16 On the bright side, Hitler is probably dead

You know how they say, expect the unexpected? I've realized how stupid that saying is. Because, if you do expect the unexpected, it just becomes expected, rendering the statement dumb. Also, you know how they say, even God shouldn't underestimate his enemies? Well, nobody has ever said that, but it should be saying because that is legit. Especially if said enemies are humans.

Anyway, picking up where we left off, I entered the academy in my distinct outfit with my black hair richly combed back. Naturally, I attracted a lot of eyes. But my eyes were less set on them and more on the academy. Although I've been here more than a few times, the extent to which I was allowed access only covered the reception area and the library. So, the rest of the academy, which was like 90% of the whole thing, was unexplored territory.

I don't actually have a basis for comparison, but if I were to provide you one, I could reference Harvard or Cambridge university in your timeline. Every single student, in order to be enrolled in the academy, had to earn their way in by studying hard and passing the entrance exams. There had been no exception to that rule until now.

The corridors I walked through were very well maintained, so much so that I had to think there was some sort of magic involved in the overall maintenance of the building. We climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked some more to finally arrive at the main classroom, designated for the first year students.

Here's something you should know. The academy had two divisions, one for standard schooling where all citizens by birth are enrolled at the age of 6 and go through basic education till the age of 14. The other division is like a university with more specific domains where people of any ages can enroll as long as they pass the domain specific entrance exam. So, although it was the first year classroom that I entered, the students there clearly did not belong to the same age group.

Of course, all eyes were on me and Pok as we entered, which I ignored. Edith suggested us places to sit, and so we did. I made my way to the bottom corner of the classroom and sat on the bench by the window, because I figured that's where main characters are supposed to sit. And Pok sat beside me. This was the part where I expected some of the students to come and talk to me or Pok, but they were strangely nervous to do so. Some of them went and flocked to Edith to inquire about us, and I could only hope she didn't exaggerate my greatness too much to the point where it becomes obvious that I'm her deity.

Soon enough, the person in charge of our classroom entered, a lady professor around the age of 25. "Morning folks!" she greeted without making eye contact with anyone. "Are the new students here yet?"

"Ask them yourself," Pok responded loud and cheerfully with a pinch of sass.

"Oh, hello," she pulled out a sheet of paper from the file she was holding. "Adam and Pokayko, is that right?"

You see, I had to enroll under an alias because the name 'Zenith' was a bit too occupied being associated with the literal One True God. "Yes." "Yep." Me and Pok answered in unison.

"Great, my name is Juvillia and I teach Magic Applications. I'm also in charge of this class as you can probably tell. Why don't you two come forward and introduce yourself to us, and make a first impression?"

Respecting that suggestion, we made our way to the front of the classroom. Pok spoke first, "Hi! You already heard my name, but you can call me Pok. And… yeah, I'm looking forward to mingling, making friends, and all those traditional school-life stuff." Her very visible enthusiasm certainly changed the nervousness our classmates had initially.

But after my introduction, that reverted back very quickly. "My name is Adam, and you can call me that. I'm sure all of you are wondering how and why we are here in the middle of the term. The answer is, we are research students, enrolled with a more task-oriented purpose than to learn. And this applies especially to myself, so you will be noticing me less attending class as I will be preoccupied with research activities with professors like Martin."

What I had in mind was pretty simple. Even though I was under an alias, it was important to establish a clear difference in class between myself and the rest. I ask you not to label me as a fascist for that, I don't want another stupid character trait I must work to get rid of.

"Uh, hold on," professor Juvillia interrupted as we were about to go back to our seats. She seemed baffled by what she was seeing on the same piece of paper she was holding. "It seems like Pokayko's magic measurement is below average, and you yourself are mana-impaired. And you are enrolled as an undergraduate for Magic Arts. Is this… is this right?"

"That is right," I answered calmly.

She suddenly had a look on her face that suggested a drop in respect for me, while at the same time trying not to express it because I was specially enrolled under the orders of the king. I turned around to see that same look in most of my classmates.

