SRS 5

“What was that…”

On his way back, after resting on the bench until his strength returned, Yohan tilted his head, thinking about the young man he’d met earlier.

He’d been too vivid, too tangible to be a spirit, but his touch had been cold and his presence minimal, too quiet to seem human. The memory left Yohan confused for a long time, and he didn’t realize who the white-haired young man was until he returned to the dorm.

“Huh?”

The young man he’d seen in the garden was now lying on the previously empty bed.

When Yohan made a small startled sound, Suhyeok looked confused.

“You know him?”

“…No. I just met him in the garden.”

“Ah. Did you exchange names?”

“Not yet.”

When Yohan looked toward him, the young man turned his head on the pillow to face him.

“Hello.”

He greeted Yohan with a smile, as if they were meeting for the first time. While Yohan hesitated, the young man spoke first.

“Mikael.”

“Mikael?”

The name sounded familiar. He couldn’t remember ever hearing it, but it felt strangely close to him. After thinking for a moment, Yohan asked,

“Is that your baptismal name?”

“Well… maybe?”

“…?”

The vague answer only made Yohan more curious. He looked at Mikael as if demanding an explanation, but Mikael didn’t seem inclined to give one.

“And you?”

The short question made it clear he wanted to change the subject, so Yohan let it go and answered,

“Yohan Herse.”

“Herse?”

This time, Mikael’s eyes showed a hint of interest. When he repeated the name, Yohan flinched slightly and turned away, slipping off his outer robe.

“Yes.”

“Hm…”

“What?”

“Nothing. It suits you.”

“…Thanks.”

It was a flat exchange.

While folding his robe, Yohan noticed something strange.

The clothes he had worn during the test, once soaked in blood, were now completely clean. He spread them open and looked them over in confusion.

Once again, Suhyeok noticed what he was thinking and explained before Yohan could ask.

“The kids from the magic department cleaned your clothes—and you, too. Their abilities looked pretty convenient. You don’t even have to move a finger to wash up. Oh, but the one who did it collapsed right after, so I guess they’re either short on mana or still struggling to use their power properly in this world.”

“Ah…”

I’ll have to thank them tomorrow.

Relieved, Yohan lay back on the bed again. If they’d even cleaned his body, he had no reason to resist the rest.

When he turned his head under the blanket, his eyes met Mikael’s from the opposite bed. That was when he suddenly realized something.

He’d never seen Mikael during the entrance tests.

Not in the written test, not in the practical, not even in the final battle.

“…I don’t remember seeing you at the test.”

At his quiet question, Mikael replied calmly,

“Of course. I didn’t take it.”

“What?”

“Mikael was held back,” Suhyeok said, jumping into the conversation while tossing his sword aside and flopping down on his bed.

Held back?

“There’s such a thing here?”

“Yes. Failing grades mean expulsion, but if your attendance is too low, they just make you repeat the year.”

“Low attendance?”

Yohan looked at Mikael. Mikael only smiled without answering, seemingly wanting to build a wall. It was impossible to insist further.

The silence that followed was awkward until Suhyeok, unable to stand it, changed the topic.

“Anyway, you were amazing during the entrance test. Who would’ve thought a priest could take down a hydra? We were all shocked.”

“Ah.”

Yohan felt embarrassed, and he nodded.

He couldn’t admit he’d simply failed to control his power, it would sound like boasting.

“I can’t use it often.”

“Yes, I figured. You fainted right after. The healers said their powers didn’t work on you.”

“That’s the price.”

“The price? You mean being unhealable?”

“Yes.”

It was divine descent, the power he invoked by offering his own body as sacrifice.

If the injuries that came from that could be erased through divine or healing power, it would be a mockery of God. The wounds he had given up as his offering had to heal naturally.

“But you woke up earlier than expected. …I guess recovery’s faster here.”

It hadn’t been like this outside. Fantasmademia felt different. Even small wounds closed faster, and vitality returned on its own. When Yohan explained this, both Suhyeok and Kylus agreed.

Since all of them felt it, that had to be one of Fantasmademia’s traits.

