Axel kept listening to the explanation of his friend with a strange expression on his face. But by the end of it, his expression had turned ugly, and Heinz’s sarcastic tone slowly vanished as he watched his friend’s expression darken. Eventually, Heinz finished his tale and let out a complicated sigh, seeing the state of Axel. He patted Axel’s shoulder softly and left without saying a word, leaving him in his own thoughts.
The results of the fortress game were out 2 days after it was over. The undisputed winner was obviously Gold Section, with Section C of Jaden Redmar coming in second, having almost defeated the gold section in the very first round of the entire game. Then it was Section-A of Enrick Samartan, and last but not least was Section-B of Conner Ravenspire.
But obviously, the most important conclusion of this entire game was never about which section came in first or last, but rather, how the sectional evaluation points would add up to your own personal score. The individual ranking that everyone would receive.
And this time, obviously, from the three other sections, all the good and most competent seekers were transferred to the Gold Section. Half of the less performing performers within the gold section were kicked out and replaced with better-qualified ones. Now the Gold Section hosted proper 300 rankers among all the students, and so the top 10 rankings became -
[6] Thorian Blackvale
[9] Conner Ravenspire
Many, including Lucien’s step-brothers and even Ken Dusker himself, were displeased by this ranking. In fact, Ken was pushed to almost last in the rankings within the section, barely managing to keep himself in the Gold Section. Despite Ken having two three-star aspects himself, his combat strength isn’t on that level as the top ones. Lucien himself wasn’t very pleased with the rankings. He didn’t get the chance to reveal too much of his strength.
But he was unconcerned primarily by the rankings, busy with other thoughts, things more important to him. On the other hand, there were a few things here that one would find strange. Usually, Lumina, Lucien and the Valkyrie would sit together on one side. However, three of them were seated in three different places today.
Axel chose to sit right beside Jaden Redmar, and Heinz seated right to Jaden’s left. The master strategist shot both of the figures hateful looks, but to that, both Heinz and Axel chuckled; they didn’t have any bad blood between them, it was just a friendly competition. But Jaden was acting tough, for a moment, Axel couldn’t help but think, ’Is this guy a tsundere or something?’
Thorian, Enrick and Conner also decided to sit right beside them, and they seem to have formed a group of their own.
Professor Darwin entered the primary classroom of the Section and addressed the newly formed Gold Section.
Though everyone had already become quiet just as the professor entered, some small murmurs were coming from the newly transferred ones. Now, with the professor’s statement, the class of the 300 strongest students or seekers of the next generation among humanity’s entirety was present here. Each special in their own way, filled with immense potential, the very group that shall one day lead the entirety of humanity.
And it was he who was now teaching that very class, thought the professor with a heavy sigh of responsibility. He continued in a serious note, "Okay, everyone, I will be talking about a critical topic today. So, please listen attentively, since this is information you have likely never heard because this is something that is in no books of the academy or on anything in a written format."
Everyone arched their eyebrows at that comment, straightened their posture, leaning their bodies slightly forward, and continued to listen with full attention. Axel himself put on a thoughtful expression. Professor Darwin always brought up the most critical topics whenever he asked everyone to pay proper attention in class.
The professor continued seeing everyone focusing on him intently, "This is something related to what you have gone through in the trial."
"The truth is, when you arrive in someone else’s body in the trial world, from that moment onward, you are more of that person than you are your own self, especially at the start of the trial, I would say. But as time passes and you slowly discover what is and is not, and you find some clues about yourself, the traces of your own true self. But what happens is that the remnant of that body you are inhabiting does not let you assimilate that nature of yours too easily. It tries to reject that trait."
"But eventually, when you are faced with some big challenge that forces you to accept the discovered traits of your original self, you find out and regain the trace of your true self at the very end of the trial."
"However, after the end of the trial, when you come back, you do not come back yourself, but more so as the one you were in the trial. You can take a few minutes to reflect on your own behaviour after the prosecution, comparing it to what it was before. Some perceptive ones have already noticed this issue about themselves. But most of you haven’t, I know, because seeing something different about your own personality is just too tricky, because people change too often, humans especially."
He paused for a moment and looked at everyone, as almost every single student uttered a collective gasp. The top students did not let that obvious surprise show on their faces, but the experienced professor could see the trembling and dilation of their pupils.
He sighed; it was a natural yet horrifying realisation, to know that perhaps you are not you, but rather someone else. An identity crisis is the worst thing a Seeker can experience. After all, the true strength and power that comes from a Seeker, separating them from the ordinary, is that very unshakable belief.
The better one knows themself, truly to their core, not the superficial kind of belief or confidence, but rather accurate recognition and acceptance, the more powerful they are. Seeker’s path in truth is nothing but the journey of authentic and unshakable self-discovery.
It can be inferred from this that humans are, in fact, the weakest race, as they are perhaps the most adaptable beings, both genetically and psychologically. If they encounter a problem, they adapt physically or mentally in a way that solves the problem in the easiest way possible.
And that’s precisely the very core problem: humans would rather change themselves to fit the situation rather than remain the same and change the situation itself. Yes, in the process, they do change the environment or the situation, whatever one may want to call it. But they change themselves first to adapt to the new situation.
Which is the very opposite of what getting stronger demands. This adaptive behavior is widely disliked by the world itself, at least according to the analogy that historians of humanity and ancient experts have developed and left written over the years.