Early morning.
What woke me was none other than…
“Chuwp… Did you sleep well?”
It was Lily’s morning kiss.
“…As expected, you were awake, weren’t you?”
Yesterday morning, when I always had to wake Lily up, I suggested that it would be nice if she woke me up sometimes.
As expected, Lily had only been pretending to sleep.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Her expression showed she had no idea what I was talking about.
You’re such a skilled liar. Still…
“This isn’t bad too.”
As I said this, I leaned in to kiss Lily again.
“This far and no further.”
Lily’s hand stopped me.
As I looked confused, she replied with a cheerful smile.
“We’re family, remember?”
Ah, that’s right. The role-playing was over yesterday. This Lily is Lily as a family member.
“…Didn’t we kiss even when we were playing as family?”
“Well, most of those were before meals.”
I stretch out my arms, feeling a little wistful.
“I could still give you a hug, right?”
Nodding, Lily pulls me into a tight embrace.
Her warm, comfortable touch made me want to close my eyes, but…
“Arthur. We should get ready for school, right?”
“Hmm…”
“Arthur.”
Finally, reluctantly breaking away from her embrace, something catches my eye.
When Lily returned to her evening dress, her collarbone was exposed. On her pure white skin, there was a single dark red mark.
I hadn’t noticed it yesterday in the sweet atmosphere, but now, it was quite… hmm.
Lily notices my gaze and smiles seductively.
“What? You didn’t hesitate to kiss me yesterday, but now you’re shy?”
“No… It’s not that I’m shy, but…”
Looking closely, it really is the shape of my lips. Thinking that it’s a one-of-a-kind stamp and that I’ve placed it on Lily, it feels like she truly belongs to me…
“Oh, let’s eat breakfast! I’ll just use the restroom.”
In a hurry, I distance myself from Lily and head straight to the restroom.
‘Get away, you lewd demon~!’
—
After having old-fashioned fried food for breakfast, I prepared to leave with Lily.
“We have practical tests for the next four days starting today.”
“What exactly is involved in the practical test?”
“Hmm… I don’t know either.”
“…Aren’t you here for more than a year?”
“Yes, this is my fourth time taking the practical test.”
“But you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
It’s not just me who’s ignorant. Even classmates taking the same exam and even professors don’t know the contents of the practical test until the day it happens. It’s because…
“Each semester, the Chancellor personally designs the evaluation plan. The content changes every time, so even graduates wouldn’t know, right?”
A test personally created by the great archmage. You’d have to break the title of Archmage to nitpick.
Although I have received failing grades three times in a row by being eliminated at light speed in each of the previous three practical tests, it will be different this time.
“Shall we go?”
“Hold on, did you forget anything?”
As I looked at her confused, Lily sighed and came closer. Brushing my bangs, she…
“Chuwp!”
“…Why on the forehead?”
She usually kisses on the lips.
“Because if I did it on the lips, I wouldn’t be able to resist.”
…Then,
I brush her bangs and gently kiss her bright forehead.
We tightly embraced each other, and the next moment,
“Meow~”
In my arms was a black cat. As I fondled its cute twitching ears, we left the room.
As we went out, many gazes poured in. And…
“Ah!”
“They’re here!”
A man and a woman lounging by the door rushed to me.
“Arthur!”
“Junior!”
“Let’s!”
“Interview!”
“Let’s do it!”
“Right now!”
“Immediately!”
…What? Are they going to boast about their destined relationship?
“…Who are you?”
“Ouch!”
“What!?”
“We’re!”
“You don’t know who we are!?”
“We are!”
“From the newspaper club!”
“The reporters!”
“Regina!”
“Johnsons!”
First things first, I should ask the most curious thing right away.
“Are you two a couple?”
At that, both of their faces immediately turned sour simultaneously.
“Who would be a couple with this guy!?”
“Who would be with this girl!?”
…Ah, they’re siblings.
Now that I think about it, I’ve heard of this before. The story about twin reporters in the newspaper club.
Judging by how unalike they are, they must be fraternal twins… yet their expressions of displeasure were surprisingly similar.
They were definitely intriguing characters, but…
“I won’t do the interview.”
I slipped past them and headed towards the main building.
“Why!”
“What about us!”
“So what!”
“What’s the big deal!”
I turned my head slightly and glanced at the twins, saying dismissively.
“Today’s the practical test.”
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
The twins understood.
—
The indoor training hall within the main building. This was where this practical test was taking place.
The outdoor training ground, where practical classes are held, is always open, and any student can use it as long as it doesn’t interfere with the lessons.
However, here, the indoor training hall is a special place accessible only to a few student council members, students who have passed the practical test with outstanding results, and the faculty. It also occasionally serves as the exam venue for the practical test.
“…This isn’t good.”
Hearing my words, Lily tilted her head.
“The previous practical tests were all held outdoors. But the opening of the indoor training hall means…”
By glancing around, you could see the serious expressions of the students.
“…It means a difficult and dangerous evaluation awaits us.”
As soon as the bell rang, the doors of the training hall opened.
Seeing who entered, all the students bowed their heads.
I did the same and called out:
“Good morning, Chancellor!”
Answering the greetings, the slender-built man stepped onto the prepared podium.
“Good morning everyone. Please, take your seats.”
