Inside a large room filled with books and old objects, and at its center, the history teacher, Professor Malak, was explaining the lesson. She had curly brown hair, green eyes, a green robe, and a brown coat. Eugene, Rin, and Reem were sitting at the back of the classroom.
"As you know, languages change over time. Ancient peoples did not speak the same language we speak today, and this is due to countless reasons—like changes in the way humans understand things, wars that destroyed schools or archives, and many others.
Our lesson today will be about the ancient Geo language. So open your books to page 13."
The students opened their books and some began taking out highlighters to mark important information.
The teacher picked up the book and began explaining the lesson, starting from the title and the lesson number:
"Lesson One: The Geo Language."
Eugene whispered from the back with impatience and sarcasm:
"Why is she rereading the title? And why start with the lesson number? It's literally our first lesson, obviously it's going to be Lesson One."
Rin let out a small laugh, and so did Reem.
"The ancient Geo language is divided into two periods. The first period was used in the Fourth Era—also known as the Fourth Epoch—and almost everyone used it. The second period was at the beginning of the Fifth Era (the Fifth Epoch), and its usage ended 825 years ago."
The teacher pointed her hand at a student in the back. "Start reading the lesson."
The girl looked at the text and began reading:
"At the beginning of the Fifth Era, the explorer Tariq Ziyadah was searching inside an old record office, and he found a file. After finishing decoding it and studying it, he discovered it dated back to the Fourth Era."
The teacher pointed to another student. "Continue."
The girl stopped, and the boy she pointed at continued reading:
"He discovered that this file was a summary of the most important rules and fundamentals of the Geo language, which consisted of 22 words. Each word was made of two sounds, and each sound could be pronounced in different forms. Each letter represented a set of multiple meanings, and more than one letter could be combined…"
"Aaaaaah…" The boy took a deep breath after reading continuously without stopping, then continued:
"More than one letter can be combined to form a new sentence, and the intonation of the sentences can be adjusted if you want a different meaning. Another letter could also be added to the sentences if the sentence was long."
The teacher stopped him and pointed again at another student. "Rin, continue."
"O-okay…" Rin's nervousness began to show.
"And its usage was stopped—"
The teacher interrupted him. "Raise your voice so the students can hear you."
"Hehehe, what an idiot," whispered the rich boy who had previously accused Reem of cheating.
Reem whispered in Rin's ear:
"Listen, don't mind what they say. Imagine something that makes you feel relaxed, and pretend you're explaining the lesson to someone you don't get nervous around."
Rin followed Reem's advice and raised his voice:
"At the beginning of the Fifth Era, the language was modified so it could fit a larger number of creatures, like elves, dragons, yunor, and dwarves.
But in Monian, after the empire was founded and Emperor Wasam took the throne, he canceled this language and replaced it with a language that was discovered in files found in the Great Desert… It became known as the Arabic language.
There is no information about when this language was invented."
She signaled him to stop there.
Rin turned to Reem and said with a small smile:
"Thanks for the advice… how did you even think of that?"
Reem replied with the same small smile:
"I used to have the same problem in elementary school. My mother gave me that advice back then, and it actually solved it."
The teacher continued:
"The ancient Geo language was canceled because it was complicated and difficult to learn. Also, Emperor Wasam liked to stand out, so he used this language to make Monian distinct from the other empires and kingdoms."
"And that concludes the lesson. Any questions?"
No one raised their hand.
"Alright then, you may leave."
They walked out of the classroom, and Reem spoke curiously while looking at Rin:
"Tell me, what did you imagine when I gave you that advice?"
Rin answered awkwardly:
"Uhh… nothing, I didn't imagine anything."
"Liar," Eugene said, leaning forward and clasping his hands together.
"You were imagining your sweetheart Juliet, weren't you?"
"A sweetheart? I didn't think you had one," Reem said, giving him a side glance with a small mocking smile.
"Well, he didn't confess his love to her, but he used to look at her from time to time when she came over with my mother to hang the laundry," Eugene added, forming his fingers into a circle and putting it over his eye like a telescope.
Hehehe, Reem and Eugene laughed, while Rin felt like he was about to explode from embarrassment—yet at the same time, he was sad remembering her death.
Narrator:
"Believe me, if you knew what I know, you would've laughed like a maniac instead of being sad. Hehehe."
After that, they headed to the physical training class.
"Come on! Twenty-one! Twenty-two! Twenty-three! Faster, you chicken-legged weaklings!"
Some students complained, exhausted from the intense training. They were doing push-ups while carrying each other, then switching roles and repeating this ten times in a row.
"What is wrong with this damn instructor?!
Where does he get these hellish ideas?!
Damn it, when does this class end?!"
After that, he made them run at full speed without stopping across a long path, then stop, count, and repeat the same thing again and again.
"Hahaha," the same rich students laughed as they drank apple juice, not doing any training with them.
Eugene's face was full of anger and exhaustion. "Why aren't these bastards training with us?"
A student answered:
"They're from rich families. Of course they're going to be treated differently."
Another student said:
"Just because they have money and tons of important connections, they're treated like kings. And we—commoners, poor families, normal families—work and sweat day and night."
Rin said, barely able to breathe:
"But look at Selena. She's from a rich family with a strong legacy, and she still trains with us."
Eugene looked at Rin.
"Not all rich people are jerks… but most of them are."
After three hours, in the cafeteria:
Eugene said while holding his leg, with a cup of grape juice in front of him:
"Aaaah… my legs are killing me…"
"Mine too," Rin agreed.
As for Reem, the instructor had let the girls rest because they had less physical endurance compared to Eugene and the others—who took his challenge personally: whoever stopped would be considered a woman until the end of the semester.
"How was your day?" Fred asked, holding his fork.
Eugene replied:
"Tiring and boring."
Reem said:
"Useful, I learned a lot—but still tiring."
Rin answered after drinking his apple juice:
"Boring because of the history class, and tiring because of the training."
"Oh right, Fred, I have a question."
"What is it, Eugene?"
"What rank are you in cultivation since you're a second-year student?"
The question sparked Rin and Reem's curiosity, and they both looked at Fred.
"I'm in Rank Two."
Rin asked:
"And what's your talent?"
The question brought sadness to Eugene as he remembered the incident.
Rin, Fred, and Reem also remembered it, and Rin looked at Eugene saying:
"Oh… sorry. I remembered."
Eugene looked to the left and scratched the back of his head slightly.
"It's fine, I've already gotten over it."
His voice was weak, with a slight sadness. "More or less."
"Alright, my talent is B."
"The same as mine," Rin said.
After some more talking, each of them went to their apartment to rest.
Eugene opened the apartment door to find the lamp on.
"Damn it… I'm sure I turned this off when I left."
He turned it off, but a shiver ran down his spine as he remembered that creature.
The lamp turned back on immediately.
He closed the door behind him and started searching through the furniture to make sure that creature wasn't there.
Eugene felt relieved.
"Good… it's not here," he said inside his mind.
He went to the bedroom and lay on the bed.
But this time he left the lamp on and lay on the side of the bed that gave him a clear view of the living room.
He wasn't fully comfortable yet, so he kept the light on and stayed on that side.
As time passed, his eyes slowly closed, and he drifted into the river of sleep and dreams.
End of Chapter Twelve