275 Chapter 275: Debate

"We're going to have a classical literature lesson now!" Principal Porter declared cheerfully, much to the students' dismay.

"DAFAQ?!"

"Huh?!"

There was a bunch of students who weren't able to help themselves from crying out in shock. I didn't blame them. I didn't expect that too. I mean, seriously? Why would the principal of one of the most prestigious academies in the Federation suddenly deliver a classical literature lecture to combat magic students? Most of whom wouldn't be interested in the subject? Even Harrison Reed was frowning, and he was the most studious guy I knew.

However, I found myself perked by the topic. Even though I didn't care much about classical literature, history was one of my favorite subjects, after all. A lot of myths, folktales and legends were derived from classical literature, and those were certainly my topics of interest.

"I'm sure you've all at least heard about the Greek epics?"

Now that was something I was familiar with. I couldn't help but feel excitement bubble inside me. My whole Constellation magic theme was based around ancient Greek legends, though I had liberally reinterpreted them for my own purposes under the stringent restrictions placed upon me by the laws of the universe.

"What is the most common tragic flaw of the Greek heroes in those epics?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. "Anyone care to guess?"

"Tragic flaw?"

"What's that?"

Being combat magic students, none of them understood what Henry Porter was referring to. However, I was so excited at finally knowing what the class was talking about that I raised my hand without realizing it.

"Hubris."

"Very good!" Porter beamed and nodded, impressed. "That's right."

"…hubris?"

"What's that?"

As the students in the classroom whispered amongst each other, puzzled, Porter continued to smile at me. I suddenly realized I might have made a mistake.

"Since you're the one who brought it up, young man, perhaps you could define hubris for everyone?"

"Hubris is the excessive pride or self-confidence…sometimes used to refer to the hero thinking he can defy the gods or the divine will."

"Excellent." Porter was pleasantly surprised. "That is exactly the meaning." He went on to give several examples, but Bu Fan raised a hand.

"Why is pride a tragic flaw?"

"What do you mean?" Porter asked. Bu Fan scowled.

"If you're strong…if you have the strength, then of course it's only natural that you will be proud of it, right? Why is it a flaw?"

"That's right!"

"Yeah! As long as you possess the power, you can do anything you want!"

A few of the other students agreed with him.

I suppressed a sigh. Not this bullshit again. Even though Porter was perplexed, I couldn't stop myself from opening my mouth.

"Then what happens if you meet someone stronger? If he's stronger than you, then he has the right to beat you up? To bully you?"

"That's how the world works," Bu Fan said. "That's reality…"

"No, it's not how reality works." I resisted the urge to bury my face in my palm. "Otherwise the military will enslave the civilians. Yet we are free, aren't we?" pushing up my glasses, I took a deep breath. "There will always be a mountain taller than you. If you know the frustration of being looked down upon and abused, why mete it out on other people? Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. Just because you're strong doesn't mean you're naturally entitled to be arrogant. Like the tragic flaw and excessive self-confidence present in these Greek heroes before they fell…they didn't realize their limits and thought they were invincible, that they were the strongest. Then they ran into a much stronger enemy and were killed. Now I'm not saying they should not have fought or resisted, but if they admitted that they had limits, that they weren't invincible or the strongest, they could have changed their tactics, they could have come up with countermeasures and panned accordingly instead of stubbornly challenging their foes in direct combat."

I was overly generalizing the case here and simplifying the myths when they were a lot more complex than that, but for the purposes of enlightening my classmates, I had no choice. This attitude just pissed me off.

"I wouldn't say that exactly." Porter looked unconvinced by my argument. I decided to sit down and stay silent instead of embarrassing myself further. "But Richard has a point. Nobody is invincible. And I like his statement – do unto others what you want others to do unto you. There will come a time when you find yourself in the shoes of those you looked down upon, and it's not a pleasant feeling. Rather, we have all been granted this strength and the ability to use magic in order to protect other people. I won't ask you to be a hero and save the world, but at least use that power to protect your friends, your families and the people close to you. I'm sure that you have a close friend or family member who can't use magic or can't fight. How would you feel when someone looks down on them?"

Bu Fan hesitated, especially when he realized that his sister was precisely one of those people who couldn't fight.

"But I digress. Yes, hubris is certainly a tragic flaw of these Greek heroes. And therefore…" he smiled. "…they also serve as a grim reminder of the dangers of excessive pride and self-confidence. I'm not saying you should not be proud of your achievements and skills that you have invested so much time and effort into honing. Hold your head up high. And believe in yourselves. You are the future of the Federation. However, do not make the mistake of believing yourselves as invincible or peerless. As Richard said, there will always be a mountain higher. Different enemies will require different tactics to overcome, and not all of them can be defeated by brute strength alone. Humans may…arguably be the dominant race at the moment, but we cannot afford to underestimate the monsters that plague our borders."

Fortunately, he shifted the topic elsewhere to explore more on Homer's tales, including the Odyssey and the battle of Troy. Again, the topic of Achilles was raised, and he reminded us that we all had a weakness.

