SRS 61

But Yohan had his own position too. Nothing would change if he stayed still. He was buried under a mountain of tests and could barely breathe, so it was impossible for him to just sit there calmly.

Yohan pointed to the academic schedule posted on the wall. Suhyeok and his friends turned their heads.

“What’s that?”

“They say it’s the academic schedule. Hmm… there’s a monthly assessment, a dormitory group evaluation, then a short festival, and after that a comprehensive test and the resurrection qualification test to finish the semester. Next semester will be the same as the previous one, with a monthly assessment, dormitory group evaluation, resurrection festival, comprehensive test, and resurrection qualification test…”

“……”

Kylus frowned as he checked the schedule packed with tests. It was an entire semester of tests with no real break. Suhyeok didn’t look pleased either, and only Mikael stood there with an expression that said, ‘Same as ever this year.’

“…No wonder there’s a protest.”

Yohan nodded.

“You have every reason to join. You have to take at least three tests every month.”

Yohan nodded twice, showing he completely agreed.

Suhyeok sighed, saying it couldn’t be helped, and patted Yohan’s shoulder. Yohan then looked at the other dormitory students still writhing under the silence spell cast by his friends. Since Yohan had already explained himself, it was now their turn.

He asked with his eyes why they were like that, and Kylus replied.

“We heard that the next dorm was causing trouble, so we caught them.”

“They woke us up at 3 a.m. asking for help. We didn’t get any sleep. That’s why we only checked the schedule just now.”

“At 3 a.m.? I didn’t hear anything…”

“Yes, you were sleeping soundly. You worked as a teaching assistant yesterday, so we didn’t want to wake you.”

It was strange that he hadn’t heard anything when he was usually a light sleeper. Yohan first thanked them for their consideration and checked the faces of the captured students. They were from the South Tower.

“So, what kind of trouble did they cause?”

“Apparently, Professor Homern was a bit harsh in yesterday’s Taming class. They said they were planning to flatten the back mountain. They gathered all the mages and other combat-type ability users and were heading there.”

“……”

“We caught them before the responsibility spread to our dorm.”

“Good work.”

“Mmff! Mmff!”

The silenced students struggled, their eyes screaming, ‘How could you say that?’ Kylus hit each of their heads with the handle of his sword and scolded them to stay quiet.

“Why get angry when I said you did well? Remember, your reckless actions could bring trouble to the entire year.”

It was a hundred times, no, a thousand times right.

Looking tired, Suhyeok rubbed his face once and glanced around the hallway. The protest among the students was still going on, but he didn’t seem interested in joining.

“Yohan.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s just get everyone to the physical training class. Skipping entirely and being late but still showing up, even for ten minutes, aren’t the same thing.”

He was suggesting they go to class. Yohan hesitated briefly, wondering if they could just quit here, but Mikael ended his hesitation with one line.

“If you skip, I don’t know what Professor Ariel might prepare next week out of heartbreak.”

Not just Yohan, but even the students protesting nearby flinched.

“Oh, the griffin battle.”

When Suhyeok added that as if he had just remembered, the protesters paled and looked at each other before lowering their signs with tears in their eyes. Yohan also quietly let go of what he was holding and sighed.

No one could predict what the heartbroken half-dragon professor would prepare for next week’s griffin combat class.

“…Let’s go.”

The students dropped the protest and moved on with slumped shoulders. Yohan comforted them as he walked with them. It was trivial to call it a replacement, but he and his friends decided they would keep protesting during their free time whenever possible.

It goes without saying that the insane professors of Fantasiademia probably wouldn’t change their minds because of a few protests, but for exhausted students, even this small solidarity was a comfort.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“…Everyone! You came!”

When they reached the Sky Garden, Professor Ariel, who had been sitting with red eyes and hugging his knees, quickly lifted his head to greet them. Seeing how pitiful he looked, Yohan felt a pang of guilt.

He hadn’t expected Mikael’s warning to be true, but seeing how heartbroken the professor was over the students skipping class made it obvious that if they hadn’t shown up, even late, Yohan didn’t want to imagine what might’ve happened next week.

It was unlikely, but if by any chance Professor Ariel had called his parents in anger… no one at Fantasiademia would want to face a dragon’s wrath.

…It’s better not to skip Ariel’s class from now on.

Yohan lowered his head, making up his mind. When the students apologized together and explained what had happened, the half-dragon professor exclaimed.

