“Anyone want coffee?”
My words hung in the air inside the greenroom as I looked at all the people in the greenroom.
Silence. Silence. And then they all raised their weapons. A collective, synchronous schwing resounded in the air as their blades swept out of their belts.
The ones closest to me, sitting on the chairs, leapt off the ground and jumped straight at me.
“Well, at least I asked.”
The first one jum...
2024-03-07 21:29:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe enormous dome of the Velvet Veil stood proud in the city. Far away from the central streets was the newest theater in Glorenstein.
It was a place made by a playwright from the capital a few years before the war started. Thanks to the nature of the plays that appealed to not just the citizens, but also to the young and juvenile students studying in the academy, it quickly became a big hit.
Richard and I adjusted our clothes and ...
2024-03-05 20:39:56 +0000 UTC View PostI led Richard through the labyrinthine outskirts of Glorenstein, toward the building I had once broken into personally.
Richard followed me curiously as we closed in on the worn house. The door was still broken with no wooden lock on it.
Wild grass grew far up from the ground and scuffed our trousers, almost as if they would prickle my skin.
I placed a hand on the door and pushed it slightly, revealing the inside. Yet again, ...
2024-03-04 19:41:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Why did we have to put on these clothes?” asked Richard as he adjusted his coat.
The day after the two of us met Gladwin, we were out on the streets again.
If I was going to play detective, then the get-up was necessary. I didn’t own a deerstalker, but an Inverness coat was easy to grab. The idea that, being the soldier myself, I should let Richard handle the detective-ing came to mind.
But it was far too fun an opport...
2024-03-03 20:10:55 +0000 UTC View PostMrs. Frock was very excited today. She giddily welcomed everyone to her shop with sweets.
“When my son was a child,” she said. “He always said he’ll go to the capital and become a big man, that he would make me never work a day.”
Richard and I sat in the lounge of her boutique as we watched her pace about and fetch the latest in style for Richard.
Her mouth didn’t stop for a second...
2024-03-02 21:18:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe hiss of gasses merged with the beeping of the alarm.
Cold mist burst out of the capsule as a hand clasped the corners of the metal casket.
A pale, thin hand.
“I…”
Low, grueling, the voice echoed in the chamber filled with noises. The hand pushed down on the capsule, and slowly, a woman’s figure waded through the cold mist.
Red hair flowed down her back, while her every labored breath made her pale skin...
2024-03-02 12:48:38 +0000 UTC View PostHe was pulled into the game.
A blink. That was all it took. In a single blink, his room had disappeared, and he was lying in this… strange place.
Clang-clang went the cold metal floors as he paced around the small, dark room. He wasn’t wearing his shoes and was still in his jammies.
His mind was spinning at first. He had tried panicking and screaming for help, but nothing worked. And the dim red light blinking from the si...
2024-03-02 12:47:09 +0000 UTC View Post
There is a chance to take the world back, and only you can do it.
An intrusive ad with a fake close button popped up on his screen, and when he opened his eyes again, he had become the last human on Earth.
Now stuck inside Last Hope Penitentiary, the Warden was the only one who could control the worst c...
2024-03-02 12:45:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe thwacks of swords rang out in the recreational center after classes today too.
The Black Rose Club was in session and the kids were out and about on their own tasks. They still seemed to have a preference for using the grounds, but the students had also started to utilize the training grounds in the recreational center.
I sat with my hands crossed and watched them all. Ah, how peaceful.
Ever since Ier had fought in the ex...
2024-03-01 22:55:49 +0000 UTC View PostThe final notes of the symphony came to an end, and with it, my eyes snapped open. The disc hadn’t ended, there was still more music to come, but this much silence was enough to wake me up.
I stretched my hands above my head and propped myself on the bed.
Another day began.
I slid off the bed and walked over to the windows. The curtains rolled open, the windows fell back, and sunlight entered the room. It was necessary to g...
2024-02-29 21:36:29 +0000 UTC View PostI dusted my shoulders and stepped over to Ier.
