A new semester. It's an exciting word for everyone, but for third-year students, it was an exception.
For students at Precia Academy, the real competition begins in the third year.
From the third year onwards, as their future paths are decided, the pressure from their families and their own burdens increase.
That's why everyone is desperate to get even slightly better grades, and the atmosphere becomes like a battlefield.
The mutual checks reached their peak during the first testing period.
Even during break time, the classroom was quiet and the only sound was the clack-clack of pencils.
It's not that they're working this hard because they want to. It's because they have to, because if they don't they won't be able to live up to their family's expectations, so they're doing it under a lot of pressure and struggling.
Excessive competition, overheated atmosphere.
When it gets to the point where even sleeping time is restricted.
A leisurely, sweet voice was heard in the ears of the students who continued to study with tired faces.
“You don’t have to work that hard.”
Everyone's eyes were fixed on one female student.
Gleason tilted his head.
'Was there a student like that?'
A soft-looking schoolgirl with long, neat brown hair.
She was an unfamiliar student, but Gleason soon dismissed his doubts.
Since he became a third grader, Gleason hasn't really cared about his classmates.
I'm busy taking care of myself right now, so who would care?
Therefore, it wasn't that strange to have students he didn't know in his class.
What bothered Gleason even more was what the student had said earlier.
“What did you say?”
“I told you not to try so hard.”
Gleason pursed his lips.
“You look confident, don’t you?”
He wasn't the type to be sarcastic, but this time he couldn't just let it go.
Everyone is studying hard and not getting enough sleep to get good grades on their exams, so what kind of cold water is this?
The schoolgirl looked at him with a silent smile at Gleason's words. Gleason opened his mouth again.
“You might be able to get good grades without studying, but we can’t. Don’t waste your time and just keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to do it.”
“It’s not like I’m going to hit the ground running.”
Gleason's movements, which had been turning his gaze away from the road, stopped. The answer he thought would never come back.
The unknown female student spoke with a still gentle smile.
“If you can understand the test content without having to study, why bother studying?”
At that moment, the clack-clack, frantic sound of the pen suddenly became quiet.
Everyone was burying their heads in their books, but they were all probably concentrating on what she was saying. The girl smiled faintly as if she knew this or not.
“Anyone want to know what the test is about?”
Her voice was particularly loud in the classroom, which was engulfed in silence.
It was Gleason who broke the silence.
“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. Did you sneak a peek at the test questions?”
The classroom remained quiet after Gleason finished speaking. The students began to move their pencils again, but somehow the atmosphere was somewhat different from before.
But the schoolgirl just shook her head without saying anything and started playing with her hands leisurely.
After a while, several students, including Gleason, went to see the professor and reported what had happened in the classroom.
The female student received a warning from the professor and was banned from attending classes for a while, and that was thought to be the end of the matter.
That is until rumors began to spread that the students who actually went to see the female students were performing strange rituals.
That day, it rained so hard that it completely obscured the sky.
“What? A dream?”
“That’s what they say. There are actually people who saw the test content in their dreams.”
Gleason snorted.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’m telling you, really? That’s why I’m stuck in the dorm during every break.”
At his friend's words, Gleason stopped writing for the first time and looked around the classroom.
Half of the people had disappeared at some point.
Since it is still exam period, the atmosphere in the classroom where students would study hard without leaving their seats even during break time is gone.
It's been ten days since half of the idiots believed that girl and followed her to the dormitory.
“That’s funny. Do you really think you can know the test content just from that dream?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, it’s a good thing for us anyway.”
If you neglect your studies like you are doing now and do strange rituals, it is obvious what your exam results will be.
Gleason's note-taking resumed. He had no doubt that those foolish ritualists who were now dreaming would be pounding the ground in regret as soon as the exam was over.
But on the day of the exam, things went the opposite way he expected.
‘What the heck is this...’
Students who didn't even look at their books properly because they were busy with the ritual actually got perfect scores on the test.
Rather, it was the students who didn't do the ritual who became fools after the test.
Students who got full marks, and those below them who studied fairly.
Not being rewarded for your efforts brings more suffering than you can imagine.
Many third-year students began to feel uneasy about the test results, and a strange atmosphere began to flow among them afterward.
“...Are you going? Gleason.”
“I have to go. I can’t fall behind like this.”
Gleason, who had been haggard for days due to the shock, stood at the entrance to the dormitory with a determined face.
Break time at the Academy. Usually, there are few students coming to the dormitory during this time, but recently, some third-year students have been spending most of their break time here.
“I should try that ritual too.”
Gleason walked briskly. His sharp cheeks were bright red today.
