SRS 36

Yohan ended up in a group with Suhyeok and a total of 15 students. Since they formed their group first and became Group 1, the emergency patient assigned to them was the senior who had fallen and cracked his head. He was heavily bleeding, Yohan almost used divine power without thinking, but he came back to his senses and checked the senior’s wound.

“We should stop the bleeding first. What were the medicines that had that effect?”

“Isn’t that the whole healing potion category?”

“No. If you use a Mermaid’s Potion on someone who’s bleeding, the blood won’t clot, so it gets more dangerous.”

“We also need to repair the area that’s broken and damaged. I think we need to consider that too.”

“What about Eden’s Secret Potion?”

“It’s good, but would those ingredients even be on the back mountain? That’s an endgame potion among the things we learned.”

“Ah, right.”

His friends actively exchanged opinions. Yohan rubbed his eyebrows, thought for a while, and recalled three potions they could make with ingredients from the back mountain.

“Kasa’s Intermediate Recovery Potion, Yoom’s Very Small Miracle, and Refined Delkan Poison. We could probably manage those.”

“Oh, Delkan Poison!”

“Not bad. But Yoom’s Miracle is tricky to make, so it might be hard for us.”

“Kasa’s Intermediate Recovery Potion sounds good.”

His friends responded positively. Yohan was proud that the extra study he did on herbs and potions during breaks was now paying off.

After discussion, the final potion candidates were Kasa’s Intermediate Recovery Potion, Refined Delkan Poison, and Phantom’s Rest. His friends looked at one person to make the final call.

“Me again?”

Suhyeok, who had gotten used to being in this position, reacted as if the expectation toward him was a headache. To boost his confidence, Yohan held up his thumb just like he learned from Suhyeok.

“I trust you. You learned a bunch of stuff from Mikael too.”

Since Suhyeok was a hunter, he often roamed the forest and became interested in herbs. He studied hard, pestering Mikael during breaks or before bed to learn more. Yohan, who watched all this up close, gave him a look full of trust.

“This is a lot of pressure.”

Suhyeok scratched his head, then quickly became serious and stroked his chin. That quick change was one of his strengths.

“Hm. Kasa’s Intermediate Recovery Potion is the safest. Poison gets dangerous if we mess it up, and Phantom’s Rest requires a high brewing skill and mental strength.”

“Great, then we’ll go with Kasa’s Intermediate Recovery Potion.”

“Let’s go gather ingredients!”

Ten minutes after they began discussing, the Group 1 students rushed out of the lecture hall.

“Hmph, Group 1 already left. If we don’t hurry, they’ll beat us.”

“…Calm down, Kitty. This isn’t an eating or getting eaten kind of competition.”

Yohan pretended not to hear the bizarre hostility from behind and climbed the mountain with his friends. Group 1 had three students double majoring in Taming, so he let them take the lead up the mountain.

How hard had Professor Homern worked them that now they climbed a mountain like it was their own backyard? The three walked, spotted herbs, and stopped.

“It’s a Hera flower! Found one!”

“Nice!”

“We’re fast!”

The students cheered when they found the first ingredient much sooner than expected. They also found the second without struggling.

“Only one more to go!”

They were celebrating in small groups when they heard footsteps behind them. Other groups were entering the mountain to gather ingredients too.

“Let’s find it faster than them!”

“If we can get first place, why not!”

For some reason, a strange competitive fire ignited among the Group 1 students. Yohan didn’t understand why they suddenly sped up when they were already fast enough and followed them in confusion.

“This isn’t even a test… it’s just class… why…”

While panting, he gave them a look asking why they were competing, and Suhyeok laughed while pulling Yohan by the arm.

“It means they’re motivated. Think of it positively.”

“I don’t know why they’d use that motivation here…”

Yohan was dragged by Suhyeok as he forced himself to walk. Then he stepped wrong, lost balance for a moment, and felt a dangerous presence behind him.

“…!”

“Down!”

Yohan and Suhyeok quickly sensed the threat and ducked. A Group 1 student ahead of them turned at the warning with a confused face, got hit by a flying liquid, and fell.

“Gah!”

“Mei!”

Group 1 students ducked too late as it slapped Mei’s cheek, who fainted in a single hit. Yohan turned around to see where the liquid had come from.

“Ahhh!”

“The slime’s gone crazy!”

“It’s a mutated slime! Run!”

Other groups were fighting a slime they had run into. The area had been normal when Group 1 passed earlier, so either someone triggered something or provoked something that caused the slime to attack.

“Why’s there a mutated slime here?!”

“There wasn’t one during Taming class this morning…!”

Their voices trembled from panic. Yohan sighed, wondering why school couldn’t go a single day without chaos.

“They’re having a rough time.”

Suhyeok clicked his tongue. It started with Group 2, but Group 3 got caught up as they followed behind, and now half the students taking Herbology were struggling in a slime’s grip.

