At the voice echoing in the room, I looked at the sturdy metal block in front of me.
Since the voice told me to break it, I punched it.
With a loud noise, the metal block dented.
However, my hand was not unscathed from the blow.
Pain surged, but I did not stop hitting it.
Because the metal block was not yet broken.
The metal block shattered after my hand was battered and bruised.
Immediately after, the room filled with a strange smoke.
As I inhaled the smoke, my mind became hazy, and my vision went dark.
When I came to, my hand was already healed.
Then, someone approached and inserted needles into various parts of my body.
Seeing the needles made me feel extremely uncomfortable, but my limbs were restrained with something like chains, making it impossible to resist.
A short while after the needles were inserted, intense pain hit me.
It felt as if all the blood vessels in my body were melting. I already knew this would be excruciatingly painful, having experienced it several times before.
Shaking with the restrained body, I let out a silent scream.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
I don't want this.
As I thought this, flames erupted from my body.
The silver hair of the person who had inserted the needles into me shimmered in the flickering flames.
*
“Ugh...!”
Startled, I opened my eyes and looked around.
What I saw was the familiar room, and I slowly took a deep breath.
...Was it a dream?
This time, the dream was strangely vivid, leaving me disoriented even after waking up.
Recently, I've been having more dreams, and I don't know why, but it's not a good feeling.
Anyway, it was a really unpleasant nightmare. To be subjected to such severe treatment in a dream...
It was on par with the nightmare I had the night before my discharge.
It's hard to compare which was worse: waking up to see the ceiling of the enlistment examination room the day before my discharge or this nightmare.
Checking the time, it was a bit too early to get up, but it was also awkward to go back to sleep.
To shake off the lingering discomfort from the nightmare, I took a longer shower, but there was still plenty of time before school, so I decided to make macarons more carefully today.
Since my living expenses would be coming in soon, I had a bit more money, so I bought ingredients for different flavors of macarons at the supermarket yesterday. Today, I planned to make strawberry-flavored macarons.
While vigorously whisking the meringue, I accidentally splattered some of the mixture on my face.
It was a waste to throw it away, so I wiped it off with my hand and licked it while thinking.
Honestly, making macarons this diligently is not a rational thing to do.
Even if I don't give Sylvia macarons, she won't care much.
I have one arm and not much money, so there are plenty of reasons why she shouldn't care.
But I couldn't stop.
Sylvia considers me her first and closest friend.
She thinks I approached her purely because I wanted to be friends with her.
But what's the truth?
Even if it's not true now, I initially approached her with a specific purpose in mind.
Because of that, I couldn't be her friend.
But I decided to maintain our relationship.
To repay the emotional debt I feel towards her.
To not be weighed down by the guilt I feel every time I put on the ring.
Today, I packaged the macarons I would give her.
*
A corner of the gym was bustling with people.
Two groups of 30 each were looking at each other awkwardly.
One group was my 1st-year A class.
The other group was the 1st-year B class, whom I had only seen in passing in the cafeteria.
The awkward silence continued until Eve clapped to get the children's attention.
"Everyone heard this morning that from today, the training will be combined for A and B classes, right?"
Due to the recent defense against the monster invasion in the western border area, the academy's curriculum has changed.
They said that students might be called upon at any time, so the training hours have been increased to help them get used to working with people with various abilities.
This is why all the 1st-year students are gathered in the gym.
"Originally, the idea was to mix with students from other classes and practice teamwork, but since it's the first time meeting, you don't know how each other fights, right? The best way to understand someone's fighting style is to face them directly. So today, we'll have a 5-on-5 mock battle between the classes to observe how the other class fights!"
The atmosphere changed with Eve's words.
"Come on, you guys! Show the power of A class!"
"Did you hear that, everyone? We can't lose to A class!"
When Daniel shouted, someone in B class, who seemed to be the mood maker, also shouted, and the other children started to get excited.
A month is enough time to develop a sense of belonging to a class.
The mention of a class competition seemed to ignite the competitive spirit of these young teenagers.
Eve, who seemed to have anticipated this, smiled and watched the scene.
It was definitely an effective way to break the awkwardness.
Groups with a strong sense of belonging are often quite closed off and find it hard to mix naturally with other groups.
To get such groups to become friends, they need a natural reason to interact.
For example, by stimulating their competitive spirit.
If you just put them together and tell them to get along, it would only be awkward.
Seeing this, I thought Eve was a good teacher.
She might be doing it for her own amusement, given how she laughed out loud, but that's beside the point.
Anyway, watching the scene, I felt a sense of nostalgia.
Originally, A and B classes were separate, but after the gym incident, the number of students decreased, and the classes were merged.
In the original story, even combined, they didn't have 30 students...
Anyway, if I had known this, I wouldn't have said those things to Yun Siwoo yesterday.
Since there were other heroines in his class, they would have taken care of his mental state if left alone.
But it's too late to regret now.
Besides, I haven't actually given him any counseling yet.
While thinking about this, I listened to Eve's explanation of today's training.
The mock battles would be between groups of 5 from each class.
To balance the teams, Eve assigned the members.
Incidentally, my name was not on any team.
In simple terms, I was a spectator.
Before getting used to my prosthetic arm, it might be harder to adapt after getting it, so I was mostly observing the practical classes.
I had never been exempted from anything during my military service...
Feeling a strange sense of deprivation, I stood there dazed, and Jesse, who noticed, said to me,
"Please wait a bit. My older brother knows a very famous person who helped design the prosthetic, and the design was completed yesterday. I'll try to get it made as soon as possible so you can join the classes! In two weeks, no, in one week!"
It doesn't have to be that urgent...
It feels like I'm in debt, and it's a bit burdensome.
"It's okay if you take your time."
When I said that, Jesse smiled and shook her head.
"No way! I want to see Scarlett's reaction when she sees the prosthetic."
Her answer made my heart flutter, so I just nodded slightly.
*
Lost in thought, I realized the preparations were already complete.
The first group from each class, including Daniel and Andre from A class, and five from B class, came out, put on protective gear, and Eve cast a spell on them.
In the illusion Eve created, the first groups from each class faced each other with a building in between.
At the same time, the children, divided by class, started cheering for their own class.
I was in a corner at the back of the right side where A class was seated, watching the B class students on the screen Eve had projected.
They were probably minor characters in the original story.
How did I know? Characters with significant roles in the original story are easy to spot.
In academy stories, most characters with striking appearances also have significant roles.
Like the B class girl sitting next to me, who was staring at me intently.
She had a cute, noticeable appearance and a unique twin-tail hairstyle.
Most importantly, her hair was pink. Her name was Flone Dolos.
From her appearance, I could tell she was one of the heroines in the original story.
I wanted to ignore her, but the intense gaze from the side was too much, and I couldn't help but glance at her.
She blushed and said to me,
"Um, I fell in love at first sight... Do you want to go out with Flone?"
I had a feeling this would happen, so I wanted to ignore her.
I laughed inwardly and ignored her confession, but the person next to me couldn't.
Sylvia, sitting to my left, glared at Flone for her suspicious behavior of confessing to someone of the same gender.
Flone, unfortunately, was not an ordinary person.
She blushed even more and said to Sylvia,
"Ah, you're so pretty... Do you want to go out with Flone?"
Sylvia's eyes, which had been puzzled, now said, "What the heck is this?"
Flone's bizarre behavior of confessing to multiple people, including someone of the