NOVEL NEXT Chapter 107: end
He shook his head, not thinking anymore, and asked, <What are you talking about, fighting style.>
Instructor Luna calmly said, "If we were in the cursed land, all of you would be dead by now."
Everyone looked up at her in fear; none dared to argue.
She continued, "Let me make one thing clear. From this moment until you leave the academy, you will address all your teachers as 'Instructor' or 'Hex Master.' Am I clear?"
Everyone shouted in unison, "Yes, Instructor!"
She looked around the room and asked, "All those who survived the Ancient Cursed Land, stand up."
The first to stand were Samuel and Liam. Then, one after another, others followed.
Zayn also got up. With one glance, he noticed that five were from the human section, three from the elf side, one from the dwarves' side, and the last three were from other species.
Zayn frowned at this.
Xane asked him, [What happened? Did the number not match?]
<No, it's the same as in the novel—except there's one extra on the human side.>
Xane motioned toward Samuel. [It must be this guy, right?]
Zayn nodded.
Just then, Instructor Luna waved her hand. "You guys can sit down now."
[What the hell? Why did she even call them out in the first place?]
Zayn sighed. <So everyone in the class could see.>
At Zayn's mention, Xane noticed that everyone sitting around them was suddenly looking at him like he was some sort of rare creature.
It was like she was indirectly telling everyone to focus on those who had survived the Ancient Cursed Land.
Not caring about the awkward atmosphere, Instructor Luna just smiled and said, "Well, let's start with the basics."
She tapped the podium and said, "As new hex masters, there are three things you need to focus on: your potential, the cursed land you are linked to, and your hex core."
"The first is potential. All creatures in the living world are born with a certain amount of soul essence. This essence is fixed from birth and determines your potential."
"The higher your soul essence, the greater your potential. Any problems understanding this?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Instructor Luna clapped her hands. "Now, there is a common misconception among new hex masters that the higher the potential, the better."
Someone asked from the front, "Instructor, isn't that the case?"
Instructor Luna shook her head. "Nope. The only thing potential tells us is the quality of your hex core. The higher the quality, the more hex energy it can produce."
Everyone tilted their heads. A dwarf asked, "Instructor, isn't that better?"
Instructor Luna shook her head again. "Not always. Let's say there are two hex masters. The first one can carry ten pebbles, and the second one can carry five. If both of them fight, who do you think will win?"
Everyone replied in unison, "The one with ten pebbles."
Instructor Luna nodded and added, "Now let's say the second hex master's pebbles have sharp edges, while the first one's pebbles are smooth. Who do you think will win now?"
This time, the answers were mixed. Some said the first, others the second.
The instructor snapped her fingers. "Now, none of you are wrong. This time, the result could be anything. We couldn't tell who would win without knowing how good both hex masters are at using their skills."
"So, from this example, we can say just having more pebbles doesn't necessarily make one better, right?"
An elf stood up from the side. "Instructor, but why do the second hex master's pebbles have edges?"
The instructor smiled. "Now, that edge represents the element in your hex core. I won't go too deep into the explanation, just know that there are three categories of elements: the six basic elements, a group of advanced elements, and finally, the ten unique main elements. Based on the elements you have, we divide potential into three minor types: impure, neutral, and pure."
She looked around, then pointed to Melina. "You. What's your name, and tell me what your potential is."
Melina looked the instructor in the eyes and said, "Instructor, I am Melina Zenaris, and my potential is Adamant."
Those around Zayn started mumbling in shock.
Zayn just focused on Liam, who was staring at her from the back of the room.
Xane asked in confusion, [What the hell? She also has Adamant potential?]
Zayn shook his head. <Nope, it's a bit different.>
Before Zayn could say more, Instructor Luna asked again, "Oh, and what are your elements?"
Melina looked down and said, "Steel and Fire."
Xane mentally mumbled in shock, [The hell, hex masters can have multiple elements?]
He didn't even bother asking Zayn, as all his focus was now on Luna.
That tight red dress really enhanced her figure. He just thanked the unknown god that at least this world had good fashion sense.
Instructor Luna said calmly, "If Melina had only the basic fire element, she would have impure Adamant potential. If she only had the advanced steel element, then she would have neutral Adamant potential."
She asked with a smile, "But since she has one of each, what would her final potential be?"
A whole lot of random answers popped up. However, when the instructor asked them to explain, none of them had a proper answer.
Then, an elf man stood from the front seat and said, "Instructor, her final potential would be impure Adamant."
The instructor asked again, "Why is that?"
The elf thought for a moment and said, "Instructor, from your earlier example, if we think of pure as super-sharp edges, neutral as slightly rough edges, and basic as smooth edges—"
He pointed at Melina. "Then in her case, half of her pebbles will be rough, but the other half will be smooth. That's better than fully smooth pebbles, but it doesn't meet the requirement for neutral, which needs the entire pebble to be rough."
Instructor Luna raised her eyebrows and asked, "Okay, what if, let's say, Melina also had a third advanced element? Then what would her potential be?"
The guy stared at Melina and shook his head. "Instructor, my point still applies. I mean, even in that case, a third of the pebble would still be smooth. So while it would increase her potential, it would still not be neutral Adamant."
The moment that elf said that, all the members of the Zenaris family stared at him.
Melina, who had been standing proudly, just sat down.
From the back, Xane couldn't see her face, but he could sense that the elf had struck a nerve.
[Damn, that was brutal.]
Zayn sighed. <The class war for the top position has already started.>
Instructor Luna walked back to the podium and tapped on it.
At that moment, everyone saw the elf's ID flash in blue light.
The elf guy looked around in confusion and took out his ID.
Instructor Luna said with a smile, "That's a 50-point reward for your correct answer."
Xane snapped. [What?! 50 points for just a couple of words? Zayn, dude, why didn't you answer?]
Xane wasn't the only one. Most of the students in the back barely received 5 points a week, and now someone had just earned ten times that.
Even those at the front looked at the elf guy with envy.
The guy just bowed to Instructor Luna. "Thank you for the reward, Instructor."
Instructor Luna waved at him to sit down. "Your answer deserved it."
As everyone calmed down, a dwarf stood up and asked, "Instructor, what if a hex master has one basic element and one main element? Wouldn't that balance—"
Instructor Luna cut him off. "Well, that's not possible. The main elements are special to each cursed land. If a hex master has a main element, then that is the only element their hex core could have, and their potential will be pure."
The dwarf just nodded his head and sat down.
Xane asked this time, [Dude, what's with our element? Did you know anything?]
Zayn asked, <Didn't you see the status?>
[Come on, that thing barely stayed open for less than a second. How can you expect me to read through it?]
Zayn sighed. <Okay, so our hex element is Chaos. It is the main element of the cursed land we're linked to.>
Xane just quieted down.
He saw a few students start asking Luna some questions, but his mind drifted to the original owner of this body.
After hearing all this, it became clearer to him that Viyron just wanted to use both Zayn and his soul to increase his potential.
The guy might have died trying, but his method had succeeded. What was more absurd in all of this was how a trapped kid, who was tortured his whole life, had gotten his hands on such a method.
Xane now understood Zayn's tension.
Was someone from the Zenaris family behind it? But then what was that letter? And out of everyone, only he and Zayn got summoned. Was all of that just a coincidence?
The more Xane thought about this, the more it irked him. There was seriously something very wrong with Viyron's past.
At that moment, the black-haired heroine got up and asked, "Instructor, what if two hex masters have the same level of element? Won't the one with higher potential always stay ahead of the one with lower potential?"