"Who can answer the fundamentals of Rifts?"

Dantiz Fabrizio’s eyes swept across the class as he noticed a few hands raised.

He pointed at a female student. "Speak."

She gracefully stood up and replied in a gentle tone.

"A Rift is formed due to the distortion between two spaces that are incompatible." She looked at Dantiz.

"But because of the Goddess Moon, who is holding back most of the formation of rifts, we can all survive to this day."

Dantiz Fabrizio nodded his head and gestured for her to sit down.

"New rule." He spoke calmly. "No one will recite what is written in their respective God’s bible. It’s a class, not a church."

There were quite a few groans in the class but Dantiz ignored them.

’Come to think of it, many of the students here should be devotees.’

Most of the commoners were believers of a certain church, mostly because they had no real choice.

There had been multiple horror stories and myths of people dying unexpectedly because they cursed or belittled the gods.

’It’s a world of superstition and gods after all...’

Dantiz Fabrizio took a marker and wrote two words on the board.

"There are ’mostly’ two outcomes once you enter inside a rift." He spoke in his cold voice.

"You either enter into a ruined world of invaders or you enter a rift that has space and time distorted."

He put the marker down and turned around to look at the students. "Which one do you think is more dangerous?"

"Ruined World."

It was a collective answer from the students who mostly came from a commoner background.

While those from noble lineage were gloating at their less intelligent answer.

Dantiz Fabrizio shook his head and corrected them. "The rift with distorted space and time is more dangerous. Do you know why?"

He didn’t wait for the students to reply as he continued. "Because they are much more likely to entrap you, make you hallucinate, lose yourself and even commit suicide."

A chill crept into the hearts of the students and many felt themselves in distress.

’Seriously, will this guy stop using his skill to make his point?’

Mikhail couldn’t help but be annoyed by the frequent use of Dantiz’s skill.

The professor leaned back on his desk and said in a soft voice. "The chances of dying in a distorted rift are much higher than in a ruined one. Almost double."

He didn’t linger on the topic. "Anyway, those who have reached Ascendant will be going inside a ruined world to familiarise themselves with the rifts."

At his words, one of the students raised a hand.

Dantiz nodded, giving permission to speak.

"Is it really important to close a rift by going inside?" He asked in a hesitant tone. "Wouldn’t it be better if we just left it alone?"

"That’s a misconception a lot of common people have." Dantiz spoke deeply. "But if we leave them alone, one day that rift will explode and contaminate the area around it."

He waited for his words to be digested before he continued.

"The Central Continent is the prime example of it. The people there stopped closing rifts and in return humanity lost one billion lives."

This time he didn’t use any skill but his words lay heavy on the students like a cloak.

The class remained silent for a long second before he tapped on his desk.

"What makes a good team for a rift exploration?" He asked, looking around the classroom. "And who is the most important person in a group?"

A lot of students raised their hands and Dantiz pointed at one of the male students.

"A good team consists of a scout, defender, attacker, healer and a leader." He said in a boastful voice. "And the most important one is the strongest."

"A very crude answer but true." Dantiz replied with a nod. "And no, the most important isn’t the strongest."

"Then the healer?" Another student suggested.

"It’s not the healer." Dantiz shook his head and didn’t wait for any more guesses. "It’s someone who has a mark of the gods and goddesses."

Turning around, he walked towards the board once again.

"It’s not confirmed why, but those marked by the three gods have a corrosive effect on the monsters inside the rifts. Like they corrupt them from the inside and even drive them to madness."

’Hmm...’

Mikhail narrowed his eyes when he heard his words.

Back on Earth, he remembered how Outer Gods were tied with corruption, madness and in some way corrosion.

’Does that mean the gods of this world are like Outer Gods to those of the ruined world?’

"But even if they are important and play a key role, they are also the ones who are targeted first."

Dantiz continued, snapping Mikhail out of his thoughts.

"In the distorted rifts, people inside call them heretics and kill them on the spot, and in ruined worlds monsters attack them in a crazed manner."

’So in the end, having a mark is a double edged sword.’

Mikhail thought, rubbing his chin.

’I am sure the enforcers I met before were also marked ones.’

He was more or less sure about his hypothesis.

’...But why would the monsters inside rifts attack those blessed by gods? Is it something that isn’t public knowledge?’

---

The class kept on going for almost a full hour before Professor Dantiz walked out.

Almost immediately the divided groups began to talk among themselves while Kevin let out a soft groan.

"Man, his classes are going to be tough." He said, fixing his posture. "I wonder if he will throw me out if I sleep in his class."

Mikhail’s lips twitched before he let out a sigh.

He stood up and picked up Methew who was sleeping under his desk.

Kevin looked at him with a confused look. "Where are you going?"

"There are no more classes." Mikhail replied with a smile. "Professor Dantiz is the only one who would take a proper class today. The rest will just be introductions."

Kevin frowned in confusion. "So?"

Mikhail’s smile grew brighter. "Let’s go to the Hunter Association and solve some cases!"