Well, that went as intended (sarcasm). To be fair, I personally demanded that Pok and I be enrolled with falsified data about our mana capacities being low, or non-existent in my case. The reason being, Magic Arts is a domain that not only focuses on mana control and other things that I was genuinely looking forward to learning, but also focuses on actual magic-based combat. Naturally, I wanted to stay as far away from that as possible over the risk of killing a student. Not that I don't have any self-control over my hypothetical violent tendencies, it's just a precaution.

Anyway, following that, there was the first Magic Applications class I had to sit through, because Martin was supposed to show me to the lab where I would be spending most of my time in and he said he would come in quite late at around 10 AM. Professor Juvillia's class wasn't all bad though. For one, I spent most of my time looking out the window and envisioning a peaceful life in Eden. And another, she was kind enough to dismiss the class quite early at 8:30 AM, so that Pok and I could have a look around the academy.

"We can give you guys a tour if you'd like," said a pretentiously cheerful voice. She was a young pale-skinned girl, even younger than Loeya. And right behind her was a slightly older dude, contrastingly less cheerful. "My name is Violet Hennaway. And this is my elder brother—"

"Victor Hennaway," he interrupted his own introduction. "Nice to meet you."

"Awesome!" Pok stepped forward. "It's nice to meet you too."

Honestly, I thought nobody was going to come forward to greet us after the speech I gave. But here we are. And…

> Level: 61

> Mana Capacity: 6000

> Mana Control: A

> Skillset: Ice Magic (Complexity - A)

> Character Trait: Methodical, Intelligent

> State of Mind: Interested

_________________________________

> Level: 43

> Mana Capacity: 15000

> Mana Control: C+

> Skillset: Ice Magic (Complexity - B)

> Character Trait: Psychopath

> State of Mind: Interested

Great! First day at school and I've made contact with a possible couple of serial killers. And one way or another, for better or worse, they are interested in me. The first status sheet belonged to the older brother, who surprisingly had an A-grade mana control for someone in a first year class. And as for the sister, setting aside the fact that she is a literal psychopath, her mana capacity was impressively on par with Akayala's.

"So then, shall we?" she asked with the same cheerful tone.

Appropriately, Edith interjected out of nowhere, "I shall also come along."

"That's okay, Edith," I responded with a short smile. "We'll be fine."

Obediently, she sat back down, slightly bowing. "Understood."

As if the classroom wasn't already baffled about me, they were even more shocked with the dynamic between me and Edith. "Odd," Victor remarked.

"Yeah, she's usually all bossy around here," Violet added. "I mean, rightfully so; I'm not trash-talking. She's senselessly overpowered compared to the rest of us." And that's about the kind of impression I would expect Edith to leave among her classmates.

"Lead the way please," I side-stepped the conversation, wanting to quickly get out of the environment I was in. I mean, the rest of the classroom was still very nervous in my presence. It was more confusion than fear, which made me slightly uncomfortable.

The tour around the academy started with a look around our own Magic Arts department, consisting of classrooms specialized for mana control training, skill efficiency training, etcetera. And then we went to the second floor and there was the Recreational Arts department. You see, until recently — since King Rehath occupied the throne — the academy used to be purely magic-focused. So as you would assume, this particular domain along with all of the other magic-unrelated ones were relatively new installments to the academy's overall curriculum. And understandably, there weren't many students or professors there.

There was one student I noticed there who stood out though. He was painting on a canvas, an image of buildings with people walking on the streets below. It was decent as far as I could tell, although nothing extraordinary. But it was not the painting that stood out to me, rather it was his facial feature — particularly his comically short mustache. Something about that mustache told me that if he were to somehow fail his art class, he might go on to become an evil dictator… nope, can't think of a reference to associate him with.

Anyway, there were a few more department areas we visited before heading to the Arena. As I already said, Magic Arts includes actual magic combat, and a big portion of that combat is held in the Arena. It's a massive open stadium, which I'm not going to bother describing because it's exactly how you're imagining it to be. The point is, it's a massive space and it is very useful for students to practice magic in their free-time, especially considering the arena, like the library, is accessible to the students 24/7.

"Looks like the second years are finishing up their routine magic hands-on," Violet commented. I figured she was probably talking about that thing Princess Loeya once mentioned, about there being a morning session where everyone practiced their magic skills. "Ours is scheduled right after theirs, so we might as well wait here for the rest of our class to show up."

