“Stick close.” Martine’s cold words solidified how their situation was going to unfold. Sammuel and Gregor, as well as the rest of the prisoners still wore their cuffs. Not a single one of them could fend for themselves.

Weren’t we supposed to just be held captive here?

Sammuel’s thoughts were quickly diminished as the previously white walls shimmered a rainbow hue. This was not part of the possibilities of how he imagined the future would be.

“What’s going on?”

Martine looked up above him. There was nothing there but a strange rainbow color but he still warily looked at it nonetheless. “Stick. Close.”

“Say less!” Gregor jumped up and hugged Martine’s waist. If it was before, Martine wouldn’t have hesitated to pry Gregor away but at this juncture, he didn’t do that.

Sammuel joined in and came closer to Martine. He waited for something to happen. The white room turned from white to rainbow to… pure darkness. The illumination that had made Sammuel curious about the material of the walls now seemed to be the cage that trapped them.

An odd sensation came over Sammuel’s body. It felt as if there was a cold basin of water getting splashed over him. But this water wasn’t hitting his skin but instead, his soul. It felt as if his entire being was getting awakened.

This process made his eyes feel droopy. Sammuel quickly noticed amongst his losing consciousness that the other captives had fallen asleep. The handlers, on the other hand, were resisting this force with all their might.

Gregor had already loosened his grip on Martine’s waist, falling on the ground asleep. Sammuel tried to fight off this drowsiness yet it seemed as if he was reaching his limit. Before he fell asleep, he counted 6 other captives that were awake, who were similarly fighting back.

I’m… seventh? These were Sammuel’s thoughts before he was knocked unconscious. He slumbered for an unknown period of time. The very moment he felt this sensation disappear, he quickly looked around.

“What?” Sammuel woke up to see that… nothing had changed. There were still a few people sleeping, both handlers and captives alike. Martine was sleeping right beside Gregor while he was shaking him awake.

“Sir Martine! Wake up!” Gregor was doing everything in his power save for slapping him awake. If it wasn't for such an ominous situation then someone one might've laughed.

Seeing everyone who had woken up, Sammuel quickly concluded one thing. Everyone who was awake right now were the first ones to fall asleep. He did not know what metric caused people to slumber yet it was apparent that whatever it was.

Rothell had been wide awake while caring for Valerie while keeping an eye on the slumbering Lilia. He was balancing his personal and official duties.

One of the metrics that Sammuel decided to focus on was raw Combat Power. It was obvious that Rothell was the strongest person here even if the captives didn’t have their mana restricted. So this ruled out being the strongest. It was something else.

Based on the gender, it was roughly half and half, so that didn’t matter at all. Even considering who fell asleep first and trying to make sense of the order didn’t help since it was just far too random to pinpoint an accurate representation of the reason.

The last metric he could check was talent. Although the others might not have a clear grasp of everyone's talent, Sammuel did. And based on what he observed, it didn't give any conclusive pattern. There was no ascertainable metric that he could use to figure out the current situation.

Despite this moment of seemingly lucrative opportunity for freedom with so many people still asleep, only one prisoner tried to escape. Safe to say, this didn’t end well for him as Rothell easily suppressed him. Rothell didn’t injure him nor did he harm him in any other way. He just made sure that this man wouldn’t dare to do something else for the time being. After that incident, no one else bothered to try escaping.

People soon enough woke up to see that nothing’s changed. The rainbow walls had returned back to their bland white look. A few captives asked about what happened, Sammuel included yet the handlers didn’t say anything at all.

“Keep to yourself.” Martine’s response could only make Sammuel give up for the time being. He was shaking his leg, looking at everything in key detail. His eyes were razor-sharp and focused.

These gestures were more than enough for Sammuel to tell that something was up. “What are we waiting for?”

“Hmm? Waiting for what?”

“You wouldn’t be this agitated if there was nothing wrong.”

“This isn’t any of your business.” Martine took a side glance at the last remaining person who was asleep, Valerie. She lay there still, only having her breathing as her indicator that she was still alive. Sammuel followed his line of sight and figured it out that it would all begin the moment she woke up.

Soon enough, all this waiting eventually reached a point. Valerie had also woken up. Rothell took in a deep breath. “It’s time.”

Crack.

Sammuel heard that same noise before finally beginning to whirl again. He felt an ominous sensation behind him. The pristine white walls burst apart. The previously seemingly indestructible walls had now shattered apart into numerous pieces.

Martine grabbed both Gregor and Sammuel by their waists and ran off to dodge the incoming debris. His movements were swift, there wasn’t any bit of hesitation in his movements as he swerved, barely missing any pathways.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

With Sammuel’s mastery of [Flowing Swordsmanship] he could similarly seek out the path to escape this predicament, and with even greater precision than Martine. What made Sammuel amazed was the fact that despite Martine not perfectly following the paths that Sammuel saw, he wasn’t that far off.

Based on mastery alone, Martine was without a doubt a figure that would be terrifying enough to be able to hold his own in the war back in Aganth. Still, if it was against Verim during his prime, Martine would’ve only died a helpless death.

Dodging everything, the scenery behind those white walls began to reveal themselves.

“A… classroom?” Sammuel couldn’t help but be confused. This was not a classroom back on Earth but instead, the classrooms that were native to this world. He had seen them back in the Reuge Institution in Aganth from afar.

“So this is a classroom, woah.” Gregor completely ignored that dangerous occurrence from before and instead just focused on this. “I’ve never been in one before.”

Sammuel was about to turn to ask Martine what this was all about when he heard Martine utter the same confusion as he did.

“This… That’s not right…” The complete shock and confusion that coated Martine’s words could only barely express his true emotions. Beads of cold sweat began to fall down on Martine’s face.