The air around us had turned cold from the effects of the spell. In the middle of the thicket of trees, a giant pillar of ice held the slimy chimera. I guess the Glorenstein Press Circle was going to have another new attraction to add to their pamphlets, though I doubt this one would last long.
Ier was busy staring at the ice, and then at his hands as if he couldn’t believe he had do...
2024-02-28 21:21:27 +0000 UTC View PostI whistled atop a tree as I saw Ier slice down the whip of the giant chimera.
There it was. He finally managed to use his mana like a weapon. This usage of mana alone would increase his spells’ power by many times.
If he could compress mana and use what nature had given him in a better way, then even with low stats, he would be able to counter the ones who did not know how to use their mana.
A slither rang as the whip, whic...
2024-02-27 21:28:23 +0000 UTC View PostA chimera…
The monster made of many monsters. Its green flesh bubbled out as if it was boiling alive. Steam emerged from its body which was littered with many mouths and eyes.
Every time the bubble of flesh burst out, thicker, greener blood spurted to the ground.
Prince Ier was stuck in his place, his feet rooted. An average chimera was already strong, but this crazy monster in front of him…
How could it be… how d...
2024-02-27 00:35:08 +0000 UTC View PostI tapped a cup of cold lemonade on Ier’s head.
The boy had buried his face in his palms as he sat on the bench.
“It’s fine, Student Ier. You fought well.”
“Gah… don’t…”
Ier only groaned at my words. The entire Black Rose Classroom was here.
After the fight had ended, the kids stayed around to talk and chat with the others. A lot of the spectators were interested in both parties, but a lot of them...
2024-02-26 23:37:36 +0000 UTC View PostPrince Ier raised his spear high and closed his eyes.
He could feel the culmination of his week-long efforts in his body, in his very bones.
It was a bit over a week when he had seen the results of the status check.
No traits. Everything at Low. It felt like another hit on the head. He was always the disposable child. From being sent to this academy, to everything that had happened at his home.
His elder brother, the cr...
2024-02-26 23:35:25 +0000 UTC View PostA large crowd had gathered at the Raphael Training Center. The day was sunny and the clouds were clear.
Students from all classes, departments, and majors alongside many professors stood around the elevated arena. Made of white stone, the arena was about four feet off the ground and had green paint on its edges.
The only thing keeping this giant crowd together and quiet was the presence of one person on the stage.
The man til...
2024-02-26 23:33:00 +0000 UTC View PostI thought a normal life consisted of simply going to class, staying at home, and coming back. I was just a little hen in a den of wolves, it was necessary to attract the least amount of attention I could.
But that dream was crushed today as I walked through the veil of trees and deeper toward the northern half of the academy.
Today was the day that I, Atlas Whisper, ordinary extraordinaire, was going to skip class.
Not of my ...
2024-02-26 23:30:48 +0000 UTC View PostPrince Ier von Kelvin Bezark stepped into hell.
He agreed to be trained by me, and for the next week, I did not let him have a moment of rest.
It was a memorable training for me too. The events of a whole week flew by…
***
A cold wind blew in the mountain ranges as the clouds moved overhead. The clouds looked close enough to get into my hands if I reached out, but for someone else here, they were probably further than...
2024-02-26 23:28:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Fastest way to get stronger…?” Ier repeated my words in a soft mumble.
I didn’t see a sign of the man who had confidently killed the Blue Twin-Headed Ogre just a few weeks back. The status check, and the subsequent loss had affected Ier.
Those two things definitely weren’t enough. He had probably been troubled since way before he had seen the status.
The other students seemed to have overheard my words and slowly t...
2024-02-26 23:25:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe Falchion was a broad one-sided blade slightly curved at the top. It was made of wood but was crafted and reinforced by talented craftsmen—the sword was indistinguishable from the real one.
Ken’s speed that humans back on Earth could barely hope to reach, his arms longer than the average person, and his familiarity with the weapons he had chosen, all of them created a perfect synergy that let him overpower Ier.
