Sierin and I then headed to the field. The students had already gathered and formed their respective groups.
Professor Balkan, upon seeing us, let out an annoyed grunt.
"You two, you're two minutes late."
It was only then that I realized that the thirty-minute time limit had already passed while Sierin and I were talking.
I glanced at Sierin, who remained silent and expressionless... It seemed like she had been aware of the time all along.
'Damn... what a pain.'
I let out a long sigh.
At this point, it was obvious that Professor Balkan would assign our group for us.
His voice rang out again:
"You two are late by two minutes... yawn... so you're in the same team. With one other loner... Sylph, right? Alright, done. Don't give me a headache."
Professor Balkan lazily waved his hand.
Meanwhile, my face stiffened.
I had expected to be grouped with Sierin since we were late together. But... that last name?
Sylph.
There's no way I could forget that name.
In the game, she was a very weak character with extremely low magical aptitude.
Although she was just a minor NPC at first, that was only for the beginning. Sylph was ostracized at the academy—and on the other hand, she deliberately kept her distance from other students.
Her appearance, of course, was impressive—but her character was shrouded in mystery.
Fortunately, when I played the game before, she was part of a crucial storyline in the route I had chosen.
As expected from this world, filled with extraordinary fantasy and mystery, it's no surprise that other races existed, right?
And that was Sylph's true identity. She wasn't human.
She belonged to a fallen race long consumed by darkness—an Elf.
Unlike typical fantasy games, in this one, well-known races like Elves and Dwarves had already been swallowed by the darkness—by evil.
History recorded that this happened twenty-one years ago. Elves and Dwarves had once actively competed with humans—but demons wiped them out just like that.
I had no idea what kind of demon had the power to do something that insane. For context, those two races were incredibly strong and terrifying.
Seeing the power that destroyed them only made me more curious. With that much strength...
Why didn't the demons just wipe out humanity too?
That thought disturbed me.
With power like that...
When would the demons begin to move and attack humanity?
I had played the game, but I hadn't completed all the routes—or even a single one—because of how vast the variables were in this world.
I winced.
My head throbbed, maybe because I'd been thinking too hard lately. Trying to calm myself, I took a deep breath.
I needed to catch up in terms of strength and reconsider everything.
For now, let's focus on what's coming next.
***
Sierin felt chaotic inside. Every word she had heard from Farley echoed in her memory.
'Ulphas… Ulphas is still alive? Really? Ulphas is still alive? Him? Still alive? How could that be? Is that true? Ulphas is alive? Seriously?'
Her heart pounded as she thought about it.
How was she supposed to process this?
If Ulphas was still alive, then she had to kill him.
A sharp glint appeared in Sierin's beautiful eyes. After everything that had happened, she found it hard to feel much emotion—but this time, her emotions were shaken.
She wanted Ulphas dead more than anyone else. And she wanted him dead by her own hands—not someone else's.
'Hah… Calm yourself, Sierin.'
She calmed herself.
Professor Balkan's lazy voice buzzed in her ears. She didn't care who her team was. This time, she would finish the evaluation as quickly as possible.
'I need to hurry.'
Sierin was impatient.
She desperately wanted to see it.
Was the core really fake?
If it was…
Sierin didn't even know what would happen to her.
---
I glanced several times at Sierin's tense expression. I knew what she was thinking and why.
However, with the other one—I had no idea what was going through her mind.
This girl, Sylph, gave off a chilling air, as if there were an invisible wall around her saying, "Don't come near."
Sylph had long light blue hair. Her pupils were a mix of blue and green.
If she smiled, I was sure she'd be immensely popular—because even just being silent like this, she already looked incredibly captivating.
Too bad… even in the game or in the forums, no one had ever caught a glimpse of her smile. I hoped I could see it at least once.
At that moment, our eyes met. I froze for a second, then looked away.
I must've stared for too long.
"Step forward, Team 4."
Professor Balkan's lazy and coarse voice rang out. I quickly looked in that direction and saw the protagonist's team walking to the center of the field.
This group evaluation was a simulated battle against corrupted monsters or demons.
In the wide training field, I stood under an apple tree. The weather was rather hot, so I stayed in the shade.
As per the setup, the protagonist's team consisted of three people. First, the protagonist himself: Leon. Second, his childhood friend, Hestia.
And the third wasn't a particularly famous character—a small-bodied student named Argen.
Argen, yes—that lined up with what happened in the game. He was a character who always maintained neutrality.
No one really knew what he was thinking, and because of that, he was sometimes bullied. Leon helped him, both from the bullying and in this group battle.
Argen was a special character created to develop Leon's story. Slowly, Argen would shift from neutrality to Leon's side and provide him with a lot of support.
Not as Argen.
But as Eugen Alfresida.
A member of a family that lived by uncovering every bit of information about the human world.
An outstanding spy.
That was how the plot was set up.
Then, a girl wearing oversized glasses and holding a staff spoke:
"Are you ready?"
Leon answered loudly with a "Yes!" while Hestia and Argen simply nodded.
The girl was an Imperial necromancer who could summon untamed corrupted monsters to certain locations.
Since this practice could be dangerous, I noticed several adults stationed around the area, clearly on standby in case something went wrong.
The necromancer nodded, closed her eyes, and raised her staff.
Dark magic energy began to gather around her, and a summoning magic circle appeared in front of her, releasing an eerie aura that made Leon tense up.
Her voice echoed:
"Your opponent is a Dwarf that's been corrupted for a long time. Be careful."
Just as she said that—
Something emerged from the summoning circle. The air turned cold and silent.
Dwarves might've once been sentient beings—but ever since they were destroyed and infected with dark corruption, they had lost all reason and turned into full monsters.
Their previously small bodies had grown threefold, now far larger than the average human.
Their strength came from their sheer physical might and the war hammers they wielded. Dwarven hammers weren't simple weapons.
Each Dwarf had a unique ability tied to their soul, which was connected to their hammer.
I stared at the Dwarf.
Its pupils were pitch black and empty. I unconsciously swallowed hard. That threatening presence came from a being considered nothing more than a plaything compared to humans.
Then… just how terrifying were the ones above them?
Without realizing it, I clenched my fist.
Could I really become stronger? Reach a high enough position to change fate in this world?
'Damn.'