Chapter 17. Freshman Initiation
“As I said before, I’ll step in whenever I want.”
Drenor blocked Tyron’s punch by driving his greatsword into the wall.
Had Tyron been able to control his aura perfectly, he would’ve easily broken the greatsword—but he still lacked that much power.
Tyron pulled back his fist and spoke to Drenor.
“Don’t interfere. That guy messed with one of my subordinates.”
“Subordinate?”
Drenor looked down at me as if I were filth.
“So you’re the kind of guy who picks on others?”
“He picked a fight with me in front of the student cafeteria while I was cleaning up after you.”
“Is that so.”
Drenor yanked his sword from the wall and slammed it into the ground.
“The subordinate he claims I hurt—I went after him first. He tried to do something awful to a girl, who’s now my friend, and attacked me, so I gave him a nice knee to the stomach.”
“Don’t lie. From what I heard, Van Astrea used magic on my subordinate out of nowhere. He even has burn marks on his neck. No mistake about it.”
“That subordinate… he’s your leader, huh.”
“What?!”
“Did you investigate the situation? Did you try confirming the facts with Van Astrea before picking a fight?”
“My subordinates don’t lie to me. So there’s no need for that.”
Drenor let out a deep sigh and raised his sword again, ready to fight.
“I figured I wouldn’t get through to someone related to that idiot. Just come at me. I’ll crush you.”
Drenor summoned his aura again—but the fight didn’t continue.
The students surrounding us suddenly began scattering, and through the crowd, one of Tyron’s subordinates rushed over in a panic.
“Boss! A professor is coming!”
“Tch. We’re out of here.”
With that, Tyron and his men retreated in the opposite direction from where the professor would come.
Once they disappeared, Sonia Serium ran up from that direction.
“Ah… I told the professor to hurry over. Did that solve things?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Sonia. Things got handled quickly thanks to you.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
She probably helped after seeing Tyron picking a fight with me.
“Sorry for asking you so suddenly.”
“It’s fine. Since it was a favor from Drenor, I had to help.”
Sonia gave Drenor a small smile, then took a deep breath and politely greeted me.
“I didn’t get to introduce myself before. I’m Sonia Serium…”
Was she scared of me because of my delinquent reputation?
Now that I saw her up close, she looked exactly like the Sonia I remembered from the game. But something I’d heard earlier in the workshop kept bothering me.
“My friend had business at the Stia Workshop, so I used my authority as vice president to tag along.”
That “friend” referred to Sonia. Why had she gone to the workshop?
I thought about asking directly but figured Drenor would get mad, so I dropped it.
“We’re classmates, so just speak informally.”
“Ah, okay. I mean… yeah, sure…”
Looks like getting close to her is going to take some time.
I slowly stood up and said to Drenor,
“Thanks for the help. Class should be starting soon. You should head to the lecture hall too.”
“My next class is here.”
That caught me off guard.
Honestly, it wasn’t strange for someone from the Martial Arts Division like Drenor to take a magic-related class. In fact, he should be taking one.
Because his unique ability, [Spell Breaker], is a conditional skill that cancels magic—and the condition is: you have to know the magic you want to break.
But as of now, Drenor hadn’t awakened that ability.
So I figured he wouldn’t take magic-related courses until the second semester.
“Aren’t you in the Martial Arts Division?”
“What does that have to do with me taking Magical Array Structures?”
“Nothing, I guess. But judging by how you act, you don’t seem like the type to do pointless things.”
“…”
He probably hasn’t realized that kind of power lies dormant within him yet, but I had a hunch who might’ve influenced that decision…
“Don’t grin at me like that. It’s creepy.”
Drenor scowled.
Regardless of the reason, this was a good thing. As a newbie, Drenor might lose in the main event, so this was a chance to secure a backup.
“Anyway, you’re right. Being in the Martial Arts Division doesn’t mean you can’t take Magic classes. As your upperclassman who’s already stepped into the path of magic, I’ll recommend some useful spells for you to learn.”
