“Is that a time limit that affects each person or the group as a whole?” Tessa asked, looking up from her notebook.

“If I understand what you are asking correctly, then you are wondering if the time limit is the same for everyone when they enter as a group?”

She nodded.

“Then no, each person would be ejected depending on when they went in, instead of as a group. Most corporations will stagger when people are allowed to go inside, so the area outside is never suddenly filled up with a large group. And before anyone asks, yes, it is a hard limit that affects absolutely everyone and everything. All those stories you’ve undoubtedly heard about travelers who never came back were lies made up by the company they worked for. They tend to use that as the go-to excuse whenever a particularly gruesome body is returned.”

“Okay, that’s enough of that. Getting back to the posters, you will see that the first one contains the twelve different kinds or types of monsters you might encounter. They all fall under one of those twelve types in some way and there are countless variations for each.”

At the top of the first poster was a dark blurry image, and a name next to it. Nightmares.

“Now, in no particular order, since I am not the one who made this poster. We will begin with the ‘Nightmare’ type. As you can see, there isn’t really an image, that was done on purpose. Nightmares are exactly that, monsters that can only be described as coming out of your worst nightmare. They have no place in a natural habitat or eco-system and are extremely hard to deal with as they are generally somewhat intelligent.”

“Next we have the ‘Beast’ type, which is easily the most numerous of any other kind on this list. They can be found in nearly every portal to my knowledge and are exactly as the name describes. They are beasts or animals that have mutated and or, grown stronger and become more vicious than normal. As I mentioned before, with the crabs and lobsters, this can happen to any kind of animal you can imagine.”

“Continuing on, we have the ‘Celestials’. This is a type that is kind of odd, and not often encountered. They can take the shape of any type on this list except for nightmares, and fiends, which I will get to in a minute. Celestials can be easily distinguished by the golden glow that surrounds them. If you don’t attack them and are injured, they will often heal you.”

“Wait, you mean there are monsters that we shouldn’t attack and kill?” Spencer suddenly burst out.

“Yes, that is what I am saying. There are actually a couple of different types that you shouldn’t attack. Which interestingly enough, plays into the next type on the list, ‘Dragons’.”

The image next to the name was of a large flying monster with powerful jaws and sharp teeth.

“Dragons can fall into several different sub-categories, and we’ll cover them in a few weeks. Some are stronger or faster than others, some can use magic or breathe fire. Pretty much all you need to know is if you see one run, do not attack them. You will die if you do. High-level travelers may stand a chance if they are lucky. There generally isn’t a good reason to risk your life like that. Unless you are on explorers’ team, in which case I would still say run as soon as possible.”

“Next we have ‘Elementals’. These can be considered the spirits of the land and are rarely seen. The only way to damage them is through magic or destroying their physical body or tether point if you can find it. Generally, they are harmless to travelers and are curious by nature. They will only attack if you actively mine, or get too close to a territory they have claimed as theirs. You will notice that the image in the poster is indistinct, that is because they can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The only constant is their ghost-like transparent properties.”

“Mysticals,” Quinn read the name aloud and then stopped, taking a moment to scratch at his head again. “These are an odd one on the list as there were actual legends about the race existing in our world prior to the appearance of the portals. That is true for a few of the beings on this list, but is most apparent with these. They are magical creatures straight out of our legends and folklore and tend to be on the small size.” He held his fingers a couple of inches apart so they would understand the scope of the word small.

“They have only been found in a couple of portals, that many believe to be linked in some way. Again, even after a hundred years, we know little about the portals, or the worlds, if that is what they are, on the other side.”

“What do you mean, if that is what they are?” Zack was quick to ask.

“A lot of scientists and travelers don’t believe that the other side of the portals lead to fully developed worlds. The most common theory is that they go to fragments of them, ones that somehow broke off. If you are ever inside one at night, take a look up at the night sky, and if you can, remember the position of the stars. Then take a look again the next night. The position, constellations, everything will be different. Not to mention that what we consider to be the natural laws and order of things holds little weight inside them. The mana-crystals that are mined one day, have returned somewhat by the next. I don’t need to remind any of you that crystals do not grow overnight.”

The class broke out in noise as everyone began talking at once. Zack leaned back in his chair and thought about the name of his race, according to the status page. It was listed as ‘Dimensional Child’, and it was the same for Zara. The name and word meant nothing to them.

They had briefly researched all the variations on the name when they were first rescued. There had been nothing, and eventually, they had dropped the subject. It was better to be curious than risk drawing unwanted attention back to themselves. Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if the name held the truth to what the portals led to?

“We only have five types left, which I’ll make quick, and then you can all leave.” The teacher informed the class in a loud voice, silencing them. “Good. Moving on, we have ‘Fiends’, which is an all-inclusive term for monsters that resemble, devils, demons, and the like.”

“From there we have ‘Monstrosities’ who are the unholy offspring of a nightmare mixed with beast or fiend. I’m sure you can guess which is more dangerous. If there is a nightmare around, then there will also be monstrosities as they often act as their foot soldiers.”

Quinn hurried onto the next monster on the poster and one that had a proper image next to it. The monster was a blue tear-drop-shaped jelly monster called a ‘Slime’. “Slimes are jiggly puffballs that are nice to have around as they will eat anything, trash, human waste, you get the picture. They are resistant to physical attacks and the experience they give is paltry. They are another of the monsters that will only attack if they are attacked first.”

“The last two types are really self-explanatory. ‘Plant’ monsters are exactly that, plants that will attack anything that comes near them. They are fairly common, especially in portals that have a lot of vegetation.”

“Finally, the last one is ‘Undead’. You’ve all heard the stories I’m sure of walking skeletons, zombies, and the like. They aren’t super common but do appear from time to time.” Quinn smacked the second poster. “We’ll go over that one tomorrow before you begin your training. During the rest of the year, we’ll cover each type more in-depth. Zack if you would stay behind? The rest of you can now leave.”

Zack gathered up his stuff and placed it and the box of nutrition bars on top of his desk while he waited.

“You asked some good questions in class today and surprised me with your answer about the time limit,” Quinn said in opening as the last of the class fled through the door. “That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about, though. I’m not sure what you did, but you managed to piss off the headmaster. Pretty much all the teachers that were never travelers are going to be giving you a hard time in order to suck up to him. I imagine some of the ex-traveler ones might as well.”

“I know. I had been expecting it. My admittance resulted in his brother-in-law being fired, and I believe put under investigation.” Zack informed him readily. The information would come out eventually, and it was always better to lead with your own narrative. At least, that is what he had been told by gang members in the past.

The teacher raised a brow. “What did he do to cause that?”

“He went around the area I lived blacklisting me from getting any work, and thereby not being able to feed my sister or myself. Then he also went to the local gang and made sure they knew about me and my compatibility result. The night before we left, the apartment was attacked.” He stopped, not wanting to say too much. He couldn’t risk saying anything that differed from what he had told the sergeant.

“That would do it for sure,” Quinn sucked in a breath and shook his head. “The idiot should have known how serious it was releasing that kind of information, let alone getting you blacklisted. Wait, why did he do that in the first place?”

“I kicked him out of the apartment after he was rude to my little sister.” With that, Zack picked up the box and walked calmly from the room.