Lucifer. Of course, he was an alien, the kinds which Professor Merlin said they referred to as gods. Above all that, He was an admin and seemingly knew everything about what happened on earth. The more Ashton thought about it the more sense it made.
However, with this revelation, Ashton's view of Lucifer changed. It wasn't anything drastic, but he couldn't help but wonder, was he just another pawn for a citizen of this seemingly higher civilisation? Not that he minded being one as long as he could get his revenge.
Still, he could simply not stomach the fact that the humans were treated like a bunch of toys to cure their boredom. Was this higher civilisation not responsible for what happened to him and his parents in a way? After all, if they did not have the sudden urge to cure their boredom at the expense of humans, wouldn't things still be normal?
"No, they wouldn't be." Rose read Ashton's mind and answered the question for him, "Humanity had been on a path of self-destruction for a while. Countless centuries to be exact. Even if those god-like extraterrestrial beings had not intervened, the planet would have ended up being destroyed along with the humans."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said and I stand by that. But these aliens simply didn't react to an urge to cure their boredom. They wanted to give the planet another chance to evolve, save itself from the curse of humanity and to become part of something much bigger."
Rose knew it very well that even if she told Ashton everything, he would be able to grasp it all by himself. Thus, she was spoon-feeding him things bit by bit so he doesn't end up exhausting the few brain cells he has remaining.
However, she could tell she had already told him a bit too much. The boy was already lost thinking too many things at once. But she also knew she had to tell him that much to answer his question about what venom actually was. As it was a substance that can even kill him should he try to misuse it?
"Ok... I get it. But are you the only one who knew about all this? I mean, what's the guarantee that Lucifer is not trying to fool us?" Ashton asked Rose a simple question.
It was the same thing she had thought after Lucifer told her these things. Obviously, there was no proof of whether what Lucifer had told her was true or not. As he was the only source of their information regarding all this, it wasn't like Rose could have contacted some other admin to cross-check his claims.
As a result, she did not have a choice but to accept what Lucifer had told her with a grain of salt. Even though it meant she could have been lied to. As for Ashton's question, well she did not have any answer for him.
"Of course, there is no guarantee. Lucifer is free to twist the tale as much as he pleases. However, why would someone of higher existence would lie to us?" Rose replied after thinking about it for a minute or two, "Even if he has a reason to lie to us, do you think we can do anything about it when we don't even know who these aliens are and where they live in the first place?"
"..." It was Ashton's turn to stay silent now.
The back and forth of questions kept them engaged for the better part of the evening. By the time Ashton left her chambers, he was still confused about a lot of things. But he knew he now knew a bit more about this world than he did before as his knowledge had spiked a bit.
[You have learned something new and of importance. Knowledge had been boosted by 5 points.]
[Knowledge: 17 ---> 22]
As he walked out of the administrative building, he realised the campus was not as quiet as it previously was. Especially after most of the students had dined in the multiple diners spread across the campus.
While the S rankers were allowed to have their food prepared by their servants, everyone else had to depend on the diners. Still, just like the distinction between the A to D ranks, the diners were also separated on the basis of ranks. One could say that S rankers got facilities similar to a seven-star hotel, while it gradually decreased as one went down the ranks.
Ashton wanted to ask someone about what was going on, but he didn't know anyone. Well, something like this was going to happen sooner or later, as he did not interact with anyone during the class.
Also, he was usually ignored by the low rankers as they did not want the high rankers and seniors to trouble them for talking to him. He had been turned into a social outcast among his peers. This was the only way the ever-righteous nobles could have punished him for standing up to them and causing trouble for them.
As petty as doing something like this was, it wasn't like the nobles could have done anything else to make Ashton's life a bit hard. They could not get physical with him, not after seeing him demolish a second-year student along with the Gruntas.
"Tsk, whatever..." Ashton mumbled to himself and headed back towards his room.
It wasn't like he was attending the academy to mingle with the students either. He had been a loner for the better part of his life, whether it was in the enclosure or in the academy, being friends with someone didn't matter to him much, if at all. But if he could use someone, then that was a different story altogether.
However, it seemed like a certain someone had other plans. Just as Ashton was about to enter the hostel, he heard someone call out his name.
"I wouldn't go inside if I were you." Anna stopped him, "I knew others will not tell you why, so I waited nearby, just in case you got back."
'Now ain't this interesting?'