or martial arts techniques. However…"

Raella's smirk deepened.

"Very rarely, one may receive something… different."

Without warning, the air shimmered beside her.

A sleek, black-furred cat materialized, emerald-green eyes blinking lazily at the class.

"This is Cleo."

The cat yawned, stretching before hopping onto Raella's shoulder, curling around her like a scarf.

"I earned her during my first Mana Gate trial, and she has been my partner ever since."

The cat let out a long, lazy "Rrreeaahh."

The room was dead silent for a moment.

Then—

A student near the back whispered, "A cat is a Legacy?"

Another student leaned forward. "Wait, does that mean… legacies can be summons too?"

Raella nodded.

"Yes. Summons can take many forms. Some Awakened receive companions—beasts, spirits, even humanoid constructs. Others receive something less conventional."

She smirked, her golden eyes gleaming with amusement.

"I assume you all noticed the Principal's cape during the opening ceremony?"

A few students nodded hesitantly.

"The one that was moving on its own—despite there being no wind in the auditorium?"

Realization dawned on their faces.

"That cape is a Legacy Summon. It has a will of its own."

Murmurs spread rapidly through the hall. Some students were fascinated. Others looked disturbed.

Just then—the bell rang.

Raella sighed dramatically. "And just like that—our time is up."

A few students groaned, clearly wanting to ask more questions.

Raella smirked. "Alright, enjoy the rest of your day. Tomorrow is Friday. I'll let you all off the hook this time—no quiz."

For a moment, there was stunned silence.

Then—

"YES!"

A wave of cheers rippled through the students, several raising their arms in celebration.

But then—

Some of them noticed the look in Raella's eyes.

That smile…

It didn't quite reach her gaze.

A few students—those who were smart—felt their stomachs drop.

Something was coming.

And no quiz probably didn't mean what they thought it did.

Raella chuckled under her breath as the students filed out.

Tomorrow would be fun.