SRS 154

“See, I told you not to believe everything Suhyeok says.”

Mikael whispered, feeling sorry for Yohan, whose neck had turned red with embarrassment. Suhyeok, who had been snickering beside them, got smacked by Kylus.

“I wasn’t just messing around! Before an evaluation starts, you’ve got to scare them a bit so everyone stays on guard.”

“…That’s true.”

“Right?”

“Yes. So take more hits.”

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Kylus’s scabbard cheerfully slammed into Suhyeok’s head. Since he was Read on doing that in front of the entire first-year, Yohan felt embarrassed on his behalf and sighed. Mikael stepped in front of him to shield him.

“Everyone, stop and focus!”

Dong!

Professor Homern rang a gong. The sound made the chatting students, the joking students, and even the nervous ones all flinch and stare forward. Homern looked at the first-years as he stroked his bear, and pulled out a scroll.

“For the past term, you’ve adapted well to the school. I congratulate the first-years who survived, and we will now proceed with the group evaluation. As announced, the evaluation will be the hydra battle. Follow the assistants’ guidance and move into the illusion barrier. There, the 4 towers will each fight 1 hydra at the same time.”

“…If you’re congratulating us for surviving, shouldn’t you throw a festival instead of a group evaluation?”

“Shh, be quiet, Kitty.”

“I’m not done explaining!”

After shouting down the noisy students, Homern continued speaking.

“The most important thing to note in this evaluation is that each student has a cap on how much they can contribute. Don’t rely on someone and finish empty handed! You are students of the Resurrection School who must survive by your own strength, not by relying on help!”

“…… Why say all that for just one test….”

“Quiet, quiet!”

Homern shouted again. His giant-like overwhelming aura made the students feel pressured. Yohan listened while thinking maybe all first-years earned beatings by talking for no reason.

“Students who reach their contribution cap will immediately exit the illusion barrier. Now! The evaluation begins! Follow the assistants!”

At the professor’s command, figures wearing black masks and robes moved in perfect order and guided the students. They were the assistants mentioned earlier.

Yohan followed the four assistants assigned to the West Tower, then tilted his head. The blue hair slipping out from beneath one assistant’s mask stood out. It was tied into a single strand that swayed like a wave. He felt like he had seen it somewhere before. As he thought about it, the assistant slightly turned his head.

Blue eyes behind the mask met Yohan’s.

“…Ah!”

The moment their eyes met, Yohan remembered who it was. It was Hale, the fourth-year senior he met in the strange cave of the Phantom Sword Master.

“…Senior?”

“…!”

When Yohan quietly whispered after recognizing him, the masked assistant flinched. He glanced at Professor Homern, who was watching the mass movement of students from the platform, then lowered his voice in warning.

“Be quiet. Professor Homern doesn’t know you and I have met.”

“Ah… are first-years not allowed to meet upperclassmen?”

Confused, Yohan asked. But that didn’t make sense, since he had already met quite a few seniors. The ones who came to stop visit our sitethe professor during the last incident, Abel, the upperclassmen at the closed training grounds, and even the seniors Professor Will had dragged in… including his guard duty, he had already met plenty. As he tilted his head, Hale subtly shook his head.

“No, it’s fine to meet them. If it weren’t, how would guard duties work?”

“Then…?”

“It’s just that Professor Homern has a peculiar personality. If upperclassmen meet first-years, he assumes they’re idle. Usually, fourth-years and above are too busy with assignments and missions to have time for anything else. They’re rarely even at school.”

“……”

Yohan didn’t know how to react.

So busy with assignments and missions that they weren’t even at school… what did that even mean? How could students not be at school?

He could understand the assignments, but missions?

What exactly did upperclassmen at Fantasiademia even do?

He had countless questions, but Hale didn’t look like he would explain further. Maybe he was very conscious of Professor Homern’s gaze, because he closed his mouth and silently continued guiding them. Yohan sighed.

But it wasn’t like he got nothing.

