Mission in progress.
Death looms around the corner.
Objective: Survive until tomorrow. [00:17:34:32]
Reward: An affinity.
Failure: Death.
Respawn: 2/5
Shit. I’m completely screwed.
"The principles of mana liquidation are essential in the study of fusion and relic creation..."
The professor’s voice barely registered. I was back in the sa spot again after another failed attempt, and it felt completely pointless. I had burned through another respawn and had nothing to show for it.
Tsk.
I hadn’t even made it to the staff quarters before I ran into a problem. Students in the Standard Zone weren’t allowed to leave without permission, and I was starting to fully understand just how rigid that rule was. The academy was divided into three main zones. The Genesis Zone covered first to fifth-year students. The Standard Zone, where I currently was, ran from years six to eight, and we were in our final year here, with a break coming soon, the first one in eight years. Reuniting with family was supposed to be sothing to look forward to, but most students were too afraid of failing to feel anything close to excited. Then there was the Upper Zone, years nine to eleven, where real expeditions happened and the danger was real. For now, students like only got a taste of that through VR exams and practice sessions.
But none of that mattered much at the mont. The point was that I couldn’t leave, and I had nearly died finding that out. The restriction collar around my neck had almost choked when I stepped too far out of the Standard Zone’s boundaries, though that wasn’t what actually killed this ti.
Sothing else did.
After my plan to find a teacher fell apart, I changed tactics and aid for the rooftop instead. It seed reasonable enough, all I had to do was survive until tomorrow, and the roof was isolated and quiet. I figured the teachers would eventually track down through the collars and escort back, and from there I could co up with sothing better.
It didn’t work.
I was killed before I even got there. The elevator didn’t go that high, so I had to use the stairs, and that was a mistake. Whoever was after had been waiting for exactly that. It happened fast, too fast, and I barely saw anything, but this ti I caught a glimpse of sothing. A weapon. A whip, maybe. And then I was dead again.
Sigh.
Back to square one.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Lunchti.
I needed to stay calm and think clearly. There had to be sothing I was missing, so clue buried in everything that had happened across each retry. All these deaths couldn’t be random, there had to be a pattern, sothing constant that I kept overlooking.
Wait.
What had I been doing the sa every single ti? There had to be sothing, so detail that hadn’t changed across any of the runs. Think, Leo, think.
"Leo, can I borrow your notebook? I didn’t copy anything down," Jayden said, scratching the back of his head the sa way he always did.
"Um, su—"
Wait.
This is it.
This is it.
How had I missed this every single ti? Jayden asking for my notebook, that was the one thing that had happened in every single retry without fail. It had been right in front of , and I hadn’t seen it once.
Ti to try sothing different.
"Sorry, soone else already asked for it," I said, standing up quickly before he could respond.
Jayden said nothing. He just stared at , and I thought I saw a frown cross his face.
Then I heard soone speak beside him, and that’s when I noticed the girls sitting nearby.
Wait. Had they always been there? I had been so caught up in my own situation that I hadn’t paid any attention to them.
"Sure, let’s go, Anna. You coming, Emy?" Jayden said.
Of course. The heroines. They had been there the whole ti. But then why had Jayden always tried to get my notebook if he had company? Sothing didn’t add up.
I pushed the thought aside and moved. Once I was outside the classroom, I started running through my options.
Okay, where should I hide next—
[Mission in progress.
Death looms around the corner.
Objective: Survive until tomorrow. [00:17:34:32]
Reward: An affinity.
Failure: Death.
Respawn: 2/5]
Ding.
Death Evaded.
Mission Complete.
"What...?!"
Reward: Shadow Affinity.
Do you wish to exchange your weakened Light Affinity for a Shadow Affinity?
[Yes] [No]
Hold on. Does this an...
Jayden was trying to kill ?!
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