‘Nnmh’

Stepping out on the platform and stretching, I looked around. It’s kind of strange seeing that we’re inside a labyrinth, and it mimics the outside world… at least some floors do. I remember floor 8 being kind of iffy, heck… it doesn’t even have a station….

Well… that was for a reason I don’t want to explain. But… the whole floor was basically a spooky forest filled with death….

…..

…

Anyhow, these big chambers or rather… they’re big on the inside, and is very spacious… I think they’re about 10km square per floor?

And the academy city we’re heading to is supposedly like a small town… actually, looking up, I see high buildings. They’re not skyscrapers, but damn…. We’re inside a labyrinth? This… it’s hard to believe….

“Wow….” Isak uttered in disbelief.

Julia and Hilda, on the other hand, don’t seem very surprised. But I suppose they don’t really play games and don’t think it’s out of place….

As a casual… this wasn’t really the fantasy setting I thought I’d been transported to….

Like… the world is messed up. Powerful monsters run amok in the wild, and cities are strangely advanced….

Honestly… you’d think that if monsters like that run wild in the world, questions would naturally pop up.

Like… how mortals build these things?

I have so many questions, but the more I ask or, the more I know, I realise that there’s so much I don’t know… it’s a paradox, really….

We then made our way to a dorm, and we were assigned a room. I got to be roommates with Isak.

Hilda and Julia are roommates as well.

Honestly… I’m not entirely sure why Hilda is coming with us and all. I’m not complaining, but I’m sure Isak has the same reason as I. Julia was apparently a competent fighter already, though she lacks some edge…. And she follows me wherever I go.

But Hilda doesn’t seem like the power-hungry type… but she did say she was one of the best combatants in the camp….

Could it be…

No way… she doesn’t have any friends?

I mean… I certainly consider her my friend, and well… a little more than that. I can’t see her as a teacher after all. We didn’t even interact, so she was basically a stranger to me until recently.

But… I might be onto something… I don’t see her with the other teachers… well, to be fair, she’s much closer to our age. And it seems like she doesn’t really think of Julia and me as students.

So… I suppose it makes sense that she wants to be with her friends….

And like Isak, she doesn’t have anywhere to go, and everyone is just sticking to their friend group.

But because she wasn’t in one, and she’d gotten involved with me, it does make a lot more sense now that I think about it….

Well… that is… if I’m correct.

As I was thinking that while playing around with a water ball, I heard a knock on the door. Isak looked at me, “It’s probably for you,” he said, laying down on the bed again, levitating and playing with heated obsidian….

Hey… that’s dangerous! Well… like I’m one to talk… as I, myself, try to create that heated plasma core Brother Al was talking about….

I mean… he told me it was possible with just pressurised water if I controlled the temperature, heating the core up. But… I’m kinda losing control, and I surely don’t want to blow myself up….

‘knock, knock, knock!’

…Right! The door!

I hurried to the door and opened it. There I found Julia and Hilda.

Hilda greeted me with a sweet sheepish “Hi.” and with a faint blush, she looked into my eyes.

Ah… ma heart… please, Hilda… Julia will kill us if you’re cuter than this!

Julia, on the other hand, stared at her… but turned her attention to me, “Hey, why didn’t you open sooner?” Julia asked with a pout on her face.

….Cute, but… she was a lot cuter when she was in distress, acting all sweet… am I even allowed to think that?

“Sorry about that,” I replied. I felt my face straining a little, but… oh well… “I was just in deep thought.”

“Hmmm~.”

…feeling their gaze, I sort of forgot what to say, “...Oh, right! Come on in.”

Julia crossed her arms, saying, “...Took you long.”

Where’s Hilda pardoned herself while quietly entering, “Pardon the intrusion….”

And as Isak came into view, he greeted the two, saying, “Yo? What took you guys so long?” he asked while cooling down the heated obsidian and forming it into a ball.

…Wait, that’s not it!

He knew they’d come over!?

I glared at him, but he’d just smirk back at me!?

“...We girls take longer to prepare, you know?” Julia responds while frowning. She seemed grumpy for some reason…. I mean, extra moody.

Wait… that’s the same. Well, you get my drift?

…This is awkward. I invited them in, but… there are no seats, and while we have two beds, it’s a bunk bed….

So… in the end, we awkwardly sat on the floor.

