The Gacha Addict of the Academy

It wasn’t uncommon to have practical lessons on the first day.

The basic idea was to assess each person’s capabilities.

Even for professors, it was hard to gauge a student’s potential just from paperwork.

Because of this, most professors use the first day as a kind of rite of passage to check each student’s condition.

Some professors might summon monsters through illusion magic to startle students, or show off their abilities, leaving students’ mental states in tatters, using various methods to mess with them.

However…

“This isn’t…”

It wasn’t like that.

The illusion magic would have been too real to be just an illusion.

If it were just to startle us, there’s no way they would’ve gone so far as to materialize something.

Lee Cheon-gyeong, the man, could probably make a monster that looked real, but the person I knew wasn’t someone who could materialize monsters that the kids here could actually face.

So, the only other option left was an actual attack.

“Ugh…!”

As soon as a female student saw the monster, she charged forward and swung her fist at it.

However, the strength of her punch was far less than she expected, and it bounced off without doing much damage. Surprised by how tough it was, she quickly retreated.

“What’s this? Why is it so hard?”

With blue hair and long ears, she seemed to be an elf.

I recalled something she had said to the professor earlier.

Reina Spellud.

She was probably the one called the “Ice Witch” or something like that.

According to my friend, she was famous not only for her beauty, typical of elves, but also for her cold demeanor, which seemed to be part of her charm. Especially with her ice magic skills, she had earned the nickname “Ice Witch.”

However, watching her dodge the monster’s attacks and then pummel it with her fists didn’t quite fit the image of an ice mage.

But as the loud cracking noise from the monster’s body reverberated, I noticed that the monster hadn’t been harmed.

“No…! Why is it so tough?!”

Well, it’s a monster known for its strength…

…Does she not know?

After throwing a few more punches, it seemed like she realized that physical combat wouldn’t work, so she started casting magic.

No wonder she was called the “Ice Witch,” as she was now casting ice-based magic.

I couldn’t just sit idly by, so I used my ability to shoot a massive burst of fire at the monster. The heat was so intense that anything it touched instantly melted, and the monster vanished without even leaving a trace.

She seemed shocked as she stared at the spot where the monster had been. I walked up to her.

“…?”

It seemed like she didn’t expect anyone to approach, and asked why I was there.

“Well… there’s no escaping it.”

“… I see… Was that your doing?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought so.”

She started observing me, as if intrigued.

It was an honor to be seen by such a beauty, but this wasn’t really the time for that, so I said I’d move on and started walking away.

“Oh? I’ll check out something else.”

I didn’t really need to tell her that, but I figured I should at least give a response.

“Oh… okay.”

I replied, and then quickly moved on to another area with more monsters.

But there was no time to relax.

“…?!”

Someone was under attack.

The hair looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t afford to worry about it right now.

I immediately used my ability to shoot a massive, high-temperature flame.

Of course, I made sure to adjust it so that it wouldn’t affect the barrier I had set up.

As I watched the monster melt and vanish in an instant, I let out a sigh of relief. I then approached the direction where the barrier was likely coming from. As I got close enough to see clearly, I was shocked.

It was the girl I had met earlier.

However, she seemed to have been badly injured. Blood was dripping from her head, staining her once moonlit hair and dulling its shine. She had cuts all over her body, and her uniform was torn, showing just how much she had struggled until now.

“… Are you okay?”

I asked cautiously.

She looked like she was struggling, but judging by the way she nodded, she seemed able to move. I thought about helping her, but I hesitated, knowing that trying to assist her might make her resent me even more. I stopped myself from reaching out.

I felt like if I helped, I might get that same cold look again.

“Really? You don’t look okay, but you seem able to walk. What about you?”

The girl who had been kneeling on the floor had no visible injuries. It seemed that Luna Crystal had done a good job protecting her. I was about to ask if she needed help, but it seemed like she couldn’t get up properly, her legs giving way.

I reached out to her, grabbed her hand, and helped her to her feet.

“… What about the other places…”

In this situation, she was asking about other places? Despite her own serious injuries, she was the first to ask about the state of the others.

