Vexion and Lexa unconsciously tightened their grips. Vexion clutched the sleeves of her robe, while Lexa instinctively gripped the fabric around her waist.
Neither of them spoke. Both were trying to understand exactly what this lesson truly was. It certainly was not just a history class.
It was a class about their Master's family.
Dante.
They knew him better than almost anyone. He was only eighteen years old — an eighteen-year-old young man who acted shamelessly, lazed around whenever possible, complained about reading, and somehow still terrified everyone around him.
Yet the family behind him, its history stretched so far into the past that even they could not comprehend it.
For the first time since entering Midverse Academy, they realized this institution was not merely a place where one learned to become stronger. It was also a place where the forgotten truths of the world still lived.
Both silently focused on the instructor. Faraway smiled, clearly delighted by the attention he had captured. He lightly tapped the two names written upon the board.
Justin II Sandrian. Aurora Sandrian.
"To be precise, it would be inaccurate to claim these two were solely responsible for beginning the Great Continental War."
He drew a circle around Justin II's name.
"This individual was one of the greatest contributors to the war."
He paused.
"Or perhaps it is more accurate to say he became the greatest variable within it. The historical records that remain all agree on one thing — he possessed the highest number of confirmed kills. He influenced more battlefields than anyone else. And despite that, his name almost disappeared from history."
The classroom became completely silent. Faraway chuckled softly.
"Normally this is knowledge reserved for senior students. Truthfully, you are still provisional students. We do not even know whether all of you will survive the entrance examinations and become true students of Midverse Academy."
A few awkward laughs spread throughout the lecture hall.
"However, we believe history should inspire curiosity. If even one of you leaves this classroom wanting to learn more about the past, then today's lecture has already succeeded."
He turned back toward the map.
"Now then, to understand this war, you must first understand the family behind it."
He tapped Justin's surname.
"Sandrian. The Sandrian Empire."
He looked around the classroom.
"During that era, there were not thirteen continents. There were only twelve. And in that world, the Sandrian Empire stood as one of the Four Great Families."
A student frowned.
"...Families?"
Faraway nodded.
"Yes. Families. Not kingdoms. Not sects. Not academies. Not guilds. Families."
He slowly walked across the front of the classroom.
"Think about what that truly means. Our Midvest Academy is powerful because countless geniuses gather here. The same applies to the Four Great Academies. The Five Great Sects. The Midvest Guild. They draw strength from thousands upon thousands of talented individuals."
He stopped walking.
"But a family draws its strength from blood alone."
A ripple spread through the classroom.
"If a family can stand among the ten greatest powers in the world, what does that tell you about the people born into it?"
No one answered. They already understood — it meant generation after generation produced monsters. Faraway smiled.
"Exactly. The Sandrian bloodline repeatedly gave birth to individuals capable of standing at the very peak of history."
He raised another finger.
"And astonishingly, they still exist today."
The lecture hall erupted.
"They're still alive?"
"A family that old?"
"They still have descendants?"
Faraway chuckled.
"Indeed. The Four Great Families never truly disappeared. They simply became quieter. Our academy, in fact, maintains an excellent relationship with the Sandrian Empire. The same can be said for one of the other Great Families."
"But—"
He smiled knowingly.
"That discussion belongs to another lesson."
He leaned casually against the podium.
"To be honest, most of you will probably forget the Sandrian name after today's class. The chances of ever meeting one of their descendants are incredibly small."
A student immediately raised his hand.
"Instructor... are you implying there are descendants currently attending Midverse Academy?"
Faraway's smile widened.
"That is exactly what I am implying."
The room exploded into whispers. Faraway allowed the excitement to settle before continuing.
"Now, as for the war itself."
He looked once more toward Justin's name.
"Historical records suggest that a member of the Sandrian Family was murdered. The culprit belonged to one of the other Great Families."
He sighed.
"At that point in history, there were not four Great Families. There were seven."
The students immediately began writing.
"The Sandrian Empire demanded justice. They received none. So they declared war."
His voice grew heavier.
"Not a campaign. Not a territorial dispute. A blood war. It lasted for nearly one thousand years."
Silence filled the lecture hall.
"The conflict eventually reached what was then the single Central Continent. The two families responsible had established themselves there. But naturally, they were not alone. They possessed allies. They possessed treaties. They possessed friendships that stretched across the world."
He looked around the room.
"And so did the Sandrian Family. Nation after nation. Sect after sect. Academy after academy. Power after power was dragged into the conflict. The world split into three factions. Those who supported the Sandrians. Those who supported the opposing Great Families. And those who desperately tried to stop the war before civilization itself collapsed."
His expression became unusually serious.
"The damage became so catastrophic that the neutral factions eventually abandoned neutrality. They intervened. Not because they wished to choose a side, but because the world itself was beginning to break."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"There are many details I cannot yet explain. Doing so would require knowledge beyond the Mythical Being level. So for now, I will simply tell you this."
He slowly wrote another title beneath Justin's name.
Ancient Sovereign.
"One Ancient Sovereign is approximately twenty times stronger than a Mythical Being."
The room froze. Several students instinctively inhaled sharply. Someone muttered,
"...Twenty?"
Faraway nodded.
"Approximately. And yes, they died."
He smiled wistfully, almost as though imagining the battlefield himself.
"Figures who stood at the absolute summit of existence fell one after another."
He tapped Justin II's name.
"The records credit this man with slaying the greatest number of Ancient Sovereigns during the war."
His finger moved toward Aurora's name.
"And this woman is believed to have personally killed more Mythical and Mystic Realm experts than anyone else recorded in history."
The silence that followed felt suffocating. No one knew what to say. No one even knew how to imagine people capable of such things.
Faraway allowed the weight of the revelation to linger before clapping his hands once.
"Anyway."
A chorus of disappointed groans immediately spread throughout the classroom. He blinked innocently.
"What? Were you expecting me to reveal the entire history of the greatest war ever fought in your very first history lecture?"
Several students laughed despite themselves. Faraway grinned.
"My objective today was never to teach you every detail. It was something much simpler."
He looked around the lecture hall.
"I wanted to show you that history is alive. That it is more than names and dates. History is a collection of people. People who laughed. People who cried. People who loved. People who hated. And people whose choices shaped the world you now live in."
He gestured toward the map one final time.
"The splitting of the Central Continent was merely the consequence. The true story is the one that led to it."
He smiled warmly.
"If today's lesson has left you frustrated because you want to know more, then I have done my job as a history instructor."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"Welcome... to the study of history."