History Class

Unedited

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Andi walked back to his dorm by himself and closed the door. He got a single-person dorm because his adoptive parents had connections within the Imperial Academy.

He wanted to get into his room as quickly as possible to hide the embarrassment he felt from eating dinner with Cyrus and his minions.

As a worshiper of the God of Light, he hated anyone who associated themselves with the Dragon God. Cyrus was easier for him to idolize because he had most of the features of the God of Light. The only stain he had was that one eye color of his…

Still, he had to report to the priest about his interaction with Cyrus today… It was embarrassing but he was at least able to find out what his electives were.

In his dark room, he held a communication device in his hands. He spoke softly to the other on the side, relaying everything that happened as well as Cyrus’ schedule.

“Be sure to become friends with them, even Atlas. We need them both to come to the Holy Kingdom…”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Even if he was unwilling, he knew that he had to do what he was told or they would kill his sister.

“Good.” Then the priest hung up without waiting to hear if Andi had anything else to say.

Andi put the communication device down, wanting to scream and knock things over, but he couldn’t draw too much attention to himself. There was no way he could become friends with them, especially Atlas.

Why couldn’t they just let him stealthily gather information? What was the point of becoming friends with them? The only one he wanted to get close to was Cyrus, but that was for selfish reasons.

It was a shame that he had a fiancée. Not only that, she was fierce and overprotective.

Cyrus was also cold toward him, not even glancing at him.

Andi gritted his teeth, trying to think of how to get Cyrus to look his way.

*****

The next day, after homeroom, the students went to their next class. As students in the same class, their main courses were the same while the electives would be different. This allowed students to socialize with students from other classes.

The main classes consisted of math class, literature, history, magic theory, and finally a combat class. Since each person had differing weapon specifications, there were multiple teachers with differing specialties so students were not left out.

The main classes' curriculum changed and became harder every year, so no new students entered the higher grades.

Homeroom started at 7 in the morning and lasted for 30 minutes. There were 10 minutes in between classes, giving students a break and time to get to their next class. All of the other classes were an hour long while lunch was an hour and thirty minutes long. After lunch, students went to the last of the main classes and then to their electives.

Electives only had class once or twice a week depending on the class. It was also the last class that ended at 4:00 PM (16:00). After that, students could take part in club activities or tutoring before dinner time at 6:00 PM (18:00).

The students at the Imperial Academy had a full day, but luckily, they did not have homework. They were only told to study the material they learned in class or train their magic and combat skills.

The first two classes, math, and literature, were not too difficult for Atlas, but history class was where he felt like his brain was going to explode.

Since the Hirean Empire had been around for more than a thousand years, the history classes were jam-packed with information and were one of the more difficult classes.

The history classes in the Imperial Academy started where the Hirean Empire’s public schools left off. Once at the Imperial Academy, the speed of learning increased, making it difficult to remember everything that has happened so far.

Even though Rowan was Class A’s homeroom teacher, he was also a history teacher, so it was no surprise that he would be teaching Class A’s history classes.

“Since today is the first day of school, we will start by talking about the Dragon God’s ascent to the heavens, promising to watch over us with the God of Light. Does anyone know when this occurred and why?” This was where most students left off in their studies, so this question was to refresh their memories.

Rowan looked at all the hands raised in the classroom and chose a student who sat in the back.

The young lady stood up and recited what she remembered from her textbook. “The Dragon God ascended with the God of Light in the year 477. The Dragon God told the citizens of the Hirean Empire that she needed to complete her duties as a God and could no longer walk amongst us but that she would always be watching over us.”

“That is correct. The Dragon God stayed in the Hirean Empire for almost 500 years. And who did she task to watch over the Hirean Empire?”

Rowan pointed to a young man in the front who had his hand raised for the second time.

The young man stood up, confident in his answer, “The five guardian dragons became the protectors of the Hirean Empire. Only the Imperial family and the four Dukes have contact with the Guardian Dragons.”

“That’s correct. With the Guardian Dragons, the Hirean Empire has been able to hear the voice of the Dragon God. Once every few decades, the Dragon God will contact the Guardian Dragons, though many times, the contents are unknown. When the Dukes or the Imperial family have relayed the contents, it is because the Dragon God has something to say about the current society structure or a revelation on an event that is to come.”

