Chapter 114: Basic History

It all started at the end of the Second World War, in 1945, when 6 otherwordly rifts began to appear around the world, one located on each habitable continent.

With them came the Predicaments, monsters from another world that preyed upon life, shoving Humanity, which was once the apex predator, into hiding.

In a single year, these Predicaments wreaked havoc across the entire world, plunging it into chaos and despair.

Even when faced with America’s and Russia’s nuclear warheads, the Predicament still prevailed.

Europe, Asia, Australia, and nearly the whole of Africa and America...

In the matter of a single year, all of the world’s continental mainlands had fallen to the overwhelming Predicaments, along with more than 70% of Humanity’s population at the time.

This catastrophic near-extinction event for Humanity was unitedly named The Fall by the populace.

And in that same year... 6 powerful Predicaments settled themselves on the six continental mainlands.

The Predicament of Europe, The Predicament of Asia, The Predicament of Australia, The Predicament of Africa, The Predicament of North America, and The Predicament of South America.

These Continental Predicaments were known as Kings — King Predicaments of their respective rift and the Predicaments that came from it.

They were undoubtedly the strongest beings on the planet, with just one being enough to wipe out either countries or states by themselves.

Fortunately...

There was still hope for Humanity. For after The Fall, the world was left with 6 countries, still brimming with life to this day and untouched by Predicaments.

The United Kingdom, Japan, Iceland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cuba.

At first, nobody could understand why the Predicaments hadn’t invaded these particular lands, even though it was something they weren’t particularly keen on thinking about.

Was it because they couldn’t cross the sea to reach these particular islands? ... No, that wasn’t it, for there had been cases of airborne Predicaments in the past.

So why? ... Why were the Predicaments so hesitant about crossing the sea to reach these places?

This question sparked curiosity and hope amongst Humanity’s greatest researchers. Eventually leading them to a shocking discovery.

It wasn’t a magical phenomenon as some had theorised, nor did it seem like there was a holy barrier constructed around these islands.

Instead, what they discovered to be the cause of the Predicaments’ apprehension... was the work of a particular wet weather — rain.

For some reason, whenever Predicaments came in contact with rain, they would become weakened under the downpour — with the effect being greater when in contact with the sea.

Nobody could understand why. Scientists, philosophers, archaeologists, and even religious scholars were left stumped.

What was so special about the rain and sea for it to have such a negative effect on these fiends? To this day, nobody has yet to figure out why.

Even when they used collected sea and rainwater, they didn’t have the same effect compared to their source. In fact, they didn’t have any effect at all.

As time passed, each country grew closer to one another, sharing crucial information and even resources. Against a common enemy, they were all united under a single banner.

And with their union came the beginning of a new government. A bigger and stronger government. A government composed of all of the world’s remaining governments.

The Good of Humanity Government, a government that made great efforts in quelling the chaos and despair in Humanity’s Hearts, creating order and stability.

They gave people jobs, food, homes, and a warm feeling of safety, while trying to rid the fear of Predicaments from their Hearts.

Unfortunately...

"It took roughly 3 years, after the first person awakened their Heart, in 1947, for the idea of a united government to be finalised. Then roughly two years after that for changes to a united government to be implemented.

"But by then, the earlier waves of Vitalists were already being put to use by their respective militaries to take back land. Of course, after the GOHG was finally settled into place, these militaries were later fused into what we know today as the Land Reclamation Military..."

Herman wrote on the digital screen, highlighting and editing the presentation he was flipping through.

The 24 students behind him fervently took notes throughout his lecture, some even reaching their third or fourth pages by now. Of course... not all of them were moving at the same pace.

Ross, to his dismay and miscalculation, was typing very slowly because of his broken arm, which had left him frustrated at times.

On the other hand, Elias was jotting down notes extremely fast, which shocked Ross. But when he took a glance at the Street Rat’s notes, his amazement quickly fizzled out.

