<841 - Oath of the Soul (2)>
The overwhelming mana disaster tears apart even the Holy Domain of the Supreme God.
And now, we must escape beyond the barrier where that mana disaster rages.
“Please save us, Professor!!”
“A Special Class student will die if swept away by the storm!!”
“Don’t make us do things Oknodie can’t do either!!”
The Foundation Faction Professors looked at each other and chuckled.
“I’m Riventrop, a professor from the Foundation’s upper-level butler background. Let me correct a few misunderstandings. We did not bring you here to kill you. A storm won’t sweep you away if you’re careful. Lastly, the Agassi will also be joining all training processes.”
A strong will to somehow push everyone into that abyss while clenching their teeth! However, the Foundation Faction Professors also had unexpected traits that the existing academy professors lacked.
“Also, our faculty will participate in all of this. It means that we are not just pushing the students into danger; we will also teach lectures in the same environment.”
The students were deeply moved by the professors’ leading by example attitude.
“Did you just say danger?”
“I definitely heard that.”
“They plan to follow us in so we can’t escape and get us in trouble… those wicked Foundation folks…”
The spirit of leading by example among the professors is uncommunicated!
With a bit of annoyance, the professors said bluntly.
“Follow me. If you don’t enter before the trajectory of the spatial protection disappears, the impact of the storm will grow stronger, and you could be swept away far away, so please be careful not to miss it.”
Even when the professor walked out of the barrier, none of the students, including myself, thought to follow.
The professor stated.
“The barrier will be turned off soon.”
As everyone clamored to be the first to leave, a student who accidentally had their arm slip outside the trajectory was barely returned to the ground by the professor’s magic.
“Line up and keep your order. If there’s a collision or a scuffle inside the trajectory, both sides will be sent flying.”
Civilized people are courteous in the face of violence!
The overwhelming natural disaster forced the chaotic students to adopt a queuing culture and orderly movements. Otherwise, they would die!
“…how embarrassing.”
“Cheer up, Ishtar! You looked super cool earlier!”
“Stop. Please don’t talk to me right now…”
“Yes! Everyone, Ishtar wants to be alone! Let’s not talk to her for the rest of the day!”
“Ahh~ haha! Just like an evil child, you’re really doing something naughty!”
Ishtar’s resentful gaze felt unjust.
She wanted to be alone, and I made the announcement for her—why’s she glaring at me?
[You’re tormenting a friend who is trembling with shame. Aren’t you too wicked?]
[Evil Child Experience Points +1]
[Prank Experience Points +1]
I brushed aside the small function increase notification that caught my eye for the first time in a while and paused.
But who presents this system window anyway? Is there some kind of God of the System out there? In order to affect the world, wouldn’t you need to at least show the World Domain…?
Is it something similar to a points system? Just as the deities trade their faith points, the principal also grants and trades points as a manifestation of faith in the principal’s role in academy life.
If the system is indeed a result of a divine accord, I could understand… but there must be a subject behind it.
The subject of the points system would be the Supreme God and the main 24 divine classes, along with the lesser demigods and those who once competed in faith against them, the fallen Temple of Demigods.
A visible system created by the gods to prevent themselves from being forgotten and disappearing in the human world!
Yet, there was clearly a “personality” peeking through in the system window.
[…]
Look at this.
Usually, it’s all “Good Job!” when I do anything, giving me a treat, and as soon as it talks about itself, it goes quiet like a ghost!
Moreover, no matter how I think about it, something feels off.
It looks different from the status window I see in games!
In games, it was more… how did it look again?
[Cognition Decrease 50000 Counter Check]
[Insufficient competence.]
[Decreased requirement cannot be met.]
[Counter Check Failed]
[Judgment result is blind-processed.]
I can’t quite grasp it…
But this isn’t the time to worry about such things!
“If I make it back alive, I’ll marry my childhood friend I left in my hometown…”
“I’ll be good in front of Mom, so please pray for me to come back alive… and I won’t complain about how suspicious my new dad looks…”
The brutal scene that unfolded beyond the limited activity area created by the professors was enough to make even the students who had attended the Special Class Spirit Body lecture pray desperately.
A gigantic hedgehog peeking through a dimensional crack was struck and swiftly whisked away out of sight in the blink of an eye.
A fire spirit that chased after the scent of humans was extinguished in the wind and died instantly.
A high-ranking spiritual corpse tracker from the dimensional rift crouched down in the fierce wind as if its soul would be scattered and shrieked, desperately fumbling to find the entrance it had come in.
In the middle of hellish terrain, it was clear just by looking that this was no land where living beings could survive!
“We’ve come far enough. Now that we’ve arrived at the lecture hall, I will begin the actual training. First, let me tell you about today’s lecture topic.”
