Chapter 21
The Teaching Assistant's voice echoed blankly.
The Examination Hall was instantly drenched in silence.
The popping of flames died down, and even the thick heat faded from the stage.
Only two shadows flickered in the empty space.
A red-haired girl slumped over powerlessly.
And the Clown standing calmly before her.
"Hehe."
The Mask laughed quietly.
It was a sticky sound, perhaps mixed with ridicule.
As if breaking someone's towering pride.
"Ugh, urgh...."
Shariel looked up at the Clown.
Her hair soaked in sweat and her ruined pigtails added to her miserable appearance.
""....""
The spectators were watching.
The culmination of her bravado, scorched, broken, and pushed to the very edge.
-Surely Shariel won't lose, right?
-Why state the obvious?
Those who had spoken so lightly shut their mouths.
Thus, everyone in the Spectator Seats lost their voices.
However, despite the vast silence, the boy's presence alone was loud.
All eyes gathered.
A simple truth.
The strong are above.
The weak are below.
"Ugh, haa...."
Shariel's breathing trembled.
This situation itself came to her like a Nightmare.
Her sharp arrogance broken, leaving her looking nothing but pitiful.
The deep trauma within her heart swarmed.
-What... did she really lose? The Class C Top Student lost to a Class E nobody?
-Is this real? It's not just one, but a two-class difference, right?
-And to Victor? Didn't they say his overall Stat was E-rank?
-This is absurd. How could she possibly lose this?
Noise.
The noise pierced Shariel's ears.
-Was his name Victor? Is that guy really Class E? He seems pretty capable....
-No... fuck, does it still make sense for the Class C Top Student to lose to Class E?
-What does it matter? She was beaten without even putting up a fight.
-She couldn't even land a single attack, right? Not a single scratch on his body.
-A Balloon... pfft, she couldn't even pop a single Balloon with her so-called proud Magic.
They mocked her.
Becoming the target of their mockery, she received their stinging gazes.
Perhaps due to the damp whispers, she kept suffocating.
It felt like she was forced to kneel before the gallows.
"Haa, haa...."
I... lost?
It was hard for Shariel herself to believe.
No, was it closer to the truth that she didn't want to believe it?
'This makes no sense.'
Empty breaths leaked out.
Her complexion was dyed pale.
'This isn't happening.'
The Genius of Pyromancy.
The Top Student of Class C at Grandia Academy.
The prodigy of the Count Labriel Family.
'This can't be....'
Cracks formed in every single thing she had held dear.
Her mentality shattered like glass, and her gaze wandered in the air, losing its place.
Amidst all that, the sound of footsteps could be heard.
"Shariel?"
The smiling Mask.
A bizarre smile was looking down at her.
The Clown. The boy who had neutralized her Magic with just a single Balloon.
Driven to her limits, Shariel couldn't withstand the pressure he gave off.
"Eek...."
Thud-.
Her body flinched without her realizing.
Did she want to get away from the Clown?
Still slumped on the floor, she scrambled backward.
"D-Don't come any closer...."
"Oh my, what's the matter? It's as if you're scared."
Full of laughter, the boy didn't stop walking.
He seemed to be enjoying Shariel's reaction.
"Don't come near me.... N-No...."
The girl was already crushed by trauma, pushed into a mental corner.
She had no choice but to feel Fear.
Towards the ominous aura emanating from the Clown.
Towards the sense of deprivation that felt like it would crush and burst her.
"I haven't even done anything yet, though."
The Mask.
The Mask smiled.
'Ah.'
Huh.
Huh.
Huh.
Huh.
Huh.
Huh.
Since
when
was
it
smiling
like
that
again
"Princess Labriel."
S-p-l-i-t-.
The Mask's mouth tore up to the Ceiling, and its pitch-black maw opened endlessly.
Her vision was covered in darkness.
A bottomless pit devoid of light.
What unfolded within was an ocean filled with oozing pus.
Moreover, thousands of pairs of writhing tentacles without bodies.
"...."
The girl couldn't even scream.
An unfathomable height, a gaze looking down at her from far away.
An eye.
Amidst the tentacles twisted like a mountain, a massive eyeball glared wide open.
Its surface was large enough to cover several oceans of pus and still have room left.
"...."
She even forgot how to breathe.
It felt as though if she made even the slightest sound, that entity would move.
Perhaps because of a lack of breath, her lungs burned with pain.
However, even such pain was trivial compared to the terror.
Just as silence alone was overflowing.
. -. -..
It spoke to her.
-.. --- -. .----. - . ...- . .-. -.-. --- -- . -... .- -.-. -.- .... . .-. .
An incomprehensible language.
But just by meeting its gaze, it felt as though all the circuits in her brain had burned away.
-.. --- -. .----. - - .-. ..- ... - - .... . -.-. .-.. --- .-- -.
Her vision blacked out as if she had gone into shock.
Her consciousness faded.
The
girl
could
not regain
her
senses
at all.
'Oops, was that too much?'
Victor thought as he looked down at Shariel sprawled on the floor.