I took out my notebook and drew the magic arrays the boss of the first main event would use.
I couldn’t use those spells yet, but drawing them was easy—I’d seen them countless times.
Since Drenor would awaken his ability mid-boss fight, learning these beforehand would help him counter most of the boss’s attacks.
I wasn’t sure if he’d actually learn them, but at the very least, he’d be curious.
“Here, take it. Learning these first will make picking up other spells easier.”
While the spells were for the boss fight, it wasn’t a lie. The first main event boss, Kain Tromer, was talentless in magic, so he used high-circle but structurally simple spells. That’s why using his magic as a base for learning could help build a solid foundation.
But Drenor pushed my hand away.
“I don’t need it.”
“You don’t trust me, huh? Just look through it once. Sonia won’t object if you show it to her.”
I held the notebook out again, but Drenor didn’t budge.
“I’ll figure things out on my own. Stop meddling.”
“I’m telling you, self-study would go better if you just looked at this—”
Our back-and-forth ended when Drenor crumpled the notebook.
“Stop being nosy. I don’t need help from a delinquent.”
Sonia widened her eyes in surprise and looked flustered.
“Drenor, that’s too harsh, even if you’re upset…”
“…”
She looked at me with concern, but I gave a bitter smile and waved it off.
“I guess I pushed too hard.”
Did he really have to crumple it? Still, I had been the one forcing it, and Drenor wasn’t entirely wrong.
No matter what, getting help from a delinquent must be humiliating.
That reputation really is a problem.
Well, the first main event isn’t that difficult anyway.
I can’t help meddling, can I?
“Sorry. I’ll head in first.”
Leaving the two behind, I walked into the lecture hall.
Later…
While the lecture on Magical Array Structures was underway, Drenor was half-listening.
The professor was going over basics that were usually skipped in most magic books. Thanks to Sonia’s tutoring, Drenor already knew this material.
He glanced from the “delinquent” seriously taking notes up front to the crumpled paper in his own hand.
Watching from beside him, Sonia sighed.
“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?”
“…”
“If you were going to regret it, you could’ve at least pretended to take it.”
“It’s not that I regret how I treated him.”
Drenor tightened his grip on the paper and spoke quietly.
“I just don’t like accepting help from an opponent.”
“Did Van do something to you?”
To Sonia, Van seemed like a pretty decent guy—surprisingly so, given his reputation. If the rumors were true, he and Drenor should’ve clashed already, yet Van was the one who extended a hand first.
But she still asked, just to be sure. Drenor shook his head.
“I mean he’s a rival.”
He felt a strong sense of competition with Van. It was faint at first, but after the Great Beast Hunt practice, it ignited.
So even if it helped him, his pride wouldn’t allow it.
Still, even Drenor knew he’d gone too far, and it left him feeling uneasy.
Sonia looked at him warmly, understanding his struggle.
“But crumpling the paper and saying that was harsh. You’re going to apologize, right?”
“I’ll think about it. But first, I need to beat him.”
Then Sonia said gently, almost teasingly,
“Then you’ll need to learn a lot, and fast.”
“That’s true.”
“And if you’re going to beat him, why not do it in his specialty—magic?”
“If I can, yeah.”
“I think the fastest way to do that is already in your hands.”
“…”
“And if you do decide to apologize, you could say something like: ‘I’m stronger than you now. But your advice wasn’t completely useless.’ Wouldn’t that be satisfying for Van too?”
“…That’s not a bad idea.”
“Then the first step is checking what he gave you, right?”
Drenor could be stubborn and emotionally closed off. But Sonia, who had years of experience taking care of younger siblings, didn’t mind at all.
When Drenor carefully uncrumpled the pages, Sonia smiled.
The two, who had once been savior and saved, now looked more like a gruff little brother and his kind older sister.
Two weeks into the semester…
I’d taken various classes by then, but aside from Rydipin, I hadn’t made much progress building bonds with major characters.
