Chapter 231: The Beginning of the Academy’s New Term (6)

Chapter 231: The Beginning of the Academy’s New Term (6)

If a rumor spread about a girl sneaking into the boys' dormitory late at night, it would likely cause a fuss. However, Edna and Baek Yu-Seol weren’t the type to care about such things.

"What’s up?"

With a weary face, Baek Yu-Seol asked as Edna squeezed into his dorm room.

Plop!

"Ahhh~"

Edna sprawled out on his bed, flailing her arms and legs.

"Is this the Class S bed?"

"You're in Class S too."

"I share a dorm with the Class F kids. Didn’t you know that?"

"How would I know?"

"Well. I've occasionally crashed in the Class A or Class D dorms, but this is the best. I've never used a Class S bed before."

Baek Yu-Seol glanced at the porridge brought by Edna.

Many students had come to visit him, and while some girls had brought homemade dishes, Edna had brought cheap instant porridge from a convenience store.

"... Why?"

"I don’t get many chances to visit the Class S dorms. The girls here all have horrible personalities, and if I went to the boys' dorm, I'd get in trouble. Plus, Class A has two-person rooms, but Class S has single rooms, right?"

"Isn’t it a big deal?"

He had no appetite and wasn’t particularly drawn to any food, but he figured porridge might be manageable, so he put it in the dorm’s microwave.

... However, he didn't know how to use it.

Unlike the microwaves of the 21st century, the machines in Aether World had buttons replaced with magic circles and runes, making the controls quite complicated.

While Aether residents were familiar with using magic circles as simply as pressing buttons, Baek Yu-Seol was not.

Having never used the dorm’s kitchen appliances, he didn’t know how they worked.

'My Sentient Spec...'

As he fumbled around in his pockets, Edna approached and pressed the magic circles with her fingers, operating the microwave for him.

"So are you sick, Ahjussi?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I’ve been going through a tough time lately."

"Hmm~ Does it have anything to do with the Star Cloud Merchant Guild issue?"

After returning to Stella, Edna saw the article about the Star Cloud Merchant Guild’s chairman, who had gone missing and then dramatically returned.

Baek Yu-Seol’s involvement was prominently mentioned, so she couldn’t help but notice.

"Not quite. It’s something else."

"... Really?"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The microwave beeped.

Baek Yu-Seol took out the porridge and started eating it slowly with a plastic spoon.

Lying with her legs crossed, Edna saw the bread and snacks piled on the table and nudged them with her foot.

"Aren’t you going to eat the cotton cookies?"

"You can have them."

"Thanks!"

As Edna picked up the candy box with her toes and brought it to her, Baek Yu-Seol looked at her incredulously.

Then he shrugged, realizing that’s just how she was, and continued eating his porridge.

"But you know."

Edna popped a candy into her mouth and spoke softly to Baek Yu-Seol, who was quietly eating.

"Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard lately?"

"... What do you mean?"

As the tension finally released after running non-stop, the accumulated fatigue was hitting him all at once.

“From now on, you will train to find the 'hiding places of dark mages.'”

Instructor Lee Han-wol explained to the Class S students gathered in the transformed Stella Dome. It was now a dense forest.

“Dark mages hide all over the world, creating lairs that are difficult for us mages to find. If they hide, we must train to find them.”

Among the mandatory subjects in the first semester was 'Dark Mage Psychology.'

Why do dark mages act the way they do?

How should we fight them?

Where do they hide?

After studying these countless theories for half a year, it was time to put them to use.

There were many factions among the mages. Among them were those who, rejected by the magical world, walked the path of dark magic...

Notable examples included dark mages, necromancers, witches, and curse mages.

Unlike typical dark mages who made direct contracts with the otherworld, those individuals accepted dark mana but had no direct connection to the otherworld.

Because of this, they were irregular beings rejected by both the magical world and the dark mages.

“Currently, witches are known to be completely extinct, and most necromancers have also hidden and vanished, so there’s no need to train for them. However, twelve years ago, a witch's lair thought to be completely gone was discovered, causing a commotion.”

Though it happened when the students were only five years old, the incident was so famous that everyone nodded in acknowledgment.

Despite their small numbers, witches were extremely dangerous.

Ordinary mages couldn’t even hope to face them, leading to the formation of special hunting teams just for witch hunts.

Witches had disappeared from the world several decades ago, and it was thought to be safe now... Until a witch's lair was suddenly discovered.

“Thus, the magical community concluded that a very few witches must still be hiding somewhere in the world.”

Therefore, magical academies continued to include stories about witches in their curriculum.

No one knew when or where someone might encounter a witch.

"While classes from F to A will form their own teams, you will work individually. Moreover, you will aim for the lairs of special dark mages, not the usual ones."

Lee Han-wol didn’t mention witches for no reason. As expected for the Class S, they would be tasked with finding the lairs of special dark mages.

“The results of this practical training will be reflected in your performance evaluations, so do your best. That’s all.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Han-wol’s figure became blurry and then disappeared.

Silence quickly fell over the forest.

The Class S students glanced at each other, and without a word, began to scatter in all directions.

Mayuseong looked at the forest with interest before following Haewonryang, who had started first.

Upon meeting each other’s gaze, Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon were startled and quickly turned away, heading into the forest in opposite directions.

Poong Ha-rang stayed behind until the end, observing the students’ movements.

There was no benefit to overlapping routes, and he planned to remember the positions of the fastest students to decide his own search line.

He glanced in the direction where Edna was standing.

"Hmm..."

She seemed to be deep in thought and just stared at the forest.

Then, she hurriedly ran over to Baek Yu-Seol, who was standing there yawning, and whispered something in his ear.

Poong Ha-rang tried not to pay attention.

He focused on surveying the terrain, sensed mana, guessed the most likely hiding spots for dark mages, and analyzed the positions and movements of the Class S students.

He needed to find the dark mage’s lair faster than anyone else...

"... Really?"

Baek Yu-Seol’s voice drifted around.

"Yes. I’m telling you!"

Along with Edna’s excited voice.

Soon, the two disappeared into the forest together.

Poong Ha-rang, who had been focused on them, couldn’t resist and started walking in the direction they had gone.