Chapter 4: Students? More Like Sacrifices
The skies above Arcanmere shimmered with ethereal banners:✨ Enrollment Open – Survive and Thrive ✨
It was a lie.
But a good one.
Liana had finally activated the Student Admission Beacon, and it pulsed across realms, planes, and possibly a few hell dimensions, calling forth magical hopefuls.
[System Notice: First student wave incoming. Estimated arrival: 10 minutes.]
She paced nervously across the courtyard.
Behind her, Professor Mordain was stacking small bones into a tower while muttering, "Let's see if the new kids scream like the last batch…"
The phoenix hatchling coughed smoke into her hood. Liana smacked it gently.
"No fire breath before breakfast."
[Warning: Not all students may be… normal.]
She stopped. "System, explain."
[Due to weakened planar filters, student candidates may include: cursed nobles, demonic hybrids, rogue magical constructs, undead scholars, and eldritch exchange students.]
"...Oh great. It's a daycare for disaster children."
Ten Minutes Later
The air cracked. Portals began to open in midair with all the drama of a magical meltdown. Students started falling in.
Literally.
The first crashed into a hedge with a grunt and a "Why does everything smell like phoenix butt!?" (Answer: the phoenix.)
Then a skeletal hand clawed its way from another portal. It was attached to a teenage lich in a hoodie that read:"I Failed Resurrection Class And All I Got Was This Shirt."
"Sup," the lich said in a monotone. "Do we get dorms, or do we just dig holes?"
Liana blinked. "You're… enrolled?"
"I paid my entry fee with a stolen soul coin. Guess it worked."
The third was a girl with blood-red hair, two horns, and a tail that kept setting bushes on fire. She landed gracefully, brushed ash off her shoulder, and eyed Liana like prey.
"Headmistress, huh?" she purred. "Do we get grades or body counts?"
"…Both?"
"Hot."
Twenty students later...
Liana was no longer surprised.
Students included:
A golem trying to sue for "emotional damages" after being awakened by accident.
A pair of twins who only spoke in riddles—and each other's voices.
A vampire who refused to leave her coffin unless someone brought her imported darkness from the underworld.
A slime girl who only communicated in jazz.
And the worst?
A human girl.
Totally normal.
Straight A's, clean robes, smiled politely.
Liana watched her like she was the most dangerous one of them all.
Later that night, Liana reviewed the student roster.
[Student Count: 34][Survival Probability: 71.3%][Unresolved Issues: Curse outbreaks, lava pool in the dining hall, missing teacher (possibly eaten), and a warlock student union forming without permission.]
"System, how do I keep them alive?"
[Daily survival drills. Magical therapy. Hostile exam schedules. Also: install more fireproof furniture.]
She sighed.
"Also, why is the lich boy digging in the courtyard?"
[He's building a sandcastle. Out of bone. It may be sentient.]
Liana set down her cup, deadpan.
"…So. Same time tomorrow?"
[Yes, Principal.]
End of Chapter 4