Chapter 649
Chapter Title: Departmental Warfare
-----------------------------------------------------------------
649.
The central hall of the Clock Tower Dormitory.
Befitting the massive scale of the Clock Tower Dormitory, the central hall was large enough to accommodate the entire student body without issue.
And in fact, the entire student body was currently gathered there.
“It feels like we’ve gone back to our first year.”
Chloe, who was sitting on a chair in the central hall reading a grimoire, murmured softly.
At her murmur, Karl scratched his head and nodded.
“Yeah, it does.”
The students were currently divided into three groups.
The Knight Department, the Magic Department, and the Summoning Department.
For the third-years, it was reminiscent of the departmental rivalries from when they had just enrolled.
This atmosphere felt particularly fresh, as it had been a year since they had lived in dorms without regard to their department.
For the second-years, however, this arrangement felt awkward.
From the time they enrolled, the mentor system had fostered a sense of individual competition rather than departmental rivalry.
That tendency remained strong even as the second semester began.
On the other hand, the fourth- and fifth-years were accustomed to this situation.
The first-years were cautiously observing the atmosphere among their upperclassmen.
For them, just being in the same space as the second-years was intimidating enough.
With the entire upper student body gathered in one place, they could only hold their breath.
As this peculiar atmosphere continued…
Karl clicked his tongue lightly.
“By the way… I knew it seemed too spacious.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Chloe, who had looked momentarily puzzled by Karl’s mumble, nodded in agreement.
When they first saw the dormitory building, the students had been excited by the prospect of the third-years having such a vast space to themselves.
But upon entering, they discovered it was a dormitory for all grade levels.
While it would have been spacious for just the third-years, the scale made sense if it was for the entire student body.
“Still, it’s nice that it’s big.”
Iliana chimed into their conversation.
“The dormitory building has all sorts of amenities inside!”
“Yes, it does. There was even a library. It had a lot of new grimoires.”
“Huh? There’s a library?”
“What on earth did you even look at?”
“The entertainment facilities!”
As Iliana gave a thumbs-up, Chloe shook her head.
“But why are you here?”
“Huh?”
Iliana’s eyes widened at Karl’s question.
“You’re in the Knight Department. Why are you over here?”
“What are you talking about! I take all the Magic Department major classes!”
“But your dorm is with the Knight Department, isn’t it?”
Chloe spoke without taking her eyes off her grimoire.
“Are you discriminating against me because I’m a magic swordsman? The blood of a Magic Department student flows through my veins!”
“And yet that same person went to the Knight Department dorm?”
“So mean! Are you going to discriminate against our president, too?! He’s in three different classes!”
“Leo’s different.”
“Yeah. Leo’s different.”
Iliana’s face fell at Karl and Chloe’s immediate replies.
“You’re so mean!”
“What’s with all the noise?”
“Chelsea! They’re ganging up on me.”
Iliana whined as she clung to Chelsea.
Looking at Iliana, Chelsea addressed the second-years.
“What are you doing? There’s a spy from the Knight Department here. Drag her out.”
“Don’t you have a heart?!”
Iliana shrieked at Chelsea’s mercilessness.
“Iliana-sunbaenim. Um… Celia-sunbaenim says that’s enough and to come back now.”
Just then, Luke approached and spoke cautiously.
Looking at Luke, Karl said.
“Luke, why did you go to the Knight Department? You could have easily come to the Magic Department.”
“Huh? Well… magic is too difficult. I was worried if I could do it well.”
“What a waste. Even this idiot takes magic classes just fine.”
Chelsea crossed her arms and pointed at Iliana.
“I’m not an idiot! And what’s with this temperature difference?!”
“How many times have you spied on us?”
Chelsea said, her eyes narrowing.
“A spy! I’ll say it again! The blood of the Magic Department flows through my veins…”
“Iliana-sunbaenim. Xia-sunbaenim says to stop embarrassing the department and come back quickly. She said she didn’t expect much anyway.”
“…”
Aina, who had appeared behind Luke, spoke with a deadpan expression.
“Tch! I was so close!”
“So you were trying to be a spy. And what do you mean, close?”
Karl shook his head as he watched the fuming Iliana.
Tap-!
Chloe, who had been reading her grimoire, closed the book.
Click- clack-
At the same time, Elena emerged from the back where the Magic Department students were gathered.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned to her.
As Elena passed by, her eyes met Chloe’s for a moment.
Chloe gave her a slight smile and twirled a strand of her hair as she moved to the front of the Magic Department.
“Elena-sunbae is the same as ever.”
Karl replied to Chloe’s murmur.
“Where would that presence of hers go?”
It was a presence that literally overwhelmed the room.
Its impact grew exponentially with the number of people present.
Especially for those who saw her without any immunity, it was truly captivating.
The third-years and above had grown used to it, but the second-years reacted with tense expressions at Elena's appearance.
To first-years, upperclassmen were typically god-like beings.
As such, first-years tended to avoid the areas frequented by upperclassmen.
Among them, Elena held a high position in the school, making her even harder to see.
While they might have seen her at official events, she had never openly emanated her magic like this.
In a sense, the Elena before them now was her true self.
While the second-years resisted the presence Elena exuded…
The first-years stared at Elena, completely mesmerized.
“So, so beautiful…”
Someone muttered blankly.
While the freshmen couldn’t take their eyes off Elena…
Elena, who had come to the very front of the Magic Department, gently twirled her hair and spoke.
“It looks like most of the people who can represent their departments have gathered.”
