The Academy (3)
The Kardi Academy, located in the capital of Helline, was one of the top three most prestigious esper academies in the entire world. As such, its entrance examination was notoriously strict. Even if someone poured over a decade into preparing, passing was like plucking a star from the sky. Still, those students who managed to break through that rigorous test felt a deep sense of pride, believing their efforts had finally borne fruit.
But…
If a student managed to sneak into the academy that everyone else had spent over a decade grinding for, without taking the test… what would happen?
The first impression was already ruined. Skipping the test everyone else had to take? There was no way they’d hear anything good. Even before the entrance ceremony had officially begun, several student groups had already started roasting the nameless special admission student.
They said she won the lottery and donated all the money to the academy to buy her way in. Or that her parents had strong connections and pressured the dean. Once the mudslinging started, the rumors only grew thicker and more ridiculous. Even though Plea hadn’t even shown her face at the academy yet, her reputation was already plunging straight into the abyss.
And so the infamous entrance ceremony began.
*
On the rooftop of the parking lot assigned to the academy—why there was a helicopter landing pad there, I had no idea—a single helicopter descended.
“What trouble? Anyway, thanks for dropping me off.”
When Dana waved at me with a bright grin, I waved back and left the parking area.
“It’s bigger than I thought…”
As I walked from the parking lot toward the auditorium where the ceremony was being held, I realized the grounds of Kardi Academy were slightly larger than they had appeared in the game. In the game, it only took a minute to walk from the parking lot to the auditorium, but I’d already been walking for nearly five minutes.
Still, the walk wasn’t boring at all. After spending what felt like years trapped in that basement, just observing the outside scenery was endlessly fascinating. As I looked around while walking, I saw falling leaves and sparrows flying by. And people who kept glancing at me… people?
Why are they staring at me…?
When I felt their gazes and whipped my head around, the students who had been whispering while looking at me quickly averted their eyes and hurried toward the auditorium.
“What the…?”
The way they practically ran off looked incredibly suspicious, like they’d been caught badmouthing someone. But thinking that complete strangers were insulting me was probably just paranoia. Logically speaking, unless I smelled bad or something, there was no reason for people to curse at me on first sight.
So there was only one remaining possibility.
Well, even I have to admit my face is pretty.
Glossy red hair, delicate features, and ruby-like eyes. I looked like a figurine meticulously crafted by a master artisan. The saying that becoming a beautiful girl was the minimum compensation for a gender bender wasn’t a lie. Feeling a surge of unearned confidence, I flipped my hair dramatically, and the whispering grew even louder.
Being outside is already great from the start.
I smiled to myself where no one could see and stepped into the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was being held.
There were four rows of twenty-five chairs each, for a total of one hundred seats. Since there were no assigned seats in the game either, I picked one of the emptiest chairs closest to the exit and sat down.
As time passed, more freshmen trickled in until the auditorium was packed. Once it was time, several teachers warned the students to be quiet.
At the teacher’s shout, an old man stepped onto the stage at the very front.
And the speech continued.
For a full hour.
I remembered snickering while reading novels or comics where students would doze off during the principal’s speech. But from now on, I wouldn’t be able to laugh at those scenes anymore. Falling asleep during the dean’s address? That didn’t even make sense… I used to think it was natural to stay awake from the tension even if it was boring.
Now I realized how foolish my past self had been.
Damn… is it always this sleepy?
If I let my concentration slip even a little, I felt like I’d start nodding off immediately. When I looked around, the other students were the same—some were already asleep, while others pinched their thighs desperately trying to fight off drowsiness.
I turned to check the clock. The hands pointed to 10:29.
It’s almost time!
“Ugh…”
Pinching my thigh cleared my head with pain and temporarily chased away the sleepiness. I immediately got into a ready stance, prepared to kick off my chair and dash out at any moment. There was still quite a bit of time left in the dean’s speech, but I knew it wouldn’t last until the end.
The second hand ticked and reached 59 seconds. The moment it aligned vertically with the ground, it became 10:30.
Now!
At the same time, I kicked off the ground and took a backstep—
“GRAAAAAHHH!!!”
The roof of the auditorium shattered as a demon fell from the sky.
One student with quick reflexes jumped up from his seat and shouted. It was easily four times the size of a human, with a featureless face like a faceless ghost and a massive mouth on its stomach as the finishing touch. It was unmistakably a demon.
They say fear is contagious. As soon as one student screamed, most of the others who had been hesitating in confusion began shrieking and frantically rushing toward the exit.
Some might ask why aspiring heroes would be afraid of a demon, but the students here were just that—aspiring. They weren’t actual heroes yet.
I watched the scene with great interest from the second floor. Having run out first, I had climbed the stairs faster than anyone and secured the second floor, where I could leisurely observe everything happening on the first floor.
I wonder who the protagonist will be…
*
Siwoo, one of the new students at Kardi Academy, bit his lip as he watched the sudden sight of a demon falling from the sky. A demon appearing in Kardi Academy, where dozens of former heroes were stationed? It was an unbelievable sight, yet it was really happening. Siwoo took a step back and waited for the professors in the auditorium to handle it.
But the response he hoped for never came.
One student was swallowed whole by the demon’s massive mouth.
“This is insane…!”
What the hell were the professors doing?! A student had just died and they weren’t doing anything to stop the demon?
In a panic, Siwoo quickly looked toward the stage where the professors had been standing just moments ago…
“There’s no one there?!”
Not a single person remained on the stage where the dean had been giving his speech.
People were dying. The students who witnessed the horrific scene went into a frenzy and ran toward the auditorium exits.
Bang! Bang!
Several students had already thrown themselves against the doors, but for some reason the wooden doors didn’t budge an inch.
The students pushed, pulled, and tried opening the doors from side to side, but the doors seemed completely locked and showed no movement whatsoever.
In the meantime, another student was devoured by the demon. With his sleepiness completely gone, Siwoo calmly assessed the current situation. This auditorium was now a completely sealed closed room, and there were no heroes to help them. So what should he do in this situation?
He drew the sword at his waist.
And he began walking in the opposite direction of the fleeing students.
One female student grabbed his wrist and tried to drag him toward the auditorium exit.
“Let go. I’m going to kill that demon.”
But Siwoo shook off her hand and took another step toward the demon.
When he looked back, just as she said, he saw students desperately firing their abilities at the exit door. There were already small cracks forming, so it seemed possible to break it down and escape as she claimed. But…
“No. My ability isn’t suited for destruction. Even if I joined them, I wouldn’t be any help, and at least twenty people would die before that door breaks. Someone has to take that thing down.”
At the girl’s question, Siwoo shook his head.
“I’m not going to die. I’m going to kill it.”
The girl holding Siwoo’s wrist seemed to sense something. She bit her lip tightly and let go of his hand.
“Thanks.”
Siwoo offered a short word of gratitude. In a moment of madness when no one was paying attention to others, she had been the only one who worried about someone else.
Wishing for her to escape safely, Siwoo walked toward the demon.
At that moment, the girl ran up beside him.
“You could die.”
“I know. But I’m still going.”
Siwoo looked at the girl carefully. Light pink hair, tightly pressed lips, and legs that were faintly trembling. But the look in her eyes as she stared at the demon was stronger than anything.
“What’s your name?”
“Aria. What’s yours?”
“Siwoo.”
“That’s a good name.”
“Same for you.”
With a small laugh, Aria and Siwoo drew their respective personal weapons and advanced toward the cannibalistic demon.
*
“What a bunch of show-offs…”
And Plea’s quiet sneer echoed softly across the second floor of the auditorium.