Cleaning up after herself, Aoife headed straight for the Dorset Hall.

There were several activities that she had in mind for the festival, but in the end, she settled for the 'Guide' position.

Her job was rather simple.

All she had to do was guide people around the Academy campuses.

It was an important position. One that many coveted. With many important figures attending, the 'Guide' was the role that enabled cadets to interact with them.

Of course, Aoife didn't need such a position given her background.

However, it was also because of her background that she felt compelled to do this job. She was, after all, acquainted with most of the attending people.

It wouldn't hurt to choose it.

"It should be this classroom."

Her feet stopped in front of a familiar door. The corridors were empty, and it was pretty dark.

Reaching for the door, she opened it and prepared to enter when she stopped.

"Mh?"

Drip...! Drip...!

A certain dripping sound caught her attention and when she looked inside to see where it was coming from, her eyes shot open.

"Almost..."

Off by the far end of the classroom, a familiar figure sat. His back was straight, and his facial features could only be described as 'flawless'.

He was a man Aoife struggled to understand, as he rarely displayed any expressions.

And yet...

"....Again."

Here he was, sitting in the middle of the classroom, wearing a different expression than his usually stoic one.

His focus was on his hand where a set of runes were floating in the air. They were slowly interconnecting with each other to form a circle.

'Is he trying to unlock a spell...?'

That was what it seemed.

But...

"Why is he bleeding?"

Unlocking a spell wasn't that difficult. At the very least, it wouldn't need someone to force themselves to the point of bleeding.

As she counted the number of runes, she was also sure that it wasn't an intermediate-ranked spell.

'He's struggling with unlocking a beginner rank spell...?'

Was that even possible?

Tzzzzz--!

Aoife frowned after witnessing the circle shatter.

Drip...!

More blood dripped down from his nose.

'Is this the limit to his talent?'

It wasn't as though she didn't expect this, but it was somewhat disappointing given the many surprises he had given her.

She thought he was going to stop there, but...

"Again."

He continued.

"Uh?....Is he crazy?"

Aoife felt her eyes widen. Staring at his arms which were trembling, his pale face, and bleeding nose, Aoife forgot all about her goal and stood rooted behind the door.

She started to grow curious all of a sudden.

For how long was he going to keep this up?

"Again..."

Another circle shattered.

Drip...! Drip...!

More blood dripped down from his nose.

His usually stoic expression was replaced by one of pure focus and determination.

It was as if he was a completely different person than how he normally showed himself.

"Again."

Regardless of how many times he failed, he'd wipe his nose and continue.

It was as if he didn't care at all about himself.

Even as his entire body trembled, and his eyes turned bloodshot, he continued. The only thing he could mutter seemed to be, 'again'.

"....Crazy. Lunatic."

It was all Aoife could think about when staring at him. She couldn't understand why he was putting himself through such trouble.

And yet...

Even though she thought all of that, she found herself unable to tear her gaze off of him.

There was something about his current appearance that struck her deeply.

"....."

Time continued to pass.

"Again.

Failure became the norm, and blood continued to drip down his nose. Even so, Aoife continued to watch in silence as he tried each time.

Even as he failed, he continued to try.

"Again."

Nothing changed.

He still failed.

And just as she thought he was going to fail again, something happened.

".....!"

Bang--

Julien abruptly stood up.

He stared at his hand where a magic circle formed.

"I..."

An expression she had never seen him make before.

A smile she had never thought was possible.

"Hahaha."

And laugh that she never thought he was capable of making.

Aoife stood dumbfounded in her spot.

Taking in his expression, she unknowingly found herself mumbling something under her breath.

"....So he can make a face like that too?"

***

"I... did it...."

I stared at the completed circle resting on my hand.

I couldn't believe it...

....I had actually done it.

"Hahaha."

I laughed. I didn't know why I laughed, but I just did.

Drip...!

Feeling my nose run again, I wiped the blood away and finally started to pack up. I looked around and saw that it was completely dark outside.

How long...?

"Shit."

I checked my watch and realized it was almost past curfew. I hastily packed up my stuff and dashed to the dorms.

Even as I returned back to the dorm, I was still shaken by the sudden development. I hadn't expected myself to succeed. I had grown so used to failure that when success did come, all I felt was bafflement.

"...."

I looked at my hand and a purple magic circle was slowly starting to form.

The mana inside of my body started to drain at a rapid pace but I didn't mind it as something was starting to form in my hand.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

A peculiar metallic rattle resounded as purple chains began to materialize within the grasp of my hand.

Clank!

The process took no longer than several seconds and by the time all was said and done, I found myself holding a long chain.

"....."

I stared at the chains with a frown.