"Oh, and before I end…can anyone tell me the difference between the Greek God Zeus and the Roman God Jupiter?"

Everyone exchanged glances, but no one could answer. Apparently, in a thousand years, all the ancient myths had been neglected and forgotten. Or maybe these combat mages weren't interested in classical myths and legends. Fortunately, I was, so I raised a hand.

"There really isn't much of a difference. The Roman Empire typically had analogues for the Greek Gods when they absorbed ancient Greece into the Byzantine sphere of culture, and apart from many provincial differences and language – because the Empire consisted of populations speaking different languages such as Greek or Latin – Zeus was regarded as Jupiter or vice versa. I don't think the Roman citizens made any such distinction. Rather, what is interesting is that today we tend to think of gods in the monotheistic sense, in that they were often regarded as a single, unified entity, but throughout ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, the people did not necessarily think of the gods in that way. Even if he was the "same god" such as Zeus/Jupiter, he was usually divided and recognized by the temple he was worshipped in, or the province his temple was located in. The whole "Zeus/Jupiter" as a single god of thunder or the king of gods tended to be a more modern interpretation."

"So you're saying there's no difference between the Greek and Roman versions?" Porter asked, his lips crooking slightly.

"No, sir…at least not that I know of. At the very least, most people during that time didn't regard them as different. They were more interested in the individual temples that housed the idols of these gods than the cultural or national origin."

"I see. Interesting." Porter paused for a moment. "Are there any other examples you can think of regarding such instances? Perhaps…East Asia?"

I hesitated a little. "East Asia, sir?"

"For example…is Bishamonten Buddhist or Shinto?"

By now, everyone was completely lost, swiveling from me to Porter and then fixing their eyes on the principal in astonishment. It was almost as if only the two of us were engaging in a dialogue while everyone else was ignored. Probably only Lilith had some idea what we were talking about, but she seemed more uncertain than confused.

I shrugged. "Why not both, sir? Before government intervention in the late nineteenth century, the Japanese people probably didn't even distinguish the kami as belonging to the Shinto pantheon or Buddhist pantheon. That sort of split was a more…modern creation, and was institutionalized for political purposes rather than having any basis in some nativist origin."

To my surprise, Porter laughed, and then nodded. His eyes were twinkling triumphantly for some reason.

"That was a good dialogue, but I should stop here before everyone else gets even more lost." He nodded toward the struggling students. To be fair, they were combat mages, not history and literature students like me (which I was in my previous life…maybe that was why I sucked so much at fighting). "All right. Class dismissed! You can all relax now!"

Everyone let out huge breaths and slumped over their desks after Principal Porter left the classroom. Even I slumped against my chair wearily, mentally exhausted from talking so much nonsense that most people had no interest in.

"All right, everyone!"

The only person still energetic was none other than Lilith Porter. She had come to the front of the class and drew everyone's attention with a clap of her hands.

"I'm sure we're all familiar with practical combat classes and training, so I won't waste my time elaborating on them. But I got some good news for you all!" she waved her hands cheerfully. "I'll be hosting a welcome party for everyone tonight! All of you, please show up!"

That brought some life back to many of the students, who perked brightly at Lilith's words.

"Awesome!"

"A party? Really!?"

"I'll definitely be there!"

"I'm glad to hear that!" Lilith was pleased by their enthusiasm. "But I also should inform you that a few of the elders of Vermillion City will also be present tonight, so this is a chance for you to meet and get to know them."

Why the fuck would we want to meet and get to know old fogeys? Most of us weren't even from this city.

Harrison must have read my mind (and probably that of Dong Fang Yue Chu, Craig and Theodore's as well), for he leaned forward and explained in a hushed whisper.

"Socializing. If you get to know the elites of upper society, there's a chance you can establish connections, find a route into a university – Vermillion University, for example – or an internship at one of their companies. Not to mention, find sponsorships for your societies, or get funding for your activities, such as missions."

Still didn't interest me. Politics were not my thing at all.

"Networking is very important," Harrison insisted, even though I didn't voice that thought out at all. Damn it, was he reading my mind? "If you're aiming to get a spot in a university, your chances go up higher if you've a connection with them."

In other words, just like finding jobs or graduate school positions in my past life. I wouldn't have made it that far if I didn't rely on my professor's connections.

"Richard!" Lilith approached me, an invitation card in her hand. "You and your team will be coming, right?"

"Uh…" it would be rude to refuse her directly, so I shrugged. It was one thing if she was hitting on me, I would hit her back with a verbal riposte. But she was simply inviting me to a party, so it wouldn't be good to be too blunt. "Will there be food?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll definitely be there." I glanced at the rest, who were nodding mischievously. "Seems like everyone will be there as well."

"Great. I look forward to seeing you there then."

"Thank you."

After she left, Pearl nudged me. "Is there really nothing between you two?"

"What do you mean?" I asked slyly. "I helped her out during the Spiritual Road, that's all."

"Heh…that's all?"

I refused to give that mischievous question a serious reply.