SRS 21

After Yohan slept for a short time and woke up, even drinking the juice of a mandrake did not change how tired he felt. Yohan spent his entire break in the infirmary and joined the remaining classes with a heavy body. He honestly did not even remember how he listened to the classes.

When he finished all the classes in that half conscious state and returned to the dormitory, he reunited with his friends who now looked three years older than they did in the morning.

“…….”

“…….”

They exchanged glances to say they worked hard. Yohan had no idea where Mikael had disappeared again, but he was in no state to worry about a missing friend.

All three people of room 304 sighed at the same time without waiting for anyone to go first.

“…I will wash up.”

Yohan forced his shaking legs to move while he spoke, and Kylus and Suhyeok nodded. They also felt uncomfortable, but they could not oppose him after they saw their friend turn paler and thinner than a sheet of paper.

Yohan briefly thanked them and entered the shower room. He felt so weak that his body swayed even under the pouring water. Yohan stood blankly under the water until Suhyeok, who was waiting outside, knocked on the door and asked if he died inside. He barely finished washing and staggered out. Kylus could not watch him walk worse than a newborn animal, so he grabbed him irritably and made him sit.

“I will help you dry your hair, so sit.”

“…Thank you, Kylus.”

Kylus drying someone else’s hair could have been something that made the world collapse, but Yohan had already been crushed by the classes that were different from what he expected, and his mind had already flipped over once.

Yohan nodded weakly, and Kylus clicked his tongue while he dried Yohan’s hair with a towel and warm air.

“Your hair is uselessly long. Do you have no intention of cutting it?”

“…hm.”

“You are stubborn.”

“…hm.”

“……?”

Kylus paused at Yohan’s answer that had even less energy than an ant.

“Yohan Herse.”

“…hm.”

“Did you eat?”

“…hm.”

“Were the classes fun?”

“…hm.”

“…You are not in your right mind. I am sorry. I will not talk to you. Rest.”

Kylus clicked his tongue after several rounds of questions because he realized Yohan had lost his mind. He finished drying Yohan’s hair with hands that were rough but careful, then dragged his limp friend to the bed. Yohan collapsed as if he was waiting for that moment.

“…I told you taking a third major would be hard.”

Suhyeok came out while brushing his hair and shook his head after he saw Yohan who looked more pitiful than a sick chick.

Yohan moved his lips with a mind that was fading in and out.

Right before he fell asleep, the last words Yohan left were “Do not take the Taming class.”

And that evening, when the withdrawal application period opened again, 28 first year students submitted their withdrawal forms.

Everyone understood that this was the reason only an average of 82 students advanced to the third year.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Twenty eight students left the school overnight, and even at dawn when Yohan opened his eyes and immediately rushed to cancel his Taming class registration and signed up for Herbology instead, the fixed zero period class of Fantasiademia, the morning exercise with the griffins, continued without change.

Yohan rode the griffin with his friends to the Sky Garden like always, and he checked the note that said Professor Ariel was away on a business trip. Yohan was so happy he could jump.

If he heard Professor Ariel’s nagging on a day like this, it would have been too hard.

The students who were happy with him climbed onto the griffins and exercised to the song that the singing tree sang for them.

Yohan felt muscle pain from the previous day’s classes and wanted to scream every time he moved, but he endured it with almost superhuman patience.

He exercised with his friends who were still drowsy and with his friends whose lives almost slipped away because of yesterday’s lecture.

“Kwaaaah!”

A scream came from the very back row, and everyone opened their eyes wide. Yohan wondered what happened and turned around, and one student with a loud voice informed everyone of the situation.

“We are under attack. A phoenix attacked the Sky Garden.”

“Aaaaah!”

“Damn it. Melek’s head is burning. Find Seiga. He is a water spirit mage.”

“Why does this stuff only happen to me?”

The terrified kids searched for someone with water abilities.

Yohan held his throbbing head and looked up at the phoenix flying in the sky. The water ability users gathered in a hurry and used their power to subdue the phoenix, but the phoenix was a high grade monster. Among the monster grades of the Nameless Realm, which include the lowest grade, the low grade, the mid grade, the high grade, the top grade, and the out of standard grade, this phoenix belonged to the high grade.

New students who were still unfamiliar with life here could not possibly catch such a creature.