Basically, this routine is scheduled for 1 hour in morning, separately for first, second, and third year students. The third years have their routine scheduled from 7 to 8, second years from 8 to 9, and us, the first years, from 9 to 10. We were standing by the railings, observing the second years. I had my eyes set on the one person I recognized out of the bunch, and upon noticing me, she called out, the name 'Zenith' almost slipping out of her tongue. "Master Ze— Adam!"

Who the heck is Zadam?

"Did Princess Loeya just call you 'master'?" Violet just finished processing that.

Ignoring her, I proceeded to go into the arena to greet my student. But I was stopped by the elder sibling. "Hey, before you go, just a little heads up," Victor said. "Be cautious of the other second year students who you don't know. Because, news travels fast and I'm sure they know about the privileged mana-impaired student who arrived today. Normally, nobody is going to risk messing with you because nobody here can afford getting expelled, considering it's something that can very much happen if they cause trouble to someone who is enrolled here under special orders of the king. But, in the arena, minor magic-related accidents are allowed to happen… do you see where I'm going with this, or should I continue?"

I really didn't expect him to be so mouthy after being quiet for the entire tour. But he had a point, and I was analyzing it as we spoke. Envious, frustrated, angry… Those students were in all kinds of states of mind. It was understandable though. Nobody is meant to like a privileged prick, and they don't know that I'm the God who created the World Tree.

"Thanks for the warning," I simply said and made my way to Loeya, with Pok following behind.

She admired my rich and elegant appearance until I stood before her. "Hi there!" "Hello Loeya." Pok and I pleasantly greeted her.

She leaned close to me and whispered, "Sorry about almost slipping up."

"It's fine."

"Oh, and about that assignment you gave me a week ago. I worked on a more efficient way to control air-flow. Shall I show it now?"

"Of course," I turned to Pok for a metal object from her inventory. And promptly she performed her skill, which easily managed to attract all the eyes around us. The thing about unique skills is they're not just unique, but also rare. Not many professional mages would spend their time to develop their own unique magic skill, because it's more reliable to just build proficiency with already existing skills that have proven results.

So, the reaction from the second year students to seeing Pok's unique skill is pretty much the same as humans from your timeline witnessing actual magic. "Here," Pok threw me a small metal rod (for whatever reason was she carrying that). I caught it and performed the same procedure as last time.

"Whenever you're ready," I said with the rod held out in front of her, ready to heat it up via vibration.

I have to say, I was quite impressed with the method she managed to come up with. Maybe she consulted with Martin for some advice, but still. Basically, she coded her mana to produce rotational motion like that of a fan to generate airflow. Additionally, she used a generous amount of mana to ensure that the airflow doesn't leak out and be directed where she wants. Like a giant invisible hair dryer, she constructed this cage around the heat source, generated airflow behind it, and directed it by applying the concept of high and low pressure air.

The method of generating airflow was different enough from her regular wind magic that her skill set expanded.

> Skillset: Royal Blood (Complexity - S) ; Wind Magic (Complexity - B+) ; Airflow (Complexity - B)

"Nicely done," I proudly said as I tossed the metal rod away. "I would give you a well-deserved A for that."

"Thank you! So, can it be better?"

"It can always be better. There are far advanced concepts in mechanics and thermodynamics that can be used to make this process a million times more efficient. But that's a long way ahead, we'll get there eventually."

"I look forward to it, master," she humbly bowed, just as a bell rang loudly. "It's 9 AM. I will take my leave then."

I gave a nod and headed back to behind the railings. Although it was our time to have the routine magic warmup, I was a privileged mana-impaired student who had no obligation to attend it. As I was walking back, I noticed most of the second year students still eying me for the contact I had with Loeya just then.

And without warning, an idiot shot an orange ball of flames in my direction by 'accident'. "Ada—" Victor was the first to react in order to warn me. They are all fools if they think I will ever stop surprising them as long as my identity is kept a secret. I brought my left hand up and swatted away the fireball like a mosquito, making it disappear. As for the idiot who threw it at me, I gave him a threatening look with the corner of my eyes that conveyed, 'don't expect to live a long life, dickhead.'