Rothell and Valerie just got out of the debris and made a roll call. It seemed that there weren’t any casualties or even injuries. The walls that broke were only cosmetic at this point. They broke too easily.

Martine tried to retain his calm but Sammuel had already understood that there was something that Martine was hiding. He wasn’t going to go out and force him since he had no ability to do so. All he could do was keep this in mind.

Rothell took center stage as the main force of this small group. “There will only be one rule that I’ll be setting in place. Do not die. Behave and we’ll unlock your cuffs, otherwise, be prepared for the consequences.”

A discontented voice rang out, this was the exact same old man that had been striking up trouble at every opportunity. “And why would you do that? So we can stab you in the back?”

Rothell didn’t take this personally. “No. It’s so that you can protect yourselves.”

“From who? You?” The old man looked down on Rothell. No one knew just what kind of backing this man had for him to blatantly speak out to Rothell like this. But for him to have the confidence to do so, it shouldn’t be weak at all.

“No.” Rothell shook his head. “From that dangers that lurk here.”

Seemingly as if called upon by Rothell himself, the classroom suddenly began to slowly exude a dark smoke. It seemed ephemeral yet no one doubted the sheer mana contained within it. The dark smoke that came from the chairs, the doors, the tables, the ceiling, from everywhere within the classroom began to slowly manifest into shadowy figures.

These figures were all blobs that had no definite shape, only an amalgam condensation of this black smoke. Everyone took this sudden change to heart. As these blobs of smoke remained where they condensed, Sammuel noticed a peculiarity within these shapes.

The dark smoke condensed directly within the seats of the classroom, as well as one other darker shade of a figure directly in front. At the very least, it seemed to be the case that these figures were trying to mimic people. As for why they were doing so, Sammuel still had no inkling of an idea.

Rothell observed the entire situation and promptly made a decision. “Everyone, take a seat.”

There was a small segment of the classroom that was still unoccupied by this dark smoke. Most of the captives followed along as Rothell seemed to know what was going on. The only two voices of discontent were from Lilia and the old man who was striking up trouble from before. After Rothell and the old man’s handler suppressed them physically, everyone was finally seated.

Sammuel similarly played along but took the initiative. He directly chose the middle of the empty seats for safety reasons. He didn’t know where the danger would come so being directly in the middle of the pack would ensure his safety.

Well, that was what Sammuel had initially planned.

“Head to the back.” Martine forcefully dragged Sammuel away from the group.

“Come again?”

“We’re splitting off with the group. Let’s go.” This time, Martine didn’t hesitate to make his move. Sammuel quickly turned his head to see how Rothell would react but seeing that he ignored Martine’s actions, Sammuel felt a foreboding feeling coming in. “You too.”

Gregor wasn’t safe either.

“W-Wait! I’ll behave! See, Lady Valerie’s my handler so it only makes sense that-”

Martine dragged both Sammuel and Gregor away from the group, opting to seat at the back of the class. Sammuel went against Martine’s actions but it all fell on deaf ears.

As they proceeded deeper in, the shadowy figures began to finally gain clearer details. Their uncertain shapes slowly followed a more defined figure, a human figure. The empty faces became filled in, all having their own unique identity as well as abilities. By the time Martine, Sammuel, and Gregor were seated in the back, a sudden bell rang.

The man in front was no longer an undiscernible figure but someone who had a more unique disposition.

“I’m Edward Wrester.” The man weakly mumbled in front. “Your unfortunate professor for this class.” His face was telling the world that he wanted nothing more than for this class to finish. Every student had the complete opposite reaction to the teacher, they were all excited for what was to come.

“... Edward Wrester? No way. Even if it’s an illusion, this is still something great! I've always wanted to meet someone like him.” Gregor mumbled under his breath in the same excited way that the rest of the students were. If not for his cuffs restraining him then he would’ve tried to do something to get Edward’s attention.

This person was so notable that even Sammuel, who had just arrived in this world, knew his name.

Edward Wrester, the man himself. I’ve read records of his deeds and I have to say, he doesn’t look like it at all. So this is the so-called Great Human of Philosophy. A man who has taught countless people who all became great figures. The records stated that every single one of his students became prodigies in their own right. But… didn’t they also say that he never taught more than thirty-three students at once?

Sammuel didn't even need to do a headcount since it was obvious what was happening right now, there were more than thirty-three people in this classroom. Even the small section that the other captives and handlers from earlier barely accounted for a fraction of how large this room was.

This fact didn’t sit right with him.

“Martine, care to tell us what’s happening right now?” Sammuel could already tell that Martine knew a bit of what was going on.

Another bell rang out loud. At this instance, Martine grabbed both Gregor and Sammuel and jumped to the back. He shattered a bookcase right behind him, revealing a small hole, enough for three people to fit in. Martine shoved both Gregor and Sammuel inside this hole.

A magical contraption began to whirl as they were both locked in. A blue barrier trapped them inside.

Sammuel immediately tried to pry open the barrier but it was useless, he was still mana-locked, there was nothing he could do. The immediate conclusion to this was that there was something terrible going to happen at this very moment.

Well, Sammuel thought that before a small notification popped up.

[Condition: Find a hidden saferoom | Reward: Increased Card Rate]

[Condition Cleared: Find a hidden saferoom | Reward: Increased Card Rate]

Saferoom?

Indeed, it was a safe room. The only question was what for? It didn’t take long for Sammuel to figure out what it meant. At the very next moment, Edward’s voice echoed throughout the classroom.

“A true human can never learn what he cannot experience. Your first lesson… life and death.” Edward’s apathetic words changed the tune of the previously upbeat classroom. “Out of the 500 students, only 33 will remain. Begin.”

Martine had already acted well in advance. As someone who had already gone through this, how could he ever forget?