Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Portal Studies and Monster Ecology
"Okay, good morning kids," a man at the front of the class spoke, his voice rough but clear. "My name is Varn Tesker. Dr. Varn Tesker. But Dr. Tesker is fine."
He stood there, adjusting his glasses calmly.
Rhian looked him over.
He had a receding hairline, tired-looking eyes, and a face that looked like it belonged more in the field than behind a desk.
Dr. Tesker glanced across the class slowly before continuing.
"I'll be teaching you Portal Studies and Monster Ecology," he said. "And I hope you'll trust the information I give you. Because like all of you, I sat in those chairs once. I studied, trained, researched, and faced plenty of monsters myself."
That earned some quiet murmurs from students around the room. The common question probably floating in their heads, just how strong were these instructors anyway?
Dr. Tesker adjusted his glasses again.
"I would love to begin with portals," he said casually. "I'm sure most of you know the history already, they appeared over a thousand years ago and caused a disaster none of us would be here without. For the full breakdown, hit the library."
"But what matters here is this, every portal, no matter the type, no matter the shape, no matter the location, has monsters inside."
The room was quiet now.
Dr. Tesker continued, voice steady.
"They do, of course, differ in difficulty. The monsters within, their size, behavior, and threat level are all influenced by the portal's rank. Knowing that rank is the difference between walking out alive... or never walking out at all."
He looked at the class.
"Anyone want to tell me how we rank portals?"
A girl sitting near the front raised her hand confidently.
Dr. Tesker nodded to her.
She stood slightly and spoke clearly.
"We use colors to tell the difference," she began. "For F Rank, it's Green. E Rank is Yellow. D Rank is Orange. C Rank is Red. B Rank is Blue. And A Rank is Violet."
She sat down after listing them off.
Rhian listened carefully. He didn't know any of this. In the outskirts, a portal was just danger. There weren't fancy color codes, only survival.
Dr. Tesker nodded.
"Correct... but you missed one."
That single line stirred another wave of murmurs through the classroom.
Rhian leaned forward slightly.
Dr. Tesker lifted a hand, the murmuring stopped like someone hit a switch.
"The S Rank," he said calmly, "is identified by Black Gold. A black portal with gold swirling through it... like sparks or veins of light."
He paused.
"If you ever see it... run."
He smiled faintly.
But there was no joke in his eyes.
"I'm sure you all have that screen in front of you," Dr. Tesker spoke, his tone dry, "the one that shows your Divine Core... so you know how to not kill yourself."
There was a small wave of students glancing down or swiping their hands through the air to bring up their status screens.
Rhian followed suit, glancing at his quietly.
[ Name: Rhian Locke
Age: 18
Divine Core: F Rank
Bloodline: Ragnarok]
He looked around. It seemed like most students had theirs open. Some were whispering, probably comparing ranks with their friends.
F Rank stood out for the wrong reasons.
Before he could think more, Dr. Tesker clapped his hands sharply.
"I didn't say check them now," the man sighed, adjusting his glasses again. "But since we're already here, let's move on."
His eyes scanned the class.
"Can anyone tell me about leaking, and what that means?"
Rhian perked up immediately.
This he knew.
He might not know the color ranks or all the technical terms like the city kids.
But he had seen leaking firsthand, growing up near the outskirts. Hollow rats, weak beasts, monsters slipping through cracks when portals went unchecked.
Rhian raised his hand without thinking.
But at the same time, the girl sitting at the front, the same one who had answered earlier, raised hers too.
Dr. Tesker barely hesitated before pointing at her again.
Rhian slowly lowered his hand.
Next to him, the girl who had caught him staring earlier let out a soft chuckle. Not loud or mocking. Just amused. She gave him a small look.
"You were a little slow," she whispered without looking at him.
Rhian scratched the back of his head awkwardly but focused back on the answer.
The girl at the front stood.
"Leaking," she explained, "is when a gate is left uncleared or becomes unstable. It causes weaker monsters from inside the portal to spill out into the surrounding area."
Dr. Tesker nodded, impressed again.
"Good. Correct —"
But before he could finish, the classroom door suddenly swung open with a loud bang.
Everyone turned.
Rhian blinked in surprise.
Ash.
Ash casually walked in like he hadn't just interrupted a whole class. Messy ashy-blonde hair, hands in his pockets, not a care in the world.
Rhian hadn't even known Ash was in this class.
'Figures he'd be late.' Rhian thought.
Dr. Tesker slowly turned his attention to the new arrival, his sharp eyes narrowing behind the glasses.
Silence filled the room.
The mood shifted immediately.
Dr. Tesker's eyes locked onto Ash the second the door opened.
Ash stood there, frozen for a brief second, realizing everyone was staring at him.
The door hadn't even slammed hard... but judging by the way Dr. Tesker was glaring over his glasses, it might as well have been an explosion.
Ash blinked slowly.
Realizing the look he was getting, he took his hands out of his pockets, like someone trying not to look suspicious after accidentally walking into a police station.
"...Portal Studies, right?" he asked, tone polite. Genuinely checking.
Dr. Tesker didn't answer right away. He just stared.
Then finally, dryly, "Yes. It was Portal Studies... before the dramatics."
Ash scratched the back of his head lightly, looking around the class.
"Door's a little loose..." he mumbled more to himself than anyone else.
A couple of students snorted quietly.
Dr. Tesker didn't look amused.
"Name," Tesker said sharply.
"Ashton Laufeyson, sir."
Rhian raised a brow at the unique of his last name. He shrugged. It's not like he knew many people to say what name was what.
Dr. Tesker inhaled like he was adding Ash's name to a mental list of future problems.
"Front," Tesker ordered. "Since you've already made yourself known, you'll stand right here."
Ash blinked.
"Uh... stand?"
"In front of the class," Tesker clarified. "Until I say otherwise. Consider it your warm-up since you were obviously in a hurry."
A small wave of quiet laughs ran through the class.
Ash didn't even argue.
"Ah..." He nodded slightly, walking calmly to the front with zero resistance. "Fair enough."
Rhian watched, almost impressed by how casually Ash just accepted his fate.
Dr. Tesker wasn't done.
"Actually... no. Corner."
Ash paused mid-step.
"The corner?"
Dr. Tesker's finger pointed to the far edge of the room like he was placing him in timeout.
"Corner."
Ash scratched his cheek, shrugged like it couldn't be helped, and quietly walked over to the spot like this was just how life worked sometimes.
As he stood there, facing the class like some kind of decoration, he glanced sideways at Rhian with the faintest deadpan whisper that Rhian couldn't hear but could tell he was saying something dumb.
Rhian tried not to laugh.
'He's cursed... but in the head.'