Keshav woke up early the next day, a strange feeling of both excitement and nervousness in his chest. After quickly washing up and dressing in the standard Academy uniform, he made his way toward the main building where today's world management class would be held.
As he walked through the corridors, he heard the buzz of excited chatter between students. Groups had formed, talking animatedly about what they expected today's lesson to be. Some were bragging about how many details they'd already planned for their future species. Others looked a little more uncertain.
Keshav silently listened as he entered the classroom and took his seat. Around him, the noise continued — theories, predictions, hopes, and a bit of anxiety filled the air.
After a few minutes, a stern-looking female teacher entered the room. Her presence immediately commanded attention, and the classroom quickly fell silent.
She glanced over the class and said,
"Do you all know what will be taught today?"
A majority of the students confidently nodded their heads.
"Then tell me," the teacher said, folding her arms.
A boy in the middle row raised his hand and said eagerly,
"Today, we will be taught how to form intelligent life forms in our worlds!"
The teacher shook her head, a faint, knowing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Wrong."
The classroom fell into a stunned silence.
"But... wasn't that announced yesterday?" another student asked, confused.
The teacher smiled lightly and said,
"Yes, it was announced. And that announcement was also a part of your test. You had all of yesterday to think about it. Didn't any of you find the fault in it?"
She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in.
"If anyone can now guess the correct topic," she added, "he or she will get one Academic Point. Remember, you must accumulate 100 Academic Points over the course of this year to qualify for the final exam."
The students exchanged nervous glances. Some whispered among themselves. Finally, after a long hesitation, a female student near the window hesitantly raised her hand.
The teacher nodded at her to speak.
The girl said carefully,
"As there are many intelligent lifeforms that can only survive when extraordinary energies exist in a world... I think today's lesson should actually be about how to awaken extraordinary energy in our worlds."
The teacher's eyes brightened with approval.
"Very good. You earn 1 Academic Point."
She wrote something down on her tablet and continued, her voice now full of serious weight.
"Listen carefully, all of you. Today's lesson is how to awaken extraordinary energy in your newly created worlds."
Murmurs of realization and slight embarrassment ran through the students.
The teacher added,
"Awakening extraordinary energy is your choice, not a necessity. A world without extraordinary energies can still develop — but it will limit the types of civilizations you can nurture."
She paused again, her eyes sweeping the classroom.
"For example, pure technological civilizations can also be extremely powerful. However, only those with immense wealth, usually the second-generation elites, dare to walk that path... because surviving the final examination with only technology requires a massive amount of resources."
The students nodded in understanding, and some began frantically taking notes.
The teacher then tapped on her tablet, projecting a detailed 3D hologram above her desk. It showed different types of energies — Origin Energy, Elemental Energy, Spiritual Energy, and more — and how they could be slowly awakened from a world's environment through specific rituals and techniques.
---
[System POV]
"So i was right. I noticed it yesterday that extraordinary energy should be awakened first.
So it begins. The process of energy awakening... This is even more critical than I expected. If I can learn how to awaken and control these extraordinary energies, the possibilities are endless — not only for Keshav's world but also for the chaotic titan-class world."
The System secretly recorded everything, its attention split perfectly across observing Keshav, absorbing the lecture, and continuously monitoring the two worlds under its influence.
It was silently evolving alongside Keshav — faster, smarter, hungrier.
----------
The teacher looked at the eager faces of the students and continued,
"Now that you understand the importance, let's get to the method."
She flicked her hand, and the hologram above her desk shifted. A new model appeared — a miniature world swirling with faint energies.
"There are many ways to awaken extraordinary energy," she said. "The most stable and common method for new worlds is World Resonance Awakening."
She pointed to the model.
"It requires you to use your divine authority as the world's creator to seed a tiny spark of energy within the world's core. From there, if the conditions are right, the energy will slowly bloom across the world."
She smiled slightly.
"And if you're lucky — very lucky — your world might even naturally generate rare or unique energy types, granting your civilization an unparalleled advantage."
The students listened intently, some gasping in excitement.
The teacher continued,
"But awakening energy is not without risk. If you force too much, or if the world's structure is unstable, it can cause local collapses or permanent scars. In severe cases... your world may even self-destruct."
A heavy silence descended in the room at her warning.
Keshav frowned slightly. 'It sounds simple... but the margin for error is huge.'
He silently gripped the terminal he carried, determined to not make any mistakes.