Trial (2)

"Want to know what will happen after this?"

A seventeen-year-old girl standing to his right suddenly spoke. He turned to look at her. She had long, golden-blonde hair that framed her delicate features, perfectly complementing her striking emerald eyes. There was a natural elegance about her, as if she belonged to a world far above the ordinary.

Unlike any other student he had encountered in the academy, she carried an aura that set her apart. It wasn't just her appearance. There was something in the way she held herself, in the confidence that radiated from her every word.

He shifted his attention back to the headmaster, who was still delivering his speech. He had no interest in whatever the girl was rambling about. What truly mattered to him was the man standing before them. The one who had saved them from their past misery. For that reason alone, his focus remained fixed on the headmaster's words.

"He will surely send us to some faraway place, just like he did with last year's batch," she sighed, shaking her head. "Kuaaahhh, that terrifying old geezer! I prepared everything I could possibly need, but I still have no idea where he'll send us!" She let out a frustrated groan, hugging her arms as if the thought alone sent a shiver down her spine.

His attention, once locked on the headmaster, now shifted toward her. His brows furrowed slightly.

"Is that true?" he asked, his tone turning serious.

Unlike her, he hadn't prepared anything. He had assumed the ceremony would be like any other academy's, where, after a long-winded speech, students would be dismissed to their respective classrooms. But as the realization hit him, his stomach twisted.

This wasn't just any academy. This was a prestigious institution, one where children outside fought tooth and nail for a chance to enter. Nothing here would be ordinary.

"It's true! I got it from a trustworthy informant," she said, letting out a heavy sigh.

Before he could respond, the headmaster's voice rang out across the vast auditorium, his words carrying an almost mocking tone, as if he had seen through their conversation.

"Now then," the headmaster continued, his gaze sweeping over the gathered students.

The entire hall fell into silence, every student fixated on the man who held their fate in his hands.

"Before we proceed, I'm sure many of you are eager to prove yourselves. Fortunately, we have just the thing to determine whether your presence here is truly earned."

With those final words, he raised his hand, and snapped his fingers.

The moment the sound echoed through the hall, everything around him blurred. His vision darkened for the briefest moment, and when he blinked again…

He was no longer in the auditorium.

No. He was standing amidst crumbling ruins, ancient and overgrown, swallowed by the depths of a forbidden forest. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and moss, and towering trees loomed around him, their twisted roots coiling over shattered stone like grasping fingers.

A trial had begun.

***

The moment the headmaster snapped his fingers, the students vanished without a trace, disappearing as if they had never been there.

The headmaster then turned his gaze toward us, his expression unreadable yet firm.

"Instructors, it is now your duty to protect the students. Guide them onto the right path and prevent any unnecessary trouble that may lead to their demise. Then..."

With those final words, he snapped his fingers once more.

In an instant, the world around us shifted. The grand auditorium was gone, replaced by an endless, desolate wasteland. The air was thick with dust, the wind carrying the scent of dry earth and decay.

Not far from where we stood, an ancient ruin loomed before us. Its crumbling walls and shattered towers standing as a silent testament to a bygone era. This was not just any ruin.

It was the remains of the previous academy, the very institution that once flourished before it fell to ruin during the monstrous invasion of the Great War, a century ago.

The weight of its history pressed down on us like an unspoken warning. Whatever awaited inside… was not for the faint of heart.

Just like in the novel, nothing had changed. Everything was unfolding exactly as it was written. Except for one thing.

Flinn and I.

On this trial, students were sent to an ancient ruin hidden deep within a forbidden forest. This ruin was once a grand academy, a place of knowledge and prestige, but it fell into decay after a massive catastrophe wiped out nearly everyone who once studied there. Now, it is said to be cursed, its halls echoing with the whispers of those who failed before.

This was no ordinary test. The students were tasked with navigating the ruins, uncovering lost knowledge, and retrieving an artifact that would prove their worth. But the real challenge wasn't just survival. It was resisting the ruin's influence. The deeper they ventured, the more the place twisted reality. Testing their minds, their bonds with one another, and their very sense of self. Those who succumbed might never return the same.

This trial would separate the truly strong from the reckless. Some would gain power, others would break, and a few... might even uncover the real reason why this place was abandoned.

And in a trial like this, unexpected things could happen.

No.

They would happen.

A notorious organization, one that had remained hidden in the shadows for the past six years, would finally make its move here.

Their sudden appearance would turn the trial into a bloodbath. Almost half of the students would die, buried alongside the restless grudges of those who had perished here centuries ago.

But I won't let that happen.

I stepped forward, unwavering. There was no hesitation in my stride.

"Then I shall move," I announced to the other instructors before vanishing from their sight.

I had used one of the skills I acquired from the system after leveling up to the required level 60, Chaos Fracture.

A skill that allows me to split space itself, creating portals at will. I can erase objects from existence with a mere thought. And more than that, during battle, I can step into alternate dimensions, bending reality itself to my advantage.

This time, I'll make sure history doesn't repeat itself.