SRS 69

“Each month, you’re tested twice,” Ariel announced brightly. “One is the aptitude evaluation, which checks whether your chosen major actually suits you. The other is the basic ability evaluation, which tests whether you have the qualities to survive in Fantasiademia! And this month, I’ll be your examiner for the basic ability evaluation! The details are written here in the vice headmaster’s message!”

He threw the parchment high into the air. The small sheet instantly expanded to several dozen times its size, spreading wide enough to cover the sky above the courtyard so that every student could read it.

The announcement was simple once you stripped away the flowery phrasing:

At the end of the month, each team would face a monster from another dimension. One griffin would be assigned to each team as a support , but the griffins were all berserk, meaning the students would first have to subdue them in combat before they could use them in the test.

Groans of disbelief rose all around.

“…Shouldn’t we report this as griffin abuse?”

“To who? Professor Homern?”

“Oh, right. There’s no royal court or imperial government here.”

“Yes… this world doesn’t even have a central authority.”

The students looked sympathetic as they frowned at the thought of the griffins being used like that. Yohan stroked the neck of his own griffin and sighed in contempt toward the school.

Griffins were divine beasts. Why were they treated this way?

Seeing the students’ troubled expressions, Ariel waved his hands in panic.

“The school isn’t mistreating griffins! Every year, griffins are born in the sanctuary, but one out of ten goes mad from multidimensional energy leaking through rifts! Fantasiademia’s task is to recover and rehabilitate those berserk griffins. The combat and subjugation part is just the first step in restoring them to normal!”

“Ah…”

Hearing that for the first time, Yohan and the others exchanged looks and made uncertain noises.

“Hm…”

“…Even so.”

“They did make them go crazy first.”

“In my case, since curses didn’t affect me, they used an even stronger one instead.”

“…Really? This school’s hopeless.”

It was hard to believe the professor’s explanation. After all, Fantasiademia’s history of reckless experiments and half-baked lessons wasn’t exactly reassuring.

“…It really isn’t like that…” Ariel mumbled weakly when no one looked convinced.

By then, the zero period had ended, and Yohan and his friends patted the professor’s shoulder a few times to comfort him before leaving.

“I can’t believe they already announced the end-of-month evaluation. There’s still two weeks left.”

“Yes. I thought they’d tell us the morning of the test, no time to prepare, as usual.”

“Maybe Professor Ariel’s just too nice. He probably told us the moment he got the notice. The other professors might not bother saying anything this early.”

“Or maybe it’s because the upperclassmen protested. Maybe it wasn’t always like this, and they forced the change.”

As they walked back toward the Griffin Hall, the students’ voices were full of suspicion.

This really isn’t a resurrection school, Yohan thought bitterly. It’s a distrust school.

He felt bad realizing how everyone doubted the faculty. After dropping off his griffin, he joined his dormmates for breakfast.

Sitting in the cafeteria, enjoying his first proper meal of the day, Yohan looked up to see Suhyeok giving him a worried glance.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just wondered if you’re alright, hearing about the evaluations. You’ll have to take four tests, right? Including the basic ability test.”

“……”

Oh. Right.

Yohan blinked, realizing he hadn’t even thought about that, or maybe he’d simply been avoiding it. The moment it occurred to him, he set his spoon down. He had lost his appetite.

“…Sorry. Go ahead and eat.”

Suhyeok clicked his tongue, muttering that he’d picked the worst timing, but Yohan was already lost in thought.

Could he really handle four tests perfectly?

He prided himself on being diligent, but diligence and talent weren’t the same thing. Of the four, the one that worried him most was Spirit Studies. His divine power had improved quickly thanks to Mikael’s private tutoring, and Herbology wasn’t too difficult either. But Spirit Studies … the textbook alone was terrifying.

“…I don’t think I’ve memorized everything.”

He’d been getting decent quiz scores, but not top marks. If exhaustion from multiple tests weakened his focus, his performance could easily slip to mid-rank, or worse, lower mid-rank.

And that meant…

“I might lose the top spot.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“…You?”

Suhyeok, Kylus, and Mikael all stared at him, looking genuinely shocked. But Yohan was too consumed by anxiety to notice.

“…I should go.”

He needed to start memorizing the textbook now, to the point where he could recite every page and line.

Determined, Yohan stood, cleaned his dishes, and left the cafeteria.

“……”

“Should we… stop him?”

“…Not sure.”

His friends exchanged uncertain looks as they watched Yohan walk away.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Why did time always move faster the moment evaluation season began?

Rubbing his tired eyes, Yohan forced his heavy eyelids open again, the letters on the page blurring from lack of sleep.

Each day blurred into the next as Yohan pushed himself to prepare for the end-of-month evaluations. Before he knew it, only two days remained.

“…Three.”

“…Thus, while a spirit grants infinite affection to its contractor, should the contractor betray the spirit’s trust, the spirit may immediately terminate the contract at will…”

“Yohan Herse.”

A cold voice interrupted his muttering. Yohan blinked, finally realizing someone was calling his name. He lifted his head and saw the glowing rings before him.

“What exactly are you doing?”

The angel professor stood at his desk, eyes half-lidded in disapproval. Yohan froze.

“Hmm…”

The professor lowered his gaze to Yohan’s desk. Fourteen completed rings stood stacked like a tower, behind which lay an open Spirit Studies textbook.

“…Spirit Studies, I see.”

“…I’m sorry.”

It didn’t matter that it was still studying, he’d opened another class’s book during Divine Studies. Yohan bowed his head.

“You’ve finished all the rings.”

There were fourteen stages of divine-energy rings prepared for today’s lesson. Since Yohan had already completed them all, he’d filled the remaining time reading his other textbook. To be honest, the angel professor’s lessons were usually half-hearted, so Yohan hadn’t expected to get caught.

“You studied another subject because you had time left?”

The professor stroked his chin, understanding the situation just from the stack of rings.

“Even if you finished early, opening another course’s book during class is disrespectful.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Yohan closed his eyes, fully prepared to accept whatever penalty he’d be given. He was already thinking of how to make up for it later when the professor spoke again.

“While I was away, I heard you and Mikael worked as assistants for the Divine Studies course.”

Why did that sound ominous?

Feeling a bad premonition crawl up from his stomach, Yohan swallowed and answered carefully.

“…Yes. The headmaster assigned us.”

“I see.”

The professor’s cold eyes lingered on him before he nodded.

“Studying another subject during my class must mean you’re confident enough in Divine Studies to not need the practice. Very well, little lamb. If you fail to earn a perfect score in the upcoming evaluation, you’ll serve as my teaching assistant for first-period Divine Studies until the next test.”

“…What?”

“That will be your punishment for today’s misconduct.”

The professor’s tone was calm, which somehow made it worse. Yohan stared at him, struck speechless.

“…Assistant?”

He asked again, hoping he’d misheard, but the angel nodded. His expression was firm, his eyes unyielding, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of reconsideration.

Yohan’s face went pale.

Being an assistant meant endless extra work. And unlike the headmaster, the angel professor wasn’t lazy or careless. The headmaster’s attitude had always been “Do the class for me however you like, I won’t interfere,” but this man… would not be so forgiving.

He probably expected far too much. If Yohan ever showed disappointing results, the professor would scold him immediately, or worse, make him redesign the next lesson from scratch as punishment. And if that continued happening…

He’d end up neglecting all his other subjects.

That realization alone drained the color from Yohan’s face.