"How does this work?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and followed the link that connected my mind to the chain. In the darkness of my vision, all I saw was a long purple line. It was bent in a '' shape.

"Hmm."

Finding the connection, my brows twitched and my hand shook slightly.

Clank...! Clank...!

The chains started to move.

At my will, they followed everything my mind told them to do.

They could both lengthen and shorten at my command. However, the mana consumption for such a move was rather high. Frowning, I settled for just the right length. About the size of my arm.

I opened my eyes and stared at my arm where the chains were coiling.

"....."

I clenched my hand into a fist. The chains glowed a strange purple hue. I knew from the description of the spell that it had a similar effect to [Hands of Malady] in the sense that it weakened an opponent upon contact.

However, unlike [Hands of Malady] it wasn't a long-range skill.

"Not that it matters."

I slowly clenched my fist and stared at the chains coiling my arm. I started to think about all the possibilities that came with the skill when I suddenly felt lightheaded.

"....Ah, right."

The chain shattered and I sat down on my bed.

"Huu."

The mana expansion was no joke.

Just a few minutes and I was already low on mana.

"I guess I'll put it off for now."

My mind was not in the right state of mind to figure the skill out. I planned on leaving it for tomorrow.

There was something else that I needed to pay particular attention to at the moment.

I reached out to grab a paper from the desk and stared at it.

"Work Experience."

Who would've thought I'd be looking for a job again?

Work Experience. It was a mandatory event that we needed to take part in according to the Professors. It was an event that was supposed to last for a week, and depending on our performance, credits would be awarded to us.

".....Looks like I have to do it."

I needed as many credits as possible.

My knowledge was rather 'primitive' compared to the other cadets. Coupled with the amount of time I spent each day training, I hardly had enough time to study.

I tried my best, but...

"It's not enough."

I was desperate for credits.

".....What should I choose?"

The list wasn't very long. About a single page with over thirty listings. I was just about to go through the list when the world around me froze.

'Uh?'

I lost my voice and a familiar feeling gripped me.

'A vision....? All of a sudden?'

No, when did they ever have a good time? They always came randomly and when I least expected them to. I sighed and embraced the incoming vision.

"It was a disaster."

An unfamiliar voice echoed, and my surroundings started to change. It was dark, and the air felt damp.

'A room...?'

No, it felt more like a cell. A prison cell.

Why would...

"How many have managed to escape?"

"Five in total. Two Extreme-risk, one High-risk, and two low-

risk."

Escaped? Five...? Extreme risk, high risk, low risk? The information, while scattered, did make sense in some way.

My surroundings started to become clearer as I found myself inside an empty prison cell. It was just as I expected it.

This was a prison.

Two people stood by the cell looking around. Wearing similar uniforms, they were probably rather high-up in the prison system.

"Haaa... This is a fucking mess. Central has been calling non-

stop demanding some answers. The same is true for Haven."

Haven...?

Why would Haven...

"Ten cadets died in the escape. They're demanding answers. I don't blame them. They were here for work experience, and nothing should've happened considering our reputation, but..."

The individual sighed again.

"....What an embarrassment. Not only were we able to keep our prisoners in check, but we also got students involved in this mess."

Students?

'Oh god.'

Realization dawned on me and I felt my tighten.

A quest was coming, wasn't it?

"Not only did we fail at our jobs, but we also got children involved in our incompetence."

He was clearly distressed by the situation, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear at the moment. I wanted to hear more. More information about the situation.

I had a few leads at the moment.

The event was set to happen in a week. During the work exchange. It was in a prison, and five inmates escaped.

I knew the danger level of the inmates but didn't know their identity.

This...

It wasn't enough.

I strained my ears to listen more.

"Oh, right."

With a sudden halt of his steps, one of the guards suddenly looked up. He seemed to have something to say.

I strained to listen even more carefully.

"One of the prisoners that escaped..."

My heart dropped when I noticed a change in my surroundings.

No, not yet!

The surroundings began to darken, and the guard's voice started to fade. In that moment, I knew the vision was about to end.

But I hadn't heard enough.

Not yet!

I used every little bit of willpower to strain my ears to listen.

Just a little more...

A little...

"....Wasn't he a Professor from Haven?"

The vision ended there and I found myself back in my room.

"Haaa... Haa..."

My breath was heavy, and my head felt light. However, thinking back upon the vision, I found the corner of my lips gently pulled up.

"...I heard it."

The last few words.

I had managed to hear them.

My vision flickered moments after and a notification appeared.

[ Side Quest Activated : Prison Escape.]

: Character Progression + 21%

: Game Progression + 3%

Failure

: Calamity 2 + 7%