After the fiasco that morning, the rest of the day continued uninterrupted. No other teacher brought the matter, and neither did the students. Sia had given him a concerned look during lunch, but Altair kept Quadreign's warning in mind and kept his mouth closed. He had spun a few more ideas for revenge on Elizabeth and Alexander in the meanwhile, but eventually lost interest in the idea. It wasn't that he had given up on his pettiness, but rather that Altair was just too lazy, and would rather allow Fate to guide the opportunity directly into his hands. Given his status, even if he can barely use a millionth of his original strength, such a minor accommodation from destiny was perfectly reasonable.
The day went by smoothly, and Class 1-A had fallen back into its usual rhythms with no apparent aftereffects. However, this composure was put on the line when the last class of the day arrived: combat training with Mr. Lindt, who claimed today would be the start of their joint training with the other First Year students.
To say they were nervous wouldn't be the truth, as only Elizabeth seemed anxious, but there was still a certain tension amongst the rest of the class. Zeze was already fired up before they even entered the hall, while Nezra seemed to have fully fallen back into his nonchalant self. Gordan and Nephelae kept to themselves, while Alexander was calm, but the smirk on his face betrayed his excitement for the upcoming confrontation. As for Altair? He was also looking forward to the joint training.
Having received a portion of Endyr's spoils as his own gains, he was eager to test them out on others. This practice gave him the perfect opportunity to beat up- to explore his new potential with his schoolmates, a perfectly normal and friendly interaction between children. 'Nothing builds comradery like a little bit of fighting' he thought to himself. 'Sure, just look at how much Endyr bonded with her Adventurer teammates after one night!'
Granted, it was only Kulkiri and Aryll who seemed to intend to build a relationship with her, but two out of ten wasn't bad for their first time meeting each other. 'Hmm, I wonder how that trio are doing now...probably off exploring some old tomb for relics. And Kulkiri should have skipped town by now too, off doing whatever he does in his spare time. Or maybe he's still skulking around in the shadows of Sky Cross.'
'Hm, have I already thought about this?'
The door to the training hall swung upon with a slight screech, its weight causing the door to scrape against the ground. Inside, their Elf teacher stood with his arms crossed, causing the impressive muscles around his neck and shoulders to flex. Lindt wore the same clothes as he always did for their training, but his gaze seemed a little bit different compared to usual....more mercurial, and even carrying a hint of tension.
According to Alexander, the joint training period was always used as the time for the different Classes to engage each other, with Class A frequently getting the brunt of it. Clearly, Lindt had experienced a fair share of this, and had his own personal opinions on the matter.
He didn't say anything however, merely gesturing for everyone to take a seat on the bench. Three other benches had been set up, one at each wall, the large distance between them no doubt being intentional. Over the next few minutes, more and more children streamed in from outside the hall, being sorted onto their own bench. Altair felt plenty of gazes on him, more than his classmates, but they always looked away when he tried to make eye contact.
Nezra received fewer than Altair expected, his earlier actions seemingly scaring off anyone that wanted to challenge him. After himself, Ophelia naturally received the highest number of looks, with Nephelae surprisingly coming up third. 'I guess Fairies really aren't seen that often.'
In his spare time, Altair had done his own research of Nephelae's species, but the information worth digesting was scarce, with most of it being scattered amidst myths and bedtime stories. An all-female Race that never mature past sixteen or seventeen in appearance, an exceptional connection to Mana, general detachment from all other lifeforms, a lifespan that burns shorter the more talented they are...all stuff Altair already knew from Elizabeth.
He did find an interesting titbit on the history of the Fairy Race though. When the Almighty Primordial came to power in the Third Era, the majority of Humanoid Races (including Vampires) submitted to "Him", becoming second-class citizens and experiencing various degrees of discrimination, but at least they were protected from being hunted down and processed into materials, like the Dragons and Devils. However, the Fairy Race did not submit to the Almighty, causing them to suffer intense persecution as Elizabeth explained previously. In the end, the Fairy Race only managed to survive by retreating to the furthest reaches of Orvonia, vanishing entirely for centuries.
It was only after the Almighty's fall, around the middle of the Fourth Era that they once again appeared in Orvonia, under the banner of Chanteur. How "He" managed to assert control over the Fairies, or even how "He" managed to find them at all, was still a mystery today. Regardless, hat followed was information Altair already knew: the Orthodox Gods banned the practice of hunting Fae, with only Aenrys and Navruavati keeping it up. Even Seraphic abandoned it, though "He" kept it going the longest.
The most interesting part was that the book briefly touched upon the Floating City in greater detail than what Altair had gathered so far. It described Chanteur's Divine Kingdom as the name implied: a floating landmass almost as big as the Gaia Continent, occupied by countless palaces and sub-cities, all together forming one colossal city. The City wasn't stationary, and would move through the air in a pattern, like a satellite in orbit. From what the book said, the City should be floating over the Borealis Continent right now, and it would move on towards the Tartarus Continent in three months time.
From what was explained, no other God interfered with the Floating City's flight path, not even the Angels of Astraea or the Gods of Tartarus. It wasn't that they had no issues with it. but that Chanteur had already beaten anyone who objected into submission. "He" had engaged several Gods in battle to earn that right, including Aenrys, Navruavati, Zephylte and Sol. The former two resisted due to Zephylte declaring all airspace to be "His" property, while Sol declared that attempting to occupy the same space as the sun was blasphemy against "Him". The book obviously didn't go into detail about the fight, but in the end Chanteur was allowed to continue uninterrupted, meaning "He" must have won.
Altair briefly wondered if he would ever get to see the Floating City himself, or meet the God of Dreams personally. The latter was at least probable due to his nature as the Abomination, though Altair doubted he would meet "Him" for a pleasant chat. The fact that Nephelae had enrolled in Sky Cross more than likely meant that Chanteur had already began to make moves to capture him, like the Orthodox Churches and the Illuminative Ascetic Order had by sending their own agents in.
Funnily enough, it was Alexander whom Altair had to fear the least. He just represented the mortal side of the coin, the interests of the Great Nobles of the Gaia Continent. Whatever he could do, pales in front of the possibilities for the Divine. Altair hadn't pegged Nezra yet, but he was certain the blonde boy reported to someone. It would simply be unnatural not to be, since everyone else was a spy of some sort. Well, maybe Ophelia really was just a normal student...getting into Class A made perfect sense for a Royal, and she was the correct age.
Altair was snapped out of his revelry by Mr. Lindt loudly clearing his throat, the hall having filled in the time Altair was lost in his thoughts. Once he confirmed everyone was paying attention, the Elf stepped into the middle of the hall and began to speak.