SRS 100

“A surprising number of you remain.”

As the students who had requested withdrawal packed their belongings and departed, the Nameless One—the individual who had sent them back to the village at incredible speed—observed the remaining group with an air of mild astonishment. His tone suggested he had hoped more of them would leave, but no one felt inclined to take offense at such a remark now. Instead, the students stood taller, emboldened by their own determination.

“We are students of Fantasiademia now!”

The first-years confidently shouted. Their faces held the pride of those who had endured the school’s harsh trials and intended to survive whatever came next.

The headmaster softly chuckled.

“So it seems. Of course, not a single upperclassman left even after this crisis. Perhaps it is due to the barriers around each district, but the monsters grew more threatening as the grade levels increased. Yet, everyone held firm.”

“…….”

…How can a god be so petty?

Yohan gasped in disbelief at the headmaster’s way of speaking, which instantly dampened his newly confident friends’ spirits. At the same time, he felt a wave of admiration for the tenacity of the upperclassmen; not one had quit despite facing even greater danger.

At this point, it was difficult to tell if the school was the remarkable thing, or if the students who stayed were simply monstrous.

…Will I become like those seniors after a year?

Yohan shivered at the thought of becoming such a stubborn fixture.

“Go inside now. You have been through a great deal, so I shall grant you a blessing to ease your fatigue.”

The headmaster reached out toward the students, and an invisible energy enveloped them. Yohan was struck with amazement as the refreshing blessing cleared his mind and chased away all traces of sleep. This power was incomparable to the blessings he bestowed upon his friends.

“Shall we dismiss?”

The headmaster, having finished giving out this small reward, prepared to leave. In that moment, a water spirit suddenly popped out and began waving its limbs in front of Yohan.

Yohan was confused by the spirit’s sudden commotion, but he soon realized why his spirit was acting this way.

The lake at the closed training hall…!

He had forgotten to report that lake. Yohan hurriedly called out to the headmaster.

“Excuse me, headmaster.”

“Yes?”

“I have something to tell you regarding the closed training hall.”

“The closed training hall?”

The headmaster paused, as the location mentioned was unrelated to the recent events. Yohan looked at his friends. This was a topic he was reluctant to bring up in front of the others, especially his roommates in Room 304.

They had been quite shaken when he fell into the lake. He did not want to cause them more worry by discussing the incident while everyone was already exhausted.

The headmaster noticed Yohan’s hesitation and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the other students vanished before they could even react.

Yohan was horrified.

“What!?”

“Do not worry. I simply sent them back to the dormitory. Now, we can speak freely, am I right?”

“…Yes.”

The gesture was appreciated, but Yohan wished the man would inform him or the students before taking such actions. Though slightly bewildered, Yohan calmed himself and recounted the events at the closed chamber.

The Nameless One stroked his chin as he listened to the report about the lake, which contained waters from various dimensions and had briefly transported Yohan to another realm.

“Hmm… it seems the dimensional barrier has become unstable. I need to hear more details, but as you can see, I am quite busy at the moment. Why don’t you visit the headmaster’s office during Period 0 tomorrow? I will inform Professor Ariel in advance, so feel free to skip your class.”

A headmaster who encouraged a student to skip class.

The god seemed to lack many qualities required of a school leader, but Yohan had no choice but to accept the situation. He nodded at the words of the highest authority.

The Nameless One then snapped his fingers again, providing Yohan with the same service of immediate transport to the dormitory.

“Yohan!”

The moment Yohan opened his eyes inside Room 304, his friends surrounded him.

“Are you alright, Yohan? That guy didn’t make you do anything strange, did he? For example, telling you to fix this whole mess, or to use your powers to reinforce the dormitory, or to make a lake with your spirit…?”

“None of that happened, so calm down.”

Yohan stopped the stream of worries and delusions from Suhyeok, who was shaking him by the arms.

Fixing the crisis or reinforcing buildings was one thing, but why would he be asked to create a lake?

Yohan looked at the three pairs of eyes that demanded to know the details of his conversation. He raised his hands in surrender.

“…It wasn’t much. I just talked to him about the Phantom Sword Master’s lake.”

“Ah, that lake?”

“It certainly was strange.”

