The next day, Arima went back to the PA with Lanya and Night. When he reached his class, he noticed that the first batch of students had already been decided, plus the six he had chosen before.
Arima scanned them. "Let’s go then," he said and opened the door. After he entered, Lanya passed first, followed by the students.
This time around, everyone came with a notebook to transcribe anything Arima would say. The latter sat on the desk like last time and observed everyone taking their seats.
He waited until everyone was seated. "Well, let's start. First of all, I see that there are some of you here that didn't come yesterday. But I suppose you saw my last lecture. So, I won't repeat it. What I said yesterday was the foundation to prepare you all."
Everyone nodded to his words and he smiled. "Okay, for today, I still won't teach you how to become stronger. Actually, this lecture will be about, let's say, morality. Similar to yesterday."
The students tilted their heads. "Don't be fooled. Like the previous one, it's really important. It’s necessary to, not only to become stronger but also to survive by avoiding stupid mistakes," Arima stated.
His sigil glowed and the room was warped in darkness. The students raised their voices but Arima calmed them. But now, they couldn't write anything due to the darkness. So Arima casually highlighted their books with just a thought.
He activated his sigil once again and ‘particles’ of light gathered in midair to form the projection of a human figure that looked just like the average mercenary, with a classical sword and armor.
"For now, view yourself as this figure," Arima said and everyone nodded. "This small lecture will consist of a succession of tests. This is a format of question that was quite popular from where I come from. Then, first question," he waved his hand and conjured two new sources of light to project something else.
Now, in front of the mercenary, there were two different situations. On one side, a group of young newbies was being overpowered by a monster, and on the other, there was a sole veteran mercenary that was slowly dying against another powerful monster.
"In this situation, who would you save?" Arima suddenly asked and the students were pulled back to reality by his voice. They were admirative of his projection that really looked vivid and real.
Then, they started thinking about it. In the end, everyone chose the first option, saving the group.
Arima smiled. "Of course, that's the correct answer. But, let me ask you, why did you choose that option?"
This time the students were a bit taken aback. Ofia raised her hand. "Because there are obviously more people in danger and it’s common sense to save young people with potential."
"Indeed, but there is one more subtle reason. In these circumstances, you didn't think of what would happen to yourself, right?" Arima smirked and everyone was startled.
"There was actually a hidden option; flee. If you escape, you won't have to make a choice and you will save your life at the same time. But, of course, if you want to absolutely rescue someone, you should always go toward the biggest group. Because that’ll give you the most chances of surviving."
Arima smiled at his pondering students and ‘played’ the projection. The mercenary rushed to help the group and saved them at the sacrifice of one of them. Arima then made a reset of the projection and made the mercenary help the sole guy. In the end, they both died.
"What I said could sound a tad unrealistic. Most people don't think that far when they want to save the greater number. But that's how people should think before they try to save anyone. They should always analyze their chances of survival," Arima said sternly.
"You can't possibly save anyone if you can't even care for your own life. Obviously, if you let them die, you will regret it. But, as long as you stay alive, you will be able to save more lives."
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Arima waved his hand and the projection returned to what it was at the beginning; the simple figure of a mercenary.
"Now, next," Arima didn't wait to know if the students had recovered or not from the first one. Some of them were even drawing in their notebooks, envisaging even more situations than what Arima showed them, trying to see if there was a better option.
That’s what Arima wanted them to do. He smiled and renewed his light projection, which was nothing more than a hologram with colors made with light magic.
For the second question, there were two different groups being attacked and on the brink of defeat. Each group had an equal number of members and it was the same for the monsters’ side. The hologram was animated and they were fighting in real-time. There was, at first glance, no difference.
"Now, what would you choose?" Arima smiled and asked. This time, the class was put into a dilemma. They tried to think hard about it, and the first ones to give an answer chose the flee option while the rest kept thinking.
At some moment, the eyes of the dull student from yesterday flashed. "I choose the second option," he abruptly said and Arima smiled at him without any comment.
"What's your name?" He asked him.
"Ares Grion," the student answered and Arima nodded. At the same time, the five others of the group of six also chose the second option. They were followed by a few others and the rest chose to flee.
"Good, seems like everyone has made their choice," Arima remarked and put a lollipop in his mouth. "The correct answer was the second one. But that's only for the ones who wanted to save them. Fleeing was also an option, and it's not wrong."
