EULE 64

Chapter 64

That morning, she never imagined she would end up at the academy seeing Lionel.

Since it was the weekend, she planned to spend the morning lazing around and the afternoon reading a book she had borrowed from the library, The Power that Turns the World Upside Down: The World of Magic Stones.

Skipping breakfast, Jaelyn rolled around on her bed, mentally sketching the blueprint for the booth she would use at the festival.

Half-dozing, she suddenly heard her community bracelet ring.

The caller was Lionel.

[Lionel] Jaelyn, hi. Did you sleep well?
[Lionel] If you don’t have other plans this afternoon, can we meet at the academy?

It was like being doused with ice water. Jaelyn woke up in an instant.

Until now, Lionel had never asked her to meet separately on a weekend.

What on earth is going on?

Jumping up from bed, Jaelyn quickly washed up and changed.

It wasn’t until she was about to dash out of the boarding house that she remembered Lionel had said this afternoon.

When it came to Lionel, she always lost her composure like this. She realized she hadn’t even replied to him yet.

Returning to her room, she calmly opened her community window and sent a reply.

[Jaelyn] Yes! This afternoon works for me.
[Lionel] Good. Then let’s meet in front of the student council hall later.

From that point, Jaelyn couldn’t focus on her blueprint anymore, wondering what Lionel wanted from her.

She tried pulling out the book she’d planned to read, but none of the words sank in. She kept rereading the same lines over and over.

In the end, she gave up on reading altogether.

Jaelyn arrived at the student council hall much earlier than the appointed time.

Much later, Lionel showed up exactly at the arranged hour.

“Am I late? Did you wait long?”
“Oh, no. I just got here a little early.”
“Shall we go, then?”
“Uh… go where?”
“The hologram arena. We’ll be training there today.”
“W-what? The hologram arena?”

Jaelyn’s shoulders shrank slightly. The hologram arena meant she would have to face monsters directly.

“Yeah. Today we’ll practice against real monsters.”

Her suspicion was right.

Of course, she had vaguely guessed that if Lionel was calling her out on a weekend, it must be training-related. But she hadn’t expected to be thrown into a situation where she’d face monsters in the hologram arena.

Swallowing dryly, Jaelyn spoke.

“D-do we really have to do this today?”
“Of course. I even got permission to use the hologram arena for this. Normally they’d never allow it, since opening the arena just for certain students would be unfair.”
“Then… why this time?”
“You transferred directly into fourth year. You’ve barely had any experience in the hologram arena, so I asked them to let you adapt this way. Since we’re also cleaning the control room, I promised we’d take extra care, and they readily agreed. Lucky, right?”
“Y-yeah… sure…”

To her, it was anything but lucky. She’d have to see those horrifying monsters again, and it wasn’t even for an exam.

But in front of Lionel, who had gone out of his way for her, she couldn’t show how she felt. She just nodded.

“You can use the arena as much as you need until finals. Of course, it’d be wasteful to power up the whole arena just for two of us, so we only got permission to run a section of it.”
“R-right…”
“Let’s practice hard and do great on the finals.”

Looking down at her with his bright smile, Jaelyn couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

When they arrived, Lionel led her up to the control room above the waiting area.

Turning on the control devices, Lionel activated the red marshlands and the area around the River Emental, which were designated as starting zones for the final exam.

In this monster-combat mock exam, the start was the most dangerous moment.

Since team members spawned separately, their strength was scattered.

And unlike others, Jaelyn had no combat ability to face monsters, making her the team’s weakest link.

From the moment he secured permission, Lionel had planned to train her through simulations so she could somehow survive the opening stage.

Even though teleport spawns were random, they were limited to certain points.

He intended for Jaelyn to learn every possible scenario so that wherever she landed, she could make it out alive.

After confirming activation, Lionel displayed the holographic board of the arena. The red marshlands spread before them.

“This is the Red Marsh. As soon as you land, the first thing you must do is survey the terrain, then report your location to your team via the community system. That way, the nearest combat-type teammate can head toward you.”
“Y-yes.”
“Even though teleport locations are random, they’re fixed within twelve points—eight in the Red Marsh and four along the River Tigris. You’ll land in one of them.”

He zoomed the holographic display out, showing both the Red Marsh and the River Emental, and pointed out the teleport spots.

“Oh… so even though it’s random, we can at least guess the possibilities.”
“Exactly. With more points in the Red Marsh, chances are higher you’ll land there. But no matter where you fall, we’ll train you to hold out.”
“Y-yes.”
“And…”

He zoomed in on one of the Red Marsh teleport points.

“…Unlike the midterm, where you entered through the arena gates, teleport drops you straight into the field. At the entrance, monsters don’t spawn until you’ve gone a certain distance. But with teleport, a monster could pop up anywhere, anytime.”

Just as he said this, an insect-type monster suddenly appeared on the board.

“Kyaaah!”

Startled, Jaelyn screamed and stumbled back. Her heart nearly stopped.

“You okay?”
“Y-yes, I’m fine.”

She calmed her racing heart. The board continued to display the monster’s movements.

Seeing her recover, Lionel resumed his explanation.

“Monsters follow fixed patterns at first. We’ll memorize these patterns so you can handle them during the exam.”

It was true. Resetting the hologram made the monster move exactly the same way again.

“I-it really moves the same!”
“Right. Monsters around the Red Marsh or River Tigris aren’t very advanced. If you memorize the patterns, you’ll be able to avoid them or even counter once or twice.”
“D-do you think I can really do it?”
“Of course. I’ll make sure of it.”
“O-okay…”

Lionel noticed her drooping shoulders.

“Don’t worry ahead of time. I’ll make sure you survive under any conditions.”

His eyes shone down at her like sunlight piercing the dark.

“Trust me, and let’s face this together.”

The words of someone you love hold an overwhelming power. Like magic, they made the impossible feel possible, miracles within reach.

So Jaelyn nodded, almost spellbound.

She still couldn’t imagine herself facing monsters up close. But if she was with Lionel, she felt she might just manage it.

Because Lionel himself made it possible.

In the waiting room, Lionel stood before the teleportation device leading into the arena. Looking down at Jaelyn beside him, he asked,

“Shall we go in?”

Jaelyn gave a small nod.

But the flutter in her chest that always came from Lionel’s presence was gone—replaced by unease.

Stepping closer, Lionel extended his hand toward her.

Jaelyn looked up in confusion at his neatly outstretched hand.

He knew it too—there was no real reason for her to hold his hand in this situation.

So he added a fitting excuse.

“Take my hand. Otherwise, we might get separated and fall into different spots.”

Of course, he knew perfectly well that wasn’t possible.

But if it eased her fears even slightly, he didn’t mind.

Soon, Jaelyn’s trembling hand cautiously clasped his. The silken touch of her soft hand around his sent a dizzying shiver through him, and Lionel briefly closed his eyes.

Then suddenly, he questioned what exactly he thought he was doing.