“Kim Han-sol.”
“Yes.”
“Na Ye-ji.”
“Yes.”
“NoName.”
“…”
“NoName? Is NoName student not here?”
*
“Ha Ji-won.”
“Yes.”
Why haven’t I been called?
All twenty names have been called, but mine hasn’t come up yet.
Counting the number of children sitting in the classroom, there are twenty-one in total, including me, but the count is only twenty.
Since the classes go from A to D, I thought the class that looked the least populated in the hallway would likely be where I was supposed to be and went in.
But I hadn’t considered that some were still coming back from the bathroom, so my guess was a failure.
I decided to raise my hand and honestly ask the D-class homeroom teacher.
“I think I found the wrong class. Can you tell me which class I am in?”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s NoName.”
“Let’s see.”
The teacher checked the entire list of the grade on the electronic device connected to the teacher’s desk.
“Not in A class… not in B class… so C class… not there either? Can you tell me your name again?”
“No. Na. Me.”
I carefully pronounced each syllable again, but the teacher still tilted their head in confusion.
“Strange… is this a computer error? I can’t find you no matter how much I search. Do you remember your entrance exam number by any chance?”
“Entrance exam? I came as a transfer student.”
What on earth is an exam number?
“Which grade are you in?”
“2nd grade… isn’t this the classroom?”
“This is 1st grade D class.”
Silence hung heavy.
I glanced at the girl sitting next to me who had been sniffling just moments ago, and at the boy behind me who had been amusing himself with an eraser.
Yeah, it didn’t make sense.
Is this really the same 2nd grade as me…?
I found myself almost missing Professor Cheon, who had been discussing the consistency of the Peano axioms and Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with me just yesterday.
These kids must have gone through a strict selection process and been chosen as elite, so should I be glad I don’t have to worry about the nation’s future?
I hurriedly slung my bag over my shoulder and asked where my assigned class was.
“You’re in 2nd grade A class. You’ll need to go across to the other building via the Cloud Bridge. Can you get there alone?”
“Just give me a rough idea of the way.”
It’s only natural that I was out of breath going up and down stairs in this bad health of mine while running around this building and that one.
I sat for a moment on the stairs and took a sip of the potion I had kept safe in my backpack.
“Ha.”
What was the boy’s name again? Si-hoo?
He seemed to think of me as a 1st grader.
I was happy to receive his help, but I never imagined I would be put in such a situation.
[2nd Grade A Class]
After a long struggle, the sign marking the end of my journey dangled in the wind.
The chilly March wind swept through the hallway, so I closed the window.
At the very least, I hope I found the right place this time.
Creek, creak. Creak.
Why do electronic devices and transportation come with cutting-edge technology, yet classroom doors are still sliding doors?
The creaky door opened and got stuck halfway, rattling annoyingly.
My plan to quietly enter and sit in an empty seat was shattered, and in an instant, all attention focused on me.
“NoName?”
“Yes.”
“You’re quite late.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For now, go to an empty seat and sit down.”
I didn’t bother to make excuses for being fifteen minutes late.
It wasn’t entirely because the 1st grade class called attendance late or anything.
A familiar figure waved at me from a seat by the window.
“Hey! Na-me, hello!”
Seori fluttered her bright blue eyes like a deer.
She must have been really happy to see me again after such a long time.
But since someone had already taken the seat next to her, I had no choice but to look for an empty seat elsewhere.
*
“Hello?”
“Ah… yeah, hello.”
Si-hoo replied awkwardly to Na-me’s greeting.
Si-hoo thought he had done well by entering the classroom on time and playing the exemplary upperclassman role by not missing his junior’s predicament.
[Is it a name I’ve never heard before?]
[NoName? Must be the transfer student! Our class!]
[Oh, really?]
But when the homeroom teacher mentioned her name, he realized the mistake he made.
She was not a 1st grader but a 2nd grader like him.
Fifteen minutes later, seeing her again, she looked far more haggard.
“Can you tell me the announcements?”
“Oh, I wrote them down here…”
“Thanks.”
Si-hoo showed her his notebook containing the notes he had taken.
While Na-me copied the content, Si-hoo curiously watched her.
