The latter-day, the classes started as usual.

They showed the use of signs, expressions, and primary language.

101 understood the gesture and signs, but language was yet troublesome to comprehend even for him.

Days passed,

The everyday routine remained the same.

First, wake up early in the morning, then the classes would begin. After that, the professors would leave the children solely in the room so they could interact and play with each other. None of the children knew how to speak. They would play with the toys offered to them in groups.

To fit in, even 101 formed a group. Three kids made up the group: Number 101, Number 18, and Number 71.

All of them were identical in height.

Number 101 had deep black eyes and black hair.

Number 18 had blue gem-like eyes, while Number 71 had black abyss-like eyes.

Number 18 and Number 71 both had silvery hair.

The professors gave different puzzles to them. One being a wooden box with holes of different shapes, and the subsequent being wooden blocks with different shapes. By putting the correct wooden block in the right spot, they could solve the puzzle.

Three of them tried to solve it. Number 18 was the first to solve it, accompanied by Number 71. Number 101 did not even try. He observed the other two. He noticed the children in here differed from normal children. Their cognitive and comprehensive abilities matched a teenager's intellect. The children learned at an incredible rate.

Number 18 saw Number 101 had not solved the puzzle yet. Assuming he could not figure out the riddle, Number 18 took one of the triangular blocks and implanted it in a triangular hole while presenting it to Number 101.

Number 101 looked at Number 18. She had a smile on her face. She could not speak, but from her expression, he could tell what she tried to convey.

“This is how you solve it. You try it too. It’s fun,”

He smiled a little, then solved the puzzle.

Number 71 did not care about others. He looked at the mysteries, board games, puzzles and solved as much as he could. In most classes, he would be the one who solved the most puzzles.

Most kids would sleep for around 10 hours in the night, but Number 101 was different. He preferred to learn, but the situation was not favorable for him. If he could read, then he could refer to books, thus be able to get information.

But they had not lectured about writing. Number 101 did not have any books or papers. However, he had patience. So, he waited.

He would also not sleep for 10 hours. He would often meditate—a habit from his previous life. Next, he would do moderate exercise. His body was that of a 6-year-old. He did not push it much.

But,

Frequently, he would move here and there, do randoms moves like punching the air. Doing such things excited his heart. In his previous life, being born with glass bone limited his movements. The feeling of being caged by his own body would always linger on his mind.

Even when his father used unorthodoxical means to cure his condition, his bones never became as sturdy as an average person.

But now, he felt free.

The Days Continued,

After a week, most kids had apprehended vocal communication, little by little.

Some could say light words; some still struggled.

Communicating with each other helped them improve their terminology.

Small groups merged. Those who could speak most fluently were the ones who took the lead.

Most groups comprised of around 12-20 people.

Except one, it was the group of only three individuals, including Number 101, Number 18, and Number 71.

Number 71 did not interact with others. He often lived inside his own fantasies and minded his own business like the one weird, quiet, and lone kid present in the classes.

Number 101 was likewise similar. When others tried to interact with him, they would notice his deep black eyes gazing at them. The empty expression and the gaze that could pierce one’s soul made the kids uncomfortable. The black eyes would scare away most kids. Number 101 didn’t mind this scenario.

Number 18 mainly was interactive. Most kids knew her, various groups invited her, but she remained with the two of them.

Number 71‘s decision to stay in this group relied on the quiet atmosphere in the group and an unfamiliar yet strange feeling of similarity. Number 101 stayed because he did not wish to join any enormous group; neither did he want to stand out. Number 18 stayed because of the uniqueness she sensed in them compared to others.

“101, …. I…. a.m…. num..be.r…..18,”

“I…… a… m………. num… ber….71,”

The kids learned to introduce themselves. Today the supervisors taught them about basic greetings and introductions.

Their speeches were sluggish.

Number 101 stayed quiet.

Days passed

The moment had finally arrived. Professors distributed papers and pens. They taught about letters and how to write.

Professors showed distinct characters. They explained how they pronounced the letters.

They also provided some assignments.

