[No title provided]
The cycle of freshman practical training, a signature event of the academy, was upon us.
As anyone in the know would tell you, "practical training" at our academy usually meant throwing punches and clashing swords. Whether it was duels or survival exercises, the academy—ever fond of grinding students down under the motto of growth through collision—had decided on the Illusion Subjugation Battle as this session's goal.
The Illusion Subjugation Battle was a practical where you entered a space created by illusion magic and fought artificial monsters. It was designed with student safety in mind. Even if a monster attacked, you'd feel the impact, but since it was all illusion, there was no real risk of injury. The hyper-realistic sensations made students feel like they were truly facing live monsters.
In that tense atmosphere, students had to rack their brains to take down the monsters using their own abilities. The battle ended when either the student or monster fell, or when one surrendered, pulling you back to reality. In short: win a fight against virtual monsters in a virtual dimension.
"Kinda like a VR exam, huh."
The idea that something straight out of fantasy or sci-fi movies could be pulled off with magic really struck a chord in a guy's heart.
"Alright, is everyone here?"
Professor Idrus, who had gathered us in the spacious training grounds for his swordsmanship class, scanned the students to confirm attendance and drew our attention.
"I assume you've all prepared well for today's practical. I'm sorry for only revealing the details today for fairness' sake, but I believe those of you who worked hard will do just fine."
'Sorry, Professor. I didn't prepare a thing.'
I hadn't known about the practical at all, so I hadn't done any prep. The situation felt utterly absurd.
I had no ambitions for fame or titles; I just wanted a chill, laid-back school life. But since this practical counted toward our grades, bombing it could lead to a bad score. A few flops like that, and I might even get expelled for falling below standards.
At least I felt a bit relieved hearing it was just simple monster subjugation. No way they'd summon high-difficulty beasts for first-years. Fake some effort, and I'd pass easy—or so I thought.
"This practical will run a bit differently from before. You'll be teaming up with first-year magic department students."
'Huh?'
"Word is there's been friction lately between upperclassmen Aura users and mages. Fine if it's just arguments, but even in real combat against monsters, they couldn't trust each other, fought among themselves, and got seriously hurt. Pride in your power is great, but excess turns to poison. So the academy's introducing a system from this first-year class onward to foster harmony between departments."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the sudden change—swordsmanship students and magic students alike.
"Thus, this practical will pair one swordsmanship first-year with one magic first-year for the subjugation battle. Naturally, monster difficulty will rise accordingly. If you want to pass, you'll have no choice but to team up and take it down."
The professor announced the details, then called out names for the swordsmanship and magic students to form teams.
The first pair looked awkward as hell, but with grades on the line, they quickly huddled up tensely to discuss strategy. They stepped into the magic circle on the floor and vanished into the illusion space. Their feed was projected via some device for the professors to score and for the rest of us to watch.
Team after team cycled in and out. Some emerged triumphant and beaming; others flunked out forcibly and moped. All sorts passed by.
Polo got called mid-way, but his partner was some random guy mage I'd never heard of. No heroine jealousy drama meant I could breathe easy.
"Finally, the last team. Mars Noctus, Celine Euse. Step into the magic circle."
The young lady paired with me glared daggers, like it was my fault she didn't get Polo. I avoided her eyes and climbed onto the circle. As she approached for transport, she hissed low.
"Hey. You rigged this."
"I'm just a baron's kid. What power do I have to hack the academy system?"
"You pulled some stunt 'cause you wanted to team with me! Always eyeing the pretty ones."
"I'd have to be insane."
"What'd you say?"
She didn't really think I'd meddled, but she was pissed anyway. As we bickered, the illusion magic activated. A bright light swallowed us, and we shifted to the illusion space.
As we stood on the circle, I caught a fleeting red glint—but chalked it up to nerves and focused on the subjugation ahead.
The moment Mars and Celine finished shifting into the illusion space...
"Wha—what? Why's it doing this?"
The observation device blared and crapped out. The assistant messing with it panicked.
It should've streamed the virtual monsters and student battles in real-time, but it was dead.
"What's wrong?"
"P-Princess—Student Council President! It's, uh..."
The princess approached at the assistant's cry. He stammered out the details.
"Looks like a glitch in the space itself. Pull the students out and start inspections immediately."
