The students were like worker ants, gathering in front of their dormitory head, who stood atop a podium—a woman with an ideal figure climbing onto it.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" she began her speech, standing confidently on the podium—the head of the Drakvaris Dormitory.
The woman looked young, her face radiant and her hair maroon-colored. She opened her mouth again after the crowd began to lower their voices.
"I am Kimberly Sunspace, your dormitory head here."
The woman waved and smiled. She looked friendly. Wein, who was watching, could conclude that each dormitory must have its own head.
"I'm here to explain the competition you'll be participating in." She paused for a moment to catch her breath before continuing.
The crowd started talking, questioning what kind of competition it was. Some were very confused—how could there be a competition?
Head Kimberly took action, clapping a device that caused several distortions, producing an unpleasant sound.
The students started to fall silent, reflexively obeying Head Kimberly's command. They quickly turned their attention to her.
"You may have never heard of this, but this is an annual competition for first-year students, where each dormitory competes to score the highest points. And I hope this year will be better than previous years because the Drakvaris Dormitory has always been at the bottom of the rankings."
"You'll see later. Now I'll focus on explaining the rather complicated rules of the game. Alright… first is the objective—you need to gather as many points as possible before the competition ends. Second is the gameplay. There are three different classes in this competition: Crew, Neutral, and Monarch. Each class has a different role, starting from the easiest—Crew. You Crews will complete daily tasks that will be updated regularly. Then there's Neutral—you can follow the Crews, but you must protect your identity so you're not discovered as a Neutral. And finally, the hardest—Monarch. Your job is to attack opponents using your subclass."
"I know you don't understand much yet, but at least I've informed you. If you're still confused, you can pick up a handbook in the dormitory library." Head Kimberly quickly stepped back. She seemed quite busy today and was rushing things.
"She just left like that?" some students could be heard muttering. Now they had to learn the rules themselves, and the hardest part was—the competition would begin tomorrow.
Wein Arcveil looked around and clearly saw a large paper displaying last year's ranking posted on the wall of the hall. He tried to find his dormitory.
Wein lifted his gaze but then lowered it again, since Drakvaris wasn't near the top. Finally, he saw it at the very bottom with a very low score.
Sherlyn, carrying a book, handed it to Wein and opened her mouth. "I think you're going to need this book."
"Thanks, now I don't have to go to the library," replied Wein. He quickly examined the book. It wasn't thick, but it looked quite old from its cover.
'Aetheris Competition.'
That was the title of the book. While wiping off the dust, Wein could now see some images engraved on its leather cover.
"Huh… This is boring."
***
That night after dinner, Wein Arcveil quickly returned to his dorm room. He was lucky enough to have a room to himself.
Wein was studying several fragments of his memory again after enduring the tragic story of Wein Arcveil as he explored it.
After passing through smooth memory fragments, he started opening the handbook that he still barely understood.
Wein Arcveil gazed through the window. The red moon, often called the Blood Moon, had risen. The lake visible from his room reflected its crimson glow.
He turned to the first page. Wein Arcveil had been a reader in his old world, which was the foundation of this current world, so reading wasn't difficult for him.
Grrrr! Grrr!
A vibration came from Wein's pocket. He shifted his gaze from the book and reached for the object inside his pocket.
He tried to remember—what item in his pocket could vibrate like a smartphone from his old world?
Wein pulled the object out and, at the same time, placed his revolver on the table.
He examined the vibrating pocket watch, curious what triggered it. But there was no ringtone, meaning it wasn't an alarm.
After staring at it for a while, Wein realized there were several buttons that shouldn't be on an ordinary pocket watch.
He placed a finger on one of the buttons and pressed it, stopping the vibration.
He sighed, then a voice emerged.
"Wein! Arcveil! Can you hear me?"
A soft and familiar voice.
Wein recognized Sherlyn's voice immediately but didn't know how to respond.
"Wein! Press the button on the lower right to speak," Sherlyn said again.
"Hello!" replied Wein, after finding the button on his pocket watch. He was quite impressed that this tiny device could work like a smartphone.
"I didn't expect to wait ten minutes just to get a response," Sherlyn teased flatly.
Wein replied by pressing the button again.
"Who would've known this pocket watch could be used like that?" he chuckled.
"Alright then, what's your reason for calling me? I know you wouldn't call unless it's important," Wein continued.
The transmission sound echoed between messages. They had to press and hold a button to speak.
It was just like a walkie-talkie from Wein Arcveil's old world—only combined with a pocket watch.
"The competition. I just wanted to talk about it with you," said Sherlyn seriously.
"What for? Is something odd?"
"Nothing for now. But do you understand the system yet?" Sherlyn asked.
"I'm still studying it," Wein replied, flipping to a new page after reading some important points in the first chapter.
A simple room, a window facing the lake, and the rising moon made the atmosphere even tenser.
"Can you understand it? This is important for the dormitory's economy," Sherlyn said anxiously.
"I'll do my best. The only way to win is for me to become a Neutral with the subclass Joker," Wein said confidently.
"That's going to be difficult. The chance of getting Joker is only 0.6666%, you know?"
"What about Spy? Isn't that a good subclass?" Wein asked.
Joker was one of the Neutral subclasses. Neutral was a class very useful for Wein—if killed by a Monarch or accused through a vote and lost, a Joker could choose to continue playing again, among other things.
And Crew was a relatively weak class—but not useless. All classes were useful as long as everyone could work together.
"Monarch has the lowest chance among the three classes."
"Wizard, Joker, and King are the rarest subclasses in their respective classes."
Wizard comes from Crew, Joker from Neutral, and King from Monarch.
"Are you really serious about this competition, Wein?"
"What do you think? As long as I get what I want, I'll get the best outcome for the dormitory economy," replied Wein.
He had reached the final chapter and the last page. It was time to rest, and Sherlyn said so first.
"Alright, it's getting late. See you tomorrow… Good night, Wein." She disconnected the transmission.
"Good night," Wein replied.
***
Morning had arrived, and today was the day they would receive their class assignments, with Dormitory Head Kimberly present.
Wein Arcveil walked through the crowd to get a clearer view of the podium. Beside him was Sherlyn Aurhae, and in front of them was Loraine Eleanoir.
"Good morning, everyone! Sorry about last night—I was busy. Now I'll help those who still don't understand, along with the class assignments."
A flash of blue lightning and sparks started appearing before the students' eyes. They focused intently.
"Alright, sheets will appear now to assign your class!"
Then, as the lightning swirled and hovered in the sky, sheets began forming. Wein Arcveil quickly grabbed his and stared at it for a while before opening it.
Before unfolding it, Wein made sure everyone was too distracted with their own sheets to notice his.
It was time. Wein slowly unfurled the rolled sheet. His gaze was downcast, and he kept the paper hidden.
He hoped to get Joker or at least Sheriff. It would be risky if he got King or other Monarch subclasses.
"Damn it," Wein muttered. He looked at the sheet—bold red letters spelling "King"—and deeply regretted it.
"What did you…" Too late, Sherlyn had already noticed that Wein got King. Wein reflexively hid the sheet in his pocket, then glanced curiously at Sherlyn's paper.
"Revolutionary."
"Wait—wait a minute," Sherlyn said in panic.
Wein quickly responded before the crowd caught on. He knew it wasn't a big deal, but he wanted to hide his role as King.
"Sssshhh!" He placed a finger in front of his lips.
Wein looked at Sherlyn's face—still blank as usual, the first thing he thought internally.
Revolutionary… she's one of them?
"Yes… I got Revolutionary," Sherlyn calmly murmured.