013 Pioneer Class - Part 3 - Mirai’s POV

The murmurs of the gathered students buzzed around me like an annoying swarm of flies. Some whispered in shock, others laughed, and a few even started recording on their phones.

Karl Brandt, the red-haired idiot currently sprawled on the floor, had just tried to threaten me over my convenience store job.

Seriously? This was what he was wasting his time on?

Karl wiped his mouth, his expression twisting in rage. “You think you’re hot shit?”

I crossed my arms, unimpressed. “I know I am.”

This dumbass had stormed up to me the second I walked into the classroom, spewing some nonsense about how he’d ruin my life if I didn’t agree to his demands.

And what were his oh-so-important demands?

“To become his girlfriend.”

Yeah. No.

I had always had a bit of a boyish streak. I wasn’t the type to shy away from a fight, and right now, my luck was stacked. It must’ve been topped off from yesterday’s events because I felt supercharged.

A flicker of ESP sparked around me. I let a little loose, just enough to guide my next move.

I jabbed him square in the jaw.

It connected perfectly.

With a sickening crack, Karl’s head snapped back, and he collapsed onto the floor. Out. Cold.

Silence stretched through the crowd.

Then someone whistled.

“Holy shit.”

“Damn, she knocked him the hell out.”

The corner of my lip twitched. That was satisfying.

I met Mark’s gaze from across the crowd. He stood at the sidelines, watching with that usual unreadable expression of his.

Beside him was Ron, still radiating that golden retriever energy.

I lifted a hand in a casual wave. “Yo~!”

Mark didn’t even acknowledge me. He just turned on his heel and walked straight into the classroom like I didn’t exist.

What the hell was that?

Before I could dwell on it, Ron practically bounced over, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Whoa~! You knocked him out good!” he whistled, glancing at Karl’s unconscious form. “What did he do to you?”

I frowned as I watched Mark disappear into the classroom without a word. What was his problem?

Ron, still grinning beside me, tilted his head. “Maybe he’s jealous?”

I nearly choked. “Jealous? Why?”

Ron shrugged. “I dunno. You knocked a guy out cold in front of him. Maybe he wanted to do it first?”

“That’s stupid,” I muttered, face heating up. “We just met yesterday.”

“And yet,” Ron wiggled his eyebrows, “he ignored you like a scorned lover.”

I clicked my tongue and walked faster. This golden retriever is way too nosy.

The moment we stepped into the classroom, Ron still stuck to me like glue. I glanced around, trying to find Mark—but he was gone.

I blinked. How?

It wasn’t like the classroom was packed. In fact, it was the opposite.

Students were scattered around, standing awkwardly, looking around with confusion.

Because there were no seats.

No desks.

Nothing.

“…Uh.” I glanced at Ron. “Where are the seats?”

Ron crossed his arms. “Where are the desks?”

A bad feeling crept up my spine. Just what kind of class did we get into?

The classroom was a massive, open space—more like a training hall than a place for learning. The walls were smooth, a deep gray with faint patterns etched into the surface, like some kind of reinforcement. The floor was just as tough-looking, a polished material that wasn’t quite concrete but definitely built to take a beating. No windows, just long strips of artificial lighting overhead.

And most importantly—no seats. No desks.

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Just students standing around awkwardly, shifting on their feet, waiting for something to happen.

I took a quick headcount. About fifteen of us. Sixteen, if you included the very invisible Mark. That dude’s ESP was weird. I swore he was here, but my brain kept glossing over his presence like he was part of the background.

Before I could dwell on it, the door suddenly slammed open.

Reina Morningstar entered like a storm, dragging someone behind her—Karl Brandt, the red-haired idiot who had been harassing me earlier. He was unconscious.

Okay. Correction. Seventeen students.

That was surprisingly few. Back in high school, classes were packed with at least thirty to forty students. But this was the Pioneer Class—the elite of the elite. It made sense they’d keep it small.

Reina let go of Karl’s collar and let him thud against the floor before turning to the rest of us with a bright, almost friendly smile.

“Good morning, class!” she announced. “You might be wondering why there are no desks and chairs.”

No one said anything. Some shifted uncomfortably.

“Well, guess what?” Reina clapped her hands together. “You can’t have them unless I say so!”

I narrowed my eyes. That didn’t sound good.

“Okay, rules!” Reina continued, still smiling. “I’m an easy person to get along with! For one, I don’t take attendance.”

A few students perked up at that.

“But!” Reina’s smile widened. “If I find out you skipped my class, I will kill you.”

The hopeful expressions vanished.

“Don’t worry!” she added cheerfully. “If you have a valid reason for skipping, I will only kill you an inch before your death!”

I felt my eye twitch.

Kill you an inch before your death?

Was that even possible?

Reina clapped her hands in slow, exaggerated sarcasm, the sound echoing through the empty room.

“Okay, now I see that everyone here managed to remove their cuffs. Excellent work.” Her tone was thick with amusement. “Good, good, you must feel real special.”

Some students shuffled awkwardly. Others, like me, simply stared.