At Elena's words, Ril, who was at the very front, shot his hand up.
“Elena-sunbaenim! Runba-sunbaenim is still at the back!”
Elena looked at Ril as if he were speaking nonsense.
“Aren’t you the representative for the Summoning Department?”
“What? With Runba-sunbaenim, the top fifth-year in the Summoning Department, here, how could I possibly…”
“You be the representative. I’m going to live quietly.”
Runba shrugged from the back.
“Huh? I can’t possibly…”
“Yeah! Yeah! You be the rep.”
“We trust you more than Runba anyway, Ril.”
The fifth-year summoning students pushed Ril’s back.
“Our monster! Fighting!”
“I am not a monster!”
Ril protested to his seniors with a pained expression, but of course, the fifth-years paid him no mind.
Amidst this, Tacheon, who had stepped forward as the Knight Department’s representative, opened his mouth.
“First, let’s get a grasp of the situation.”
Currently, only students were present in the dormitory.
Beyond that, there was no information.
Hearing Tacheon’s words, Elena said.
“As you can see, all grades and all departments are using the same dormitory. And the areas are clearly divided.”
Elena’s eyes curved slightly.
“It seems this year will be a competition between departments.”
“That is correct!”
As soon as Elena finished speaking, Sedjen’s voice rang out.
As everyone looked around…
Creak-
The central hall doors opened, revealing Sedjen and Tina.
“This year will be a literal departmental showdown! Your entire department must work together to aim for victory in this competition!”
At Sedjen’s declaration, a murmur spread through the entire student body.
Elena responded to Sedjen’s words with a broad smile.
“What’s the prize for winning?”
“The prize for winning is a myriad of benefits!”
Sedjen said confidently.
“First of all! There will be no expulsions until the end of the second-semester final exams!”
Everyone wore shocked expressions at the extraordinary condition.
“In the case of the winning department, everyone will be promoted to the next grade or graduate!”
“Ooooh…!”
Cheers erupted from the first- and second-years.
“What about the departments that don’t win?”
“Expulsion will be determined based on overall grades. However, this year, the system has changed from relative to absolute evaluation.”
Hearing Sedjen’s words, Chloe raised her hand.
“My favorite student! Student Chloe! What is your question?”
“Will this dormitory system continue next year?”
“Elegant! As expected of my favorite student! Such keen insight!”
Sedjen clapped enthusiastically as he approached Chloe.
“Hold out your hand!”
At Sedjen’s words, Chloe looked flustered but held out her palm.
Taking a stamp from his pocket, Sedjen pressed it onto Chloe’s palm.
[Good Job.]
Chloe stared blankly at the words written on the stamp.
Soon, the stamped image faded away.
“Students who do something worthy of praise will be awarded a praise stamp! Praise stamps will serve as bonus points for the dormitory!”
“Why a stamp instead of points?”
When Chloe asked with genuine curiosity, Sedjen promptly replied.
“It’s my personal preference!”
With that, Sedjen returned to his spot.
“How did you know this dormitory system would continue next year?”
“The winning department gets to advance without any expulsions, right? I thought that could create a balance problem between departments next semester. And in that situation, the advancement evaluation changed to an absolute one. That means giving as many students as possible a chance to advance to the next grade.”
Chloe calmly explained her reasoning.
“The fact that there are no expulsions until the end of the year is a departmental system that inherits last year’s mentor system. So, I figured they would also create a situation where seniors would have to lead their juniors one way or another.”
That was the absolute evaluation.
Unlike relative evaluation, which determined expulsions based on rank, absolute evaluation meant that as long as you passed a certain cutoff, your advancement was guaranteed.
To gain an advantage in the departmental competition next year, it was beneficial to have as many students as possible move up.
“The main benefit is related to academic progression! There are other benefits, but I will reveal them in due time!”
Sedjen grinned.
“For now, everyone must be hungry and tired, so let’s head to the dormitory cafeteria! The school has prepared a welcoming party for the new students!”
Sedjen was smiling and heading towards the central hall doors when…
Creak-! Thud-!
“Ugh!”
The central door swung open, smacking Sedjen in the face.
Leo, who had opened the door at the perfect moment, said.
“Professor Sedjen. Are you okay?”
“Is that you, student Leo?”
Sedjen got to his feet.
“You’re late. There was an assembly notice, wasn’t there?”
“I didn’t receive one.”
Leo scratched his head.
Tina nodded in agreement.
“It seems the announcements aren’t being delivered to the clock tower. There must be an error.”
At the words of Tina, who had designed the entire Clock Tower Dormitory, Sedjen nodded.
“Hmm! I see! Be careful next time! May I have your hand? Student Leo.”
When Leo held out his hand, Sedjen stamped it.
[Try Harder.]
“In any case, late is late!”
“…Aren’t I exempt from the dormitory points anyway?”
“Isn’t it a matter of principle?”
Sedjen burst into laughter.
Leo, who was staring at Sedjen, took something out of his pocket and stamped his own palm.
Seeing this, Sedjen’s face stiffened.
“Why do you have that?”
“Professor Halind gave it to me. He said it was my authority as the student council president.”
Leo smiled and showed the [Good Job.] stamp on his palm.
“How infuriating! Halind is infuriating, and so are you! Leo Floooove!”
Sedjen threw a fit.
Leo and Tina calmed him down.
Iliana, who was watching the scene, said.
“Chen Xia.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think it’s possible to bribe our president? With a honey trap, for example.”
“Do you really think that would work?”
“Tch.”