Why did the phoenix suddenly attack?

Fantasiademia was a place where every extraordinary thing could happen, but no creature outside the rules had ever invaded before.

“Is this maybe some kind of quiz or something?”

At that moment, one student shouted angrily out of nowhere. Resistance filled the crowd, and they started booing.

“Damn it. If I think about everything that happened until now, it might make sense. Professor Ariel is not even here right now.”

“Are you crazy? How long has it been since we officially enrolled. Why would we get a quiz?”

“Should we protest or something? No matter how I think about it, this is unfair.”

“Aah. This school really never gives a break. I should have turned in my withdrawal form yesterday.”

They suffered so much that not even one student said something like this is still a school so they would never go that far or that is too much speculation or there is no proof. No one supported the school.

This was how karma piled up.

Yohan looked up at the phoenix that ruled the sky with a sense of enlightenment.

-Kek kek kek kek.

The phoenix’s annoying cry echoed. It was easily fifteen times bigger than a griffin. It only spread its wings, yet the sky almost disappeared behind them.

Whee!

A huge fire lump fell into the garden when the phoenix flapped its wings.

“That is like a bomb! Move!”

Because the bird was enormous, the fire lumps were the size of an entire house. The students panicked and ran, and the water ability users struggled to put out the flames that covered the area.

“W-what do we do?”

“If this is a real test, do we have to take it down?”

“What? A high grade monster? Say something that makes sense.”

The expression of those who had been hit by the commotion early in the morning turned gloomy. Yohan glared at the phoenix that cried Kek kek kek kek and sighed.

He already felt like dying, and now some bird was bothering him too.

It did not look like any other professor noticed the situation and planned to help. If that was the case.

“We have to take it down ourselves.”

“What?”

“Herse. I respect you because you helped me during the entrance ceremony, but that is not a sane thought.”

“Yohan, did you go crazy after taking three majors yesterday?”

The students looked at Yohan like they were looking at a professor. Yohan felt wronged and answered.

“But think about yesterday’s classes. Those eccentric professors might give us penalties for being late. With their personalities, would they not do it?”

“Ah.”

“…….”

“Damn it…”

His friends assessed the situation and their eyes looked sorrowful. Yohan felt sympathy even though he was suffering the same thing, then he searched for the students taking Hunter Studies.

“The hunters said you have talent for defeating monsters. If you do not mind, can you step forward and lead us. I will support you with my divine power. I will do my best so none of you get hurt.”

“We will help too. We are not as good as Yohan, but we can heal several people.”

“We will help as well. An honorable knight does not run away in fear when an enemy stands in front of him.”

“Hmm. If the hunters move up front, we can support from the rear. I do not know how much help we can give since it is long distance, but people called me a divine archer in the world where I lived. I can at least hit the phoenix.”

“The magic department will support too. We just need to help the Hunter Studies students fly, right?”

The students realized they had no choice but to get rid of the phoenix now so they could stay safe later, and they started to help one by one. The archers, the mages, the swordsmen, the physical fighters, and the support students all joined, and the others who hesitated also agreed to participate.

“But who will lead us?”

Because more people joined, they naturally looked for a center figure.

Their eyes first turned to Yohan since he was the one who suggested defeating the monster. Yohan panicked and quickly looked at Suhyeok.

“Hey, you…”

Suhyeok was shocked when he faced Yohan’s stare full of betrayal. Yohan swallowed his guilt and grabbed Suhyeok’s shoulder.

“But Suhyeok. You are the only one who can command this many people. You have experience.”

It happened inside the illusion barrier, but Suhyeok had already led many people easily during the hydra battle.

After Yohan mentioned it, the other students also nodded and supported him.

“I agree. You are the strongest among us. If you lead us, we can accept it and follow.”

A hunter friend raised his voice so the others could hear. Suhyeok showed spectacular fighting skills during the final test too, and as expected, he was already treated as a leader among the hunters without him noticing.

Several friends asked him, and Suhyeok put his hands on his waist and sighed.

“Seriously. They are just pushing this onto me without thinking.”

He said that, but the young man who now held power did not look displeased. Suhyeok grinned.

“We are the ones who specialize in defeating monsters, so should we try it.”

The students cheered at his confident attitude.

That was how the full scale battle against the phoenix began in the early dawn.