Born in Blood



The class ended shortly after that. 

Janice looked like a fangirl after the fight, smilingly stealing glances at Liam's direction. She had little advice to give him, since the usage of spells and techniques weren't allowed.

Nord looked angry at first, but then accepted the fact that Liam was stronger. He looked at Liam with even more respect.

'It had the opposite effect, damn it!' Liam cursed. 

Needless to say, the fight scared off any scheming nobles. At least the more cowardly ones. 

There were a few that still looked at him with strange emotions in their eyes. 

'It won't be long before I get one of those Force Accept slips,' Liam thought, irked.

Finally, it was time for the last mandatory class, which was world knowledge.

The next class resembled a mix between a library and a lecture hall. Books were neatly stacked here and there, and the space was illuminated by a warm, cozy light hanging from the ceiling.

An old man accepted the students coming in – dark blue eyes, arched nose, lengthy white hair that flowed behind his back, paired with a warm smile that made him look trustworthy.

He wore a black and white shenyi, stitched with hanging ornaments. Needless to say, he looked like a sage.

"Welcome, welcome, children. Please find your seats, let's begin instantly," said Gorris Shel, the world knowledge teacher. 

Once the students found their seats, Gorris smiled to himself and began talking.

"Let's begin with an overview of countries and continents."

The large, mirror-like board started to turn on with various colors, displaying a vast, top-view of the world. 

Certain countries had their own characteristics and landscapes.

The board also displayed certain interactivities – one country in particular had thick, black clouds covering its surface, which hid the land beneath it. Another was etched completely black, as though it was an area of the world yet to be unlocked.

Besides that, there were many, many more lands.

"In the very center of this world, we have Echoria," said Gorris, pointing to the mass of land on the center of the map with a long metal stick. "Echoria is a powerhouse in terms of a country."

"Do you all know why?" he asked, pointing at a young girl who had her hand raised.

"Because of its vast resources, population and millennium of cultivation?" she explained confidently, sure of her answer. 

Gorris smiled with squinted eyes, but his face instantly shifted to one of grave sternness.

"No."

The denial made the girl look shocked. 

"It's because of one reason, and one reason alone," Gorris corrected with a stern look. "We have a Rank 6 cultivator as our ruler."

Liam's eye widened, and shocked murmurs spread through the lecture hall. 

'Rank 6?' 

The most Liam had seen was a Rank 4 magical beast with a mental sphere. Although that was amazing, he didn't think it would be even close to a Rank 5 beast, let alone Rank 6 – one Rank below a Celestial.

Gorris smiled at their reactions.

"Yes, a Rank 6 cultivator," he reiterated. "Queen Thyress of Echoria."

"Such cultivators are way too powerful to live together with weak humans such as us. They build special structures and areas where 'Ora' can nourish their enormous levels of power. You won't even find a picture of them… well, if you're lucky, you might. But such people are way beyond our reach."

For a moment, Liam wondered how powerful Queen Thyress really was. Could she extinguish entire civilizations with a hand gesture? How long did she live? Where did she live? How did she get to that point if techniques were so scarce?

"She is not the only one," Gorris revealed with a smug smile, reveling in the fascinated looks. "There are the vampires in the east, led by Alucard, the Blood Lord," he said, tapping the country with black clouds covering its lands.

"That is an entire continent called 'Korsa', occupied by different races, but presumably led by the Pashah of vampires."

"There is the General, with his Imperial Legion in the north, living in the Abyssal Plains. Although they are small in number, they are capable of going head-to-head with any country or organization at this current time," he tapped his metal stick at the small, blocked out country.

"And perhaps the strongest organization of our time, the Martial Alliance in 'Ilali'. They are ruled by the Seven Great Clans, each of which contains a Rank 5 cultivator as its elder. Even among them, there is a Rank 6 powerhouse."

"These are just a few. There are many more. Some are even hidden."

Gorris stopped to let everything sink in.

The surge of information flowed inside Liam's mind and flared his ambition to a blazing fire.

He was merely an ant, with his sights set for towering mountain peaks, but no discouragement could be seen on his face.

'I'll climb them. Even they started out as ants and worked their way up the hill,' Liam smiled.

"The political landscape is something that we'll study as well. I recommend opting for the world history class too. It'll explain why the relations are the way they are."

The rest of the class consisted of Gorris explaining how borders worked, which countries were allies, and the traversal between countries.

///

After all the classes ended, Liam entered the Grand Library to grab the prescribed books to study. 

After that, he entered his lodging, sitting cross-legged in bodily cultivation. He was organizing the information in his head with a pensive look.

'Almost none of these countries are allied with one another. Echoria is neutral. Ilali has strict borders that don't allow anyone inside. The Imperial Legion is something to be worried about, from what Gorris said. The General is secretive, but that mantle of his was made through conquering various lands. The Korsan Continent hasn't had any contact with humans for ages, too.'

When he finished with his meditation, he shifted his attention to his right index and applied some 'Ora' and mental energy on it.

Instantly, his finger turned to dark mist, flowing freely even though no air brushed against it.

To Liam, it felt like any sensation in his finger turned off, replaced with a convoluted mix of cold feelings that rapidly interchanged.

'I've finally filled enough bones for one complete finger,' Liam thought with a smile. 'I need to get used to this.'