“You call these grades grades? That’s why you want to work in the Imperial Palace? Not only will you not be of any help to the Empire, but you won’t even be able to inherit the family! You useless punk!”
Gleason, who was pushed back to his family home by the students who had undergone the ceremony and had to carry his terrible report card, was kicked out of the mansion by his father.
If he fails the second test, he might even lose his position as successor.
'Stupid ritual, I'll try that too, you know.'
Gleason walked into the dormitory.
At the very corner of the first floor of the dormitory is a solitary cell that is currently unused but was used in the past to punish students.
The third-year students' ceremony was held here.
When Gleason opened the door, swallowing hard, several students were gathered around a large red pattern, holding hands and staring blankly at the candle in the center.
An atmosphere that can be described as eerie.
As Gleason unconsciously took a step back, a brown-haired schoolgirl who had been looking at the candles with the others raised her head and looked at him.
Then she smiled silently. It was as if she was telling him to hurry in and join her. Gleason moved unconsciously and sat down among the students.
Squeak-
The door to the room that no one had touched was closed.
And soon the female student began to recite a prayer, and the students holding hands repeated it.
“I beg you, believers of eternal sleep.”
“I beg you, believers of eternal sleep.”
“Bring peace to our unconscious.”
“Bring peace to our unconscious.”
“May all that you wish to accomplish in eternal sleep be accomplished.”
“May all that you wish to accomplish in eternal sleep be accomplished.”
Their prayers continued until the bell rang for the end of the break. At first, Gleason was just watching, not knowing what to do, but before he knew it, he was praying along with them.
Is this it?
Will I be able to get good grades with this?
But Gleason's worries didn't last long. From that night on, Gleason also had dreams that told him about the future.
But did he know at that time that this would strangle his life?
Dreams that tell the future are, strictly speaking, a type of lucid dream.
A person who has undergone a ritual becomes aware that he or she is dreaming.
However, the dream was not an ordinary lucid dream. The strange ritual really worked, and all the things he saw and heard in the dream after the ritual were information that could not have existed in his subconscious.
For example, if you think you want to see future exam questions, you will actually see future exam questions that Gleason cannot know about, or if you ask to know someone's secret, that person will appear in your dream and tell you a real secret that they have not told anyone.
At first, Gleason didn't believe it was real.
However, the second test he took had exactly the same questions as what he had seen in his dream. And after someone had told him a secret in his dream, he was able to confirm that it was real.
Only then did he finally admit that what the schoolgirl said was true.
As Gleason regained full consciousness, the schoolgirl smiled happily and said to him,
“I’m glad I could help you. But now there’s something you need to be careful about.”
“What should I watch out for?”
The schoolgirl said with a gentle smile, looking at Gleason, who had become much more gentle than before.
“If a woman you don’t know is chasing you in your dreams, climb to the highest point and jump off without hesitation.”
Gleason found it oddly creepy to see her say scary things with such a nonchalant smile.
And soon after, the Academy's first suicide occurred.
Therefore, it wasn't that strange to have students he didn't know in his class.
What bothered Gleason even more was what the student had said earlier.
“What did you say?”
“I told you not to try so hard.”
Gleason pursed his lips.
“You look confident, don’t you?”
He wasn't the type to be sarcastic, but this time he couldn't just let it go.
Everyone is studying hard and not getting enough sleep to get good grades on their exams, so what kind of cold water is this?
The schoolgirl looked at him with a silent smile at Gleason's words. Gleason opened his mouth again.
“You might be able to get good grades without studying, but we can’t. Don’t waste your time and just keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to do it.”
“It’s not like I’m going to hit the ground running.”
Gleason's movements, which had been turning his gaze away from the road, stopped. The answer he thought would never come back.
The unknown female student spoke with a still gentle smile.
“If you can understand the test content without having to study, why bother studying?”
At that moment, the clack-clack, frantic sound of the pen suddenly became quiet.
Everyone was burying their heads in their books, but they were all probably concentrating on what she was saying. The girl smiled faintly as if she knew this or not.
“Anyone want to know what the test is about?”
Her voice was particularly loud in the classroom, which was engulfed in silence.
It was Gleason who broke the silence.
“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. Did you sneak a peek at the test questions?”
The classroom remained quiet after Gleason finished speaking. The students began to move their pencils again, but somehow the atmosphere was somewhat different from before.
But the schoolgirl just shook her head without saying anything and started playing with her hands leisurely.
After a while, several students, including Gleason, went to see the professor and reported what had happened in the classroom.
The female student received a warning from the professor and was banned from attending classes for a while, and that was thought to be the end of the matter.
That is until rumors began to spread that the students who actually went to see the female students were performing strange rituals.
***
That day, it rained so hard that it completely obscured the sky.
