Light and Darkness (2)
After class ended, we had a short break before the next lesson. Because the following class would take place in the training grounds instead of the classroom, most students immediately left the room and headed over. I was about to follow them out when Reglia suddenly stopped me.
“You. Could I have a word with you?”
“Huh? You’re calling me?”
“Yes, Zeon. You.”
“Lady Ainstro actually speaking to me? I’m honored.”
She stood blocking my path with her arms crossed, pale sky-blue eyes flashing. It was so unusual for Reglia to approach me—we had never really spoken before—that I felt a flicker of surprise, but I kept it hidden and simply nodded.
“You know what the next class is, right?”
“It’s sparring.”
Which meant we needed to get to the training grounds right away. We didn’t have time to stand around chatting. Everyone else in the class had already left; only Reglia and I remained. If we didn’t want to enter the matches cold, we had to move quickly too.
“...I see. How about we talk while we walk?”
“Works for me. Let’s go.”
She seemed to share the same thought and readily agreed. As we walked and conversed, I finally understood why she had called out to me. From what she explained, Reglia had a favor to ask regarding this sparring session.
“So… you’re saying you want to fight me in the matches?”
“Yes. Please spar with me.”
Her request was completely unexpected. I never imagined she would personally stop me just to ask for a match. The fact that she wanted to fight me enough to go this far was… honestly startling. It left me with a strange feeling.
-She’s more aggressive than she looks.
-I like it. Let’s accept right away?
While I stood there flustered by Reglia’s request, both Hoya and Cheonma reacted surprisingly positively. They seemed impressed by how boldly she approached one of the few strong students in our class.
“I want to accumulate all kinds of experience. I assume you feel the same way.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Fighting a variety of opponents to gain experience—who would turn down an opportunity like that when pursuing strength?
“As you know, I’m from the Ainstro family. I’m confident I can offer you far more valuable experience than the other students.”
“Hmm.”
It was tempting. Honestly, I wanted to accept her proposal. Sparring with someone as strong as Reglia would benefit both of us far more than facing an opponent who wouldn’t provide much growth.
But.
“Uhh… sorry, but we don’t get to choose our sparring partners, do we? Our professor is Professor Garein, after all.”
“...Ah.”
If it were another class’s professor, maybe. But Garein didn’t seem like the type who would let students pick their opponents just because they asked.
…Still, the odds of me being paired with Reglia are probably higher than with anyone else.
Garein had already assessed the differences in strength between the students. That was exactly why he had done one-on-one sparring with each of us earlier. So to maintain balance, he would likely pair the standout fighters—me, Mir, Reglia, and Kane.
“Zeon. Mir. You two head to position five.”
And my prediction turned out to be exactly right. The only disappointing part was that my opponent wasn’t Reglia, but Mir.
Actually, that’s better.
Reglia was fine, but the one I was truly more interested in facing was Mir.
Until we reached our assigned spots, Reglia kept shooting me regretful glances. Her gaze was so earnest that even Mir looked back and forth between us with a dumbfounded expression.
“You two seem pretty close.”
“Do we? We only talked a little on the way here.”
And the topic had been wanting to fight each other. It seemed Reglia’s intense stare had caused a misunderstanding.
“Originally I planned for you all to spar among yourselves today. However, the higher-ups suddenly changed the curriculum. I don’t like abrupt changes without notice, but I accepted because I believe this training will benefit you more.”
“Whoa. This is a twist I didn’t see coming.”
“The training suddenly changed?”
Mir and I stared at Garein with genuine confusion. In the game this had simply been regular sparring with no new event like this. For some reason the content had been altered.
“From now on, we will send your minds into a virtual space using these items according to your assigned numbers. There, you must hunt virtual demonic beasts made of data. In a sense, this is less a duel and more a cooperative exercise. Also, because it uses the mind, even if you die inside you won’t truly die. However, you will still feel pain to some degree, so fight carefully.”
With that, Garein lifted something in his hand. It was a mysterious orb that seemed to contain captured clouds. The moment Mir saw it she nodded in understanding.
“Ah. So that’s what it was.”
“You know what that is?”