“…?”

Why isn’t she thinking about herself? Why isn’t she worried about her own condition?

I almost said it out loud but stopped myself, feeling frustrated as I absentmindedly touched the back of my head. Maybe I thought it was inappropriate to intervene, but I didn’t know what to say, so I just sighed and answered her.

“The professor has handled everything.”

She muttered something, relieved.

Seeing that, I almost wanted to heal her with my ability, but I knew it wasn’t possible. My ability was essentially reality manipulation, not healing. I could only twist the current reality with magic—it wasn’t a healing ability.

I could make it as if she hadn’t been injured from the start, but it was impossible to alter the reality of her injuries and heal her.

And to make it so that she hadn’t been injured in the first place would require an immense amount of magic.

“…

The professor will take care of that.

“It seems like you’re the only ones who were directly affected. Luckily, it’s not too late…”

I truly meant it.

If someone I knew had died… I wouldn’t let something like that happen again. I didn’t know what the girl thought of me, but at the very least, I didn’t want anyone to be hurt… or worse, to die.

As I was thinking about this, I sensed another presence.

It was Lee Cheon-gyeong.

“… You guys.”

He had approached us without me noticing, and after taking a quick glance at us, his eyes widened when he saw Luna. He seemed displeased that one of his students was injured and hurriedly approached her, his face contorting with frustration.

Luna hesitated, clearly frightened by his sudden movement, but as his hand rose above her head, she calmed her trembling body.

“What happened…”

“Wait a moment.”

Before she could ask anything, he placed his hand on her head, and a brief moment later, light surrounded her, gradually fading. Not only did he heal her injuries, but he also seemed to use other magic, as her bloodstained hair, scratched skin, and torn uniform were all restored to their original condition.

“The injuries are healed. I’ve also cleaned off the dust and blood on your body, so don’t worry too much.”

“…”

She seemed surprised by the treatment of her wounds and stared at the professor with wide, curious eyes.

Ah, this…

I was clearly acting strange.

I scolded myself for thinking her expression was cute and shook my head in frustration.

“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me, as your teacher… I’ll call you separately later. For now, go back.”

The professor, who had been addressing her, then turned to us.

“You two, I’ll call you separately later as well. Go back now.”

“Yes.”

“Okay…”

We nodded to his words and escorted her back to the classroom.

She seemed to resist, almost as if she didn’t want to go back, putting up quite a fight.

Well… I understood that the current situation was uncomfortable and frustrating, but given the circumstances, it was better to follow the professor’s instructions and head back to the classroom.

I did feel a little bad about it, though.

As soon as we sent her back to the classroom, I made my way toward where Professor Lee Cheon-gyeong was.

He seemed to know I would come and turned to face me.

“This situation… it’s not normal.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The person I knew wouldn’t have caused something like this.

In fact, he was the first one to rush in and handle the monsters and beasts when the incident occurred. He made most of the students perceive it as some sort of illusion or magic that vanished quickly.

His abilities were truly impressive.

But this wasn’t an illusion.

These were real monsters.

“There’s a traitor within. Or rather, an accomplice. Whoever is behind this knows my schedule. They managed to summon the monsters at exactly the right time when I was supposed to disappear.”

“… Do you understand?”

“I haven’t pinpointed who it is yet.”

That was bad news.

It meant that similar attacks could happen again if we weren’t careful.

“I’ll cover it up as an illusion magic. Most of the students will believe it… but…”

“… It’s those three, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Those three are the biggest problem… Sigh…”

The professor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as if his head was throbbing.

Well, he’s already had some tension with Reina, and while she might not fully understand, Luna, on the other hand, would likely grasp the situation.

“If I call them and explain everything without holding back, it should be fine.”

“Will that work…? Well, it’s better than getting caught and completely exposed.”

He nodded, as if accepting the situation, though reluctantly.

Sometimes, I wasn’t fond of the way heroes had to deal with things, but at least they didn’t do any obvious bad things. I could tolerate it.

Everything was fine, except for the annoyance of dealing with this.

Honestly.