“The Foundation has long fulfilled its role as the guardian in the shadows of the Middle Realm, attacking invasion species from the dimension beyond and defending against invasions.”
“When expanding power in the shadows, we frequently encounter betrayers and lackeys of invasion species who make contracts with the dimension’s spirits or invasion species to gain their investments while selling out their kin or creating invasion strongholds.”
The Foundation has long acted as humanity’s protector.
However, now the Foundation’s power has greatly declined.
“After the Director’s death, the attacks from nations worldwide towards the Foundation intensified, and the public hunt for Foundation Scholarship Students began, vastly reducing the Foundation’s operations against inter-dimensional invasion and detection of invading species.”
“Therefore, the Foundation has arranged to share the dimension training and practical skills it has devoted itself to with the students of Gift Academy so that they may continue the Foundation’s role.”
“This agreement was made through the benevolence of Oknodie, the rightful heir of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation and head of the Organization that Plays with Oknodie. Everyone, please give a round of applause.”
It was you.
It was you.
With sharp gazes from all around, applause filled with anger echoed like slap slap, stinging my skin.
“Ugh, how could you introduce me like that!”
“Typically, at your age, introducing your family or organization’s work in front of outsiders can be quite embarrassing. I believe that in time, you will come to take pride in it.”
“Let’s fight about family matters later. So, what should we do in this hellish place?”
As if her grand ambitions crumbled like failed enhancement attempts, Ishtar asked with her spirit exhausted!
The head butler professor nodded and pulled out a large cage from inside his formal jacket pocket, larger than me.
“Dimension-invading species usually press humans in environments uninhabitable to most living beings, showcasing their honed skills and combat know-how. Those invasion species that survived in harsher environments tend to be even stronger.”
“Thus, the Foundation concluded that surviving in the extinction realm, where no life can survive, would make one stronger than any invasive organics.”
“You will train to cultivate various means of survival in this waiting hell’s Deadly Realm while enduring and surviving for a certain period.”
Mandela, the upperclassman, stopped her haha laughter and raised her hand seriously.
“Looks like you have a lot of questions. We’ll take a moment for questions. Mandela Castera, third-year. Please, ask your questions.”
“Is this for real? We’ll die before we even get to see the invasion species?”
“Only those humans who survive in environments capable of killing invasives can survive in the hostile worlds of invasion species. Just like how the Golden Magical Girl Avalon survived the Prill vapor incident.”
“That person was originally a Foundation spy, right?”
“That’s why she survived. If you follow our curriculum properly, even those weaker than her can survive the same situation.”
The Prill vapor incident was a horrendous tragedy known for the professors suffering numerous casualties.
The upperclassmen trembled at the thought of becoming involved in that dreadful event.
“A simple question. Would you rather thoroughly struggle in class and survive the reality later, or survive now without taking the lecture and face death in the future when push comes to shove?”
“!!”
“Which side do you prefer?”
One upperclassman came up with a ridiculous excuse.
“A gentleman doesn’t go to dangerous places; a student from the Eastern Empire said that too. From today onward, refer to me as ‘The Gentleman.’”
Then, numerous seniors raised their hands.
“The Gentleman is so cool! I want to be one too.”
“I’ll become a gentleman!”
“I’m a gentleman too!”
The professors opened the return gate without further ado.
“The Foundation respects the opinions of its students. Gentlemen, please return now.”
Second and third years watched the seniors enviously, pondering whether to also become gentlemen.
Kasia and Ishtar stared at me and asked.
“Aren’t you going to be a gentleman?”
“Oknodie, it’s a good opportunity. Hurry and become a gentleman!”
“Becoming a gentleman will only get us targeted by the professors. It’s clearly a trap!”
“Why?”
“They even opened a return gate. So why now?”
The answer was simple.
“How are you going to enter the gate?”
“Oh.”
“This is just an unrealistic pie in the sky.”
Even the Supreme God could not maintain the domain as it was opened from far away, so how could the gate opened within the Deadly Realm have a wide range?
The gate the professor opened is a separate one made by the professor, detached from the safety zone.
Only those competent enough to carry out the objective of surviving the crazy storm in the Deadly Realm can approach.
“Even if I open a door, you aren’t able to cross over. Your enthusiasm is quite impressive. I’m touched by your passion.”
“This—this is rigged…!”
“We can’t pass through!”
“Don’t be embarrassed. You can begin your training step by step tailored to your enthusiasm. First, we will practice the Binding Magic to bind the ground with yourself using Earth Magic. If you don’t achieve success within the time limit, you may be swept away by the storm, so do your best.”
The Foundation-style lecture, where failing in the training could endanger your life, officially began.