She had fainted, foaming at the mouth.
He only meant to scare her a little, but it seemed he hadn't controlled his intensity well.
As he stood there scratching his head, Teaching Assistants rushed over to check Shariel's condition.
'Well, she probably just passed out....'
Victor subtly shifted his gaze.
Caught at the edge of his vision were the Students in the Waiting Area.
The Class C and Class E Cadets were staring in this direction.
Their eyes were blank.
It was the obvious reaction of people who were in shock.
""....""
The glorious stance of a winner.
The Clown flashed a V-sign with his fingers at them.
"So."
An irresistible ritual for any gamer.
"Anyone else got a problem with my lackeys?"
Mocking the enemy team that had been utterly crushed.
It was the perfect teabagging.
After that.
Class E's Freshman welcome exam came to an end just like that.
***
The day after finishing the Freshman welcome exam.
I was walking through the morning sunlight.
The breeze brushing past felt refreshing.
'This isn't too bad once in a while.'
Walking to school on my own two feet.
Since I've been riding a Rickshaw for the past few days.
I strolled across the campus with the Status Window open in front of me.
[Reward Details]
-Acquired Title The One Who Collects Illusions
-Unlocked Status Window feature Illusion Collector
The Freshman welcome exam.
A message that popped up the moment the duel ended.
It stated that a reward was given for fulfilling the conditions.
"Hmm...."
I had already skimmed through the rewards.
After closing the message, I opened the Status Window once more.
Ding-!
――――
[Status Window]
Name : Victor
Title : The One Who Collects Illusions
Equipped Items : Mask of the Evil God, Robe of the Evil God
Active Set Effect : The World Seen by ■■■.
.
.
[Illusion Collector]
1.Step Skip
2.Slowdown
3.Parrying
-> If a single Illusion is used 30 times or more, it is registered in the collector.
-> Illusions registered in the collector drastically reduce the burden on the user.
――――
Illusion.
Perhaps it meant a Bug.
I read down the contents organized in the Status Window.
'Reduce the burden, huh....'
I had a guess about what this meant.
The nausea and headaches that felt like they were scrambling my brain whenever I used a Bug.
Because of this, there were restrictions on spamming Bugs.
In fact, after the exam ended yesterday, I threw up in the bathroom for a long time.
'If it reduces that, it is an incredibly good reward for me.'
After testing Slowdown a few times, the nausea was definitely less than before.
An unexpected harvest.
'To think the registration condition is over 30 times....'
I certainly did use Bugs like crazy yesterday.
Perhaps those accumulated and reached the realm of unlocking the feature.
'I wondered if I overdid it a bit yesterday, but it actually turned out to be a benefit.'
Thanks to that, my commute to school today was also light.
As I took my steps, the front pocket of my School Uniform wiggled.
Perhaps still drunk on sleep, the Bat had hazy eyes.
[Victor....]
"Yes, Princess."
[Are you walking to school today?]
"I told the kids to take a break just for today. Everyone must have had a hard time suffering such humiliation yesterday."
[What a shame. It was really nice being able to travel while lying in bed....]
"It cannot be helped. You could say it is for Player protection. Even marathon runners take a good rest for a few days after running a race, right?"
[Marathon...? What is that?]
"It is roughly something similar to Malatang."
[I see....]
I do not know what she was agreeing to, but anyway, the Princess stretched.
The blinking Bat soon tapped on my chest.
[By the way... you were quite harsh yesterday.]
"If you mean yesterday, you must be talking about Princess Labriel."
[Right, did you say her name was Shariel...?]
"I simply repaid what I suffered. If you intend to mock others, you must also be prepared to be mocked yourself."
[A Monarch who is too cruel will only buy Fear....]
"That much should be enough, so it is fine. I do not particularly have any thoughts of wanting to be respected by those around me. Rather, it is more comfortable for me to act quietly like this, just the two of us, Princess."
[If that is what Victor thinks, it cannot be helped.]
Nodding her head, the Princess leaned back again.
I walked carefully so she would not be uncomfortable.
Before long, we arrived at Main Building E.
'Everyone must be depressed.'
Since they were trampled so badly yesterday, I thought the mood might be like a funeral home.
Expecting a gloomy atmosphere, I opened the classroom door.
Creaaak-.
"...?"
The next moment, what was reflected in my eyes were the kids lined up in a row.
As their eyes met mine, the Shuttles standing at the very front bowed.
Their straight backs bent at a 90-degree angle.
""Welcome, Hyungnim!!""
A perfect right-angle bow that I had only heard of.
Unlike usual, it was even a resounding greeting.
Far from being discouraged, everyone had brightly shining eyes.
I could not help but be flustered by the unexpected reaction.
"Umm...?"
The collectively sparkling eyes of Class E.
Every single one of those gazes was looking at me.
"We have been waiting for you, Hyungnim!"
"Hyungnim! Come sit over here!"
"We prepared a Cushion for you in advance!"
"E-Everyone...?"
What the, what is this.
Why are you guys acting like this.
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