“Fantasiademia is strict with its students. But since you’re all new students, I understand! Just this once! Next time, make sure you attend class properly!”

The pure-hearted professor said that since it was their first time being late without notice, he wouldn’t deduct any participation points.

“Professor…!”

The students’ eyes shone, touched for the first time since entering the academy. Yohan also ranked Ariel’s personality highest among all professors in his private mental list.

“Then, shall we begin our exercises?”

Professor Ariel, now lively again, shouted.

“To the right!”

Whoosh!

The first-years looked much more relaxed than in the morning as they rode their griffins around. Even in this hellish school life, there were still professors who became a ray of light.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

First period was the Divine Studies class. Today, Mikael was assisting as a teacher.

The nameless headmaster’s teaching method hadn’t changed just because a day had passed. As usual, he told everyone to praise him, sat cross-legged in midair, closed his eyes, and said he would listen to their prayers. Mikael ignored him and taught in his place.

“I heard from Yohan yesterday that you learned how to manifest your divine power into form and how to control it. So today, I’d like to use that experience to try focusing and amplifying divine power at an external point instead of in your hands. I know the theory, but I can’t actually use divine power myself, so… would you help me, Yohan?”

Yohan had been nodding along with Mikael’s explanation when he froze and looked up at him in surprise. His eyes asked, ‘Why am I being mentioned here?’ and Mikael smiled with his eyes.

“If it’s hard, you can refuse.”

He said Yohan could refuse, but that smile meant he shouldn’t. If Yohan did refuse, Mikael might spend the whole day nagging him about it.

Mikael being annoying was hard to imagine, but if that ever happened, he would probably be even harder to deal with than Suhyeok throwing a tantrum and lying down on the floor. In the end, Yohan reluctantly stood up. The students clapped, making him feel a little embarrassed.

“…Why me?”

He whispered softly so that only Mikael could hear. Mikael answered as if it were obvious.

“Because you’re the best at it. And I’m only close with you. You’re the only one I could ask.”

“……”

Yohan wasn’t the type to scold someone saying something like that right to his face. Besides, the compliment didn’t feel bad. He rubbed his neck once, then turned to face the other students. Mikael stood behind him and explained.

“The key in today’s class is to concentrate divine power somewhere far from your body, not near it. Amplification comes after that.”

“How far is ‘far’?”

“Let’s try the top of Building 2.”

“…That far?”

From where Yohan stood in the courtyard of Building 1, Building 2 was more than a kilometer away in a straight line. He could see it, but the distance was still farther than he expected, and he looked nervous. Mikael urged him to give it a try. To Mikael, that distance probably wasn’t much.

“…I’ll try.”

Since he was already up as a demonstrator, he couldn’t back out now. Yohan stared at Building 2.

“…Don’t glare at it.”

Mikael dryly advised. Yohan’s eyes softened a little, feeling ashamed as it reminded him of his first day in Divine Studies.

“Stay calm. If it doesn’t work, start by gathering divine power in your hands, then imagine moving it.”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t easy to gather divine power directly at the location of the building right from the start. Following Mikael’s advice, Yohan gathered light over his hand first, then slowly moved it into the air. The glowing mass was visible to the other students. When it floated higher than Yohan’s height, they gasped in awe.

“Wow, I can’t move mine that far.”

“…I probably couldn’t even separate it from my body. How does he make it work like that?”

Encouraged by their words, Yohan sent the light flying farther. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he carefully controlled it. When it rolled down his face and dripped like a thin stream, Yohan’s divine power finally reached the top of Building 2.

“It worked…”

“Good job. Now amplify it there. Think about doubling the size of the light.”

Double it?

Yohan found that difficult, but Mikael wouldn’t ask for something impossible, so he tried.

He connected a thread-like line between himself and the orb of divine power over the building, channeling energy through it. But as he poured in more power, the line snapped, and the glowing orb scattered into the air.

“Ah…”

The students let out disappointed sighs. Yohan closed his mouth, feeling bitter.

“…Hmm.”

Mikael looked at his expression, then examined the lingering traces of divine power left at the top of the building. He stepped closer so the others couldn’t hear and whispered.

“…Yohan, was that difficult for you?”

The question sounded careful, but his expression said, ‘How could you not do that?’ Yohan clenched his fist. For the first time since entering Fantasiademia, he felt a strong urge to punch Mikael, who hadn’t even done anything wrong. At that moment, Yohan realized that someone who had been a Fantasiademia first-year four times could practically be a professor.