Kisaragi's Long-Strange Collection Notes

At the far end of the coffee shop, besides the young girl and her teacher, there were three other young people.

Chen Meimei knew one of them, the class monitor Yue Junyang.

Yue Junyang's hair was still covered in hair wax, making him look three parts mature and seven parts greasy.

Two strangers, a man and a woman, squeezed together with Yue Junyang on one side, their hands on their knees, sitting upright.

Chen Meimei walked over and plopped down next to the little girl Fengling.

He had no choice; the seats opposite him were already occupied by three people.

Chen Meimei reached out and patted Fengling's dignified head. This was his habitual gesture when dealing with girls with cute faces.

His actions stunned the four people present.

Yue Junyang's brow twitched slightly, and both the man and woman's eyes widened.

That Chen Meimei, what audacity! She actually dared to scratch the old teacher's whiskers!

Fengling herself hadn't expected this to happen, and for a moment she forgot to slap Chen Meimei's hand away.

Chen Meimei touched it a couple of times before realizing something was wrong.

Wind Chime isn't a real little girl; she's a notoriously awful homeroom teacher.

But since he'd already touched her, it was too late to stop now, so he decided to stay calm and ended his greeting with a small pinch on her cheek.

"Good, good, Chen Meimei, you're really great. It seems like I made the right choice to ask you for tutoring. Don't leave yet, I'll tutor you a little more alone."

Fengling kept her head down, wearing a hat whose brim obscured the upper half of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

However, judging from the tone of her voice, which was filled with gritted teeth and emphasized words, Chen Meimei is probably in a terrible situation after being left alone.

Knowing that Chen Meimei had lost his memory, Fengling introduced him to two of his classmates.

Across from them stood a man and a woman; the man's name was Shi Lei, and the woman's name was Mian Ruyan.

"Chen Meimei, have you lost your memory? I hope you get better soon. My name has four 'stones' in it, just call me Stone." Shi Lei was quite cheerful.

"Hello." Mian Ruyan was a bit introverted, so she gave a brief greeting and then fell silent.

Chen Meimei looked at Mian Ruyan for a few moments.

He couldn't help but be wary; anyone who dared to call themselves "Ruyan" might very well have the makings of an emperor.

"Hey~ Everyone's here. Sorry I was a little late on the way." Liu Bo's voice came from behind.

As soon as Liu Bo entered the store, he ran over and plopped down next to Chen Meimei.

It is 13:50 p.m.

Fengling stood up.

She was the smallest, and in order to ensure she could look down on her students with authority, she had to stand up.

"Everyone's here. Without further ado, as you all know, this week's [No Tomorrow] is your graduation exam day. Pre-exam cramming in the mysterious realm is no longer effective. Today, I'll give you a crash course in academic subjects."

Chen Meimei's eyes lit up.

Academic subjects are good; he likes them because they allow him to quickly understand the world.

Liu Bo was reluctant. Relying on Chen Meimei as a barrier between him and Feng Ling, he felt temporarily safe and muttered, "What's the use of academic classes? Besides, why did they only choose the five of us from the whole class?"

Liu Bo's voice wasn't loud, but the coffee shop was quiet at the moment, and they were the only ones at the table. Feng Ling heard what he said.

"What, Liu Bo, you have a problem with that? Don't you know why we came to you? You're the worst of the worst!"

"Pfft~" Yue Junyang, sitting opposite, burst out laughing.

Liu Bo is afraid of wind chimes, but he is not afraid of the class monitor.

"What are you laughing at? You still came, didn't you?"

Yue Junyang suppressed his smile and said calmly, "I'm first in academic subjects, and I'm here today to assist the tutor in giving you extra lessons."

Liu Bo retorted, "What's there to be smug about? The monsters in the fog won't talk to you about academic subjects. Once you're inside the fog, it's all about practical combat skills."

Feng Ling, who had been frowning since Liu Bo's first words, could no longer contain herself.

She leaned her body at a large angle, pressing her calf onto Chen Meimei's sitting thigh for support, and then flicked Liu Bo on the head across Chen Meimei's back.

"Liu Bo! It's not like your actual combat record isn't at the bottom!"

Chen Meimei: ......

You, Liu Bo, I thought you were just weak in some subjects and only lacked in theory. Turns out you're a double failure!

Oh no! I'm so familiar with Liu Bo, could I be a fraud too?

After receiving a flick on the forehead from his teacher, Liu Bo immediately became obedient.

"Alright, everyone's time is precious, let's get down to business now."

"Today I will only talk about the most basic and important cultural knowledge, which is closely related to each of us. I hope it will be of some use to you."

You should have all received the church's message this morning. Starting today, we enter the Eighth Age. The new race of servants is the Mist Monster. So, the first question is, what marks the boundary between each new age?

Chen Meimei was a complete novice; he looked at the other people at the table with inquisitive eyes.

Temporary teaching assistant Yue Junyang began to play a role:

"Our world is empty of two days in March, and hundreds of cities stand side by side."

The two suns of March are the rulers of the world. Only by gaining the approval of one of them can any species be accepted by the world and no longer be regarded as a monster.

The seven races of today—humans, elves, witches, demons, blood descendants, spirits, and ghosts—are the races that were blessed by the two suns and three moons in the previous seven eras.