Before the spring break began, Si-hoo was one of those who had heard from Seori about the identity of the transfer student.
She supposedly defeated higher-grade students with just a wave of her hand or was able to cast fourth-circle magic without the need for complex casting.
How much of those absurd claims could possibly be true was yet to be seen.
She looked really small and fragile, though.
Honestly, I thought the chance of Seori’s bragging being 90%, no, even 95%.
A 2nd-grade elementary student wielding fourth-circle magic was as ridiculous as the rumor that the transfer student was a spy raised by an anti-government crime organization.
What era are we in?
“Here, you wrote well.”
Na-me finished taking notes and returned the notebook to Si-hoo.
It was quite a bit of content that was swiftly written down.
“Wow? You write really fast.”
“Speed is as vital to a wizard as life itself. A slow wizard is the first to die on the battlefield.”
“Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
Dying just because one’s hands are slow?
Isn’t it too unfair a cause of death for an epitaph?
“Do you really think so? I’ve seen a lot.”
“…?”
“Don’t wizards usually draw magic circles with their fingers? A person’s field of vision is only 140 degrees. Especially when concentrating, like when drawing a magic circle, it gets even narrower.”
“And?”
“If they choke you from behind before you finish casting, then like this.”
Quack!
With the cute sound, the girl stuck out her tongue.
Si-hoo dismissed her words as nonsense.
“If an attack seems likely, a wizard would stop casting.”
“Then just let the incomplete magic circle go wild. Over level 3 means at least second-degree burns.”
The face would probably just melt away.
What a chilling thought.
Si-hoo decided to tune out of the girl’s strange musings.
There’s nothing more absurd than discussing battle magic.
Since it’s in practice where theory diverges the most, talking about it wouldn’t yield any real benefits.
The homeroom teacher was enthusiastically informing about the 2nd-grade schedule.
Distribution methods for textbooks, locker locations, important schedules for midterms and finals, most of these were things I already knew.
After all, what you learn in 2nd grade is hardly beyond elementary school level, so it wouldn’t differ much from 1st grade life.
There wasn’t really a proper time for serious magic practice except during clubs or elective classes.
But Na-me was tapping her pencil on her notebook so annoying that I couldn’t help but wonder if she was doodling.
‘Is she doodling or something?’
As the sound echoed in my ears, Si-hoo unwittingly cast a glance at her notebook and could hardly believe his eyes.
[Academy Invasion Route]
Her hand clearly circled the word “Invasion,” and next to that, “Kidnapping” couldn’t be ignored either.
“Why?”
“Nothing! I’m sorry.”
Si-hoo quickly averted his gaze from Na-me.
‘Really? Was that for real?’
Is this child a spy from a criminal organization?
Or how are you going to explain that?
Invasion of the academy, kidnapping someone.
A rush of suspicion arose that maybe her appearance of vulnerability was just a disguise.
“And today, we have a transfer student in our 2nd grade A class. Na-me, can you come forward?”
Na-me casually closed her notebook where she had been doodling and stood up.
Her steps were light.
More than that, there wasn’t even a sound from her shoes.
Now that I think about it, she wasn’t wearing sneakers but dress shoes, and yet there was not a creak or clatter to be heard, which felt so strange.
“Can you introduce yourself to the friends in A class?”
The homeroom teacher looked upon Na-me with a warm expression.
The girl began to speak.
“Hello, I’m NoName, who transferred from Sea Star Elementary School.”
She surveyed the class before calmly stating,
“I hope you all have a fun school life together.”
*
‘Next time, should I wake up alone?’
While playing with Laura and Wagal, I suddenly hit a wall in the story and wondered why until I realized that entering the Nightmare difficulty had a minimum age restriction of 15.
Since I had never officially registered before, I wouldn’t be affected by these restrictions, but Laura’s entry into the story was completely denied.
In other words, it meant I had to start all over again.
‘Should I just grind through the main quest by myself and do side quests with Laura?’
Originally, we didn’t even play for the purpose of clearing, but started the game to teach Laura magic.
But once I started playing, the story turned out to be quite interesting, and I wandered around without a plan to find myself facing this obstacle.
“Indeed, being alone seems better.”