“…Yohan, what do we do?”

The distance was a bit far, but they could see their friends getting caught. Suhyeok asked the question after a moment of hesitation.

Yohan honestly wanted to say they should just go. Their friends weren’t weak, and if they focused and worked together, this trial looked manageable.

But beneath that judgment was a feeling of irritation. Not a little, but frankly a lot.

When he realized what he was thinking, Yohan was shocked and slapped his own cheeks.

“Yohan?”

Suhyeok was startled by Yohan’s sudden action. Yohan rubbed his stinging cheeks and took a deep breath.

I’m a priest, I’m a priest, I’m a priest…

Yohan tried to brainwash himself, then took a step forward.

“Let’s help them. We only have one herb left to find, and the other groups are still students taking the same class.”

“I knew it. I knew you’d say that.”

Yohan pretended not to notice the way Suhyeok’s voice sounded like he had expected this all along, even though it pricked Yohan’s conscience.

Fantasiademia is really frightening.

Yohan realized firsthand why the friends who enrolled in Fantasiademia slowly turned violent one by one, and he strengthened his resolve to stay alert so he could survive with his mind intact.

“Uaaaagh!”

“Hey, this thing’s seriously persistent! Let go already!”

“Flames will burn the enemy!”

“You lunatic! Why are you using fire magic in a forest!”

“Seiga! Put out the fire!”

“What? Are you not seeing that I’m literally captured right now?”

“……”

Seeing Groups 2 and 3 up close was even more chaotic than from afar. Yohan lost his words for a moment as he witnessed someone dangling in midair, someone else thrown onto a tree, and another person half swallowed by a slime and moments away from being dissolved while flailing for help. He exchanged looks with Suhyeok and quickly rescued them one by one.

He rescued Seiga first and told her to put out the flames, then helped the others.

“Yohan, Suhyeok! You came to save us!”

“Please, Jimin. Stop yelling. This is embarrassing.”

Suhyeok covered his fellow hunter friend’s mouth.

“Yohan! I actually trusted you! I knew you’d come save us when we were in danger…!”

“Shan, be quiet.”

Yohan covered his priest friend’s mouth as well. His friends had been attacked by slimes, yet he was the one feeling embarrassed.

One by one, quickly and carefully, Yohan pulled everyone out of the slimes. Then he sprinkled divine power toward the still-dazed students.

“Oh… oh! My vision’s clear now!”

“I feel like I got some energy back?”

“…I felt weird a minute ago, but I’m fine now.”

His friends marveled at the effects of the blessing. Yohan swallowed his exhaustion, pushed their backs toward the slime, and spoke.

“I saved you, so finish it yourselves. You’re more than capable.”

When he removed his hand from them, they looked at him with strange expressions. Yohan tilted his head.

“What?”

“It’s just… when you say it like that, it feels like messing up isn’t allowed.”

“It feels like we’re getting scolded.”

“…Feels like our teacher just told us off.”

“I feel like my mom scolded me. I’m 23…”

“Also Yohan, you feel kind of severe lately.”

“……”

Yohan stared at them with a slightly disdainful look, wondering why they were chatting nonsense instead of actually catching the slime. Shocked by his stare, the students of Groups 2 and 3 suddenly straightened up and finally started fighting properly.

“…They’re finally fighting seriously.”

Yohan exhaled, stepped back, and used divine power here and there so no one got hurt. Since he healed even the small injuries, Suhyeok stared at him and let out a long thoughtful hum. It was the sound he always made when he had something to say.

“Suhyeok, just say it.”

When Yohan signaled him to speak instead of making him nervous, Suhyeok grinned slyly as if asking whether Yohan had caught on.

“Well, it’s just… you’re still kind, but you kind of feel like Mikael these days.”

“What?”

Yohan was so dumbfounded that his healing hand slipped.

“Aaagh! Something grabbed my ankle out of nowhere!”

A student fell over after getting blasted into his ankle and cursed.

Oops.

Yohan pretended he didn’t see it, healed the rest of the injuries carefully, and looked at Suhyeok. If he hadn’t said something useless, Yohan wouldn’t have slipped… His irritation sparked toward an innocent target, and his eyes narrowed. Suhyeok gave an awkward laugh.

“…Suhyeok. If you’re going to talk nonsense, go help them too.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“…?”

“Before, how do I say this… you were gentle, and you sounded like you wanted everyone to stop crying so they could do their tasks. But lately it’s more like crying won’t help you, so do your tasks while crying. Well, not lately… more like ever since the ghost story incident?”

“…Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Yohan blinked, he was genuinely confused. Suhyeok shrugged once and ran off to fight the slime. Yohan looked at his back with a strange feeling and scratched his cheek.

Did I get influenced without noticing because I’ve been sticking close to Mikael?

Aside from the occasional extreme thought that startled him, Yohan couldn’t really tell how he himself had changed.