Chapter 360: When Identities Collide

"Good morning everyone."

"Good morning ma'am."

The teacher's greeting was responded to by the students' reply in unison. The woman let out an amused chuckle upon sensing their stares.

Though in her late twenties, the woman was still full of youth and dedication. Her beauty and mature demeanour charmed the girls while her plentiful assets and rear captivated the boys.

"My name is Eliza Torbin. I am from the Theoretical department and I am assigned to your class. Take care of me."

After her introduction, she dove straight into the syllabus after mentioning that the students only have a week to memorize the necessary concepts and theories. When she repeated the words of the vice-principal, the air inside the classroom came back to reality.

Professor Eliza went on introducing the basic terminologies in the syllabus. She had to spend more than an hour describing them alone and Jonathan deduced that he needs to pay the library one more visit.

Hours went on as she continued to speak about 'Skill' and affinities in detail. To be honest, Jonathan was surprised to hear such an in-depth explanation which made him realise that his reading was actually shallow.

Due to some reason, professor Eliza skipped the existence of Racial affinities. It did not bother Jonathan but he wondered why as she concluded her lecture with a question-

"Any doubts?"

The students shook their head unanimously but there was one person who had a doubt.

"Ma'am, I have a doubt."

The voice came from the last row and a girl stood up as she raised her doubt. The entire class turned around and saw a beautiful girl with greyish silver hair which danced with the breeze that invaded the classroom.

"Please proceed, miss Sabryna Colene."

Professor's words made many turn to the girl with wide-open eyes. Many started to mutter while some gasped covering their mouth.

She seems to be a hot-shot.

Jonathan scanned the girl as a whole through the corner of his eyes and saw her unchanging expression as she stared at the professor.

"I have read the books of history and it is said that there were two forms of energies in the past called Qi and Mana. Why is it that there are no energy forms in the current era? Or are there any forms that we are unaware of?"

A sting originated in Jonathan's heart as her words fell in his ears. He quickly grabbed his chest but to no avail. The pain was coming from deep within his heart and he knew not why such a development had occurred. The pain intensified and he was on the verge of his tolerance.

Tears rolled down his cheek as Jonathan shut his eyes in pain. He bit down the pain as he lowered his head trying to suppress the agony.

Then...

He felt a seal being released inside him. The weight that burdened his heart receded. Then a flood of images came flowing into his heart and the pain vanished. A whole new set of memories were introduced into his head and Jonathan froze as his forehead gave birth to sweat drops.

'Lee Shen...is me?'

With surprise and disbelief, Jonathan couldn't breathe for almost a minute. He felt himself being suffocated by the deluge of images and broken voices. Many faces flashed across his mind but they were all distorted beyond recovery. No matter how hard he tried, these images were stagnant and blurred.

A girl who sat near Jonathan heard his breath getting rough. The chubby girl who was considered fat and ugly by the beauty standards of prideful maidens were forced to retreat to a corner. She chose to sit near Jonathan to befriend the elf without any hostile intentions.

"Hey, are you okay?"

She spoke in a hushed voice and only Jonathan could hear it. He turned his head to her and she saw his tear marks and wondered as she frowned.

Jonathan quickly regained his senses and wiped away his tears and conveyed that he's alright. After thanking her for caring, he turned to the professor who was replying to the girl who raised her doubt and the whole class was shuttling their eyes between the two.

The voice of the professor resonated inside the walls of the classroom and every student gave their undiluted attention to her, except for two persons. Jonathan was digesting and assimilating the memories of Lee Shen, himself, and was going through his journal of adventure that he had till his death. He was hesitant to believe but he ended up accepting the fact that he is Lee Shen.

The names of his dear and near ones have been mysteriously removed from his memories. Not even their faces could be recalled. Whenever he attempted to forcefully manifest their faces and voices, a sting would embrace his mind and he could only abandon his plans.

But, several pieces of information came drifting into his head and he silently comprehended them. Though he could not make out any facial recognition, the settings and surroundings in the memory were relatively clear. Even among those fragments, many portions were severely clouded.

While the class was tranquil and silent except for the voice of professor Eliza, Jonathan's mind was chaotic and disordered. The amount of information that this 12-year-old had been burdened with was not in small quiantities.

Frequently, the fat girl who sat next to him would glance at Jonathan to see what is wrong with this elf. Every time she peeked at him through the corner of her eyes, he had a different expression partially veiled under his blank stare. Though she felt amused to watch, she did not hold any hostile intent.

"Huff..."

Letting out a mouthful or air, Jonathan raised his eyes and he saw the ceaseless lecture by the professor. When the girl next seat turned to him, she saw a completely different aura around him. It was as if he was anew.

The theory classes went on and many had raised their doubts. Before they knew, it was already noon. A loud, but dull bell rung once and it was the end of the forenoon session.