Still, why are they here? I pondered and decided to ask them about it. Well, maybe they just came here to hang out. But… from the looks of it, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“So… why are the two of you here? Brother Al and Princess Luna told us to rest until lunch….”

When I asked that, Julia and Hilda stared at Isak, who was laughing, “Pff, ahaha! It’s great!”

“Hey, Isak… you didn’t tell him?” Julia inquired with a sharp glare.

Hilda, on the other hand, let out a small sigh, “Well, I sort of expected this….”

“...Really, what is this about!?” I exclaimed.

Isak began to explain, saying, “Well, we’re having a group meeting, right girls?”

“...You were supposed to tell him that…” Julia responded.

“C’mon, don’t be like that! Anyhow, small surprises like these aren’t that bad, are they?”

…Really, dude…? Well… somehow, they are more friendly? What happened when I went to fetch Brother Al?

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Hilda and Julia glanced at one another, sighing. “Tell us, Isak, do you enjoy seeing a troubled Aska?” Hilda asked.

“Tehee~” Isak responded.

“.....”

……..why am I friends with weirdos? One is acting like he’s gay, but I know he’s not since he’s just poking fun at Julia and Hilda.

Julia is into…. Well, y’know?

Then there’s Hilda…. I’m sure she likes me, but is it as a girl or as a boy? Or is it because I look like a girl but is a boy? She likes femboys? I mean… she was using the term….

Wait! Am I really calling myself a femboy!?

Ugh… well, they’re strange people.

“So, this group meeting, is it related to the partying? Like… we already know our roles, right?”

Isak nodded to my question, but he then said, “Well, for sure we know, but… have you seen their skill IDs? I don’t know how to say this… but if I’m going to work with you guys, whom I’ll trust my life to. I want to know what we’re all capable of.”

…he said something sensible… well… it’s not like he’s dumb. He can be serious when it counts, I guess.

Hilda and Julia respond with a slight nod.

“That’s right…” Hilda said she, too, was in business mode. “In my case, I don’t know you all that well yet, and we’ve recently become friends… I know that Julia gets along well with Aska. But Isak, Julia and I are practically new to each other. And I’m even more so since I didn’t have prior relations to any of you.”

She sounded a little sad… and as I suspected, she felt out of place, but less so with us….

Hearing Hilda say this did make me feel a little awkward. She’s putting it bare, after all. Although… Julia’s actions after this were somewhat unexpected. She’d launched herself and hugged Hilda.

“I… I didn’t know you felt that way….”

I awkwardly smiled, and so did Isak.

After things calmed down, we went in turns to show everyone our skills. Isak and I were already aware of one another’s skills, so….

“So… you showed him something this sensitive before you showed me?”

…Julia was expressing her dissatisfaction, but… what am I going to do about it now?

“Julia, please calm down,” Isak said. “It’s just that Aska and I had the opportunity to do so. That’s why I’m creating a new opportunity now, okay? So don’t be mad at him.”

Isak…

“...I’m not mad… I just feel a little left out, and I’m the one that’s supposed to be the closes to him.”

“Geez! You damn brocon! It isn’t about that right now! Just leave that for later!” Isak scolded her. He was being blunt about it, and well… pretty sure we all here already knew she was a brocon.

But… the surprising part was that Julia responded timidly, uttering, “Okay...” as she then looked at everyone and apologised, “I’m sorry I sullied the mood….”

We told her not to worry about it and then continued with our talk.

Isak crossed his arms, saying, “If we take turns to show our skill IDs, we can ask questions while we’re at it.” He paused and looked at everyone, “Is anyone opposed to that?” he inquired.

We all shook our heads, and so we began with Isak and me since it’d be simple that way. Isak and I already knew each other’s abilities, so….

After a brief explanation, Julia showed us her Skill ID.

| Name: Julia Igrav

Race: Human

Skills: Mana Combustion, Directional Flow, Hypo-tempest, Discharge

Passive skills: Eye of Depth

Unique skills: Zhent Entez

Attributes: Lightning, Wind |

Hmm, so her Divine Weapon is called Zhenet Entez? That’s the bow she’d summoned….

Like… I-I’m not jealous or anything! I don’t have a Divine Weapon… and from the looks of it, her skills are tailor-made for archery….

