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Chapter 154

The curtains pulled apart and a woman appeared. The way the lighting was set, most of her body was cast in shadows. For paragons who had evolved senses, they could still see her clearly, but she also had a veil over her face. Only her eyes could be seen, but they were dark and deep, tempting men to stare at them all day. The only thing more tempting was her body. Although she was covered from head to toe, her outfit clung to her figure in a way that seemed to inflame the imagination.

Even an experienced sage like me felt his mouth going dry just looking at her. I couldn’t imagine how all the other young men in the obvious felt. Yet, no one shouted out or made catcalls. In fact, from the moment she spoke, it had been deathly quiet throughout the entire hall.

“I wish to give a lecture.” Mistress Sci spoke in a sensual voice. “Would you all like to hear it?”

“I would listen to any words you speak!” Brandon spoke up confidently.

Although he spoke out, no one mocked him for his attempt to ingratiate himself to her. Every else would have done the same if they had the ability, but something about her presence and the aura she gave off made it difficult to speak.

At his answer, Mistress Sci’s eyes twinkled as if she was smiling under her veil. “What is your name, young sir?”

Brandon’s chest puffed up, and some men gave him a jealous look over him getting her attention. If only they had spoken up first!

“My name is Brandon Capala! I am a future martial genius of the Capala household!” He boasted shamelessly.

“You speak of the future as if you’ve seen it.” She responded in amusement.

“I am merely confident in my ability.” He explained, not willing to lower his head.

“Oh? In that case, please enlighten me. What does evolution mean to you?” She asked gently.

“Evolution is about becoming the best you!” He declared. “It’s about becoming better than you were before, better at survival, stronger, more capable. First, you become the best you, and then you pass on your mutations for your children to become even better!”

“A better you.” She nodded slightly, but her tone didn’t show her opinion on his words. “What about you?”

She pointed toward another boy in the crowd. He jumped at being pointed at, his face turning red, but he quickly stood straight and responded.

“Evolution is about improvement. With each step along your path, you become stronger than you were before. At least… that’s what I think.”

“Improvement.” She nodded at his answer as well.

“Mistress, what is evolution to you?” Huntington took the opportunity to speak.

“This is a question I have spent countless times asking myself.” She nodded her head toward him and then reached behind her curtain. “Whether you are a man, an animal, or a plant… all living things seek evolution. Those who do not change, die. I naturally have my thoughts on evolution.”

“Please enlighten us.” He gave a polite bow.

I couldn’t help but wear a strange face. This was not what I was expecting from a pleasure palace. Perhaps my years on the streets had made my mind a bit perverted, but sophistic discussion about the theory of evolution was not how I expected to spend my evening, yet every other man there was enraptured by her every weird. At the very least, she was pleasing to look at, so I sat back and waited to see what she would bring next. As everyone patiently waited, Mistress Sci brought out an instrument from behind the curtain that resembled a harp, and then someone pushed a chair out to which she sat down.

“If you would be willing to accept my ideas, I have condensed my thoughts into a song. Would you be willing to listen?”

“We will!” Countless men immediately gave their permission and encouragement.

She began to string the harp, and as she did so she spoke in a melodic voice. “Soft as dawn, a whispering voice; carving new pathways through ancient seas. Time is a river, forever in flow, shaping the story of all that we know.”

As she sang, the crowd watched her inventively. Her words seem to flow across them like a wave of calmness. Even Spirit felt himself relaxing as the song filled his senses.

“Roots twist and climb through Earth’s embrace, leaves turning gold in time’s sweet grace. Wings learn to dance in tempest and storm, breaking their shell to be reborn.”

Her words gave a feeling of change deep within. It was like Spirit was no longer standing in a room filled with sweaty men, but was seeing the profundities of time and evolution. He wasn’t the only one. Every man present had a contemplative look, her song having resonated with some part of their soul.

“From ember to fire, from shadow to light; we reach for the stars in the heart of the night. Soft as the darn, a whispering breeze, ever becoming, as time sets us free.”

It was almost like she was casting an illusion. One could see the past and the future. They could see the competition that has stretched on since the beginning of life. Countless species become extinct while only a select few continue. The song finally reached its crescendo.

“We rise, we change, we leave behind, the echoes of the past unkind. With every step, with every scar, we become who we are.”

When her voice faded, the last note from her harp continued to resonate through the hall. No one clapped, but every man had a relaxed, content expression on his face as if he had come to understand something profound. The silence was finally broken when Brandon dared to step forward.

“This song is as beautiful as you are.” He complimented her. “It has given me much to think about on my path to the future.”

She only gave him a smile and a gentle nod in response. As if he opened up a floodgate, several other men shouted out, a few even speaking over each other, as they tried to flower her in compliments and flattery.

Before the crowd could become rowdy, she held up her delicate hand and everyone quieted down once again.

“Although I am gladdened that many of you enjoyed my song, I must admit I am still young and naïve on the subject. I would like to ask you all, what are your thoughts on evolution?”

There was a brief moment of pause, but then a random young master stepped forward and spoke enthusiastically. “Evolution is about getting better. As your song so eloquently pointed out, evolution is about becoming who we are meant to be. If we don’t become the best version of ourselves, we will fail.”

“I disagree…” Another voice spoke out, causing everyone to turn to Jordan, who had a challenging look on his face.

The one who spoke up gave him a stubborn look. “How so?”

“Becoming your best self?” Jordan raised an eyebrow. “If our best selves were good enough, we would not need to evolve. The reason one evolves I to surpass their limits. I evolve so that I can become something greater. I evolve passed a mortal, and with each step, I ascend to the greatest survivability!”

“You forget one thing.” Brandon finally spoke up.

Jordan’s eyes sharpened, but he gave a respectful nod toward his rival. “What is that?”

“Evolution isn’t merely about one’s self. Evolution is about preparing for the future. You evolve so that you can provide those genes to your offspring, who then evolve to do the same. In this way, you’re able to become stronger. The families you succeed become the top, and those who fail, no matter the strength of the individuals, fail.”

His words seemed to illicit a moment of introspection. Even Lady Sci’s smile grew contemplative as she pondered his words.

It was a surreal experience listening to these people argue about such concepts. As I considered everything, I wasn’t wowed by how profound they sounded. While their words were sufficiently philosophical, they seemed to lack something. It was like they had heard of all these words before, but lacked the proper reference to understand them within context.  Like if you put a caveman into a science classroom. He’d probably pick up some keywords here and there, but without all of the elementary understanding that came before it, he’d only have a juvenile, almost irreverent understanding of how things truly worked.

I wasn’t like the rest of the people in this room. I had grown up in a world that didn’t have such an anomaly as mana. I imagined our scientists would also have been as perplexed understanding things like evolutionary paths, so I didn’t blame them.

Yet, it was all kind of amusing. Since her song had put me in a relaxed mood, I had been contemplating my understanding of evolution. Yet, at the end of it all, science and magic were opposed. How could you explain one with the other present? I gave a derisive snort. However, the crowd had been quiet, and so my actions were noticed by everyone. Soon, every eye was on me.