Every second,...
2024-02-24 23:14:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe students of the Black Rose Club had gathered outside the buildings, in the square assigned to our class, and were mostly chatting around.
The ones in multiple clubs had left for today, and we were left with only fifteen of the twenty-five students.
Some of them had started playing catch while the rest were simply talking.
Maybe it was because the club was still new, for some reason, they always stuck to the outside of the...
2024-02-24 23:11:05 +0000 UTC View PostI had an idea when I heard from Lumine about the events of the Dahlia classroom.
Not only had those guys challenged our class to a fight, but they also called Atlas the true leader. It was quite a humorous event.
Of course, if something like this happened there must be a reason behind it as well.
Well, the reason aside, one of the results was this man in front of me.
Slicked back gray hair, a stiff smile that highlighte...
2024-02-24 23:09:06 +0000 UTC View PostRosentea Il Scential had fairly boring days in the Black Rose Classroom.
She was the heiress of the greatest merchant company on the Continent, and just like here, every other student in the Classroom was a scion of their own associations. All of them were raised meticulously to ensure that they would be able to lead their people should the people call for it.
And so, the classes taught at the Academy had become fairly boring.
<... 2024-02-24 23:07:05 +0000 UTC View PostIf one lived with others long enough, especially with their parents, they would know that not all footsteps sounded the same. They could tell angry footsteps from gloomy ones, and giddy footsteps from dull ones. It was like developing a perfect pitch but for footsteps.
I had a fine specimen of that perfect pitch right next to me today.
Traipsing along—traipsing, I mean it—my side with the black box camera in her hand was Lumi...
A teal glow glimmered in the skies of the Black Rose grounds as the students used their mana on the Tablet.
After the tablet reached a saturation point with their mana, they all used a small knife or weapon to prick their fingers and leave a drop of blood on the tablet.
The blood smudged on the tablet and the link between the students and the tablet began.
The glow of the tablets disappeared as if someone had flipped a swi...
The Stuffed Toys had little to do with the status checks. Usually, something like this, outside of the Freedom Alliance, wouldn’t be allowed in this last decade. It would have been initially difficult to get our hands on the Terrible Teal Tablet—the request was almost rejected, but the Crown Prince overturned it.
It was simple.
He wanted to see which of these kids were useful and which he could bring to his side. Though the E...
A giant carriage stood in the middle of the Black Rose square. The many buildings had created the perfect grid for the Black Rose, and it was natural to use it liberally.
The point of Black Rose, after all, was to cater to the royals and nobles. Even for the catering, today might be a tad too strange.
For one, though the carriage was here for the students, I was sure none of them would appreciate the contents.
“Delivery!”...
2024-02-21 21:10:38 +0000 UTC View PostA day before the professor finally managed to get back the perfect attendance score under his KPI, another thing happened with the rest of us in Black Rose Classroom.
Wow, I said ‘us.’ Hard to believe as it was, with each passing day, I had started to fit into the classroom. It wasn’t difficult, I only had to sit back and act like a dead man.
That was me, Atlas Whisper. A little dog in this den of lions. How did I end up in a...
2024-02-20 20:49:50 +0000 UTC View Post{To,
My friend Lumine.
Your presence in the classroom is missed. As a teacher, I cannot condone your actions, but as a friend, I say take as much time as you need.
I have been doing my best to take care of the flowers in the flowerbed at dawn. I have no experience in this line, so observing you has been all I have to go on. The flowers seem to be blooming for now, but I worry for the Azaleas, the shrubs don’t seem as vibran...
2024-02-19 23:13:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe problem here was words. Communication, if I was to be more general.
Lumine didn’t only mess up communication, she also actively avoided it every chance she could. She was thorny and tacit. Despite being with her almost every morning, I had merely had her speak thrice.
The same words kept creating trouble for her, to the point that someone like Professor Barnum walked on his toes around her and everyone else in class didn’t ...
2024-02-17 22:59:11 +0000 UTC View Post