Chapter 29
Path class
IAM finally arrived at the familiar door attached to the health ward, the ever-defiant green flag marked with a bold "H" flapping lazily in the breeze above it.
He made his way inside with Kepa following close behind. Maybe because the volunteers were still brand new, having only just arrived the day before, many were still wandering around cluelessly trying to find the health ward.
IAM snickered quietly to himself. Ha, what idiots. How can you miss the big green "H"? Everyone knows green means healing... well, sometimes poison too... but mostly healing.
IAM strutted in like he owned the place, his gait somewhere between a wounded duck and a young master full of flair. walking with familiarity straight to the area where Althea usually stayed.
She stood beside an empty bed, holding a blood packet in one hand.
IAM raised a brow. "What are you doing? Sucking blood?" he teased, smirking.
The pale-skinned woman, with her sharp eyes and long blonde hair, rolled her eyes in response. "And what do you need?"
"My forehead hurts. And my arms. And legs... actually, everything hurts," he said with exaggerated pain.
She shook her head with a silent sigh. Over time, despite his sarcasm and antics, she had come to tolerate IAM—maybe even like him a little. He reminded her of her younger brother...
She glanced past IAM, flicking her blonde hair with an air of disinterest. "And is that your friend drooling over there?"
IAM looked back and sure enough, Kepa stood slightly behind him, starstruck. His gaze was fixed on Althea as if she'd descended from the heavens. Her piercing eyes, her red lips, her sharp features—Kepa was already halfway into imagining a life with six kids and a farm.
A firm whack on the back of his head snapped him out of it. Kepa glanced sheepishly at IAM, then gave Althea a goofy, apologetic smile.
She rolled her eyes again but didn't comment. Instead, she stepped forward, grabbed both of their arms with cold but steady hands. Her touch sent that same soothing energy through IAM's body, cooling his bruises and numbing the ache deep in his muscles.
Once treated, IAM and Kepa headed toward the dome for their final class of the day—Path Class.
IAM took a steadying breath and placed his palm on the blue touchscreen beside the sliding door.
It opened with a soft whoosh.
The interior was a contrast of utility and mystery. Like the theory classrooms, the Path Dome was circular, lined with tiered seating rising around the central combat arena. But unlike theory, the air here was alive with potential.
The arena at the center pulsed softly underfoot — the flooring made of smooth, dense stone that shimmered faintly.
Most of the seats were already filled, and all eyes were focused on a single person standing within the arena: a woman.
IAM paused, his gaze narrowing.
She was light-skinned, tall, and moved with an effortless grace, and she looked human.
That was consistent with what he'd come to understand. None of the descendants bore bestial or monstrous traits. The divinity passed down through generations didn't alter their human appearance.
Still, this triggered a flood of thoughts.
So… the Oni was light-skinned. Does that mean the original Oni was light-skinned too? But to be "light-skinned," wouldn't one of her parents need to have been darker? Which suggests she might've been the child of a giant and another divine being. If that's the case, were the Seven Heroes purely divine, or were they mixed in some way themselves?
And if an Elf descendant has a child with someone from the Beastman line, what would that child be? Mixed? Would they inherit both lineages equally, or would one dominate? Would they still be called a descendant of the Elf, or something entirely new?
What about the Dwarf line? I always imagined they sounded Australian… but accents aren't hereditary. And skin color isn't reliable either—Australians can be white, brown, black, anything. So how does one know if someone's a descendant of the Dwarf hero? Is another pair of heroes the parents to him?Could it be that appearance really has nothing to do with divine lineage at all?
Maybe some of the Seven Heroes had children with each other. Maybe there's a hierarchy among the divine—some higher ranked than others. But on what merit?.. What if the Elf was higher than the Beastman, or the Oni was second to none? And if they were equal, would their children be?
Could some of the heroes have given birth to another...? Or is there something else going on here...?
IAM's thoughts continued spiraling. There's too much I don't know. Maybe Raj will know. Yeah… I'll ask him later.
Recently, IAM had started spending more time with Raj—asking him questions, and just as a friend.
With a deep breath, IAM shook himself out of his thoughts and took his seat.
Whatever the truth behind divine lineage, class was about to begin.