“What? A dream?”
“That’s what they say. There are actually people who saw the test content in their dreams.”
Gleason snorted.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’m telling you, really? That’s why I’m stuck in the dorm during every break.”
At his friend's words, Gleason stopped writing for the first time and looked around the classroom.
Half of the people had disappeared at some point.
Since it is still exam period, the atmosphere in the classroom where students would study hard without leaving their seats even during break time is gone.
It's been ten days since half of the idiots believed that girl and followed her to the dormitory.
“That’s funny. Do you really think you can know the test content just from that dream?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, it’s a good thing for us anyway.”
If you neglect your studies like you are doing now and do strange rituals, it is obvious what your exam results will be.
Gleason's note-taking resumed. He had no doubt that those foolish ritualists who were now dreaming would be pounding the ground in regret as soon as the exam was over.
But on the day of the exam, things went the opposite way he expected.
‘What the heck is this...’
Students who didn't even look at their books properly because they were busy with the ritual actually got perfect scores on the test.
Rather, it was the students who didn't do the ritual who became fools after the test.
Students who got full marks, and those below them who studied fairly.
Not being rewarded for your efforts brings more suffering than you can imagine.
Many third-year students began to feel uneasy about the test results, and a strange atmosphere began to flow among them afterward.
“...Are you going? Gleason.”
“I have to go. I can’t fall behind like this.”
Gleason, who had been haggard for days due to the shock, stood at the entrance to the dormitory with a determined face.
Break time at the Academy. Usually, there are few students coming to the dormitory during this time, but recently, some third-year students have been spending most of their break time here.
“I should try that ritual too.”
Gleason walked briskly. His sharp cheeks were bright red today.
“You call these grades grades? That’s why you want to work in the Imperial Palace? Not only will you not be of any help to the Empire, but you won’t even be able to inherit the family! You useless punk!”
Gleason, who was pushed back to his family home by the students who had undergone the ceremony and had to carry his terrible report card, was kicked out of the mansion by his father.
If he fails the second test, he might even lose his position as successor.
'Stupid ritual, I'll try that too, you know.'
Gleason walked into the dormitory.
At the very corner of the first floor of the dormitory is a solitary cell that is currently unused but was used in the past to punish students.
The third-year students' ceremony was held here.
When Gleason opened the door, swallowing hard, several students were gathered around a large red pattern, holding hands and staring blankly at the candle in the center.
An atmosphere that can be described as eerie.
As Gleason unconsciously took a step back, a brown-haired schoolgirl who had been looking at the candles with the others raised her head and looked at him.
Then she smiled silently. It was as if she was telling him to hurry in and join her. Gleason moved unconsciously and sat down among the students.
Squeak-
The door to the room that no one had touched was closed.
And soon the female student began to recite a prayer, and the students holding hands repeated it.
“I beg you, believers of eternal sleep.”
“I beg you, believers of eternal sleep.”
“Bring peace to our unconscious.”
“Bring peace to our unconscious.”
“May all that you wish to accomplish in eternal sleep be accomplished.”
“May all that you wish to accomplish in eternal sleep be accomplished.”
Their prayers continued until the bell rang for the end of the break. At first, Gleason was just watching, not knowing what to do, but before he knew it, he was praying along with them.
Is this it?
Will I be able to get good grades with this?
But Gleason's worries didn't last long. From that night on, Gleason also had dreams that told him about the future.
But did he know at that time that this would strangle his life?
***
Dreams that tell the future are, strictly speaking, a type of lucid dream.
A person who has undergone a ritual becomes aware that he or she is dreaming.
However, the dream was not an ordinary lucid dream. The strange ritual really worked, and all the things he saw and heard in the dream after the ritual were information that could not have existed in his subconscious.
For example, if you think you want to see future exam questions, you will actually see future exam questions that Gleason cannot know about, or if you ask to know someone's secret, that person will appear in your dream and tell you a real secret that they have not told anyone.
At first, Gleason didn't believe it was real.
However, the second test he took had exactly the same questions as what he had seen in his dream. And after someone had told him a secret in his dream, he was able to confirm that it was real.
Only then did he finally admit that what the schoolgirl said was true.
As Gleason regained full consciousness, the schoolgirl smiled happily and said to him,
“I’m glad I could help you. But now there’s something you need to be careful about.”
“What should I watch out for?”
The schoolgirl said with a gentle smile, looking at Gleason, who had become much more gentle than before.
“If a woman you don’t know is chasing you in your dreams, climb to the highest point and jump off without hesitation.”
Gleason found it oddly creepy to see her say scary things with such a nonchalant smile.
And soon after, the Academy's first suicide occurred.
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