OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 288: More On Aether

Chapter 288: More On Aether

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The Academy didn't have many theoretical classes for students, as it was mostly physical, and the higher scores they achieved in those classes, the more credits they obtained, so they could buy more 'books' from the Archive to be inputted directly into their neural network.

However, theatrical classes were still held as some professors accommodated the underachieving students or those with a low AUC budget.

Emir, as a Professor responsible for the SS-1 class, was the one who had to introduce such a system to them.

"He scares me like hell, so he's got the vibe down, but can he even teach us properly?"

"I don't know, same age or younger; I don't care; he's hot-."

His students came in early, and their actions didn't make it seem like a Thursday, as many were excited.

"Hot? Maybe, but anyways I can't wait to see what he'll bring up."

"Yeah, even second years came in; the rumors exploded sky-high yesterday."

They talked between themselves, making a lively scene in the classroom.

"Right?! Like damn, they think he's some walking giant; the guy's just got a mean mug."

"Frostbite cold you mean?"

"Who cares? He's impure-"

"Quiet!"

"Shut up!"

Aria and Elijah interjected, their screams killing said scene.

But before they could worsen the class's mood even more by turning that guy into a punching bag, the door at the front of the classroom slid open.

Emir had arrived...

And silence was a consequence.

His every step felt heavy on their ears.

It drowned out their thoughts.

Those weak could even see a shadow of death float behind the man.

It wrapped around his suit with its black appendages, threatening to engulf him.

Two eyes, which were colored red, hovered above where its face should've been, and their black pupils remained on them, the students, filling them with dread.

But in the next moment, all the pressure disappeared as if it was never there.

A smiling Emir continued to walk until he reached the space behind his desk.

"I see that some second-year students joined us today, so I'll introduce myself again."

He greeted them with a tilted head as if he was inwardly wondering why they seemed so terrified.

"I'm Emir, a man who leads Prince Emporium, Azazel, and is now your professor."

The 'named' were no exception; even Sofia had sweat form on the back of her neck.

Only Elijah enjoyed the privilege of being unaffected, as his eyes held apparent confusion for those who acted 'weirdly.'

"I'll be teaching you all how to be true Celestials, expect gifts."

Excitement returned just as those words reached the students, and of course they'd be fired up. Their professor told them to expect expensive information for free if they attended his classes.

What other professor did that?

...None that they knew of.

Thankfully for them, even during their amped-up state, none let out a squeak, for their brains held wit and ingrained fear.

And it seemed that their professor liked that.

"Good... Any questions?"

|| ||

Silence.

'He's different, alright... Are the rumors actually true?'

The students had questions.

'Is he a High Lord?'

Many of them.

'Why wear sunglasses?'

'Guys? Sunglasses! Why is he wearing them?!'

'Who the fuck wears shades inside a building?'

'He blind?'

Some questioned the same thing, while others differed.

'How is he so strong?'

'Is he really the same age as us?'

'I've got a lot to ask, but...'

But they didn't dare ask.

'I can't bring myself to do it.'

And Emir, whose every action in the past minute led them to reach such a conclusion, continued as if he noticed nothing wrong.

"Alright, if there aren't any questions, I'll start today's lesson, call it a warmup for things to

come."

The holoscreen next to him suddenly turned on and showed the cosmos.

"The universe is 14 billion years old, and most of it is full of shit."

Most Elite already knew this, or so he suspected, but he didn't care for that as he wanted the

entire class to catch up.

"It's big..."

His words came slow, matching the holographic video that he showed.

"So colossal that you can't even understand how big it is."

The students were quiet, attentively listening, drawn in by his unmatched presence.

"We might be more than mortals, but still... Our minds weren't designed to fathom such

-concepts."

Emir smiled even further.

"What I'm trying to say is that we're irrelevant human beings in the great cosmos."

He glanced at Max slowly enough so he could notice...

"Stomp your ego."

Then pointed at the hologram, and the video changed to another.

"A primordial black hole at the size of an atom was hypothetical for so long."

He allowed the students a moment and then asked:

"Why?"

|| ||

"...

None answered.

None raised their hand. Not Sofia, not Elijah, not Aria, not Max, not Ava, not Quinn, and definitely not Arthur...

No, actually, Arthur seemed to have an idea if one were to judge his current actions.

He was blankly staring at the empty air beside him while slightly nodding his head. Was he turning insane? Did his autistic justice already catch up to him? Or did his mind malfunction after Emir stole his systems from him?

Noting it for later, Emir didn't bother with analyzing him any longer and continued:

"Well, it was due to its relation to 'dark matter,' something that was suspected to have a mass

higher than everything that existed."

The holoscreen flickered to show an ever-expanding mass of floating darkness...

"Such a thing... is not real."

Which suddenly dissipated to show two words that hid behind it.

{Aether is.} "Right, Aether was what our equations were missing. It was the matter, the energy, that held

the universe together."

Seeing that their collective interest was fading, he brought up his next point, the thing he was

leading up to.

"Now some of you here experienced what we call a Well of Eternity."

"!"

A sneer left him as he noticed the reactions of the four, clearly surprised that he knew of such

a thing. Then an unnamed student raised his trembling hand, wanting to ask a question even while

scared shitless, his curiosity winning against his fear.

Emir gave him permission with a nod. "Can... Can you explain what that is, Professor?"