"Pop!"
A faint sound rang out—it was hard to imagine that a life had just ended like that.
Scarlet red splattered across the schoolyard, and without a sound, the girl's body was reduced to nothing more than mangled flesh. Yet clearly, this was only the third floor.
No one screamed. Only an eerie, unsettling silence remained.
[ Tsk, what a delicate opening act. That's precisely why I want as many newcomers as possible—the weaker their minds, the better. ]
[ Though honestly, listening to newbies scream all the time gets tiring. I'd rather watch them speculate first, then fight in tense desperation. ]
[ That sort of taste isn't exactly healthy, you know. ]
[ Leonard's pretty quick on his feet right now, hahaha. ]
At that moment, the red-haired youth suddenly smirked and said, "Those without uniforms are still standing here, while those with uniforms are so terrified they leap to their deaths? How utterly laughable, haha."
Meanwhile, Leonard had already vanished—he had clearly rushed into the courtyard. Even if it meant taking a uniform from a corpse, he needed it to minimize the risk of triggering those deadly rules.
"Tsk, I don't see what makes him so special." Lucian sneered, then swaggered toward their classroom—A3-09.
[ Feels like that guy's tone carries more than a bit of jealousy. ]
[ Definitely gives off a familiar vibe. ]
[ What's his name again? ]
From the beginning, the red-haired youth's attitude had caught everyone's attention.
The towering man—two meters tall—cast him a thoughtful glance. His arrogance wasn't like a newcomer's, nor did he seem eager to meddle in others' business like the other espers. Yet his name wasn't anywhere on the list of artificial espers either.
The group swaggered into the classroom and pushed the door open.
Almost immediately, countless voices enveloped them. Students laughed and played with each other, asked about homework, chatted in groups about their recent grades, bragged about how many complex problems they had solved, or even discussed what they'd eaten the day before.
All sorts of topics one would expect in a classroom filled the air, rowdy and noisy. Yet strangely, not a single sound had reached them from outside.
And the moment these strangers appeared in the room, the students paused, gave them a passing glance, then returned to their conversations.
The chatter of the classroom did not stop for them.
Damian's eyes landed on the large clock hanging on the wall—6:59.
They had made good time.
But just as Damian thought that, a deafening bell suddenly rang out, the shrill sound startling more than a few of them.
As if it were a signal, the noisy classroom suddenly froze. The students who had been full of life just moments ago now wore expressionless faces. In the blink of an eye, they returned to their seats, the silence so complete one could hear a pin drop.
"What the hell is this..." someone muttered, but an icy voice rang out behind them before the words were finished.
"Students, it's time for class, and you're still standing at the door? Don't you know the school rules?"
Instinctively, the group turned their heads. At the doorway stood a teacher.
She wore a fitted vest and pencil skirt that gave off a sharp, professional air. Her high heels struck the floor with crisp, biting clicks. A rimless pair of glasses rested on her face, and through the cold lenses, her gaze fell upon the humans—not like she was looking at living beings, but as though she were staring at something she utterly despised, something she'd happily swallow whole if she could.
[ Well, well, well... that kind of look. ]
[ I can't even focus on Teacher A's face right now. Damn it, when is this twisted program finally going to release her body measurements?! ]
[ Stay on topic. ]
That gaze carried enough weight to make one feel oppressed. The towering man instinctively clenched his fists, his stance ready for battle.
The red-haired youth, however, merely waved a hand and said, "We're the new students, miss. Shouldn't we introduce ourselves first before being assigned seats?"
The teacher opened her mouth as if to speak, but he cut her off: "You're wasting too much time just standing here. You should know time is money. I want to start learning—so hurry up already!"
He wasn't flustered, as though the figure before him wasn't dangerous.
At that moment, the youth inevitably drew the attention of those inside and outside the dungeon.
The teacher's brows furrowed deeply, but she finally yielded and walked toward the podium, her voice cold as she said, "There are supposed to be six new students, yet I only see five..."
Then, suddenly, she licked her lips, smiling as she turned her gaze on the humans. "Students who are late will be punished. As for the rest of you—introduce yourselves."
It was clear that seven people had ascended to the third floor, but with one girl having committed suicide, the teacher only counted six.
And the "late student" she referred to—of course, that was Leonard.
At this very moment, Leonard had already reached the schoolyard below.
The courtyard remained dark and oppressive, without the slightest sound, save for the woman's corpse sprawled there.
Blood spread outward at such a tremendous rate and in such overwhelming volume that it was hard to believe a single human body could contain so much.
All Leonard could see a school uniform spread clearly over the woman's body before him. He couldn't even tell where her head had gone.
Leonard knew none of this was normal.
But he didn't stop. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he stepped forward—into the pool of blood.
The pool of blood was slimy, more like mucus than fresh blood. It was so clear it resembled a mirror, and with each step Leonard took, ripples spread across its surface. The reflection beneath the pool seemed to twist and distort, becoming hazy—like a murky smoke was gathering.
Then, countless eyes—whites bulging, with pupils reduced to mere black dots—snapped open and stared at Leonard, filled with curiosity and hunger, waiting for him to notice them.
But Leonard's eyes were fixed solely on the uniform. He didn't see the reflection shifting below.
He bent to pick it up, revealing the corpse beneath the uniform.
What lay there was a lump of mangled flesh, as though fat and brain fluid had been mixed, pale white and drizzled with blood like some grotesque sauce. The moment Leonard lifted the uniform away, the flesh twitched, as though it might move.
Leonard's pupils trembled as he stared at it.
Instinctively, he swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, his face flushing red.
Hungry. He had clearly just eaten, yet suddenly, he was starving. Saliva filled his mouth so much that it nearly spilled past his lips.
Hungry...
No!
Leonard suddenly squeezed his eyes shut, then spun around at the fastest speed he could manage, clutching the uniform as he ran.
He couldn't eat it—not now, not recklessly...
The eyes reflected beneath the pool of blood never met Leonard's gaze.
Furious, they bulged wider, churning with a bubbling rage.
At the same time, pale hands, slick and slippery, reached out from the pool of blood, seized the woman's corpse, and dragged it under.
The blood itself was sucked away, vanishing in moments, until the schoolyard was spotless once more—as if nothing had ever happened.
Leonard and the others, of course, never saw any of it.
Leonard had already put on the uniform by now, ignoring the fresh blood staining his body. He stopped in front of classroom A3-09, unable to hear or see anything inside.
Drawing a deep breath, he pushed the door open as though to calm himself.
Instantly, countless eyes within the room fell upon him, their gazes boring holes into his body.
Leonard nearly stopped breathing on the spot. Thankfully—thankfully—his bangs were long enough to shield him.
[ Hahaha, all the socially anxious folks out there can sympathize with Leonard. ]
[ He looks just like a snail. ]
[ With that hunched-up posture, he really did shrink by 20 centimeters! ]
[ Damn, just looking at him pisses me off! ]