I totally approved the look of shock and confusion on every single one of their faces as I calmly made my way behind the railings. Victor and Violet had questions, now more than ever, but they didn't know where to start so they didn't bother asking just yet. So, the next hour was just a time for me to relax. I would have preferred to have Pok keep my company, but she insisted on socializing with our classmates. And I didn't feel good about forcing her to stay.

…

Back in the classroom, a little past 10 AM, while I was staring out the window like I've gotten used to doing, "Adam," I heard the familiar voice I was waiting for.

"Martin," I stood up and stepped out of my bench. "Been expecting you for a while now."

"Sorry, I had some matters to take care of."

"No problem. Show me to my lab please."

Martin returned a nod and we were all set to leave. I extended my hand to Pok, grabbing which she pulled herself up close to my side. "By the way Pok," I took the chance to whisper to her, "keep the friend-making to a minimum while you're at it. It will be a bother if you get a boyfriend suddenly."

"Is this your way of asking me out?" She whispered back. And I couldn't help but smile.

We walked out of the classroom which was, at this point, full of people who had too many details to process about me as a research student surrounded in mystery; because, unlike Pok, I hadn't bothered talking to anyone.

Anyway, as per my request to the king, a separate laboratory/office was designated for me personally to conduct my research activities. That's where Martin led me to. It was a spacious room with all the equipment and tools I asked for. From an engineering standpoint, Martin supervised the import and manufacturing of certain equipment that hadn't yet been invented.

"So, Adam… or should I call you Zenith while we're alone?"

"Adam," I answered Martin. "Better to get used to that name fast."

"Alright," he complied. "Adam, before we begin, since this research is going to be conducted under my name, I will need to file a document about what it is we're researching or developing. Although you have already told me the gist of it, it would be helpful if you could explain more of the details."

I explained to him in a rather sophisticated way that involved all the little details, which I won't bore you with. Because, what I was going to develop first, it's something you would already be familiar with — a computer. The idea was quite simple. We already had the technology to convert binary code into mana instructions. But the problem is that binary coding is very difficult to teach people and is also pretty inconvenient to write. So, why not develop a computing device through which a natural coding language can be converted into binary language?

Just imagine people being trained to code, and then developing new and creative magic skills which can immediately be implemented as enchantments. Anyone, whether their mana capacity is high or low or even if they're mana-impaired can be responsible for a revolution in the field of Magic with a computer.

"Amazing!" Martin exclaimed. "Do you think it will work? Or do you have a backup plan?"

I giggled. "It will work. The part where I need your help is once after I've built it, in about a month or two. I want there to be a period of time where this technology is kept a secret between our alliance. Meanwhile, we will test it and develop a few extraordinary enchantments."

"Um… okay." Martin didn't quite get my point, because I hadn't made it yet.

"I know you have been hiding things from me, Martin. Understandably so. When we first met, I didn't know you were the kingdom's chief strategist, and you didn't know who I was. When I asked you about magic and magic-related things, you were careful about revealing things that nobody but you knew about. And to some extent, even information you thought I would be able to use to understand more sensitive details."

He scoffed in response. "You noticed the missing books in the library huh?" He was referring to the time when he hid some of the books in the library so that I wouldn't find them during my frequent visits.

Shrugging, I continued, "The point is, now that you know who I am and my end goal, I would appreciate it if you could be more unfiltered with me."

"That's fair."

There was a short silence following that. But that quickly became irrelevant... Boom!!

The noise of the explosion came along with the quake beneath our feet. I didn't even have time to worry about the panic that set in me. The cracks on the marble floor expanded, and the floor caved in where Martin stood. I reacted in time to grab hold of his hand. "Hold on!" I shouted.

Worried that the rest of the floor was going to cave in, I pulled him hard while at the same time activating my flight skill in case I don't make it in time. But what collapsed next was the ceiling. A big chunk of marble fell from above me while my eyes were on Martin. And this time, I couldn't react on time.