Seats? Where are the…
Wait, what?
Just now, chairs had appeared behind each student.
Chairs that weren’t there a moment ago.
‘…He didn’t even chant a spell…?’
Indeed, he was an extraordinary person.
Once the students were seated, the chancellor waved his hand in the air.
At that, a translucent image appeared in the empty air.
“I expect some of you might have guessed the location, but this exam will be the most dangerous and challenging one you have encountered so far. The theme of this test is…”
The vague shape of the image became clear. A swirling black vortex gathering at one point.
Realizing what it meant, the students let out a collective sigh.
“…A spatial rift.”
Among those sighing students, I was one of them.
‘Spatial rift? Are they putting this on a test? Are they insane?’
A spatial rift.
Scholars attributed its cause to outsider attacks, but that was merely a hypothesis. The true cause of this bizarre phenomenon remains unknown even today.
Once it appears, it sucks in everything around it—people, animals, plants, buildings, even parts of the natural environment.
The few who have survived its depths repeatedly recount a single phrase.
“—It was hell.”
That was what they said.
A disaster beyond control, leaving countless lives and assets in ruins—this was the spatial rift.
“There’s no doubt you are familiar with spatial rifts. The practical test task for this semester is to survive inside a spatial rift.”
Dark clouds appear on the students’ faces.
While there was no one brave enough to directly complain to the Archmage, I suspect every student was silently cursing the chancellor.
“Don’t worry too much, though. The spatial rift for the test will be opened by me directly, meaning it will remain under my control. Should anyone find themselves in danger, I’ll pull them out immediately, so there’s no need to worry.”
Even though the students were amazed at the Archmage’s ability to create a spatial rift artificially, their faces didn’t show any signs of relief.
“Ah, I should have mentioned this earlier… Given the dangers, there will be significant benefits. Outstanding students who pass this test will be allowed to learn one magic spell of their choice from me.”
At that moment, the gloomy atmosphere reversed entirely.
The students’ faces, previously dark with clouds, bloomed like a rainbow after the rain, their eyes shining brightly.
After all, this was the teaching of the great Archmage himself. Learning magic from the Chancellor, hailed as the wisest sage on the continent, wasn’t just about enhancing one’s strength—it completed a prestigious career in itself.
Naturally, the students’ focus doubled.
The Chancellor, pleased with their response, continued his explanation.
“You will be exploring within the rift for the entire four-day test period. During these four days, you’re free to do anything you want, but naturally, the more proactive students will receive better scores.”
Four days—long or short depending on your perspective. I never expected we’d be spending the entire time inside the rift.
“Each student will be provided with just one day’s worth of basic rations. For the remaining three days, you’ll need to forage for your meals on-site.”
“I’ll provide basic supplies, but personal items other than these are not allowed.”
It was truly a survival challenge.
The critical factor would likely be the environment where we end up, though the Chancellor made no mention of this.
‘Test it out firsthand, huh? Harsh indeed.’
Had it been me from a week ago without Lily, I undoubtedly would have set a new record for immediate disqualification.
As the Chancellor waved his hand again, small backpacks appeared in front of each student.
“A basic survival backpack enchanted with a Size Reduction Spell. It contains various relief supplies, including food, so do take good care of it.”
Finally, the Chancellor stepped down from the podium, creating some distance between him and the students.
“We shall now begin.”
The Chancellor’s eyes flared open, revealing his Odd Eye as a surge of magical power gathered towards a single point.
The students’ hair whipped around due to the intense pull, and female students screamed.
-Crack! Snip!
A crack appeared in space itself.
The crack expanded, spreading out in a spider-web pattern before…
-Crash!
A hole formed, reminiscent of the abyss described in books.
This hole created an even stronger force of attraction, and the students began to be pulled towards it without resistance.
“Then, I wish you all the best of luck!”
With the Chancellor’s voice, the students were lifted up and sucked into the hole.
Holding Lily tightly in my arms, I trembled as I entered the pitch-black void.
Finding solace in the warmth stirring in my arms, I was suddenly aware.
‘…Huh?’
In my peripheral vision, I caught sight of something unusual.
Among the students falling alongside us, one had pulled out an odd object.
Just looking at it made me feel uneasy. I tried to shout to alert others, but the terrible noise from the rift drowned my voice.
When the unknown student threw the object into the air,
-Boom!
The rift became even more unstable.
Whatever that thing was, it had affected the rift.
As if sensing this, a vortex began pulling the students in.
Among the students disappearing into the vortex, I caught a glimpse of the face of the one holding the strange object.
‘…Louis?!’
Before I could react in shock, the intense turbulence left me disoriented.
In the chaotic motion that disrupted my sense of direction, I must have lost consciousness briefly because when I opened my eyes again…
‘…Huh?’
I was sprawled out in a dense forest.
Still staring blankly at the large leaves above, I remembered Lily and quickly sat up.
Fortunately, Lily was lying on my chest.
Was she disoriented from the nausea? I gently stroked her before looking around and soon…
‘…What? Is this… could it be?!’
I turned my head quickly, almost hearing a snapping sound in my neck as I scanned the surroundings.
There was no mistaking it.
There was no forgetting it.
This was the place where I first met Lily.
I absentmindedly mumbled the name of this place that I had heard from Lily.
‘…Dreamland…?’