"Now, as for why the second option was correct, the explanation lies in the group itself," Arima waved his hand. The two projections were zoomed in and put beside each other. "One of these groups has something that the other doesn't.”
The students squinted their eyes to stare at the two different scenes. The more time they spent looking at it, the more students started noticing the distinction.
"That's right. As most of you guessed, one of these two groups is actually a lot more coordinated and balanced than the other," two minutes later, Arima gave away the answer.
Ultimately, even if most of them had noticed that by themselves, they were still surprised, Arima could actually project something so detailed to the point of even imitating martial arts.
"What this question teaches you is how to observe and make decisions on what you see and comprehend. This test requires a minimum of focus and reasoning. The ones who chose to flee are not wrong, but you are not made to be some allies of justice. Among you, those who didn't find out but still tried to think about it, are either stubborn or kind. Finally, the ones who perceived it are either really caring for the lives of others, an observer, or someone really pragmatic," Arima glanced at Ares when he said that.
“Never forget. There’s a really thin line between hero and villain.”
Arima clapped his hands and the projection reverted to its initial state. "Next will be the last one.”
This time, the projection was depicting a really important and wealthy figure and not far from him, a group of innocent people was being targeted by an orc while a second monster was closing in toward the noble.
"Now, you're in a situation where you need to choose between an eminent person and a group of innocent people. If you try to save the innocents, in every case, the noble will die but you will be able to save all of the innocents. In this choice, there's no need to worry about your survival. We just pretend that you can only do one at once. So? Who do you choose?" Arima asked the fatal question once more.
After a moment of thought, everyone answered. This time the opinions were slightly more diverse. Around 70% of the class chose to save the innocents while the rest chose to save the noble.
Also, Ares raised his hand to speak. "I'd like to add something," he stated and Arima smiled before allowing him to do so.
"There's a precondition for my choice. If the noble is worth saving then I choose him. After all, he may help others in other circumstances. But if that noble isn't worth that, I’d choose to save the group. That's all," he said and Lanya nodded. She totally was of the same opinion.
Arima laughed lightly. "That's a full score for you Ares," he praised and every other student looked at Ares in envy.
"You're absolutely right. Let's not take that nobles being scums is a stereotype. If the noble is worth saving, then yeah, it's better to do so. On the other hand, if he isn't, then let him die. It's not like someone will blame you if there's no witness," Arima smiled and his students shuddered.
"The thing you need to remember is also very simple. It's silly to say that each person has the same value because we all know that it's not true. Although people can shout equality, there's always someone that is worth more than others in people's minds.”
“But, there's one thing that should never be taken into consideration when deciding about one's value; social status. Instead, you should see if the ones holding those fancy titles can actually do good by using their influence. Power is never in the wrong, only the people who use it," Arima said and snapped his fingers to bring light back in the room.
"Anyway, this is three of the most important things you need to know when you live a life of combat and blood. Survival, observation, and adjudging. The rest comes with experience."
Arima clapped his hands. "The hour has passed. Leave the place. Only the six I mentioned previously and you two can stay as much as you want," he said while pointing at two students.
"For the rest of the day, I will keep doing this kind of lecture. Then, tomorrow, we’ll begin to get interested in strengthening techniques."
Everyone nodded and started exiting the classroom except the eight he had chosen. As they were leaving and the next people were entering, Arima glanced at Ares and formed a telepathic link.
"{So, your motive?}" He asked and Night’s ears perked up.
Ares smiled wryly. "{I don’t really have one. I was merely curious and your lectures seem to be interesting.}"
"{I see. What’s your real name?}"
"{I'm Arister Zeola, Z rank mercenary. I'm the inheritor of Ares.}"
Arima nodded. "{What's your actual age then? Don't tell me you're an old man because it would be unfair for all these kids.}"
"{I'm still twenty. It shouldn't be that huge of a difference.}"
Arima's eyes widened a bit when he heard that. He was actually amazed. "{Impressive. You're already at the First Sky at that age. Even with an inheritance, it's still surprising.}"
"{First Sky?}" Arister frowned. "{What is that?}"
Arima snickered. "{I'll explain it to you after classes.}"
The rest of that day, Arima continued to perform his 'light show' while using different situations each time. He then told Arister the location of the Inn he was staying in.