First Class.

Aurora quickly returned to her classroom and when she entered, she found Alice surrounded by several students.

"You were great at the test!"

"Yeah, yeah. Who'd have thought an entrant could be so strong?"

"I... I want to ask, is it true that you're A-ranking?"

Alice ate her chips quietly and looked at the last young woman who had asked and answered. "Yes, according to the mercenary's guild I'm an A-rank."

"Wow!" All the students around her exclaimed.

Aurora smiled cheerfully as she saw her friend in the spotlight.

These young people did not seem to be 'bootlickers' but were sincerely excited about Alice... She was easy to understand, a young woman close to her age was strong and cool.

With those thoughts, Aurora entered the classroom and came over to sit in her seat next to Alice.

As soon as she approached they left the seat without the intention of looking for trouble, but the look of contempt in some was evident.

Aurora sighed to herself.

The truth is that there were quite a few students who hid and did nothing, unfortunately, she not only abandoned her group but was also discovered hiding in the closet... Making it seem as if she had abandoned her group just to hide in fear.

No doubt there were other students like her, but in the end, the contempt for her was more intense because she was discovered.

However, Aurora would not be bothered by those looks, she just thought that they were too 'young' and it was normal to guide their opinion by just a few actions.

—You are just as 'young' as they are.

"It's true, but in my case, I've seen and lived more than they have. It is common for a 'hero', mercenary, or adventurer to panic and decide to flee. If there's no risk, the best course of action is to let him retire." Aurora replied in her mind.

It is not as if she believed herself superior, her thinking was based on the reasoning that someone in fear in the midst of battle would be a greater danger than her enemies.

After all, a nervous and frightened mage would not be able to cast his spells due to his lack of concentration, just like a psionic, and not to mention the fighters or swordsmen, a mistake could lead his companions or himself to death.

Of course, in some cases, retreat would be impossible, but if that were to happen it would mean that they would be already quite complicated and the only way forward.

In the end, however, it was only an opinion and someone could argue against it, which is why Aurora did not take their attitudes seriously.

While Aurora was thinking that, Alice passed her bag of chips to her.

"Thank you..." said Aurora as she pulled out some chips.

Strangely enough, some young girls looked at him with jealousy...

Aurora did her best to hide her fun, and she looked at the teacher who was coming.

He was a man in his thirties with a well-fitting suit that made him look elegant but mostly serious.

"I'm Laurens Lindbergh, an A-ranking mage and his 'Theory of Abilities' teacher." Said Professor Lindbergh with a serious expression and without saying any extra words, he began. "Today I'll explain the basics about skills."

"As you know before the 'Great Cataclysm' no one had an ability, after that event the users of abilities began to awaken. The first ones to 'awaken' were those who could make use of 'mana' or as you know it 'magic energy'. This energy allows you to manipulate the 'normal' elements and cast spells of different types of magic. " Professor Lindbergh explained and shook his head subtly as he saw that the students were still dazed.

The next moment all the students took out their books and started writing, while Aurora only turned on the camera of her holographic watch to subtly record the class.

Alice, on the other hand, did the same thing while eating chips.

"Today I'll focus on explaining a little about skill users focused on magic energy, psionic energy, and those with talents." Professor Lindbergh said, then began his explanation by looking from time to time at the students to see if they were paying attention.

His explanation was quick and precise.

In that distant world known as 'Terra nova' to which the 'players' had previously 'travelled', humans could make use of magical energy without any particular affinity and allowing it to be used by any element, but humans on earth were very different.

Although they were both 'human' their 'evolution' was different and the earth humans assimilated the magical energy differently, gaining different types of abilities.

Everything starts with the ability to feel the magical energy, and from there different paths start.

The mages had to have an affinity to an element and they could convert the magical energy to that element and among those more capable they could control the element at will instead of following different spells.

Mages were known for their ability to control both the magical energy outside and inside their body.

Then there were the 'martial artists' who could not control the magical energy of the outside but could control the magical energy of the inside, allowing them to strengthen their body by increasing their physical qualities, gaining greater resistance through barriers, or strengthening their skin and body in general.

This group was divided into swordsmen, archers, and fighters.

Swordsmen were those who used weapons such as spears, maces, swords, sabers, daggers, or other similar types of weapons.

They could not only reinforce his body with magical energy but they could also imbue it into his sword allowing him in some cases to launch different types of attacks imbued with magical energy and they could even reinforce his sword to make it more resistant or sharp.

Archers fell into this particular category, but they imbued their bow and arrow with their magical energy, with the latter taking the greatest power.

Finally, there were the fighters who were able to strengthen their body with magical energy by increasing their resistance, strength, or agility basically by focusing on improving their physical qualities.

