There was undoubtedly some misinformation being spread about magic. The general uneducated population knew very much that magic was useless outside academia. I decided to look through the courses available next year, hoping to alleviate my suspicions. Yet, there are several combat-focused classes available here at the academy, even for second-semester students. These classes were titled things like 'Introduction to Ranged Magic in Combat,' 'Introduction to Closequarters Magic in Combat,' and 'Introduction to Battlefield Magic.' These courses wouldn't exist if there weren't advanced versions of them available, which was troubling.

I had realized a few lives ago that most kingdoms had the resources available to educate the masses. There was simply no incentive to do so. Keeping your population uneducated would reduce the likelihood of any successful changes in the hierarchy. Now, however, I saw there was much more to it than that. Keeping the people uneducated was impacting their physical power, their ability to work and fight for themselves. Still, there must be some places in the world where knowledge was more freely accessible to the people, and they would have quite the military advantage. This was something worth looking into.

Regardless, this secrecy was directly leading to the deaths of thousands. How many lives could be saved if adventurers had access to combat magic? How much blood had been spilled, both directly and indirectly, to keep this secret? I was getting angry, but it's time for class.

*

Biology of Fauna was an incredible experience. There was much that I already knew about the human body from gruesome experience. Still, I wasn't aware of the purpose of many internal organs. Apparently, we would be going over many different kinds of animals and even hurlocks soon. Our first class was focused solely on human anatomy basics. I wondered how easy it would be to stop a heart from beating using magic.

*

Finally, I was at History of Thumsland. Perhaps here, some answers about the widespread suppression of knowledge would become apparent. My arrival to the classroom was, as usual, ignored by my peers. This caused me some anxiety, but it was fine to avoid forming relationships with them, as they would fade from the world much sooner than I would. It was only after I sat down that I noticed Rodriguez staring at me. He was only two seats over, the closest we'd been since our first encounter. The professor, a lanky and dark-haired man, called roll, and class began.

"The history of our great kingdom of Thumsland is a long and glorious one. It is filled with struggle and conquest, the likes of which no other known kingdom has faced!" Ah, a fanatic. This already felt like one of the classes where students sat and listened to an hour-long monologue and had no input themselves.

"Thumsland became a kingdom four hundred and twenty-three years ago. It formed from a union of several independent minor noble factions, which used to occupy the known lands, the deadlands to the west, and the kingdom of Gracia to the east. This union was formed to combat the rising threat of invasion from unexplored lands past where the deadlands now lie." He finally took a breath.

"After ninety-three years with no invasion, the people of Gracia split peacefully from our glorious kingdom. Graciously the late king Verrick III allowed them to do so without conflict. Shortly after that, the western lands began to differ from kingdom norms significantly. They abandoned the adventuring system, which had been proven to use commoners properly for decades to combat the horde, and instead began raising a large military force. This military force was supposedly intended to fight hurlocks. Our wise king saw through this lie, and the threat of a rising non-crown aligned military power in the east led him to demand a cessation of troop training. Even worse than this, the eastern provinces began teaching even the poor commoners." There were several gasps at this information, and the professor's face shifted into distaste at every mention of non-nobility.

"The eastern minor nobility rose into a full rebellion. Their armies were mostly composed of forces who'd been occupying defensive fortifications leading into the underground. The king's forces were evenly matched with the rebel army, and allied soldiers from Gracia weren't enough to turn the tide. Yet, the rebels failed to plan appropriately. After a fifteen-year war, their hubris finally led to their collapse. Continuously decreasing the manpower holding back hurlock hordes from underground eventually led to a massive force breaking through. Without the adventurer system to cull their population, they quickly overtook rebel cities, leading the entire area to be lost to the hordes affliction. Through this, the deadlands came to be, and the Thumslands practice of adventuring and keeping uneducated commoners was validated."

I'm sorry, what? That doesn't follow at all for me. I can somewhat agree with their assessment that the adventuring system was pivotal in their success. However, the education or lack thereof of their people had fuck all to do with the results. To be fair, I didn't really expect this class to be non-biased.

"Only in the last hundred years have the deadlands been mostly cleared of afflicted monstrosities. The horde, as you all know, has risen again, but we will endure as we always have."

Again, I'm not so sure about that. This kingdom has only existed for one major horde incursion, and that was arguably due to their neighbors taking the brunt of it. The capital had been getting crowded with refugees lately, and those who could afford it fled to Gracia. Food would probably start to get pretty expensive soon.

"We will be needing our best and brightest leaders and warriors in the coming months. Most of you are immune to being drafted to the front lines, as for the rest of you, take pride in being able to serve your country. Next time we'll cover Thumsland foreign policy; class dismissed."

That was a lot less interesting than any of my other classes but reasonably informative. I was disturbed now that I began to look around. One in ten people here weren't wearing some kind of house sigil, and the rest seemed just as wealthy. As far as I can recall, I'm the only one here not sponsored by a wealthy family. The two hundred and fifty gold entry fee is enough to bankrupt most villages, and that's without mentioning the Stone cost of unlocking magic. Even with all of that, it seemed unlikely that accurate information about magic wouldn't eventually find its way into the public. Unless there was an active effort to suppress that knowledge. These were dangerous thoughts to be having.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

*

History of Stones was about to begin. I was once again noticeably different than the wealthy and affluent around me. I might have been too excited with the prospects of learning to notice before, but now that I paid attention, it was clear I was the focus of multiple hostile gazes. I'm not very social, so I found it reasonable not to interact with my class peers. Now I saw they spoke to each other often and eagerly. I was the subject of a discussion or two, none of them very kind in nature. Still, I was legally allowed to be here. I paid like the rest of them. I felt my anxiety slightly melt away each time a hateful gaze passed my way.