Number 101 sought to learn as much as he could, and soaked in as much information as possible, like a sponge absorbing water.

One professor took the kids to a library. “Follow me,” The professor said.

As the children left the room in a line. Number 101 began to take notice of his surroundings.

The pathways were vast and had many routes like a maze. If someone with no understanding of the maze's workings were to enter it, then he would get lost in it. The floor and the walls seemed to be constructed from well-crafted grey stones. And within period distance, there would always be servants on the lookout.

101 found it strange. First, he thought the servants served like guards. But if they did, then why didn’t they carry any weapon? They did not even have armor on them. And simply wore purple cloaks and black inner wears.

Clank!

The professor opened the metallic door and inside, rested many shelves of books.

The library seemed divided into multiple floors and compartments.

The professor only allowed the children to explore the right compartment on the bottom floor.

The shelves had been packed with simple storybooks in the right compartment.

Most kids could not read the contents of the books.

Yet, the master gave the books so they could slowly comprehend the contents while learning in the class.

The night time had arrived,

101 rested in his bed, trying to read the book; however, it was challenging. Even if he had 200 years of memories, his mind right now was still that of a child. He could not immediately understand all of it.

He had to read letter by letter, just reading one line took over 5 mins.

He shook his head, “This won’t do,” he said to himself.

Using his previous knowledge, he thought of ways to learn a language faster.

The best way he could feel right now was simply effort. He already had a habit of learning new languages, and because of the absence of resources, it would be tough to use any practical method.

101 read the contents in the foreign language, then noted it in his language in a paper. He did this to note some facts he discovered within the stories that linked some information about the world he was in.

Using his original language as an analogy for another would enhance his apprehension but would likewise demand more effort.

Noting some facts in his own language functioned as a diversion if his notes got discovered. Rather than just language he used symbols and codes to hide the actual context of the text.

That day he did not sleep much. He spent approximately half a night contemplating as he found some astonishing facts inside the stories. Hence, he could only cover half a page, “No matter it’s just the beginning.”

Other kids did not bother glancing at the books except a few, as they had just learned to speak. Reading and writing were something they just started to fathom.

“Did you guys look at the books?” Number 18 asked in a silvery voice. Her speech was now more precise.

Number 101 shook his head, denying it.

“Only the first page,” Number 71 replied.

Number 71 could read the entire first page in the night, while Number 101 only read half a page. Number 101 lagged behind because he spent his time envisaging the context and the future events rather than simply reading.

The Days Continued,

Two weeks passed, most kids now started studying the books.

“How many pages did you study till now?” Number 18 asked.

“Around 70 pages,” Number 71 replied.

Number 101 shook his head, denying the fact that he studied.

However, Number 101 had finished translating around 1/3 of the book. Number 71 was proficient. With every word he read, his comprehension increased at a fast rate, but Number 101's progress hiked when he stopped overthinking and started reading.

On the first day, he could only read half a page. In the second, he completed two pages, in the third day five pages, his progress just increased, and after two weeks, he had read over 300 pages.

Not only that he had also gained various insights.

Insights about this world.

The books given were simple storybooks.

But even though they were just short and simple stories, Number 101 could deduce various things.

Like what period was it? What cultures were present in this world?

Those were simple things, but it was a start.

The professors took simple tests.

It measured how much a child had learned until now.

In the test, Number 101 would solve only the problems that produced him average results.

Number 71 and Number 18 ranked first and second.

Thus, various problems arose.

Some kids struggled with the assignments, so they asked Number 71 for guidance, but he bluntly refused.

Some even requested Number 18, but she politely declined. Both of them were busy studying on their own. As they had gotten addicted to the concept of learning and discovering new things.

Denial caused others to feel inferior to them.

Even at such a young age, the children had already established some hierarchy.

The feeling of inferiority was slowly giving birth to hatred within them.

But being kids, they did not act for now.

They kept asking Number 71 for help, but he refused and got irritated.

This caused him to yell at them, “Don’t bother me,” His face scowled. “brainless fools.”

Those words had now decided what kind of life they would live from now on.