“I’m not 100% sure what all of it does,” Julia said. “But… [Mana Combustion] makes it easier for me to rapidly heat my electrical arrows into plasma. [Directional Flow] allows me to see the flow of a projectile, the last two of my skills, I’m not sure, and as for [Eye of Depth.] My vision gets enhanced, and I can tell the distance between objects.”

….goddamit! I’m sooo not jealous!

Hilda nodded. She looked somewhat proud… was that because Julia was one of the strongest people to protect the small camp back then? Well… hearing all of this, yeah… she is very strong….

“There’s no need to worry about it,” Isak replied, “I don’t fully understand the extent of my abilities either, so… we’ll find things out in due time.”

….This guy’s being mature about it…. Here I am, feeling jealous of my own—I mean, Julia….

Well… buckle up. I need to be serious, too and put my feelings to the side.

Isak then turned to me, asking, “Isn’t that the case, Aska?”

I nodded in response, “Yeah, I told you before that I can change my point of view, I can see the flow of mana, and I can perceive things at a much faster rate, however… I think this ability of mine can do more. So… we’re all in the same boat.”

“...I see,” Julia said as she heaved a small sigh of relief. “I was worried since you two seem to know a lot about your abilities….”

Hearing this, we all laughed. Next was Hilda.

| Name: Hilda Mildina

Race: Human

Skills: Mana Sense, Mana burst, Catalytic Trigger

Passive skills: Eye of Depth, Gathering Storm, Elementalist

Unique skills: Flow Bind, Core Resonance

Attributes: Fire, Earth, Wind, Water |

…okay… wow… I’m genuinely at a loss for words…

I stared blankly at her, but she’d averted her eyes while blushing. Honestly… my feelings are a little conflicted, but I’m putting that aside.

I mean… as much as I envy her, I do genuinely feel excited about it. “Wow! Hilda, just… what!?”

And when she saw my reaction, she blushed even more.

“...Aska, I-If you say that much, I’ll be too embarrassed….”

Isak and Julia were looking at us but didn’t say anything. Well… we’ll save this for later. I’m curious about what she knows about her own abilities.

“A-ahem… anyhow, do you know what they do?” I inquired.

“From the looks of it, you’re a mage,” Isak said. He was rather calm, despite seeing all these skills….

Julia nodded and agreed with him.

Hilda awkwardly played with her hair and sheepishly glanced at me, then turned her attention to Isak and Julia.

“I… I know what some of them do, based on their name, but… I know neither of my unique ones nor what [Catalytic Trigger] is…. [Mana Sense] make me able to see mana. It just sort of makes me sensitive to it? Then there’s [Mana Burst]. With that, I’m capable of gathering a lot of mana to quickly cast a spell… then [Eye of Depth] is the same as Julia’s…. Sorry, I don’t know more than that….” Hilda apologised.

Isak, Julia and I looked at one another. We then burst out laughing.

“Hilda, we just said that there was no need to worry~” Isak reassured.

Julia held Hilda’s hand, saying, “You know… I’m sort of envious, but… we’ll figure things out together, isn’t that right?”

Julia said so with a smile on her face. Somehow, she’d turned warm again. Ugh… them mood swings, I guess?

“Julia… Isak….” Hilda uttered before turning to me.

I smiled, “You know? You’re really cool! And from the sound of your skills, you’re probably most optimal in long-range fights like Julia. Isn’t that right, Isak?”

“...Aska….” Hilda uttered while warmly peering into my eyes.

I held her hands, reassuring her she’d be fine.

Though… I was a bit worried, and when Isak’s eyes met mine, I could tell he was as well. Not because any of us seemed to drag each other down. But it was because our team was off balance.

If we’re going by the roles we assigned ourselves, we have Isak. A fighter but also our only front liner who can afford to take damage.

We have me, I don’t actually know what I’m supposed to be, but a scout sounds about right. I also focus on melee combat. I’m quite agile.

Julia is a long-ranged sniper. Basically, she's our backline. Watching over the battlefield and sniping down potential enemies that approach, or she’s the main damage dealer while Isak and I cover for her.

Hilda seems to fill the same role as Julia. She could be a support. But… I feel like her potential is wasted on that based on her skills.

But then… there's a problem. We don’t have support, or well, let me rephrase. We don’t have a buffer.

Well… that’s if we’re going to cover all the bases, but… it’s not a game, so… this should work. I sincerely hope. Otherwise… it’ll drag us down later down the road.