I immediately asked the seemingly knowledgeable Mir. She began explaining while looking at the glowing magic circle on the floor and the mysterious tool in Garein’s hand.
“The item Professor Garein is holding was created by a certain alchemist. It’s a piece designed for mental training and to prevent physical injury. Training with that artifact also stimulates the body, so it drew massive interest back then. But the quantity was so limited that even if you wanted one, you couldn’t get it. The academy somehow managed to obtain them. No wonder the lesson plan changed so suddenly.”
Now that I hear the explanation, it sounds strangely similar to the Soul’s Training Ground.
-Is it just me? It really does feel similar.
-It moves the mind into a subspace. Training while dreaming. Looking at it that way, they do seem somewhat alike. Of course the latter is far more effective.
All three of us had the exact same thought. No matter how you looked at it, this was eerily similar to the Soul’s Training Ground. I had been startled because no such item ever appeared in the game, but now that I understood its effect, I felt less surprised and more absurdly dumbfounded.
Whiiiiing.
“Ah, it looks like it’s activating for real now.”
“It’s really amazing…”
Flash!
“...It is, huh?”
What the—? Why did everything suddenly go dark? Did we already move? That fast?
“Looks like the transfer worked.”
“This is really the transfer?”
“Probably. There’s nothing around us. My sense of touch feels weaker than usual too.”
Following Mir’s example as she pinched her own arm, I reached up and pinched my cheek. Sure enough, the pain was much duller than normal. It felt more like a tickle. With senses this dulled, even if your body were severed it would probably only feel like a bad bruise instead of real shock.
-We transferred safely too.
-Yeah. Honestly, when they said we were moving, I thought we’d just stay outside.
-We’re probably classified as mental entities as well.
Since I could see both Cheonma and Hoya beside me, it seemed we had all transferred without issue.
“This thing is really impressive.”
“Haha. Thank you for the compliment.”
“...You?”
-Wait, why is that guy appearing here?
-Why? Who is he that you’re reacting like this?
Only Hoya tilted her head, unable to grasp the situation. Me, Cheonma, and even Mir were all visibly shocked by the man who had suddenly intruded.
“Why are you here?”
“Because I’m the developer who created this item.”
Alkest raised both hands in a surrender pose, as if to show he meant no harm. Come to think of it, creating something like this would indeed require the skill of an alchemist on Alkest’s level.
“I provided it to the academy free of charge in exchange for making a few adjustments. The fact that you three are on the same team and the reason this class changed so suddenly are both things I requested.”
“Professor Garein actually allowed it?”
“Ah, not Professor Garein. I asked someone higher up. Garein didn’t seem like the type this approach would work on.”
That made sense.
“Then why us specifically?”
“Because I’m interested in all of you.”
At Alkest’s words, Mir’s head suddenly whipped toward me.
“...So you really were the culprit from that day.”
“Oh dear. I slipped up in a way that’s unlike me. How terribly sorry I am.”
What was this? Why were both of them looking at me like that? Especially Mir—her gaze seemed somehow resentful… no, downright impure. It was like I had caused her to lose her entire fortune or something.
“Ahem. Anyway, the reason I came here is that I’d like to gather some information about you all. Naturally, I’ll provide generous compensation.”
“Information about us…”
“Information…?”
-That sounds extremely suspicious.
-His face doesn’t inspire confidence either. He looks like a crooked merchant. You shouldn’t listen to people like him!
Both Cheonma and Hoya reacted negatively to Alkest’s proposal. Even Mir’s expression showed she wasn’t particularly thrilled.
“What kind of compensation are we talking about?”
“You’re actually considering it?”
“I’ll at least hear him out first.”
-I’ve seen so many people fall for temptation and lose everything.
-Hmm. Let’s observe for now.
Wasn’t their reaction a bit too negative? It wasn’t like I had immediately agreed; I just said I’d listen. As I narrowed my eyes slightly while watching Alkest, his own eyes sparkled as if he thought I had made the right choice.
“The compensation I’ll give you is none other than…”
Thump. Thump.
“The very item you’re using right now. I’ll lend you the Dream Cloud for an entire year.”
“No deal.”
“Glad I listened.”
This was the first time I had ever encountered such a completely useless reward.