His friends quickly accepted the explanation. Yohan felt a wave of relief seeing their casual expressions; he had worried for nothing that mentioning the lake might trigger some trauma.

Kylus tapped Yohan’s shoulder in an approving manner.

“Well done, Yohan. The Phantom Sword Master deserves to be punished.”

He grinned, his face revealing the considerable grudge he had held against the Phantom Sword Master for some time.

“No, I don’t think it’s quite that serious…”

Yohan started to defend the man out of habit and ingrained politeness, but then he faltered. The harrowing events inside the closed training hall flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

“…Or is it?”

As soon as Yohan changed his stance, Suhyeok grumbled that Fantasiademia was responsible for the corruption of such a pure priest.

“This school really has a lot of problems.”

“That is true. But we are the ones attending it even though we know that.”

Since they had chosen to stay rather than withdraw, the students of Room 304 now shared a certain level of responsibility for their situation. When Yohan pointed this out, Suhyeok let out a pained groan and suddenly leaned over, clutching his waist.

“Wait a moment, Yohan. If you put it like that, I shall have to crawl around like a mollusk starting tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Because I have no spine.”

Yohan ignored Suhyeok’s nonsense.

“Let’s wash up and go to sleep.”

No one rejected the suggestion. It was already long past their bedtime. Even though the headmaster’s blessing had chased away their physical exhaustion, no magic could fully mend a weary mind; everyone looked ready for rest.

Yohan was about to propose a game of rock-paper-scissors for the shower order, but Kylus and Suhyeok stepped back.

“You two worked the hardest today. You should go first. Decide the order between yourselves.”

“The damage would have been much worse without you. This is a reward you deserve.”

Suhyeok made the offer and Kylus nodded in agreement. Yohan wondered if going first really qualified as a ‘reward,’ but he accepted his friends’ kindness with gratitude.

Yohan then turned to Mikael.

“Would you like to go first?”

Since he was usually the one being looked after, he wanted to offer the turn to Mikael this time.

“…Should I?”

The student hesitated for a moment while he stared at Yohan, then he accepted the invitation. He had seemed ready to refuse at first, but Yohan’s silent encouragement appeared to work.

Mikael finished his shower first, followed by Yohan, Suhyeok, and finally Kylus. After everyone lay clean and dry in their beds, light chatter drifted through the room, though it did not last long.

Suhyeok’s voice was the first to trail off, and soon, everyone had fallen fast asleep.

“…….”

Vrrrrrr.

In the quiet dawn where everyone slept soundly due to mental fatigue, a small vibration echoed through Room 304. The sound came from the very bottom drawer of Yohan’s desk. The students, lost in sleep, did not notice the noise.

Poke, poke, poke.

Poke, poke, poke.

“…Ugh.”

Something soft yet paradoxically sharp kept annoying Yohan by poking his cheek. Half-awake, he furrowed his brows and tossed and turned.

Poke, poke, poke.

Poke, poke, poke.

The subtle contact continued. It was intentional, like someone was playing a prank.

Suhyeok was the only one in Room 304 likely to pull such a stunt. Yohan scowled, pulled his blanket up, and called out to him.

“Ugh… Suhyeok. Stop it…”

He tried to discourage the mischievous prank in a low voice, but it had no effect. When the poking returned, Yohan’s patience finally snapped. He threw off the covers and opened his eyes.

“Suhyeok.”

He spoke in a groggy voice, unable to understand why his friend would choose such an annoying method to wake him.

Just then, the soft thing realized Yohan was awake and began to rub its body against his cheek.

“……?”

Yohan blinked several times. The sun had not risen yet, and the room was silent. He could hear Suhyeok, Kylus, and Mikael’s soft breathing, they were still fast asleep.

He was the only one awake.

If that was the case… then who on earth had left this creature here?

Yohan stared at the tiny being, smaller than a palm, that was toddling across his chest. It had a beak like a bird, yet it lacked wings. It possessed a round head atop a round body, supported by two tiny feet.

Yohan wondered what it could be, then his eyes widened as he spotted a small piece of what looked like an eggshell resting on the creature’s head.

Could it be…!

Yohan bolted upright and ran toward his desk. He slumped to the floor as soon as he checked the drawer. The lock on the bottom compartment had been broken.