77 First Lesson: What is Essence?

Oli and Netra soon found their classrooms.

They were large buildings made with concrete as the base, making up the four walls. One wall was higher than the others, letting the room have a slanted ceiling and a massive window at the top of that high wall. The roof was the same as the gorilla's huts, made from leaves and beams, then coated in sap mixture fo a solid seal. The only difference was how many leaves and the size of the beams, which were terrifyingly huge.

Once inside, they realized that the high wall was the front of the classroom and that the rooms were far bigger than needed for the limited class size. Of course, Oli knew that it was because they would need room to spar and they needed the strongest rooms possible to avoid the need for repairs.

All the students for the advanced novice class were still trickling in, not worrying too much about the time on the first day.

There were no chairs or desks, so everyone was standing and waiting for their teacher to arrive.

"Finally, it's time to get started!"

An anxious voice filled the room, causing all the students present thus far to look to the classroom's double door entrance. They quickly saw the Iron-body Gorilla enter and immediately bowed in respect.

In unison, they all yelled, "We welcome Teacher!"

"Oooh? If you all act like this, then maybe I won't give the job back to Fontu when he arrives," Ania laughed as she walked to the front of the class. "Where are the last few people? They know we're supposed to start soon."

As if on cue, the double doors were thrown wide open as a panting stallion burst into the room. "I made it!"

"No, you didn't."

All excitement left Yeter when he heard that phrase from the front of the room. Glancing to see his teacher, he remembered it was Ania, Oli's mother. "Oh, I'm lucky it's only you, Mama Ania."

"Mama Ania?" The other students were all perplexed to hear Yeter call their new ape instructor so casually.

"Outside of class, you're welcome to call me that," stated Ania, "but in class, you must address me as Teacher and abide by the rules. For that reason…"

Suddenly, a giant comfortable pillow mat appeared in Ania's hand. She threw it to the nearest student and another pillow appeared in her hands. This cycle repeated until she had handed a pillow to everyone except for Yeter and the two other students who arrived while she was handing them out.

"At the end of class, you'll return your mats. Only those who are on time will be allowed to use them each day, while those who are late can either stand in the back or sit on the hard concrete," explained Ania, making Yeter want to cry.

"Now then, let's not waste any more time. Gather around, those who ranked highest will sit at the front, not including Yeter since he was late."

The classroom was quickly organized and Ania now had complete control and authority within her small domain. It wasn't hard to get everyone's attention and respect though since she was a perennial and all those youngsters wanted to reach that same level. In their minds, only true geniuses would ever become so strong.

"Everyone, today we will be answering a single question together. I want you all to think carefully about how you would answer it because we'll be discussing it openly as a class. Are you ready?" Happy that everyone nodded, including the three frowning faces in the back, Ania continued, "Class, what is essence?"

"What is essence?"

That question echoed in Oli's mind as he wondered if such a simple question could have a deep enough answer to warrant an entire discussion.

"Think, that's the only question we'll be answering today. After we figure out what essence is, then we'll spend the entire month learning about our own essence."

Considering Ania's words, the skeptic students were baffled by how serious she was about an easy question.

One young frog raised his hand to speak. When Ania nodded to him, he said, "Essence is the energy you use to attack and defend ourselves."

"You're right, but is that all essence is?" asked Ania.

"Um… What else is there?"

"That's what I want to know, that's why I asked you all the same question, what is essence?"

Lowering his head, the frog was unable to say anything else because he hadn't realized how narrow-minded he was until that moment.

"Essence is the energy of the world," Karos spoke out loud. "Everything has essence, whether it's alive or not."

"Right, we're starting to get somewhere. What else?"

Netra spoke up this time, noticing that Karos was still thinking. "Some places are more abundant in different types of essence, take the lake for example. The nearby lake has more water essence than other places, though the difference isn't too much."

"Good, what else Netra?"

"Essence is what forms into our cores as beasts. We naturally gather essence of certain types we have an affinity with and we can use that to create our cores, making essence the foundation of our cultivation." Remembering some of the things her mother had taught her, Netra elaborated for the classes.

"Yes, it's the foundation of our cultivation!" shouted Ania. "Without essence, we beasts would be nothing. The same goes for humans too, since they would be unable to wield any energy of magic. What else does the class think?"

She wanted to hear everyone's opinons, not just Netra's.

"It's not only useful for attacks, but we can also use it to interact with the world around us," added Oli. "There are countless treasures that require the use of our essence and some things are only understandable after we use our essence to interact with them. With essence, we can do whatever we imagine is possible."

"Perfect," Ania agreed with her son, happy to reach the conclusion she wanted. "Now, let me tell you all a story. You now understand that essence is in everything and essence is the foundation of our cultivations. Also, we know that with enough control, we can use it to interact with the world in ways that are impossible without essence. Let me give you all an example, so listen closely."

The students leaned toward Ania, excited to learn more.

"The perfect example of interacting with the world through essence is the tale of Dominus, the Great Creator."

Her words put smiles on a few faces, those who had heard about the ancient tale. But Oli was surprised because he had never heard about this before. He listened very carefully, intent to take the story to heart.

"Dominus, the Great Creator, was known as the most powerful person to ever exist. He was a great dragon who ruled all and cared for all existences across the world. Many of the most sacred, essence-filled places in the world were created by him."

Everyone's hearts shook.

"He was so powerful that he was rumored to create the heavens with his powerful mirror-like wings. The earth was formed by the application of his essence, forming a core so great that it gathered the earth and water into the world we know today. It was through his powerful essence, that Dominus shaped the world, becoming the Great Creator."

It was a lot to take in for the student's simple minds. Only Oli was hung up on something. "Teacher, you mean that Dominus created the world?"

"It's not said that he created it, but that he reshaped it. He created more sacred grounds for cultivation and made it easier for all of us to grow and gather essence in abundance. Before him, the world was in a time known as the Dark Times," explained Ania. "Dominus ushered in a new age and reshaped the world to do so. It's the perfect example of what's possible through the use of essence."

The entire class was excited, stirred up by the thought that such a grandiose thing was possible with enough strength. Of course, none of them thought it would ever be possible for them. That was just too powerful and nigh impossible.

"If he was so strong, then is Dominus still alive? And was there anyone else as strong as him?" asked Oli, still curious to learn more

Ania nodded, happy to continue. "The tales spoke of someone known as the Demon Ape, who rose to power around the same time. The Demon Ape was the only one with the strength to fight Azar, making them enemies. We don't know what happened to either of them though. It's assumed that they were both annihilated in a fight to the death, or so the story goes."

Taken aback, Oli smiled wide as he thought, "Demon Ape? There was an Ape that powerful? Doesn't that mean that I could also be that powerful, strong enough to shape the world however I want?"

The young gorilla's mind was filled with ideas and hopes that one day he could also become strong, like the legendary Demon Ape.