Professor Charlotte's Crash Course

Sitting atop a rock, Charlotte looked down upon us while she lectured.

Charlotte: Basically, relics are items created by gods and gifted to their Apostles. This is done because the gods themselves cannot directly exert their influence on this world in most cases. Relics can be either low or high grade, but most are low… That’s all I’m saying. Keep in mind that most people in this age have never even heard of a relic.

That didn’t really seem like the world changing revelation I was hoping for, but Raya’s disposition seemed to have been changed by Charlotte’s words.

Raya: What do you mean by “gods”? The Church’s teachings say that there is only one god, Sol, the god of the sun who created everything.

Charlotte: Well, it wouldn’t exactly be incorrect to say that there is only one God. But that’s kind of missing the bigger picture. Gods, Outer Beings, or deities are by nature incomprehensible beings.

Raya: …

Charlotte: I guess that’s not really a good explanation but basically stuff like one or many doesn’t even apply to gods as they are constantly merging and splitting apart. You can sort of think of them as amorphous blobs with their own agendas. Always be careful though because just as we can’t understand them, they can’t understand stuff like human emotions.

That is very different from the God that people spoke of in my old world. Is it possible that some god is the reason I came to this world in the first place?

Raya looked kind of upset at Charlotte’s words but remained silent.

Charlotte: Because the Church has only been around for about a century or so, I don’t know a whole lot about the differences between their god and the gods that externally influence this world. It’s entirely possible that the sun is a Relic created by Sol or some other god. In any case, it is clear that for some reason the gods have decreased the amount of influence that they exert on Gaia so relics like Ryuzu’s Fang are incredible rare these days.

Adam: …So that’s why Raya was guarding that sword so intensely. How strong exactly is Ryuzu’s Fang?

Charlotte: Not sure, I’ve heard that it mostly depends on the user but allegedly someone once used it to create a flood in a desert just to win a bet.

Raya was also shocked at this feat and looked inspired to master the blade. At the moment she couldn’t even unsheathe it fully, but I could see her doing crazy stuff later on in life. I wonder what would have happened if she had been using that sword during our fight…

Raya: Alright, that settles it! We must get back to training! Adam, get up and –HOLY SHIT WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR ARM!

Huh? I got distracted by Charlotte’s lecture and had left my arm alone for a second. It looks kinda…puffy.

Adam: Looks like the injury was worse than I had thought. It’s probably a comminuted fracture, meaning the bone is broken apart into many pieces. The reason it’s so inflamed is because of the hematoma. Wanna touch it?

Raya: Uhhh, No. That’s disgusting… Wait, did I do that? How are you being so casual about this?

Adam: Yup. The only reason I haven’t fainted yet is because I turned off my pain recognition.

I focused more on healing my arm and a faint green glow appeared as I closed my eyes.

Charlotte: You should probably practice alone for a while Raya.

Raya: Right… Sorry about that Adam.

With that, Raya walked away and began doing sword swings with Ryuzu’s Fang.

Charlotte: How long is that going to take?

I thought for a second then replied.

Adam: like 5 more minutes, but I don't plan on using this hand heavily for a few hours just in case.

She nodded and the two of us sat in silence for a moment and watched Raya train.

Charlotte: That’s a stupid way of fighting you know? Actively getting hurt like that… You probably could have won without doing that… Are you hurting yourself on purpose?

I didn't answer that question and just focused on my healing.

Charlotte: …So you'll keep getting hurt from now on. Again and again… Who are you really, Adam Witherton? For what do you train for?

Adam: I… I’m almost nothing. And I train to protect what’s left of me.

I don’t know what I am really, but that’s not something I’m planning on telling anyone. Ever.