I still hadn't fully understood what exactly it was about a conflict that erased my anxiety. Most social situations incurred some form of nervousness within me. The only exception was whenever the other parties involved were obviously antagonistic. I could understand my lack of social skills to an extent; spending nine months in total isolation would wear down anyone's ability to communicate normally. It was the alleviation associated with conflict that worried me.

Was there a distinct difference between a social situation and a combative one? Most of the time, conversations and social influence felt like a battle of sorts, but certainly not the type I was used to. Maybe I just felt more comfortable playing on a battlefield I was adjusted to. Some darker portion of my mind suggested I was attracted to the feeling of being in control of a situation. Control was something I had very little of in the void between lives. It was more challenging to control a social circumstance than a combat one. Something was tempting about being able to determine my fate and the fate of others. I was starved of the sensation in my personal hell, so maybe it was natural to seek it in my life. I deserved whatever comforts I could get, and hopefully, my comfort wouldn't have to come at the cost of other people's lives.

The History of Stones professor entered the room, and my focus shifted. He was the same professor that taught History of Thumsland. Again he took roll, didn't introduce himself, and began speaking.

"The history of Stones is the history of the world. They have shaped the very nature of humanity and, according to some, are responsible for creating the horde. Ages ago, men asked themselves what the limit of Stone enhancement was. These men pushed the boundaries and found for themselves what those limits were. The rulers of men have long since known the origins of dwarves, elves, and other fantastic races. They were created through a great many people using Stones to change themselves over many generations. Their traits were passed down among their children over time until they could no longer be called human."

I had no idea enhancements could be inherited. There must be a massive physical difference between commoners and nobility.

"Apart from the more extreme examples of entirely new races being created, there has also been a steadily increasing level of strength in the general population. However, peasants, of course, haven't grown nearly as quickly as the nobility have. This would lead most to question why hurlocks have been consistently more powerful than the average human. The short answer is; we don't know. There are many theories currently. Most believe their brood mothers must also be consuming Stones at an immense rate. Hurlocks and other horde members do not use Stones, but they have been observed to collect them. In truth, the pace of improvement for horde strength slightly outweighs humanities. Thumslands history has never seen a brood mother observed or slain. So, many of our questions can't be answered."

A student to my left raised his hand to ask a question. "No questions allowed. If you have any questions, you haven't paid enough attention." This man is a shit professor.

"Stones were largely instrumental in every major conflict in recorded history, as well as an inciting reason for many cases of genocide. Mass killings and the destruction of entire nations often follow after minor disputes. Any excuse to collect wealth beyond imagining is generally viewed as acceptable. The victors lose nothing but some replaceable pawns, each of which contributes one extra Stone on the pile. Kings and other high nobility rarely fight personally, but they are generally capable of single-handedly killing hundreds. Many wars are plagued with soldiers stealing Stones off the battlefield. The spoils should rightfully go to the crown to be distributed as they see fit, but greed leads many astray. Sadly, Thumsland has had no major conflicts since the rebellion and has had little chance to reap the great rewards of war."

He made sense in a twisted kind of way. This man was so dedicated to his kingdom that he'd like to see thousands killed so it may prosper. He spoke a little more before dismissing the class. Today had been dizzying.

*

I was sitting with a book in the library about the development of other races using Stones when Felix approached me. "Hey, Felix. Do you need something?"

"Well, actually, mister Trace, I was wondering why another student was asking questions about you." She seemed nervous, which was a stark contrast to her attitude yesterday.

"Rodriguez, you mean? He doesn't like me. Do you mind telling me what he asked you?" I wasn't going to bother asking Felix what they had been speaking about, but if she wanted to help me of her own volition, I wouldn't say no.

"He wanted to know what books you were interested in. I didn't want to say, but he implied I wouldn't be able to work here anymore if I didn't." The kid is actually threatening people just to get some simple information about me. He definitely knows I killed his brother.

"Well, if he asks again, feel free to tell him. I don't want you getting in trouble because of me. Although, you could always lie to him. If you're up for it." Her smile returned; she was pretty cute.

"Thanks, mister Trace. By the way, what're you reading now?" That was a bit on the nose, but at least she was being transparent about her intel gathering.

"Dwarves, Elves, and more. A history of the other races." I read the title off to her.

"Ooh, I've always wanted a cute pair of cat ears. I heard beastkin used to be very popular before they... well died out."

"Well, why don't you?"

"They cost way too much. It's like, seven or eight orange Stones, just for a new look. I've never owned a Stone in my life, haha." It was easy to forget how rarely people got to use Stones. I was getting used to throwing around dozens of them.

"Maybe you can save up. I'm gonna head to bed now. Thank you for telling me about Rodriguez."

"Oh, okay. Goodbye, mister Trace." She sounded disappointed about something.

*

I was getting undressed when a paper slid under my door. In large text that I could read from across the room, it said, 'You won't get away with his death. There will be consequences.'

Damnit. I rested two axes against the door and prepared for another fitful night of sleep. Rodriguez wasn't gonna let this go. The kid didn't look like he could take me in a fight, but there was more than one way to get revenge. At least I was used to watching my back.