SRS 112

After their initial fierce battle in the Lilac Garden, Yohan and his companions soon arrived at Sky Island only to encounter another enemy and begin a second fight. This time, skeletons appeared and attacked them. The guard captain explained it wasn’t a dimensional monster crossing over, but rather energy from another dimension seeping through a crack in the barrier, temporarily cursing the island.

Yohan, who had thought every possible thing could happen, found himself unable to even entertain such thoughts after entering the fourth and fifth-year zones. He faced so many monsters that he had to fight mechanically, without any thought.

“Yohan Herse! They’re heading your way. Take them down!”

“Yes…!”

He took down one.

“Mikael, lift the enemies into the air.”

“Yes.”

He caught another one…

“Kylus, Suhyeok! Take them out before they scatter!”

“Yes!”

“Confirmed!”

Another one down… down, down.

By the time they had taken down the Elekscols and four more types of dimensional monsters, totaling thirty beasts, every member of the first-year guard unit was physically and mentally drained.

Yohan faced his critical moment when confronting the sixth dimensional monster.

Just as Yohan was about to use his divine power to finish it off, the blessing’s duration ended. The resulting hallucination overwhelmed Yohan, freezing his movements. The enemy didn’t miss that opening.

“Ugh…!”

As Yohan, his abdomen pierced, collapsed coughing up blood, Mikael, who had been fighting another monster, rushed urgently to Yohan’s side.

Swoosh!

The monster Mikael had been fighting swung its tentacle toward the exposed enemy. Mikael’s pure white robe was slightly torn, his back about to be exposed.

“Looks like you’ve reached your limit. Not bad for your first day.”

The captain stepped forward and subdued the monsters. While Kylus and Suhyeok were captivated by his swordsmanship, Mikael magically repaired his torn clothes and checked Yohan’s condition. Yohan’s eyes were unfocused, staring into space.

“Yohan.”

He grabbed Yohan’s shoulder and shook him several times to rouse him. After a long moment, Yohan’s eyes finally snapped back into focus.

“…Mikael.”

Yohan, who had once again seen Cheplen in hallucination, looked at the student who had awakened him and apologized. But only for a moment. Soon, red blood flowed down Mikael’s back, soaking the floor. Yohan was horrified as he looked down, he scolded Mikael, asking why he hadn’t healed himself first instead of wasting time casting healing magic on him, then used his divine power.

Mikael seemed worried Yohan might fall back into the hallucination, but Yohan shook his head.

“Earlier, I forced the hallucination away with my blessing. Once the blessing faded, I had no choice but to endure it. But that’s not the case now, so relax.”

He reassured him, finished the healing, and stood up.

“Yohan! Mikael! Are you okay?”

“Any serious injuries?

With the captain’s support, Suhyeok and Kylus had eliminated all the monsters and approached the two with concern. As they checked each other over and confirmed everyone was safe, the captain stuffed the monster carcasses into bundles and turned to the first-years.

“Good work, everyone. Patrol ends here. You may return and rest. As discussed before, you don’t need to attend zero period. Get some rest and we’ll see you again next week.”

“…….”

Next week?

That meant after a week passed, they’d have to repeat today’s events all over again.

Fighting this often would rapidly improve their skills, and they wouldn’t have to worry about the monthly aptitude assessment points replaced by the survival evaluation, but the mental fatigue was overwhelming.

Yohan was deep in thought.

He already had the shop points secured through raising divine beasts. Was there really a reason to join the guard squad as well?

Suhyeok, having noticed Yohan’s expression, pointed it out.

“Yohan, are you thinking of slipping away on your own? We live together, die together, and even resurrect together.”

“…Yes.”

Faced with this almost terrifying reminder, Yohan found himself nodding without thinking.

***

“…I’m tired.”

“Hah…”

“Ugh…”

“…This is a bit rough.”

6:42 AM.

Yohan and his friends, who had returned to the dorm past 2 a.m., showered, and fell asleep, woke up exhausted and stretched. Though they could skip the zero period class on days they patrolled as a security guard perk, they couldn’t skip first period, so they had to slowly prepare for class.

“…Everyone, hang in there for first period.”

Yohan cast a blessing on his friends, who were shuffling around like zombies, and put on his uniform. Even after heading to the lecture hall, he couldn’t suppress his yawns. He sat down and opened his mouth repeatedly. Students who had heard the news that the first-year security guards had just finished their first patrol were curious, then retreated, giving them pitying glances.

It was a sad sympathy, but at the same time, it was a thoughtful consideration.

Thanks to them, Yohan could rest quietly until the first period began. When the bell rang, he nodded to the angel professor as he entered. He saw Mikael was already asleep, head down on his desk.