I flinched as the blood hit my eyes from where Martin's face, it was practically split open. "Fuck!" I let go of his hand, and his lifeless body fell into the dust and debris which was all that was visible anymore. I turned around to see Pok coughing on the floor. The ground and ceiling were still in the process of collapsing, so wasting no time, I ran up to her crouched and helped her up.

"Come on, let's get out of here." I didn't realize I was still in panic. I didn't realize the virus may react to my distress at any moment. I didn't even consider the possibility that the virus may have been the cause of what happened. My immediate priority was to safely navigate back to Edith. If anybody could have defended themselves from this, it would be her.

Exiting my collapsing office, Pok and I navigated our way through all the mess, debris, and holes on the floor. Only after witnessing most of the damage we passed through, I concluded that this was not because of the virus. It seemed like multiple explosions were set off within the academy — a targeted act of terrorism.

How did my first day at school end up like this? On the bright side, Hitler is probably dead buried under the debris with his painting. But seriously though, I was trying to momentarily distract myself from the fact that the aftermath of all this was not going to be pretty. Moreover, I had no idea how bad even the current situation was.

We eventually made it to the area where our classroom was. And I was glad to see some activity there. Edith managed to save most of our classmates and was working on safely leading them outside. "Edith!" I called out to her.

"Master! I could only manage to save eight of them. The rest… it happened too fast."

"It's okay. Let's focus on getting out of here first."

Making our escape with that many people was not easy. Mainly because, brute force was not an option. Whatever was left standing of the academy building was essentially hanging by a thread. Even the slightest displacement of debris could cause the building to completely collapse and kill the survivors. Considering all this, we did eventually find our way out. Like seeing the light at the end of a tunnel, a sense of relief washed over everyone. But not for me.

Just as we exited, Heath and Devon arrived at the scene; they must have heard the explosion and rushed to get here. I asked Devon to treat the injured students, and Heath and Edith to run a quick damage report for me.

And they did...

'Expect the unexpected' my ass! The second year classroom was completely caved in… No survivors. It's only a matter of time before King Rehath finds out about his daughter's death. And when that happens, it would mean a certain war with an enemy we don't even know, let alone prepared to face.

This simply cannot be happening. We had all possible countermeasures set up against the red mages and the neighboring kingdoms. Whoever our enemy is, they managed to completely bypass it all and struck us where it mattered. Who the fuck are we dealing with now?

I took a moment to shut my eyes and rub my forehead unironically. "Pok, are you okay?" I unironically asked.

But weirdly, there was no response. In fact, every single sound around me faded out. That's right, no sound whatsoever. I opened my eyes and took a look at what was going on. Or at least I tried, but I couldn't open my eyelids. At this point I was pretty sure even if I managed to open my eyes, my surrounding would be pitch dark. Because, there's only two possibilities where this could happen. Either I have died and become a ghost, or time has been frozen and the only active thing in the universe currently was my consciousness. And we all know me 'dying' is just wishful thinking after all I've been through.

> Yes, that assessment is spot on.

… Um, what?

Point to note here: this wasn't a voice I heard in my head. It felt more like a string of data interpreted by my brain, similar to how my analysis skill interprets the status of mana-capable entities.

Lacking the ability to control any part of my physical body, the only form of communication I could use was through conscious thinking. So, I simply thought of saying, 'Who are you?'

> You know the answer to that. Take a guess, why don't you?

'Yoda? I can imagine you having a British accent for some reason; is that a hint?'

> I am you, Zenith.

'I'm not sure I understand.'

> Yes, you do.

What can I say? The bastard was stubborn. So, I attempted to decipher what he previously said. 'I am me. And you are inside my head, claiming to be me, so… wait,' I admit, it took me longer to realize than it should have. 'You're the virus?'

> I prefer not to be called that.

'You're capable of having preference?'

> Can we have the Q&A session for a later time? Right now, I just dropped by to let you know we're moving to another timeline.

You see, all this time while I was annoyed by the fact that the Omnipotent was never fully honest with me, I was satisfied by the thought that I still owned a part of his powers. This meant that I had some form of power — not in the form of truth or knowledge — over him. But now I learnt that the virus had an identity of its own, and I was like a common denominator in the equation. A mere human being played by two bastard Gods.