Chapter 3 - Tribes and Twisted Morals

"Sir Aurelius!! Sir please wait! Sir!!!!"

Aurum stopped his footsteps to look behind him. For a moment he had that crushing moment where he realised that he was being called and thought that it was someone else at the same time. The Aurum from today and the Aurum from thousand years ago abruptly collided from being called out. He held his head from the sudden ache before he turned to look at the boy who called him out.

The three of them looked young and frail, without any muscles on their bones. In this day and age, you are considered an adult the moment you are able to hunt the weakest of monsters outside your tribe. Once that happens, these new adults either use money to come to academy and train or they become Hunter's or Gatherer's until they collect enough money to come to Academy. The two of the three boys in front of him, they barely reached his chest, then again, he was easily 6'3 or 6'4 right now.

"You are from my class?" He asked the simple question. Today was only the first day of his class and that too he spent sleeping and reviving and sorting out his thoughts. One couldn't blame him for not remembering his new students.

"Sir, yes, sir! I am Jax Dehi, from the Nomadic Explorer's Tribe!" the boy with sandy brown hair, and bright brown eyes stood in front of him, grinning, waving his hand to introduce himself. He had a slim and agile body, though he did carry an infectious atmosphere around him. He patted the back of the boy standing beside him, this one had broader shoulder, and a colder look in his eyes. Despite that, he seemed respectful and the obedient kind, "This is Sergei from Ice Bears Tribe."

"Sir," Sergei bowed in front of him. The boy made him look at him twice, mainly because his chocolate brown hair was started to gain a shine that wasn't there before. It wasn't complete, but he was sure that the transformation would be complete in a few days. Along with his dark brown eyes which were started to shimmer like marble, 'those are the effects of that Spirit. It guides the genes of beings in Eve's territory, bringing them towards their nearest perfect state. He must be compatible if he is showing signs of transformation without even touching her.'

"And the big guy here is Kael from the Rex Hunter's tribe," Jax tabbed his knuckle on the chest of the boy who was almost his height. Despite his height and stature, there was a goofy look on his face. There was an underlying share of red in his black hair and black eyes, and yet, they couldn't hide his nature.

'The humans in this time are so pure,' Aurum tilted his head with a smile, "Hey, what are you guys doing here so late at night? Shouldn't you be going to bed? Your classes will be tough from tomorrow onwards. It won't be like today where professors only came to introduce themselves," he walked with them outside the school. There were more trees in the tribe than there were buildings, the school was one of those buildings and the area that is took could fit in a village or two. The classrooms and professor's lounge were a small part of it. Mainly it was the gym, park, and other training locations that took much of the space.

"I told him that," Sergei shrugged, "the buffoon doesn't hear a word that is said to him, and buffoon number 2 only smiles foolishly."

"Heh," Kael rubbed his nose, letting out a foolish laugh at his cue. He didn't seem to mind Sergei's harsh words and Jax ignored them altogether, curiously staring at Aurum, "Sir, where are you going so late at night?"

"To take a bath," Aurum pointed at the light in the distance. It was on one end of the Academy, the public bath. It was much cleaner than the baths in the Tribe, since there were only a handful of people who used them. There are five sections, each with about 20 students in them, then there were ten to 20 professors. Instead of thousands of people who shared a public bathroom there were only about a hundred hair. Other than that, the academy took good care of its facilities, keeping them clean.

'Mainly it's because she takes a bath in it. That Spirit was a Divine Demon Type Weapon. It still possesses divinity. The water she takes a bath in could be compared to Holy Water and it still won't lose,' he couldn't help smile. He could have lived here a thousand years ago, but he wanted to be in a time where humans had some semblance of hygiene with their old technology and knowledge, a hundred years would have been good. But he thought a thousand was better. Their hatred of demons would lessen to some degree.