Normally, seeing him would make Yohan worry about his grades, but today, he desperately wanted to lie down and sleep alongside him.

Then the angel professor gripped the chalk.

“Hm?”

They expected the professor to toss in a ring and continue his usual indifferent lecture, the change in pattern caused expressions of confusion to appear on the faces of the students in the Divine Studies class, including Yohan.

“Active demand for revelation…?”

As they read the words written on the blackboard in their own voices, the professor looked around at the students after setting down his chalk on the table.

“Today, we will learn about revelations.”

A month after the Divine Studies class began, they finally made progress.

“To do that, we must first understand what revelation is. Little lambs. What do you think revelation is?”

“……”

The students fell silent. As everyone recalled the memory of the first class and felt uneasy, the angel professor answered his own question.

“Revelation is typically a warning and command bestowed by the gods. Then let me ask you this: When do you think revelation comes?”

Fortunately, unlike the first class, the professor didn’t start by breaking the window. Thanks to this, the students, who were slightly more relaxed, raised their hands.

“When the world is in danger.”

“It comes when evil that undermines divine authority appears.”

“Revelation is given when fate is at stake.”

“It informs us when we, the children of God, are in danger.”

Each answered based on their own experiences, and Yohan searched his memory. As he pondered when revelations had come, he suddenly remembered a recent dream.

Could that even be considered a revelation?

Of course, since he had heard God’s voice, it must have been a revelation.

“…Hmm.”

Just as he remembered the content of the dream, Yohan’s expression darkened.

“Wrong. Revelations come when God is bored.”

“…….”

This remark, absurd to the point of rudeness, forcibly dragged Yohan’s mind back to reality. The professor angel tapped the lectern.

“Revelation is closer to something God bestows when he’s bored. If that’s the case, then you who receive revelation can also demand it from your god when you’re bored.”

“…….”

“Don’t passively wait for revelation. Actively seek it out. Urge your god by channeling divine power from the heavens. That is what we will learn today.”

Each word was so shocking it made their heads buzz. The students, exchanging worried glances, thought such rudeness was unheard of.

“Um… Is it really alright to be so disrespectful to the gods?”

“I’m worried we might be punished for lacking proper etiquette.”

“…Can we really be safe after acting like that?”

Facing the students’ anxiety, the angel professor calmly tilted his head.

“I only show you the method. The consequences are naturally your responsibility. Do I need to know that too?”

“……”

Now, a glimmer of life began to return to the faces of the students.

Yohan, convinced that a corrupt priest official would emerge soon, focused on the explanation that followed.

“Just as mages have mana circuits, users of divine power also have what is called a heavenly path that opens when they receive divine power. Through that path, your god bestows divine power and also reveals revelations. From this moment on, you will discover that path you have lived without awareness.”

It was unexpected. When the professor taught like this, even if students complained, they couldn’t skip class. 

Following the professor’s instructions, Yohan concentrated his nerves. He closed his eyes to search for a certain energy flow rising in a straight line from his heart to his left skull, and he heard others find their own paths one by one.

Yohan was a little slower, but he managed to find his path.

“Now, imagine that a path is opened straight from that passageway to the heavens. Look up, and you will feel a small flow above your head. That is the heavenly path connecting you to the heavens. Send your divine power up through it. It is not God sending divine power down to you, but you sending divine power imbued with your will to God. You learned how to imbue divine power with your will in the last lesson, so you should understand.” 

Yohan was dumbfounded by the added explanation. He couldn’t understand why the angel professor was speaking as if he had taught the class himself, when he had been the teaching assistant alongside Mikael.

“You must have questions for the divine. Fill them with your will and send divine power.”

But absurdity aside, class was class. It was a proper lecture, the first he’d heard in a while, so Yohan approached it with diligence, pondering what to ask.

If the content of his last dream was indeed a revelation, then yes, he wanted to ask about that dream. He needed to know if what he saw was real.

Or maybe…

As Yohan debated his options, his gaze shifted to Mikael. It was just as Yohan’s eyes, fixed on the sleeping student, were growing heavy.

Ding, ding-dong, ding-dong.

A clear, pure bell toll sounded from somewhere. The students turned their heads in bewilderment, searching for the source of the sound, and the angel professor looked out the window.

“…The bell tower is ringing. It means someone has successfully received a revelation. The one who received the revelation should go to the prayer room on the first floor of the bell tower to confirm if they truly succeeded.”

At those words, the students began to murmur. As they speculated about who could have already received a revelation, their gazes naturally began to turn toward Yohan.

Yohan broke out in a cold sweat, swallowing his panic.

Not me… surely not me…?

Contrary to what they thought, Yohan hadn’t actually heard God’s voice or anything like that.