"Yes, ma'am."
Astraia von Kailum assumed it was just an illusion space bug and ordered quick checks.
"Student Council President. Trouble?"
"Professor Ares. Nothing major. Some error in the illusion setup—the interior feed's blacked out. I've sent people to fix it."
"I see."
Professor Ares, tagging along to observe class, got the report and shrugged it off as minor.
"I told them to prioritize student safety with inspections... Maybe time to drill some discipline into the assistants."
"Not a bad idea. Valuable lesson for them."
The two casually dropped terrifying lines when a student council exec came sprinting up.
"Inspections done? Resume the practical quick—"
"President! The illusion space is functioning normally!"
"Hm? Then what's the issue?"
The exec paled, fidgeting, then dropped a bomb.
"This magic circle isn't set for the illusion space! It's a spatial transfer to some unknown location!"
"...What?"
Astraia—and even Ares watching beside her—lost their composure at the bombshell.
"I called magic department professors in a rush, but... the inscribed formula's insanely complex, and some weird energy's blocking mana use. No clue when we can decode it!"
"Damn it!"
"P-Professor! Hurry, this way!"
Even the mighty princess urged them on in a fluster. Soon, they'd witness the shocking truth: the two students had been whisked to an unknown place by some plot.
We opened our eyes amid blinding light in a massive arena. Like the Colosseum, it looked long-abandoned: heavy weathering, green moss everywhere. A faint breeze carried a fishy, musty stench.
The perfection of the illusion left me marveling again at this world's magic.
"This is the illusion? Feels way too real..."
Something squelched underfoot, sticking to my sole—flawlessly rendered. Unsettling, even.
Is this that creepy valley?
"Where the hell is this...? Never seen a space like it."
"Pardon? No such place in past practicals?"
"Nah. Seniors never mentioned anything this gloomy. Usually it's open plains with monsters everywhere, caves, or labyrinths. Never heard of something this dark and sinister."
"Maybe they added it this year? For variety and experience?"
"Could be..."
Chatting idly while scoping the area, I noticed something off.
"But... where's the monster?"
"Yeah. They usually give time to strategize or psych up, but this late?"
The arena was chill and dead silent. Only bugs crawling on the floor moved. No obvious monster in sight.
"Magic glitch, maybe. They'll handle it if we wait."
"Hah. Already pissed I didn't get Polo, now the magic's screwing with me too? You're pissed too—stay back!"
"...Sure thing."
Sighing at the young lady's grumbling—she clearly hated this—I turned to look elsewhere when...
Rumble-rumble-rumble—clank—clank—
The iron gate opposite us creaked open. Heavy chains rattled as something massive crawled from the pitch-black passage.
"Late! How long you gonna make us wait?!"
'...Something's wrong.'
An indescribable menace approached. My body bristled, screaming danger.
Footsteps grew louder, blood-scent thickening. Then it emerged, revealing its majestic, horrifying form.
"...That's a real monster? Never heard of this thing."
"..."
House-sized, with a bull's head and torso—but its limbs were like grotesquely enlarged human ones. A massive snake tail, anaconda-thick, writhed threateningly.
"Young lady, that thing's—"
"You! Butt out! Gotta show Polo my awesome side!"
I tried to stop her unease gnawing at me, but she ignored me, instantly weaving magic at the beast.
"Ice Age!"
⟨ Ice Age ⟩
A blast of cold wind from her spell erupted into an ice storm, flash-freezing the monster into a statue.
"Vulcanus!"
⟨ Vulcanus ⟩
A colossal lava spirit materialized, forging a molten hammer and smashing down with full force.
BOOM!!!
The arena shook with a deafening roar. The monster's spot exploded, dust plume rocketing skyward.
Smoke and debris obscured it, but anyone would've thought that power ended it instantly.
My instincts still screamed danger.
The young lady, smug with satisfaction, shot me a triumphant look.
"See? Super flashy, right? Polo's gonna see me in a new light—"
Thud—!
But the noise cut her off.
From the dust emerged the monster, strolling casually. Not a scratch on it. It just stared at her leisurely.
"Wh-what...? How'd it survive that—"
CRASH—!
Suddenly, it stomped, charging her with mouth gaping greedily.
