Night Ready

Drama on my first day, quite the show it was.

I finally found my room after the incident, though it took me a solid fifteen minutes to get here. The room was in Building A, right next to the school. Shouldn’t have taken that long, really—but I guess it does when your classmates drag you around like a lost puppy.

The room itself was better than I expected. Clean, spacious, and not falling apart. Honestly, it felt too nice for me. The real challenge would be keeping it like this, which, supposedly, I was capable of.

My clothes had already arrived—the ones Araina sent over—so I unpacked and filled the closet. After that, I switched into something more comfortable: sweatpants and a sweater. Nights tended to get colder, and I wasn’t about to freeze my first night here.

I stood in the middle of the room for a while, unsure of what to do next. The day had drained me, but my mind wasn’t ready to shut down just yet.

That’s when the doorbell rang.

I froze, staring at the door. It was my first day—no one should’ve been visiting me. Not yet.

When I opened it, I was met with an unexpected sight. Vitaly. The second-year from earlier. She stood there holding… a food container?

“Ah, excuse me,” she said, her voice carrying its usual steadiness. “It seems you’re my new room neighbor.”

“…Yes? Can I help you?”

“Well, since you’re my new room neighbor, I feel obligated to welcome you.”

It sounded a little forced, but I wasn’t about to complain.

“Here. I made some food for tonight.”

She held out the container. I blinked, caught off guard. Of all the things I expected on my first night, this wasn’t one of them. Still, the realization hit me almost immediately—I hadn’t eaten a single thing since morning.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s just a welcome from me. My codename is Vitaly, by the way. I’m a second year.”

“Ah. Loser. First year.”

She was different now compared to earlier—less sharp, almost softer. Like she had two versions of herself she switched between at will.

“…Why are you still wearing your face mask?” she asked suddenly.

I reached up, only now realizing I had put it on without thinking when I walked to the door.

“Ah. Not quite sure myself,” I answered vaguely.

“I see… then I’ll be heading back now.”

She turned to leave, but something caught my attention.

“Uh, hey,” I called.

She glanced back. “What is it?”

“You… forgot to zip your skirt.”

Silence. Then, in a rush, she spun, tugging at the back of her skirt with both hands. Her face went red, brighter than I’d ever seen.

“…Did you see it?” Her tone dropped into something dangerous.

I knew instantly this was a trap. Say the wrong thing and I’d probably regret it. Lying was an option, but…

“Not much,” I said carefully.

“HOW much?”

Her voice had enough weight to crush me where I stood.

“…White.”

She froze, then stormed toward her door. Before slamming it shut.

The impact rang down the hallway.

I stood there, speechless. Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

Back inside, I carried the food container to the dining table and lifted the lid. The smell hit me first—warm, seasoned, and ridiculously appetizing. I didn’t waste any time and started eating. Each bite was better than I expected, familiar in a way that made me think of Araina’s cooking.

I sighed when I finished, realizing I’d never be able to cook like that. Not even close.

The room felt quieter after, the day finally weighing down on me. I looked around once more, then decided to call it a night. Tomorrow was waiting, and I’d already prepared what I needed.

...

The second day had begun, and on today’s schedule was the Placement Test. All first years would be ranked on the leaderboard after taking a series of evaluations. Instructor Tana had explained the details yesterday, but it still felt vague until now.

I was ready to leave, but there was something I needed to do first—return the food container to Vitaly.

Wearing my glasses and mask, I stepped out of my room just as I was about to knock on her door… only to find her walking out at the exact same time.

“Ah, here’s your food container, and also… thank you for the food,” I said, holding it out. I wondered if she was still upset about what happened last night.

She let out a sigh. “It’s no problem. You washed it, right?”

“I did.”

Without another word, she went back into her room to put the container away. I stayed where I was, waiting, since I wanted to ask her something about today’s test.

When she came back out and saw me still standing there, her brow furrowed slightly. “Why are you still here?”

I asked her about the Placement Test.

“I see… but can we just talk about it while walking to school?” she suggested.

“Sure.”

“Also—keep your distance from me. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

She gave a quick glance over her shoulder, almost like she was making sure I wasn’t trying anything. Her awareness seemed sharper than yesterday.

So we walked, with me following a step behind, just close enough to hear her voice as she explained. By the time we reached the school—only a short walk from Building A—I had the full rundown.

“That’s all. Good luck… I guess,” she said, brushing it off like it wasn’t much.

“Thank you,” I replied sincerely.

We parted ways, and I headed for my class, running through her explanation in my head.

There were three tests:

The first was the Reaction Time Test. Straightforward enough—we’d be given five chances, and our scores would be based on the average. Not too hard, I thought. If anything, this was the one I felt confident about.

The second was the Frame Power Test. Vitaly said there wasn’t much anyone could do to prepare for this. A device would measure our Frame Power and translate it into numbers—the higher the number, the better. Simple, but intimidating. I couldn’t help but doubt myself here.

The third was the Physical Test. This one was self-explanatory: testing strength and endurance. Vitaly mentioned the “fan-favorite” challenge—holding a plank for as long as possible. I wasn’t exactly built for this kind of thing, but it didn’t sound unreasonable. Just give it my best, and I’d manage.

“Morning, everyone,” Instructor Tana greeted as she stepped to the front of the class.

“As you all know, today we will be having the Placement Test. But before that, I’ll be explaining all of the tests.”

Vitaly had already filled me in, so I didn’t bother listening too closely. At least, not until she said something that made me stop cold.

“And the final test will be Hand-to-Hand Combat.”

My head snapped up. Vitaly didn’t say anything about this. She was so sure there were only three tests. Either she didn’t know, or this was added at the last second.

Hand-to-Hand Combat.

It barely even sounded like a test. I had no real experience with fighting, though I had picked up the basics of defending myself. Still, I’d never actually had to use it in a real situation.

“Students will be each other’s opponents,” Instructor Tana continued, her tone firm but calm. “Your opponents will be randomized. Of course, you are free to refuse to participate. Strong scores in the other tests can still place you high on the leaderboard. But remember—this assessment will be judged very seriously. The match ends only when one combatant is knocked out, or when they surrender and tap out"

That last part sounded… barbaric.

The class didn’t seem all that shaken, though. In fact, some students even looked excited, like they’d been waiting for this.

“Yeah, no, I’ll pass,” one girl muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“This test will be held tomorrow,” Tana clarified. “And forget what I said earlier about no rules—using weapons or Frames is strictly prohibited. This is a test of physical skill alone.”

That made sense. But the way she phrased it earlier would’ve really messed with anyone planning to cheat. Grim thought, but I guess that’s the point.

I told myself then: If I do poorly on any of the other tests, I’ll participate in the combat. If not… I’ll sit it out.

Simple. I just had to hope my scores wouldn’t force me into a fight.

“Okay! Everyone needs to head to the locations that were sent to your phones this morning,” Instructor Tana said, dismissing the class.

I pulled out my phone and checked. Sure enough, the map of the school was on the screen with a highlighted route. Convenient. Still, the school was smaller than I expected. Thinking it over, it made sense: if every year had six classes with only about ten students each, that added up to around 180 students total. Smaller than most schools, but considering this place wasn’t normal, maybe that was exactly the point.

I put the thought aside and followed the map to the designated location.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***