Ascension of the Nephilim

His name is Mackerel Silvos. The very same Silvos family that ruled the Umbraden Kingdom in the mortal realm.

The past week started normally, and he went along with his day.

Life as a Vashura, despite the constant eye-rolls of the elites and higher born, was not that bad.

For someone who was of great chance, won numerous contests, and proved himself as one of the geniuses of the mortal realms, he had access to the library and books within the academy.

And while they had no teacher, he still received the allowance provided by the academy itself.

The Vashura class was not meant to be a dumping ground for the stupid and dull. It was a charity program provided by the Cloud Peak Academy with its aim to teach and allow the mortal realms and other smaller societies within the Floating Continent to grant them free chances to have students.

But because of the culture and drive of Cloud Peak Academy that urges everyone to compete and rise, it was natural to have such great scorn and mockery to those who would belong to the Vashura.

Mackerel had learned a great deal of knowledge that would shock his peers in the mortal realm. It had been nearly thirty years since the last time someone from his kingdom was allowed to rise in the Floating Continents, and he was excited to go home. The scorning looks and how people would avoid them was a small price to pay for the knowledge he would learn.

He even yearned to become more prominent than his kingdom\'s rising Paladin, Baron Knight Merovus!

But now, the beatings and attacks happened almost daily.

And if he failed the Student Assessment test, while he wouldn\'t be kicked out, he would lose a month\'s worth of allowances!

This meant he had to ratio whatever he would receive to support him for the next month!

He gritted his teeth in anger, and he yearned to slap the face of the stupid teacher who was said to take care of their class!

He entered the classroom that was assigned to them.

In the first four months of the school year of this academy, he only visited this room three times.

He glanced at his classmates, many of whom he had met for the very first time.

One thing common was that almost everyone had wounds and injuries.

Mackerel sat next to a girl with numerous slap marks on her face.

The boy barely recognized her. She was a beauty even by Floating Continent standards! But now, she looked pitiful and ugly due to the swelling of her face.

But while she was beautiful, not even her beauty won her any favors. The highborns would never see her as a potential mate but only use her. And the academy\'s women envied her beautiful looks but never lowered themselves to associate with her.

This beautiful woman was spared from many hardships at first. But now, because the Vashura class was given full class status, many women attacked her for \'daring to dream of being equal to them.\'

Everyone sat there silently. All angry at the teacher.

The door suddenly opened, and a maid with a disfigured and wounded face appeared.

And the one that followed her was a young boy.

So young! Younger than all of the students in the class!

Mackerel was surprised. He was the youngest boy in class, fourteen years old! But now, someone who was at least a year or two younger than him arrived!

He gazed at the younger boy who arrived.

"I\'m not the youngest in this class?" The young boy was amazed. He thought he was the youngest one. Despite being from the mortal realms, he was proud to have been the youngest to enter. But now a kid who didn\'t even look like a teenager arrived!

"What\'s with the maid?" Mackerel thought to himself as he saw the disfigured maid. But despite her poor facial appearance, her skin was white like porcelain!

"Ahem. My name is Emeros Steele. And I am your teacher." Emeros raised a certificate that only teachers had.

The certificate radiated with a unique glow, and a seal began to float out, certifying the truth of Emeros\'s claims.

Everyone froze.

A tall student seated at the back had to stop his hand from the murderous intent it leaked. Unlike the rest of the students, he didn\'t have any wounds. But his hatred towards the teacher was immense.

"And our first class session won\'t be here. We will take a class field trip towards the Valley Below the Lake. We move now. Meet me at the entrance in thirty minutes and take all your belongings. We will be staying inside for about a week. Dismissed." Emeros then turned and left.

Everyone was still shocked at what they saw.

"...Did anyone use [Gauge] on him?" One of the students asked.