“…If the final test had been in a place like this, fewer students would’ve died.”

The room fell silent at the thoughtless remark. The three who had taken the test all had the same heavy look.

“They didn’t die.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“They didn’t die?”

Yohan, Suhyeok, and Kylus reacted simultaneously and looked at Mikael. When they asked for an explanation, Mikael glanced toward the window.

“They should be arriving soon.”

“Arriving?”

Arriving where?

As confusion filled their faces,

Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind blew, flinging open the window that had been closed.

A single sheet of parchment flew in through the air and hovered in the middle of the room.

“…What’s that?”

Suhyeok, who was sitting closest to the window, stood and caught it. Yohan and Kylus joined him, leaning over his shoulder to read the unfamiliar document.

As they finished reading, their expressions froze.

“…Ha.”

Suhyeok laughed in disbelief, Kylus ran a hand through his hair as he sighed, and Yohan sat on his bed, rubbing his face with both hands.

“…So it was all an illusion?”

The message on the flying parchment read as follows:

〈Welcome, new students of Fantasmademia.

Those who were injured during the entrance ceremony must have already noticed that their bodies healed upon entering the dormitory.

The place where you took your final examination was within a phantasmal barrier. Everything you experienced there was real, but not reality itself.

Therefore, even the students who died during battle have been revived outside the academy gates, so please don’t worry.

The final test was meant to evaluate the courage, unity, and leadership of Fantasmademia’s new students.

You’ve all worked hard. We hope you look forward to your new days at Fantasmademia, and we wish you a peaceful first night at the academy.

Thank you.

Vice Headmaster, Serdik Agor.〉

“……”

“……”

“……”

It had all been an illusion. He was glad, but it also was absurd. None of them knew what to say, only Mikael chuckled.

“See? I told you they wouldn’t have died.”

From his reaction, it was clear this kind of test happened every year. But then, why hadn’t anyone told them beforehand?

While Yohan was feeling betrayed by the townsfolk, a distant bell rang.

“That’s the midnight bell. Time to sleep.”

Following Mikael’s advice, the experienced one among them, Yohan, Suhyeok, and Kylus exchanged weary looks and climbed into bed.

“What a bizarre school,” Suhyeok muttered.

Yohan agreed, holding his blanket tighter.

Even if graduation was the only way to return, he began to doubt whether entering this place had really been the right choice.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Yohan.”

Someone shook his shoulder. A low, calm voice continued calling his name.

Frowning, Yohan opened his heavy eyelids. He was usually a light sleeper, but after everything that had happened yesterday, he struggled to wake up.

“…What is it?”

When he blinked his eyes, three students were looking down at him,.

What? Why are they all awake?

He turned his head, wondering if it was morning, but the room was still dark, and the sky outside the window remained black.

Confused, he looked to Mikael, who had woken him, and Mikael grabbed his arm.

“You have to get up.”

“…Why?”

“It’s time.”

“Time?”

Yohan looked at the clock on the wall.

3:59 a.m.

Far too early to call it morning. He was about to ask what was going on…

Click.

The minute hand moved. It was four o’clock.

Crash!

Clang!

“Ahh! What’s happening? What is that?”

“Kyah!”

“Help me!”

A series of crashes and screams erupted from every direction. The entire tower was in chaos. Judging by the noise, every room except their own, Room 304, was under attack.

“What’s going on?”

Yohan leaned out the window to check, and his eyes widened.

A massive, winged beast was perched on the neighboring windowsill, its beak clamped around a helpless student’s collar as it dragged them outside.

“……”

Yohan wasn’t the only one shocked.

Suhyeok and Kylus, who had also rushed to look, stared in horror. Behind them, Mikael’s eerie voice rang out.

“I forgot to mention this yesterday, but if you sleep more than four hours a day at Fantasmademia, a griffin will tear out your heart. So everyone usually sleeps at midnight and wakes up before four.”

“……”

Yohan and his friends turned to Mikael, their faces blank with disbelief, then looked at each other.

There were too many things wrong with that sentence to know where to start.