Angel Monarch-Chapter 338: School Day

The schooling within the Angelic Order's territories was simple. Children of all ages needed to attend schools, until they had enough general knowledge to venture into the world, either entering the workforce or pursuing higher education.

The schools taught the same subjects with similar curriculums. Every child must learn about math, sciences, literature, history, art, and world knowledge.

Some of these subjects were seemingly less important. For example, losing considerable knowledge from before the Apocalypse resulted in history classes focusing on the past thirty years.

Many people also looking down upon the arts and literature, deeming them worthless. Fortunately, the educational leaders, who decide the curriculum and subjects, know the importance of art in a functioning society.

Art is the fuel of the human soul. A necessary part of society. Without art, the people's morale will crumble, leading to depression, high suicide rates, and even possibly rebellion.

Nobody argued against math and sciences. Most children hated these subjects, but accepted their importance.

However, the most significant subject was, of course, world knowledge…

This course aims to fully educate students on the world. They learn about fighting both unarmed and with weapons, monster classification, survival techniques, political climate, laws, religions, everything they might need in the future.

This subject's singular focus is preparing children for the harsh reality of the world, with no sugarcoating or propaganda.

Another important part of every Angelic Order school was the lack of religious and political ideologies. Children objectively study these worldviews.

The teachers have to keep their feelings in check when teaching the curriculum, so the students can form their own opinions later. Even a devoted Angelic Order follower must teach from an objective perspective.

Lots of parents don't agree with objective teaching, especially the religious fanatics. Only when the Angelic Order accepted the school's teaching methods did the masses calmed down.

While world knowledge was the most important and exciting subject for most children, Vicky found it extremely boring.

"…And that's how you disarm an opponent stronger than you! Anyone have questions?" Asked their instructor, a young woman barely in her twenties.

She was a veteran from The War of Three Alliances, fought on the front lines near Barcelon. She was also an Evolved, and part of the Angelic Order.

For most schools within the fourteen city-sates, it was rare that an actual war veteran came in to teach, but in New Athens, the heart of the Angelic Order, it was a regular occurrence.

The students adored their teacher, and loved these fighting classes, but since Vicky's, Henry's, Lydia's and Glenn's strength surpassed any normal adults, they couldn't participate.

"Nobody? Good! Then let's begin the exercise! Every go to your assigned partner and try disarming them!"

The teacher's shout echoed around the room. The students faced each other with their swords or spears and the grunting and panting commenced.

Vicky stared at them for a while, then glanced at Glenn nearby. He enthusiastically described fighting styles and warfare tactics, while Lydia responded once in a while. Her eyes always scanned their surroundings, looking out for potential threats.

Just from looking at them, one would never discern their romantic relationship. But Vicky easily saw through their ruse.

She saw when Glenn gestures with his hand and accidentally touch hers, a small blush always creeps onto Lydia's face. On the other hand, Glenn's excitement was a clear tell of his crush.

Vicky continued watching them for a while, only turning away when Adam bumped her arm.

The instructor walked towards the four of them, her eyes serious, her face unreadable. On her uniform, right at her heart, a golden seven-pointed star declared her allegiance.

She stopped next to Vicky and Henry, then turned away, staring towards the dueling mats. The students continued fighting each other, disarming or defeating their classmates.

"Is everything well, my Lady? You don't need to stay. I won't report you!"

The instructor whispered under her breath, trying to not draw attention. Vicky just sighed and shook her head.

"No need, I'm good here… How's your leg, Miss May?" She asked, while glancing at the brace around her right leg.

The woman felt taken aback by the question, but after blushing from embarrassment, she resumed her serious expression.

"It's not too bad. Just a souvenir from Barcelon… Those Husk blades are quiet nasty, and we still hadn't found a way to properly heal them… I wonder if we ever will… I got off easy, some of my friends lost limbs, or suffered permanent organ damage… They could never fight again…"

Miss May's eyes turned sad as she remembered those times. Despite only two years passing, her memories felt distant.

Barcelon, unlike most places, resisted capture. Their purpose was to destroy and cause as many casualties as possible. They brought many Federal Alliance soldiers down, but when the Husks appeared, they had to retreat while suffering heavy casualties themselves.

Only Madrid fared worse. Few of the initial thousands of Evolved and Ascended returned, while no regular soldiers survived.

Compared to Barcelon, Madrid was a true hellscape. Millions died, and they couldn't even capture the city.

Even now, two years later, Madrid and Barcelon stays strong. From the Federal Alliance's five Stellars, three managed to survive and return to the city-states.

New Paris also stayed strong against capture, with Napoleon and his two lackeys surviving The War of Three Alliances.