"He\'s the real deal. Twelve years old. Level 15. He has Commander\'s Potential but is close to attaining a Cardinal\'s Potential! Based on that alone, he would be a genius student in the top fifty of this academy. But he would barely qualify to be a teacher." The tall student at the back quickly answered.

"He really... is the teacher! He is son young!" Mackerel exclaimed.

"If we kill him down there... the Teacher\'s Assessment is canceled. Our status plummets back down. We receive our allowances; practically all our problems would be over."

"What?! Kill the teacher?!" Another student shouted in shock.

"He is from the mortal realms. He wore no marks or emblem from any kingdoms or independent cities here in the Floating Continent." The tall student added.

"So... he has no backing?" The woman with a swelling face asked.

"He has. How else could he be a teacher? It\'s probably of high authority. Perhaps a royalty of this kingdom? But regardless, he remains an unaffiliated teacher. Which means there are specific circumstances that limit the support of his backers." The tall student answered.

"In other words... if he dies in the Valley Below the Lake, and we make it appear that a monster down there killed a barely teenage kid... there would be close to zero repercussions?" Another girl asked. Mackerel turned to her and saw that she had a bulging black eye. This was the first time Mackerel saw her, and this wound made it difficult to gauge if she was beautiful.

"Yes. If he dies there... there is close to zero chance of it being investigated." The tall student answered as he stood up.

With him taking the lead, everyone immediately left their seats. Everyone except Mackerel.

Perhaps it was his youth and the innocence that he carried. Perhaps it was the lack of horrors that he had seen in his life. But the thought of killing the youth never came to mind.

But now, the temptation to do so appeared.

The youngest student saw everyone leave in amazement. And even the woman next to her stood up and left. He could tell that a great murderous intent that everyone had.

At the appointed time, the students gathered at the cave\'s entrance next to the academy\'s large lake.

"Let\'s go," Emeros ordered and walked on ahead.

Many students and teachers saw the class move in.

The onlookers sneered and laughed at the insane actions of the Vashura class. Although it was a relatively safe season, as the monster horde was expected to peak in two months, it was still extremely dangerous for students to go! Especially with a teacher who was not even a Captain!

The students that followed Emeros all carried their staves. A few carried swords, spears, and arrows. But most of them were all mages.

Mackerel carried his sword and shield along with the staff that he had and walked down into the mountain. In his mind, he didn\'t know whether or not he would join his classmates in the murder of their teacher.

But his body knew the answer to what he would do once everyone started acting up.

They walked deep into the cave, but no one acted. They were too smart for that. The teacher was the least dangerous thing down the cave. There were monsters of many kinds that were allowed to grow.

This was a controlled region where monsters could grow and multiply and be hunted and killed for experience. The students of the academy planned to kill Emeros, make a scene to fight some monsters, and flee out of the place.

They entered the underground world full of trees and the light of the lake above.

Mountains that connected from the underground world up to the ground below created a miraculous work of nature, which everyone called the Valley Below the Lake.

This was the main attraction, but the region was a forest with mountains and underground rivers and was said to have over three levels underground.

A diamond crystal ceiling sealed the ocean from falling, and it was due to this unique environment that monsters up to Champion might grow in the large valley.

They marched and marched deep into the forest, heading towards the valley. But the students were still careful as they could sense many creatures moving out and about.

Soon, the group reached a clearing as the natural shrubs surrounding the place were poisonous. Emeros led the class into the clearing, and with his strange vine, he closed the gap and walked toward the center.

"Alright. Now, we can fight. It\'s fairly safe here." Emeros smiled.

"...Fight?" The tall student asked.

"I know you hate me. You were all bullied and suffered a bit. And with no one to throw out my frustration to, I naturally will inherit this anger. So let it all out. Try and kill me." Emeros smiled as he drew a sword, and Serena did the same.

The class was surprised.

"What\'s the matter? I could see it in your eyes. I\'m not dumb. Killing me is the best choice you have. So let\'s get it started!" Emeros laughed.