As Atlas listened to Rowan talk about Sohtris, he felt it was just Sohtris giving her ideas about certain things or trying to influence the direction the Hirean Empire was going in. Not only that, if she talked with the Guardian Dragons, everyone would know that she was still an active part of their lives even if she was no longer walking amongst the people. This kept people’s fate in her strong, which made her a powerful God.

“With the presence of the Dragon God, our faith in her becomes unwavering,” Rowan said a part of what Atlas was thinking. “Are there other symbols that let us know of the Dragon God’s presence?”

“I do!” A young man sitting next to Atlas stood up with his hand raised.

“Go on.” Since the student was already standing, he let him speak. “But next time, please wait for me to call on you first.”

“I apologize, Teacher Eumia.” He scratched his head in embarrassment. “We have the imperial family and Lord Atlas and Cyrus!”

The young man was looking at Atlas excitedly, which made Atlas a bit shy.

This made most of the students look over at Atlas and Cyrus with curious eyes. Normally, they did their best not to stare, but now they had the opportunity to look at two people who were blessed by the Dragon God.

Sophie and Ronan were familiar were Cyrus and Atlas, so they did not need to stare.

“That’s correct.” Rowan coughed to get the other students' attention. “As everyone can see, the Dragon God is always watching over us. That is why, it is important to understand the history of the Hirean Empire.”

After that, Rowan moved on to the next segment of the lessons and talked about the first 100 years without the Dragon God physically in the Hirean Empire.

For the people of the Hirean Empire who were used to her presence, life without the Dragon God was jarring at first. Many of her devout followers wanted to follow her while others questioned deeply as to why she had to leave them behind.

The nobility and the Imperial family did their best to steer the common folk’s attention away from the Dragon God leaving them to make the Hirean Empire a place that the Dragon God would be proud of.

After she left, many researchers blossomed, creating many technological advancements. This was also the time when reusable magic stones were developed.

Rowan concluded the lecture, “Some say it was a tragedy that the Dragon God ascended back to the heavens while other historians have said it was a necessary development for the Hirean Empire.

“If she continued to stay in the Hirean Empire, as people, we would continue to rely on her without growing. Maybe we would not be as technologically advanced as we are today. All the achievements that many researchers and engineers have made would not be appreciated because there would still be an almighty powerful God with us.

“Well, some of this is just my opinion, but history shows us that we can continue to advance even if the Dragon God is not amongst us. Thankfully, though, she is still watching over us, making sure that the Hirean Empire continues to develop in the right direction.”

With that, Rowan closed his textbook. “I want you all to look over the three chapters and be ready for the first quiz. You may be dismissed.”

With history class over, there was a 10-minute break before the Class A students had to go to magic theory.

Atlas was a bit nervous about the first quiz though. History was his weakest subject. Ronan and Sophie were smart but not good teachers, Cyrus was busy and Atlas felt bad bothering him…

“Atlas, could I talk to you before you leave?” Rowan called out to him because he was sulking.

“Yes!” Atlas told Cyrus, Sophie, and Ronan to wait for him before trotting over to his former history tutor.

With all the students gone, Rowan finally patted Atlas’ head. “I know you need some extra tutoring, so at the end of the school day, meet me in my office and I will help you go over the chapters.”

Atlas was so grateful he almost hugged Rowan. “Thank you, Teacher Eumia! I will see you later today.”

“That’s good. Now off you go to your next class.”

The two said their goodbyes and Atlas caught up with his friends. They asked him about Rowan and he said that he would be getting tutoring outside of classes. Atlas was happy because he didn’t have to bother anyone to help him study.

Ronan felt a bit jealous of this. Would he be able to go too? He didn’t need lessons but he didn’t want Atlas to be alone with a teacher…

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Grandpa Marky: Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating last week and going MIA for a bit. I was having a killer migraine last week. Finally feeling a little better but yeah. I will try to update when I can for this novel. I still got a migraine but it's a bit more manageable today, which is a relief. I finally got some writing done haha.

Anyway, that's it for me. I will see you all in the next chapter! Have a lovely day/night my beautiful grandchildren.