May continued staring at the mats, while remembering all the horror, but soon a gentle voice brought her out of the reverie.

"We are working on it. The Angelic Order's lead scientist already has a prototype solution, but it requires more testing before we could heal everyone… Don't worry, Miss May. Soon you will walk properly again soon!"

A small smile crept up on Miss May's lips, and she blinked the tears of relief away.

"Anyway, what's your kids' plan for the Peacemaking celebration? It's only two days away!"

Vicky turned away with sad eyes. May 12th was approaching, the day when The War of Three Alliances ended by Bran, the Peacemaker's self sacrifice.

For the public, it was a joyous celebration, but Vicky spent that day mourning. She never was particularly close to Bran, but throughout the months she grew quite fond of him.

At some point, towards the end, he even became a kind of father figure for Vicky. This meant losing him hit her hard, and hearing the happy celebrations on his death's anniversary felt like an insult.

After a few second silence, May's gaze dropped to Vicky's tear-streaked face with curiosity. Upon seeing the girl's sad expression, May's heart nearly stopped from fear.

She was close to begging for forgiveness when the bells sounded, marking the end of the class. Vicky wasted no time to retreat into the female locker room, and Lydia followed close behind.

The other students also left the training area. Each looked more tired than the last. Sweat ran down their faces, and a few even had some bruises, which were quickly healed by the school's Evolved nurse.

Vicky didn't make it far into the locker room before she fell to her knees and began weeping. Lydia gently hugged her side and lifted Vicky onto a nearby bench.

The other girls trickled into the locker room too. They laughed between each other, then became awfully quiet upon seeing Vicky's state.

They began whispering and snickering, thinking neither Lydia nor Vicky could hear them.

"Look at Viola. She's crying again!" Said one girl, while pointing at Vicky with little subtlety.

Viola was the name Vicky chose as an alias for school. Henry also renamed himself to Hayden while attending.

"Isn't she like thirteen or fourteen? Why is she so childish?"

"Not just childish, but stupid as well! Have you seen the results of her math tests? She is by far the worst, not just in our class, but in the entire school!"

Lydia's hands trembled in anger, but when she was about to confront them, Vicky caught her hand firmly. Their eyes met, and while Lydia was full of fury, Vicky stayed sane and cautious.

While Lydia struggled to control her emotions, more girls stepped inside, continuing the snickering remarks.

"It's not just math, but world knowledge! Why does she never train with us? She must suck so much the school had to make exceptions!"

"I bet that's why Hayden never trains either. Solidarity to her weakling 'girlfriend'."

"Or maybe he just doesn't need training! Have you seen his physique? I bet he could beat up even the instructors!"

These comments hadn't bothered Vicky, but when she heard one particular girl's voice, her blood began boiling.

"I heard a rumor he only dates her out of pity. I mean, look at her pathetic behaviour, and that small lanky figure! She looks like a starved puppy! Hayden must've explicitly told her not to fight, since she would probably die from one kick to her head!"

The other girls laughed and giggled while surrounding the tallest of their bunch. Thea was by far one of the most distinguished student in their school.

She was tall, reaching 1,8 meters. Her beauty was unparalleled, and even as a fourteen-year-old, her body was already developing well. Most other girls envied her curves, including Vicky.

Thea also excelled in every subject, bringing only perfect scores on most tests. She was also very athletic, and well trained in many martial arts.

Furthermore, she hailed from a military family, with Ascended parents and siblings. They raised her to be a soldier from birth. As a fourteen-year-old, she was already an Ascended with lots of monster kills on her hand.

Henry alone outperformed Thea on each subject, which ignited the girl's rivalling spirit.

She tried to raise her scores in math and other subjects, but since Henry never missed any question on tests, that proved impossible.

Thea then tried beating him in fighting classes, but since Henry never participated in those, she had to think of something else.

Since Thea had found no way of beating Henry, she took pride and pleasure in bullying his girlfriend as much as possible.

Vicky never told Henry about her bullying, and she generally managed fine, but even she had her limits.

"She must be an orphan or something! Has any of you seen her parents! I bet they are ugly, just like her! They probably died in The War of Three Alliances. That's why she always cries!"

Thea's laughter echoed in the locker room. It took her a few seconds to realize that other than her, nobody else was laughing.

Everyone stared behind her, where Viola stood with a hateful, furious eyes. Unconsciously, Thea took a step back as a shiver went down her spine.

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Viola's anger didn't scare her. But something else brought Thea worry.

The small girl with short light brown hair and dark green eyes grinned as she moved her arm back and punched Thea in the face.