The crucial difference with the swordsmen was that the fighters only had to improve their body while the swordsmen had to take their time to improve their sword technique. Of course, some fighters knew different styles of fighting, but they were not as important as the swordsmen who had to improve their sword techniques to manifest their sword aura.

For Aurora, this was basic knowledge and so were many others, so the teacher was quick with his explanation considering the general knowledge.

Aurora paid attention to the psionics.

These humans capable of using psionic energy and the strength of their mind to perform different skills.

The skills were too varied and in many cases similar to mages.

They usually used their psionic energy to defend themselves or attack, but in many cases, they had certain precise 'traits'.

Cryokinesis, which allowed the manipulation of cold, was very similar to the ice magic of mages, although, with a different process based on different rules, the first was based on physical rules and the second on magical rules centered on magical energy and the elements.

Telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis, or other abilities... Usually, psionics had different qualities that in many cases others did not have or were difficult to replicate.

Finally, the professor spoke of the 'Talents'.

This type of ability was rarely related to magical or psionic energy, as it was mostly not about them.

In the first cases the talents of 'Sages', it was very well known those people who suddenly awakened a knowledge about some kind of magic or psionic quality and became theoretical experts, although they could not use the magic or psionic energy.

There were also 'Sages' who awakened knowledge about advanced technology, chemistry, physics, or other types of science.

In other cases, there were 'technology-related talents', which included talents such as 'Electronic Device Manipulation' that allowed control of electronic devices such as holographic clocks, drones, or other devices and other skills focused on the ability to breach security systems or in some cases create more rigorous systems.

Also common were talents that could use 'Technology Enhancement' sometimes known as 'Machinery Enhancement' which gave the user the ability to 'boost the power' of some mechanical or electronic equipment, making it much more effective.

Usually, these talents were focused on the electronic and in some cases on the 'virtual' and even some talents on the 'machinery'.

Then there were the 'Masters'.

The 'Masters of Firearms' which gives the user not only knowledge but also certain skills capable of being realized through firearms.

Of course, the 'Masters' were not only certain weapons but also other artistic and craft masters with a wide variety.

Aurora knew several famous chefs who claimed to have 'Masteries' related to cooking and they certainly demonstrated a culinary skill beyond the 'normal'.

As for the 'Mechanics', it was a profession that was recently being formed and was composed of different individuals who used their talents to achieve the same goal. Achieving technological advances and making technology available to those who could not use magic or psionic energy.

Aurora knew of several Sages who had awakened knowledge related to technology who called themselves 'Mechanics' even though their knowledge was only theoretical.

Professor Lindbergh gave a simple explanation, but this was the first class and he could not explain all particular skills or 'professions' that were rare in the world.

Because Aurora already knew the basics she slowly began to listen in a boring way and occasionally nodded sleepily as she listened to the crunching sound of the potato chip eater by her side.

******

"That was exhausting," Aurora muttered rather wearily.

Not only did they have the 'Theory of Skills' teacher, but they also had 'History' and 'Theology'.

"I liked it," Alice said as she ate the chips.

Aurora looked at her a bit strangely.

Throughout the class she had been eating chips while listening, it was hard to tell if she was really paying attention to the class or the taste of her chips.

The strange thing is that no teacher or student commented on that fact, as if they had an unspoken agreement not to disturb her. Well, after the video of her hitting the student duo that stole her chips, that might have made sense.

Alice ate some chips and commented. "Theology class, it was good... I liked the way Professor Santulli expressed herself about the gods."

"Beings with immeasurable powers who in some cases have control over human reality?" asked Aurora, recalling the words of Professor Santulli.

Alice nodded and commented. "Thirty years ago mankind did not know if gods existed, now they have knowledge of them and can classify them and even knowing all that a part of mankind speaks of them colloquially and in some cases without respect... Isn't that interesting?"

"Ehmm..."

Aurora did not know what to say, she knew that her friend liked history and subjects related to the gods.

Still, she understood the lack of 'respect' that many of the non-believers had for some gods.

After all, when the virtual reality machine that allowed her to connect to Terra Nova was active and people still believed it was a game, a group of players led by the 'enemy of humanity' defeated some 'ultimate bosses' known as gods... This affected humanity's perspective on the gods.

'Extremely strong existences but capable of dying like any mortal'... That was a normal thought among non-believers.

However, Aurora did not care.

She didn't believe - she had faith - in any god, and although Alice liked topics related to the gods as if she were reading Greek mythology, she didn't believe in any of them.

For Aurora, these classes were just too exhausting.

Who would have thought that her first class would be so exhausting?

"I had thought that heroes were dedicated to combat," Aurora muttered honestly.

Now she realized how wrong she was.