"Cause?"
"T-the main control device is fried."
"Fried?"
"F-From the new energy core, Vice Headmaster."
"I know it is from the energy core. I am asking how and why?"
"R-right now, we don’t h-have an idea, Vice Headmaster."
Hearing the vague answer from the professor, Runia couldn’t help but click her tongue as she continued massaging her forehead, another question escaping from her lips as she had already begun thinking of alternatives on how she could send these rescue staff to the students’ exam site.
"How long would it take for us to fix the malfunction?"
"E-Even with your Spatial Magic mastery, t-the fastest i-it will take is around half a day, V-Vice Headmaster."
The paved grounds of the arena began to crack under the pressure Runia is exuding, the calm expression on her face working in the opposite direction of appearing less terrifying, making her look all the more threatening instead.
Despite all the ss that is stacking up on top of each other right now, she still decided to rein in the anger, her vast experiences as a mage and just as a person in general allowing her to see through the nature of things, allowing her to know clearly that letting anger take over will only make the matter worse.
Hence, she took a deep, long breath to calm herself down, the sharp and suffocating pressure she was exuding turning just a little bit more bearable for the rest of the academy staff waiting for her next order.
"Give the site’s coordinates," she ordered in a calm, collected tone as she directed her gaze towards the assistants controlling the teleportation array.
"Vice Headmaster, why would you want the—"
"Just give the damn coordinates."
It appears that despite her attempt to rein in the anger she is feeling, there are still so slivers of it escaping through her being, that flat tone as she orders without waiting for the assistant’s word to finish, causing everyone around to take a gulp of nothing as if they fear what is going to happen.
Eventually, she received what she wanted, causing her to heave another sigh of little relief that eases the pressure on the staff by just a little bit once more, her eyes only remaining on the displayed coordinates before she starts walking.
Each of her steps echoed all across the building, the weight of her authority pulling all the attention on her as she stood right in the middle of the teleportation array.
"W-wha—"
"V-Vice Headmaster..."
"T-this..."
Staring at the phenonon happening in front of them, all academy staff currently in the building couldn’t help but feel baffled and shocked, words failing to form on their heads as re snippets, barely intelligible, escaped from their mouths.
With her as the middle of the phenonon, the array beneath Runia began emitting a faint, azure glow, that faint light gradually spreading all across the array and tracing all of its lines, and with the passing of ti, the appearance of the array gradually transford into one that it near identical to its state before it sent the students to their designated exam site.
’Hm?’ as she pours her entire attention on making the teleportation array work, Runia noticed sothing at the periphery of her senses, the very sa array that she created by herself containing sothing that is foreign even to her, the creator of this device.
Hopes were doused as the once glowing teleportation array collapsed once again, the light fading into nothing as it returned to the one who almost made it work once more.
However, instead of the worry in her mind growing a step further, a small seed of clarity appears to plant itself in Runia’s mind, a faint, nearly unnoticeable smile appearing on her face as she finally grasped the first straw that had eluded her for quite so ti now.
"V-Vice headmaster, this—" approaching with a worried look on his face, a professor began speaking as soon as he ca into close distance with Runia, only for his words to be interrupted as she started asking for sothing quite odd.
"Not right now, Peridot. Will anyone tell where the old energy core is?"
That question of hers made everyone wonder as to why she is searching for the nearly depleted energy core right now; however, that pressure, that threat exuding from her very being, made them unable to ask this question, as only a single thing escapes from soone’s mouth.
The answer to her question.
"I-it’s in the storage room of the North Artificing Hall, Vice Headmaster..." one professor answered with certainty in her tone, eliciting a nod from the Vice Headmaster, who disappeared from her position without anyone noticing.
While the academy’s staff and one of its Vice Headmasters attempt to solve the growing issue of this year’s traditional surprise exam, the students who are caught in this problem are trying their best to thrive, or rather, survive the onslaught of the beasts and monsters that they are encountering more and more often as ti goes by.
’Just what is happening right now?’ Those are the thoughts of the fourth-year seniors and the third-year juniors who were already hit with the realization that this exam is going in a completely different direction compared to their previous experiences, their faces gradually turning more and more serious as they continue with each opponent they had taken down.
’Odd...’ anwhile, the second-year sophomores are already picking up on the peculiarity of the situation as well, despite the lack of experience compared to the students older than them; their theoretical knowledge regarding beast and monster behavior more than made up for their lack of experience.
’Why are there so many of them??’
anwhile, the freshn who are thrown into this surprise exam for the first ti had yet to completely realize the situation they are in, while so tries their best to feel down opponent after opponent still thinking about the points they will earn for doing so, so of the smarter ones are already picking the fights they can as they ca to realize that preserving energy and strength might be far harder than they assu it would be.
Amidst all the chaos, so groups diverge and separate from the overwhelming assault of the beasts around them, while others et with each other.
One such example is the group led by a second-year student, Laios Evergreen, and the pair comprised of what the entire student body thought of as the most incompatible duo that could ever be ford by two students.
The strongest senior student, the Sword Princess, Maris dea Heavenblade.
And beside her stands who can be considered as the paragon of diocrity among the freshn, the sole descendant of that fad Argenta Family to study in this prestigious academy during this period of ti, Novus Helion van Argenta.
"Hm... is it La.. ah right, Junior Evergreen, right?" seeing the leader’s face, dea was the first one to greet, being t with a polite, ninety-degree bow from the sophomore as he shouted his greeting.
"G-good day Sword Empre— Sword Princess!!" the second-year student spoke with a trembling voice, making Novus stare at the lady beside him, wondering what sort of horrors this upperclassman watched dea do that he is acting like this in front of her.
"Don’t be so stiff, Junior. Co to think of it, is everyone in your group doing fine?"
As she asked the question with a trace of concern in her tone, the air around these two groups gradually shifted away from the awkward one, with the conversations eventually leading the two groups to share what they had observed during their several hours of stay within this infested island.
"... that’s about it."
As Laios finished sharing what he had observed during their fight against the big group of Silver Direwolves, the air gradually turned serious as every single one of them was intelligent enough to figure out the implications of his observation.
And as if to confirm their growing suspicion, he sighed as he continued to speak, in a defeated tone while sharing his own conclusion.
"Those beasts... they’re not just clever; they’re sentient."
User Comments
0 comments from readers