Elias’ handwriting was so ugly to the point that it looked cryptic. It was absolutely illegible!

"Elias... are you able to read your own notes?"

"... Hah?" Elias glanced up and quirked an eyebrow. "Of course I can. Whatchu’ on about?"

"... Just checking."

On the other hand, Beatrice was assisting Roxy with her notes... well, more like the two were working together.

Roxy’s cast was wrapped around her left arm, which was unfortunate since she was left-handed. So, while she did attempt to write with her right hand, she soon gave up when she was writing too slowly.

Fortunately, Beatrice was amiable enough to share her laptop with the woman, though she was the one who really did all the typing.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Beatrice quirked an eyebrow as she lifted her hands.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

’That’s odd... I stopped typing, but I still hear it...’

The noise also sounded quicker and more consistent than hers. Why was that?

Beatrice swiftly turned around and glanced at the back, looking towards the cause of the noise.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Seraphine typed hastily, her fingers blitzing across the keys with confidence, drawing the attention of a few.

Callum, one of the obvious few, mouthed an ’O’ shape, amazed by her speedy typing.

He then whispered:

"Wow, Seraphine, you’re really talented. I haven’t ever seen someone type so fast before!" Callum earnestly looked over. "Honestly, if you told me you won some kind of competition in typing, I would definitely believe you."

’He complimented me!’ Seraphine’s eyes sparkled.

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, while still typing with one hand. "Hehe, you think so?"

"Absolutely." Callum nodded firmly.

The girl began to giggle jubilantly inside. ’Hehe, this is one of the proudest days in my life!’

As that was happening...

"Wow~ you’re handwriting is super pretty." Hilda leaned over, keenly scrutinising Nadia’s handwriting.

The woman used a black fountain pen to write. Her handwriting was cursive, and the way she drew her letters was extremely elegant and fluid. Because of this, Nadia gave off the impression of someone who was well-practised in the art of calligraphy. And most importantly of all...

It was easy to read.

"Thanks..." Nadia murmured stoically, still focused on the lecture.

Hilda, assuming that Nadia thought she was lying, chuckled lightly. "No, seriously! The way you write is really elegant..."

She then paused for a split second.

"Say... you seem like the type of person who practised writing with a feather."

The moment she said that, Nadia flinched and her body instantly stiffened.

Her mind then briefly recalled a time when she found a feather one day and tried to write with it. Intending to mimic how people back then used to write letters, she spent hours trying to learn the technique of using it... until it eventually broke.

’Pigeon feathers are really tedious to write with...’

It was mainly because of these practices that she could write so well.

Noticing Hilda still eyeing her, Nadia coughed lightly and half-turned her face away.

"I don’t write with feathers," she stated curtly, slightly embarrassed by the memory.

"Ehhh~? I think it’d be cool to write with feathers, honestly," Hilda murmured, glancing at a random spot in the air.

"..."

Deciding not to respond to Hilda’s comment, Nadia glanced over at the German’s notes and was met with an array of colours.

Hilda wrote in bold and block capitals. Her letters were uniform, and her spacing was incredibly consistent. There were several kinds of diagrams on the page, along with highlighted words, coloured arrows, etc.

With one look, anyone could easily grasp Hilda’s thought processes.

As Nadia was about to make a comment on it—

"... I—"

—Herman suddenly turned around.

"I’m still holding a lecture, you all. Keep quiet, until after the lesson."

He turned back to the board. "The GOHG wouldn’t be what it is today if not for the efforts of its Vitalists, like Headmaster Orrey or Peter Knight, another prominent figure, particularly in the LRM. If you didn’t know, he was the one behind many of the rules and methods used in the military back then, although most of them have now been updated and written out..."

Herman paused for a split second as a wistful look soon crossed his face.

"... I even had the chance to meet him. He was a great man. It was truly a shame when he passed away 7 years ago during the raid on the Western Duke of Europe..."