So that was why. Even if living areas were separated, other students rarely saw upperclassmen. They were simply too busy to wander around.

Yohan recalled when fourth-years started following him after he met Tramashu.

Then those upperclassmen…

Were they so desperate for a first-yearn’s ability, that they abandoned their assignments and missions?

Now, professors like Shinbi had chased them away, telling them to stop causing trouble, but before that, it had been complete chaos. As Yohan recalled those days, his body slightly trembled. He couldn’t even imagine what would have happened if those seniors had caught him.

“We’re here.”

While Yohan was lost in those memories, the assistants stopped in front of the illusion barrier. They turned and checked each West Tower student’s wrist and fastened thin thread bracelets around them.

“Even if it’s an illusion, the hydra here will be stronger than the one you faced during the entrance exam. We’ve recreated a less weakened hydra. If you lose your life inside the barrier, the bracelet will break and you’ll be automatically eliminated. Eliminated students will be forced out of the barrier just like those who reached their contribution cap, and your contribution will be recorded as 0, so be careful. Each tower’s score will be calculated by summing the contributions of its students. The tower with the highest score will receive a reward, and the lowest will receive punishment.”

“What…?!”

“It’s already unfair that we suddenly have a group evaluation, why do we get punished too?!”

The students protested the reward and punishment system that hadn’t been explained beforehand. But when the masked assistants looked at them coldly, they immediately deflated like balloons leaking air.

“These are the school’s rules. If you have complaints, take them directly to the headmaster or build ties with graduates.”

“…Graduates?”

“Where are we supposed to meet graduates?”

“If we get close to them, do we get something?”

They started murmuring again. Yohan admired the unknown senior who was fastening his bracelet instead of Hale.

This senior really was a good one…

Maybe because of school rules, or because Professor Homern might be watching, he didn’t give direct hints but still tried to help indirectly. Just like he said, graduates likely had the authority to submit petitions. If they could befriend and persuade them, maybe this strange system could change.

The other students, who didn’t know that, just thought the senior was talking nonsense.

“We enter in one minute. Get ready.”

The students gradually stopped complaining and looked at each other with nervous expressions. Feeling that they were excessively nervous, Suhyeok clapped his hands to draw attention.

“Everyone remembers the training we did this morning, right? Don’t be too scared. [stolen content]Stay on guard and go into the fight. Listen to your team leaders, and don’t forget that Yohan’s orders are absolute.”

His explanation helped the students calm down. The first-years nodded with more relaxed expressions and looked at their team leaders. For a more effective battle, they had divided into 4 teams, magic, melee, ranged, and support, each with a leader.

“Yes. We can do this! No matter how strong the hydra is, it can’t be harder than what we’ve trained for, right?”

Melek shouted at the mages.

He caused trouble in many ways, but he was excellent at taming and magic. That was how he caught the attention of Professors Homern and Hegel and got exploited every day. As the mages’ leader, he looked far more reliable than usual.

Yohan took a deep breath while watching his friends prepare.

“Let’s get ready too.”

Yohan and the members of Room 304 had agreed to stay slightly back from the fight, oversee the battle, and add firepower whenever needed, to avoid early elimination due to the contribution system.

Since they needed to fight while floating in the air for better observation and command, they discussed their stolen contentroles as soon as they entered. Then an alarm sounded.

“It’s time. Enter.”

At the assistant’s signal, Yohan’s group stepped into the illusion barrier first. As they passed through and entered the battlefield, Yohan heard Hale’s whisper.

“Be careful in the air. There are mana gluttons that eat magic.”

“What?”

Yohan turned back, but he had already passed through the barrier and was cut off from the outside. As he clicked his tongue, unable to see outside, Suhyeok, Kylus, and Mikael asked what was wrong.

“…There are mana gluttons in the air that eat magic.”

Yohan shared the information he received from Hale. Their faces immediately darkened.

“Are they trying to stop us from flying? Are they insane?”

No one could argue with Suhyeok.