Edmund was outside the classroom, resting as Ariadne had instructed him. It took five days for him to get better, and the pain was too much to bear. The thought of doing nothing was eating him alive.

Eliza helped him a lot, going to his room every day after her work at the hospital in the city to heal him, but he thought that was strange that it was taking so long for him to get better; it was like his body was destroyed and she was putting it together little by little.

He rolled into the classroom. As he reached the center, all his students looked at him. He faced them and looked around. Leah was behind him, sitting in a chair behind the desk.

'Today, we will see the battle recordings inside the dungeon so we can learn more. Your only privilege is that you are seeing it first. By the end of the month, the duchess will show to everyone in the city's center and to other towns after that.’ Edmund cleared his throat.

Edmund positioned himself between two of his students and turned around to face the blackboard he had built using the same process as the tablets. He walked to the door, closed it, turned off the lights, and stayed there. Using her tablet, she controlled what was happening on the blackboard and pulled the recordings, so she started.

As the images rolled, Ariadne and Edmund fighting the guardian started to roll; the sounds simultaneously made the experience exciting and terrifying for most of them. The recording was different from the one Ariadne saw inside of the dungeon; it was edited into one single thing, not several parts; everything was about thirty minutes long, and by the end of it, everyone was at the edge of their feet and cheered when Ariadne cut guardian, killing him.

‘Teacher, how you fought that thing with your bare hands was crazy.’ A student to his side spoke.

Leah turned on the lights, and Edmund rolled to the same spot he had been before the recording started, turning around to face his students again.

‘At the end, you all got excited. There is not much you can do here now, but it was important to show it to you anyway.' Edmund crossed his arms.

‘Why was it important?’ Another student raised their voice

‘Because at some point in the future, we are all going to face things equivalent to the guardian, but it will be killed by normal means, so better weapons will be needed.’ Edmund nodded to the student.

The students talked to one another briefly before Leah knocked on the door three times, which made them stop.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

‘I’m not saying everyone here is to abandon their project and focus on weapons; you have your obligations, especially those sponsored by the companies.’ Edmund scratched his cheek with his index finger.

‘I don’t understand what you are trying to say, Teacher?’ A student on the back spoke.

‘I’m saying that if you develop something that makes harvesting crops easy, it will free people to do other things. If you develop something that makes construction easier, a job that took four now just needs two, and so on, you understand?’ Edmund held his chin with his right hand.

All of the students sitting nodded and looked at one another; they understood his line of thinking. They saw the potential of their projects to revolutionize the way things were done, and it inspired them to work harder. Edmund's words made them feel way more important about what they were already doing.

‘Something that will revolutionize things will be the train. We are building the tracks from the dungeon to this city; now imagine every city in the kingdom connected, with trucks and other vehicles on top of it. This is what I’m talking about.’ Edmund opened his arms and raised his voice.

Everyone in the classroom nodded in agreement. They knew about the project, and it wasn’t a secret, but they thought that, in this context, it would change everything.

‘And I didn’t say anything about what those guys there are working on, flying vehicles on top of this all.’ Edmund pointed at a group of students.

Those students looked at one another and instantly understood what he was talking about: the transportation of materials, people, and troops, which would make everything faster for them and everyone else.

‘With that in mind, I want you all to see the perspective of the normal soldier on the frontlines and how it will be in the future fighting against the demon lord army.’ Edmund pointed at Leah and rolled back between the two students.

Leah turned off the lights and, with her tablet, started the next recording. This was a compilation of the battle in chronological order, with the more comprehensive parts because there were many scenes where the cameramen were hiding, trying not to get killed.

An hour of screams of the soldiers, loud explosions, soldiers being hit by a light beam and completely vanishing, dying instantly, melee fights with the creatures, charges through streets and inside of buildings, and soldiers being carried behind destroyed walls.

Edmund looked around for a moment and saw them all looking in horror. No one was there with a joyous expression, and even Leah covered her mouth in complete disbelief at what she saw. Then, there was a scene of Ethan on the front advancing while shooting at the creature with no fear whatsoever, even pulling other soldiers behind cover as he prepared to advance again.

They all felt they were there with the soldiers. The sound was like looking through a window, a past that they weren’t a part of. They only felt this now because of how brutal the one-hour recording was. As it ended, Leah turned on the lights again, and Edmund rolled to the front of the class.

‘You all watched the real reason I did everything I did up until now, why I taught everything you know; imagine doing this with swords, shields, bows, and arrows.' He scanned his students, looking into their eyes.

There was only silence in the room. Some looked at their friends, and others looked up at the ceiling, finding Edmund’s expression uncomfortable.

‘We need more. We need those tracks to carry bigger weapons, those flying vehicles to carry troops and weapons, new ideas on protecting our soldiers, and more people. That's why your work in whatever you are doing is important.’ Edmund looked around with a serious expression this time.

The students now had a reenergized resolve, their expression full of hope, and it was like new ideas were popping into their heads already; they were part of something greater, those that pushed everyone forward from behind. Ariadne’s image popped up in their head, and they all closed their eyes for a moment, even Leah. Edmund found their behavior strange; it was weird, but it shrugged off.

‘Start working.’ Edmund shouted.