Waste Rank's Morning Torment
Blinding morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, accompanied by the beautiful songs of birds at 7 a.m. Lur rose from her bed. But she hadn't just woken up then. She'd been tormented by nightmares, waking up repeatedly in between, and since 5 a.m., she'd simply lain there with her eyes open through the night.
"What the hell is my summon, anyway?"
It had suddenly appeared in her room at two in the morning. Mistaking her for meat, no less. When she'd cried in fear, it wiped her tears. When she'd patted its head, it vanished back into her shadow.
"It doesn't seem like a bad... kid."
If it were truly dangerous and evil, it would've eaten her while she slept. But the nightmares suggested it definitely had some sinister power.
Haa... I couldn't get a wink of sleep. I'm exhausted. But I can't skip class. This is the path I chose—I have to see it through.
She slapped her cheeks with her palms to steel herself, showered quickly, dressed neatly, and entered Classroom 1 in the Academy's first-year building.
"Look at my summon!"
"Kyaa! So cute! Can I touch it?"
"My summon's such an idiot..."
"You can tell just by looking."
"That's fucking ridiculous."
Her classmates were still bragging about the summons they'd received yesterday. As usual, Lur slunk to a seat in the corner. Pretending to study the exam material in advance, she eavesdropped on the chatter around her.
I want to chat normally with friends like that too...
I don't even know how to summon mine. The others are summoning and unsummoning theirs at will. Hell, I don't even know its name. What kind of owner doesn't know her own summon's name? I'm a total failure... If it finds out I don't know, it'll be heartbroken. Next time it comes out, I have to ask. But does it even understand people?
Sitting alone, waiting for class to start—that was when a group of girls suddenly approached her.
Please, not today... I barely slept, I'm already a wreck...
She pretended to read her book, ignoring them as best she could. But...
"Ooh, our little F-rank is studying hard?"
"Uh? Oh, y-yeah..."
In the end, she became their prey. A pack of hyenas spotting a carcass. And like always, the leader was a girl named Melle.
"Your trash F-rank summon looked so scary, didn't it? We were all shocked."
"Ah, haha... sorry."
"Think 'sorry' cuts it?"
Melle suddenly snatched the book from Lur's hands and hurled it outside.
"You made us jump, you trash F-rank bitch. Apologize properly."
"S-sorry. I didn't know it'd be like that either."
"Hah, so you're innocent 'cause you didn't know?"
"N-no, that's not..."
Melle raised her hand threateningly. Lur instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and shielded herself with her arms.
"Good morning! Getting along well with your new summons?"
Thanks to the professor's timely arrival, Melle's strike never landed. Melle put on her usual act of being a good student who even played nice with F-ranks, then sauntered back to her seat.
"Today's first lesson is the history of summons. Turn to page 34. This one's important—lots of test questions from here."
Lur reached for her book, only to realize the one Melle had thrown was the exact textbook for this class. She wanted to tell the professor she'd go get it, but leaving the building mid-lesson would look insane. Staying put would get her caught for sure. Pretending with another book had backfired last time and gotten her scolded.
What do I do... I need that book.
She fidgeted anxiously with her hands until a brilliant idea struck: say she needed the bathroom, grab the book outside, and slip back in!
Like a snake slithering along, she slowly raised her hand.
"Haa... Lur, what is it?"
"I-I need the b-bathroom..."
"Lur, don't you know this disrupts class? Why didn't you go before it started?"
"Sorry..."
The professor sighed deeply. The class snickered. Oh no... the mood's killed. Should've just stayed put. Please, Professor, let me go quick!
"Haa... Hurry back."
"Yes..."
Lur rose stealthily, tiptoeing to the back door to minimize disruption. She felt invisible stares crawling over her. Her breath came short, a heavy stone pressing on her chest.
"Trash F-rank doing trash F-rank shit, heh."
A boy's mocking laugh rang out loud enough for her to hear on purpose. She pushed open the back door and stepped out.
"Hiiing..."
Tears nearly welled up from the sadness. The world just seemed so cruel to her. Was being born F-rank such a sin? But she couldn't blame anyone—it was fate. In the end, all roads led back to blaming herself.
"Guess I'll just grab the book..."
She descended to the first floor and picked up the textbook on the grass. Now, back to class...
"Hey, trash F-rank. Follow me."
"M-Melle?"
"Yaaawn... What the? My owner's back at school already."
I woke up to find myself in school. My owner must be a total model student. Back in my high school days, I never studied in the morning. The second someone did, the whole gang swarmed for a beatdown. Unless you were top of the class, you got wrecked. Good times... those glorious high school days.
Oh? Buncha hot chicks heading over? My owner's a total badass, huh—friends everywhere.
"Your trash F-rank summon looked so scary, didn't it? We were all shocked."
That bitch? What's wrong with my looks? Owner! Hit back with "Cutest thing ever compared to your future boyfriend" or something!
"Ah, haha... sorry."
Damn, this spineless owner. Apologizing? You're too soft—way too soft. You wouldn't survive high school like that.
...This ain't high school.
Whoa? She chucked your book? Get mad, owner! But seriously, what'd my cutie pie owner do to deserve this? Weirdo bitch.
Haa... so frustrating. Can't come out though... late-stage fear of women, plus I turn mega-shy in crowds.
Ahem... Class started, owner got an earful from the prof, went out for her book. And now the book-thrower bitch is after her? Now's my chance! Was 3-on-1 before, but now it's 1-on-1! Perfect spot where no one's watching!
"M-Melle... why bring me somewhere like this..."
"Still coming to the Academy as an F-rank? No shame?"
"Huh...?"
"Yesterday was chaos 'cause of you. Not sorry to your friends?"
"Sorry..."
"Oh right, you got no friends. That's why you're a loser—no sense. Always 'sorry,' but you don't mean it, huh?"
"No, that's not..."
Suddenly, Melle kicked my owner's knee. Whoa, even between friends, that's too much!
"Ow! It hurts..."
Lur sat there, rubbing her reddened knee. Then Melle yanked her hair, forcing her head up.
"Just drop out of the Academy. You're F-rank—no hope, you know that."
"Hngh..."
"Why waste your life here? Seeing you pisses me off."
"..."
This is too far... Wait, are my owner and this Melle chick not friends? This is straight-up bullying!
Sure, hair-pulling fights happened in high school, but not on someone who doesn't wanna fight.
Then, a massive wooden puppet rose from the ground.
"See? This is my summon. Yours? You can't even summon 'cause you're so useless. Right?"
"Hic... uuhh..."
Yo, stop it. Owner's hurting. She's crying.
"Wood Golem, pick her up. My arm's tired."
"Groooarrr."
The 2-meter wooden brute grabbed my owner's neck and hoisted her up. Lur flailed to escape, but her frail body couldn't break free from the Wood Golem.
"Urk... hngh..."
"Drop out. Sharing class, air, even words with trash like you makes me wanna puke."
Haa... these bitches. What the hell you doing to my owner? Wanna die?
I slipped a hand out of Lur's shadow.
"Wha...?"