Today, the eighth race has been accepted as a vassal by Hengyue, signifying a shift in the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing social order, character, and social structure). The world's masters will change from seven races to eight. This will be the beginning of a new era and the rise of new races.

Feng Ling was very satisfied with Yue Junyang's answer. She smiled first, and then added details:

"Around 1900 in the First Age, the Golden Sun favored humankind;"

Around 2300 in the Second Era, the Silver Sun and the Frost Moon favored the demons;

Around 3300 in the Third Age, Frostmoon favored the Elves;

Around 1200 AD in the Fourth Era, the Rainbow Moon favored the bloodline;

Around 2700 in the Fifth Age, the Silver Sun favored the Spirits;

Around 4100 AD in the Sixth Era, the Rainbow Moon and the Frost Moon favored the ghosts;

In the past year 3783 of the Seventh Age, the Silver Sun favored the witch;

"In this Eighth Age, beginning today, the Moon has favored a new race of mist-like monsters."

Chen Meimei didn't dare to make a sound, trembling inwardly. Only now did he realize just how big a thing he had done.

Stone raised his hand and asked, "Teacher Wind Chime, shouldn't the Mist Monster be the greatest enemy of all living beings? How come it's recognized by the Moon?"

Wind Chime had anticipated this problem:

"In the Sixth Age and before, witches were also a race of mysterious creatures, hated by everyone. Those not recognized by the sun and moon were called creatures, but once accepted by them, they became citizens of the world."

Mian Ruyan asked weakly, "Why do some races receive the favor of two Sun and Moon Gods at the same time? Are they more powerful?"

"This has nothing to do with strength, but with the characteristics of the species. A race will have different characteristics and receive different blessings depending on who favors it."

Generally speaking, races favored by the sun are stronger during the day, while those favored by the moon are stronger at night.

However, some races can be further subdivided into many types. For example, demons are active during the day and at night, thus belonging to different sun and moon, and do not receive double blessings.

Yue Junyang also asked a question, and this guy was clearly on a higher level, his questioning skills were several levels above average.

"Mentor, with the arrival of a new era, all cities will begin a new round of arms race. Our city of Sixiang should also provide some special support for our batch of graduates this year."

The four students present were completely bewildered, unable to keep up with the pace of this abrupt question.

Fengling nodded, thinking to herself that she had made the right choice in selecting this class monitor.

"They didn't quite understand, so I'll explain it to them."

The new era brings not only opportunities, but also, for the old races, more challenges.

For the past 20,000 years, our world has consisted of 100 cities. Within the area of ​​these 100 cities, the sun and moon shine brightly, and there is no fear of fog. This is the rule of the world.

In the past, some races attempted to build a 101st city without authorization, but it was quickly shrouded in mist, and all the living beings in the city, along with the buildings, were wiped out.

The seven races have divided up 100 cities. The pie is all gone. For a new race to survive and rise, it will inevitably have to seize the old beneficiaries.

Cities are the foundation of survival that no race can afford to relinquish. If they were to be fought over, the clash between the two races would result in the death of an entire city's inhabitants, a scenario that has been common throughout history.

The witches of the Seventh Era were special. Apart from a witch guild headquarters, they integrated into the other six races and did not need to fight for resources everywhere. As a result, the world has been at peace for more than 3000 years, and the strength of the various cities has long been uneven.

Now, if we in Sixiang City don't want to be treated as easy targets by the new race, the only way is to increase our own strength.

Upon hearing the statement that "witches are special," Chen Meimei's ears perked up, and she quickly asked:

"The witch only wanted one city? And she could integrate into the other six races? What makes them so special?"

Even Liu Bo knows this problem.

"The other six races rely on reincarnation; whatever they are at birth, that's what they are."

Witches are created through mutation. Some special women among the six races have a very small chance of becoming witches. If they survive the transformation, they will change their race and become witches.

On the one hand, the number of witches is relatively small; on the other hand, fundamentally, witches and their pre-mutation race have a high degree of mutual acceptance and often choose to live together.

And so, more than two hours passed.

Chen Meimei is like a sponge, constantly absorbing valuable knowledge.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the wind chimes are just a source of extra learning; this knowledge is truly invaluable.

If they weren't soon-to-be graduates, ordinary people might have lived their entire lives in a daze and never had the chance to come into contact with them.

In this world where mystery is rampant, it's not necessarily a good thing for ordinary people to know too much.

The last part of the tutoring session.

Seeing that everyone had no new questions for the time being, the young girl, Fengling, solemnly gave a warning:

"The Eighth Era marks the first time Hengyue has made a move. Hengyue represents mystery and is completely untraceable in history. You are the first batch of graduates for the new era's graduation assessment, so you must be extremely careful."

A muscular waiter approached carrying a coffee pot: "Would you like a refill?"

Wind Chime waved her hand: "Okay, we're about to leave."

Faced with this nonsensical conversation, Chen Meimei was somewhat puzzled.

Liu Bo explained quietly beside him:

"Many shops, including cafes, will close before 4:30 p.m. if the owner does not live nearby, leaving more than an hour to ensure that the staff can get home by 5:30 p.m."

Chen Meimei thought for a moment and then said "Oh".

He remembered that one shouldn't wander around outside at dusk in this world.