“Anyways,” Reina continued, stretching her arms behind her head. “I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll give you all a choice.”

A few students perked up, listening intently.

“You can either get a merit point—” Reina held up one finger.

“—or…” She held up a second finger, pausing dramatically.

“The option to have… an armchair!”

Silence.

I blinked.

What?

I knew Mark was crazy, but this professor? She was on a whole different level.

Then, suddenly—

“I’ll take the armchair,” Mark said, raising his hand.

A few students flinched, whipping their heads around in his direction like he had materialized out of thin air. Which, to be fair, he probably did. His ESP was freaky like that.

The entire class just stared at him.

Then, another voice.

“I’ll do the same,” remarked a girl with long blonde hair.

A few more hands went up.

I hesitated. On one hand, merit points. Those sounded important. But on the other hand, I had been standing for way too long, and an armchair sounded like the best thing ever right now.

I raised my hand.

Roughly a quarter of the class followed suit.

Reina smirked and turned toward the front of the room, where an old, oversized blackboard stood on the wall. It was massive—at least twice the size of a normal classroom board, with thick metal rails supporting it. The surface was worn, dark with streaks of chalk dust, and covered in faint scratches like someone had once clawed at it. At the top, an old-fashioned track system let it slide up and down, almost like a panel hiding something.

With a casual tug, Reina pulled the blackboard downward.

Behind it—

Armchairs.

Plush, cushioned, actual armchairs stacked neatly in rows, like she had been planning this the entire time.

What the fuck?

“There you go,” Reina said, gesturing toward them. “Those who wanted armchairs, feel free to pick one. You can also place them wherever you want.”

I walked over in a daze, grabbed one of the armchairs, and dragged it to a corner.

I dragged my armchair toward the back of the classroom and planted it firmly against the wall. If there were any windows, I would’ve preferred to sit by one, but of course this place didn’t have any. Just the dim glow of overhead lights casting weird shadows on the walls.

Mark had already settled down beside me, leaning back in his chair like this was all completely normal.

A second later, Ron plopped his chair right next to mine, flashing me a grin. “Guess we’re seatmates.”

I sighed. The seating arrangement in this classroom was absolute chaos. Some students spaced themselves far apart, while others clustered into little groups. A few even dragged their chairs right up to the front, practically looming over Reina like they wanted a front-row VIP seat to whatever insanity she was about to pull.

Reina, meanwhile, was watching us with clear amusement. “Alright, alright, listen up! If you’re left-handed, please grab one of the left-handed ones. Don’t be an idiot and try to fit in with the right-handed ones.”

A few students paused mid-adjustment, looking at their armrests in mild horror.

“Anyways,” Reina continued, crossing her arms. “You might’ve noticed the button on the right side of your chair. Go ahead, give it a click.”

I frowned and reached down. Sure enough, there was a small, circular button embedded into the frame.

The moment I pressed the button, the armchair vanished. In its place, a sleek black ring landed neatly in my palm. And because I definitely wasn’t expecting that, I fell flat on my ass.

A thud echoed through the room as I hit the cold, hard floor. A few students snickered. One outright laughed.

Ron also crashed onto the floor beside me.

“Ow! What the hell?!” he yelped, rubbing his tailbone.

I turned to him, wide-eyed. “You too?!”

He blinked at me, then at the empty space where his chair used to be. “Uh, yeah?! I wasn’t expecting it to just—poof!” He mimed an explosion with his hands.

“You good?” asked Mark

I ignored the heat rising to my face and quickly scrambled to my feet. “I—I’m fine!” I coughed, trying to act like nothing happened.

“Me too,” added Ron.

The ring that used to be my chair lay in my palm, as innocent as could be.

Reina, of course, saw everything. She grinned like she had just won something. “Ah, yes. I should have mentioned the sudden disappearance. Oops.”

I shot her a glare, but she only looked more entertained.

Reina smirked, clearly enjoying the reaction. “Neat, right? That bad boy isn’t just any spatial storage. Oh no. This is the first-ever hyperdimensional spatial storage equipment. It shouldn’t even be on the market yet. But I am awesome like that.”

I slipped the ring onto my finger, still processing what had just happened.

Reina stretched her arms dramatically. “And the best feature? It turns into a chair!”

The classroom groaned.

“Oh, come on!” someone in the front row shouted. “If we knew that, we would’ve all taken the chairs!”

Reina grinned, utterly shameless. “Exactly. But nooooo, you wanted merit points instead. Tough luck.”

A few students glared at her. One guy looked like he wanted to flip a desk—except there weren’t any desks to flip.

Reina clapped her hands. “And just so we’re clear, I did give you a chance. If you really want one of these, it’ll cost you ten merit points!”

More groans.

I glanced at Mark, who was silently twisting his ring between his fingers. He hadn’t reacted much, but something about the way his lips barely curled at the edges told me he was way too satisfied with his decision.

Ron groaned, picking up his newly-formed ring from the ground. “Man, I really should’ve just stayed standing…”