"That's good! We were going there too! I heard the Academies bath is the biggest here! Is that true, Sir?!" Jax was bouncing on his feet. For him, coming to the Academy was a dream come true. His tribe was different from the others. While most other tribes had decided to settle down, his tribe still prided themselves in dangerous explorers. There was never anything like a bathhouse or a proper bathroom or a bed for him to sleep on. This was his great escape. This was his only opportunity to be able to stay in a place for a long time. That didn't mean he had never been to a bath. Whenever they met with another tribe during their travels and stayed, he got the joy of being able to sleep in a cosy bed after taking a warm bath.

"That's why ever since I got my room here, I have been coming out at this time to take a bath! These two were staying outside till now, so I brought them along to show them the great joys of a bathhouse!"

"You mean a public bathhouse," Aurum gave the boy a knowing look and his happy, giggling face was stricken with panic, "what does that have to do with anything! It doesn't! Baths are great!!"

"They are, especially when men and women bath there together, especially beautiful women like your professors?" Aurum laughingly spoke. His thoughts were written all over his face.

"Oh, and here I thought he was a bundle of optimism. Now Professor has enlightened me. He's a bottle of perversion," Sergei calmly spoke, not even trying to hide the mocking tone in his voice.

"I am not a pervert! Baths are great! They are greater when there are beautiful women in them! Don't you know that people are encouraged to take baths together! That's how we all can become stronger! I only want to become strong!"

"Don't be an idiot," Sergei shook his head in disappointment, "Women don't like to take baths in front of men. That is why they go at odd times to take their bath, but there are always perverts like you who go especially at odd times to make women uncomfortable."

"Then, then," Jax stared at Sergei with a flustered look. He jerked his head in Kael's direction, who turned his grinning head right away, whistling as if he didn't hear anything. Seeing that no one was going to help him, the boy blurted it out, "Then Professor Aurum is a pervert too!! He's going at odd times as well!"

Sergei and Kael froze where they stood, and Jax wasn't far behind. He covered his mouth, wishing he had cut off his tongue before he said something like that. He was waiting for the words like suspended, expelled when Aurum spoke with a smile, "but I was invited. That means only Jax is a pervert, right?"

"Yes, yes!"

"Sir is always right!"

"Absolutely!" The three of them had barely finished with their sentence, trying to pull themselves out of the grave when they realised what he had said just now, and Jax was the only brave (stupid) one who dared to ask, "Sir, who is the one that invited you? Could it be Assistant Professor Eve!"

'That's right, the morals, human morals have taken a severe dip in this era. Still, it's much better from when the Spirit was used as a weapon. It turned the whole continents into zombie lands. Humans, demons, elves, dwarves, every living being lost their senses and only mated for the sake of producing energy. All that was left were nests. Last I heard, one of the sages went mad because of what Demons did and finally decided to destroy the world. That battle ended with a massacre? I don't know. I left…or rather ran away before seeing the end. All I know, the next time I was in the world, the last of humans were deciding to settle in Deshante.'

'A society driven by lust,' Aurum scratched his cheek, feeling a little gleeful, 'despite the troubles I might have to face ahead. This is a Demon's paradise,' he had a pleased smile on his lips as he watched the light from torches coming from inside the bathhouse. He stepped inside the bathhouse, which had only one big entrance to the bath, and from here he could see the fascinating girl with shimmering under the fire flickering fire from torches, standing in the middle of the bath. She held her hair place before she turned to look at him, realising that he had company, "Sir? I don't think this was on the schedule for the next few days."

"I know," Aurum looked at the stunned faces of boys, letting out a smile, "don't worry, they can only watch until the planned lesson is in session."

Eve nibbled her lip, feeling the burning lust in the boys behind Aurum. As much of a torture it was going to be for them, she who could feel other's lust, it would be torture for her too. She turned her gaze away from the boys, and towards her big brother, who rid himself of the pelt around his waist, making her take a deep breath. She pressed her arm between her breasts, taking her hair between her fingers, fascinated by every inch of his body, "I understand, sir."