Because things ended poorly with Drenor, I hadn’t really spoken with him or Sonia.
Still, I often trained with Reyna and Rydipin, so their affinity with me had gone up quite a bit. I was pretty sure they’d crossed the 20% threshold needed to trigger their first personal events after the first main event.
Tyron had continued to glare at me from time to time, but I avoided him by entering lecture halls right before class started.
As always, I trained my magic skills and practiced swordsmanship with Reyna and Rydipin.
I also helped Rydipin with trauma recovery—today was no different.
After our lectures, Reyna and I assisted Rydipin with her rehab at Trich Hall.
Well, “assisted” is generous—my role was to be the target.
“Th-Then I’ll aim now…!”
“Go ahead. I won’t die in here, so shoot without hesitation.”
“O-Okay…!”
Rydipin could aim, but if the target was a living being—especially a person—she couldn’t let the arrow fly.
So we trained by having her aim at me, while Reyna helped release her grip.
It was risky exposing her to trauma, but it was also the fastest and most effective method for overcoming it.
Rydipin pulled the string, and Reyna forced her to let go.
The arrow narrowly grazed my shoulder, and a gust of wind followed half a beat later.
The power was fine, but it wasn’t her full strength.
Just from that one shot, Rydipin dry-heaved and broke into a cold sweat.
Even if she volunteered for this, two times a day was her limit.
I’d told her multiple times we could go slower, but she kept asking to continue the training.
“Are you okay, Rydipin?”
“I-I’m fine. My legs just gave out.”
Seeing her determination made me think she would’ve overcome it even without our help.
So why did Rydipin end up turning dark later?
She was an important character, but [Spell Breaker] didn’t cover most of the characters’ backstories—only fragments.
While Reyna cared for Rydipin, I checked the time. It was almost time to move.
“I’ve got something to do, so I’ll go ahead. You two get ready and meet me.”
“Okay. Let’s meet near the clocktower around 8:30.”
Evening, Central Plaza
Though spring had begun, a winter chill still lingered. But the warm glow of the lamplight made the heart feel cozy.
It was almost 8 p.m., and the plaza was filled with first-year students. Tonight was the Freshman Welcome Ceremony.
Attendance was mandatory, and rumors said latecomers would be penalized. So even the laziest students arrived before the official start time.
But since there were no upperclassmen in sight, some students grumbled.
Buffet tables and round dining tables filled the plaza. The food was average—about student cafeteria level—so the nobles avoided it, but others enjoyed it without complaint.
Among them was Reyna.
She held a buttered roll and asked Van and Rydipin,
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I-I still feel sick from earlier training…”
“I used up a lot of mana earlier, so my stomach’s upset too.”
“Mana? What were you doing?”
“Just practicing something.”
“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”
“Maybe a little.”
“That’s surprising. I thought Van never got nervous.”
“Delinquents are people too, y’know…”
“I wasn’t calling you the delinquent…”
As Reyna was about to say more, a bell rang urgently.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
In [Spell Breaker], bells acted like speakers and alarms. So the students immediately tensed.
Then, a message rang out through the bell’s magic array:
“This is an emergency broadcast to all academy personnel. A group of intruders has breached the campus…”
At that moment, a system message popped up in front of Van:
【Main Event –■■■ ■■■ has begun】
【Conditions met: Event name revealed】
【Main Event – Freshman Initiation】
Normally, you had to use a special item and talk to certain characters to uncover the truth and unlock the event name. But Van already knew the situation, so the event name was revealed immediately.
As the chimes rang and the announcement continued, an explosion echoed in the distance.
Only then did the students grasp the gravity of the situation. Chaos broke out—some fled, others grouped up to fight, and some ran to find professors.
But unlike the others, Van, Reyna, and Rydipin remained calm.
“Let’s move.”
Led by Van, they smoothly slipped out of the panicked plaza.
The first main event had just begun.
And so had the first attempt on Reyna’s life.
