The Old School Building, guarded by eight gym leaders, is more of a structured battlefield divided into different zones for 1:1 duels rather than a true stronghold.
Eight entrances stretch out from the Old School Building, with gymnasiums—each belonging to one of the seven graduate schools—placed at every entrance except the main gate. Only those who collect badges from all seven gyms are allowed to pass through the main gate of the Old School Building.
To earn that right, undergraduate students must prove themselves in battle against the Old School Building’s members at each gym. Those who oversee these battles and test challengers to see if they are worthy of knocking on the graduate school’s door are none other than the gym leaders.
Yunia, Ludmila, Evangeline.
So far, the game has only three gym leaders updated.
One might say, “What a terrible game,” but when no one has even defeated the first boss, is there really a need to update the next?
[It was a good match.]
[Ugh…]
[Next challenger, step forward. Let’s have a fair fight.]
The moment one enters the mysterious new building in the Old School Building, they must face Ludmila Lionheart, the first gym leader.
One by one, the undergraduate students fall to their knees.
[Damn it…! I knew she was [Cutting Wind], but this level of skill difference…!]
[You’ve now experienced it firsthand in battle. Train harder and challenge me again next time.]
[Ugh…!]
None of them land a single blow on Ludmila, their difference in skill overwhelming.
[If you want to enter the Old School Building, you must first defeat us. I’m explaining this verbally now, but next time, read the rules posted outside each gym carefully. That is all.]
With a swing of her Wind Spear, Ludmila effortlessly expels the challengers from the gym.
[Kyaaahhh!]
[We’ll see next time!!]
As the defeated students roll away, Ludmila quietly leaves her gym.
[Ah, ah. This is Ludmila. The challengers have been dealt with.]
“Good work, Miss Ludmila. You’ll have to act as a gym leader alone for a while. Will that be alright?”
[It’s no problem. If they can’t even defeat me, they stand no chance against the other members of the Old School Building. And I’m the easiest gym leader, after all.]
Anyone who knows the Old School Building well would respond with a “?” to such a claim.
But it’s the truth.
[I’ve been holding back to about B-rank strength. If this is their level, there’s no need for me to fight at full power.]
After all, Ludmila wasn’t even serious in these fights.
[Should I lower the difficulty? Maybe to about C-rank?]
“No. At minimum, B-rank is required to qualify as a graduate student. Besides, today is the opening day. We need to set the tone properly. The first trial has to feel like a wall of lamentation.”
[A wall of lamentation, huh? Haha, this is amusing. It really does feel like I’m a gatekeeper. And I haven’t even gone all out.]
Unlike champions on the Battle Road or Battle Tower, gym leaders here do not fight with their full strength.
[However, Julius, the Student Council President, forfeited midway. Even though he was at least qualified to pass one gym…]
“He knows there’s something more important than earning badges. His job is to spread the Old School Building’s rules to the students and ensure student council oversight.”
Among the Academy’s undergraduates, there are A-rank students.
The first to challenge the system was Julius, the Student Council President, but after exchanging a few blows with Ludmila, he stepped back voluntarily.
He realized it for himself—
If Ludmila went all out, he would be instantly annihilated. And he lacked the skill to even force her to reveal her true power.
At the same time, as Student Council President, his duty wasn’t to exhaust himself challenging Ludmila until he collapsed. Instead, he needed to act quickly to ensure others didn’t recklessly throw themselves at the trial.
So, he returned to the Academy’s student council to spread the rules to the student body, aiding in establishing a new culture at the Academy.
Unaware that his efforts would one day lead to a system that nurtures future graduate students in various fields.
But…
Would the undergraduates really care about rules?
If rules aren’t written yet, doesn’t that mean breaking them isn’t technically a violation?
[Hmm, Student Phoenix? Looks like there are students who have no intention of following our rules.]
As Instructor Kadisha Allister pointed out—
[Instead of 1:1 duels to earn recognition, some students are inciting a mass raid on the Old School Building.]
– Rules exist to be broken.
Even though the rules were established, some refused to follow them—or deliberately ignored them.
[They claim, ‘Why should we listen to what the Old School Building students arbitrarily decided?’]
“What are the Academy’s faculty doing about this?”
[Looking the other way? After all, they see the Old School Building students as a potential threat. They’re worried we’ll win the Great Martial Tournament and sweep all the awards.]
Even those responsible for enforcing the rules were secretly cheering for the rulebreakers.
[What do you want to do? Should I activate magic?]
“There’s no other choice. If they refuse to follow the designated path, we’ll have to drive them out using… special means.”
[By force?]
“That’s one option. But not the only one.”
For those trying to sneak into the Old School Building, there was already a plan in place—one prepared throughout the entire first semester in secret.
“I worked hard setting up these mechanics, and they think they can just ignore them? That’s unforgivable.”
There was a way to deal with them.
“Prepare the Shadow Defense Array.”
* * *
[Meanwhile, somewhere along the forest path leading to the Old School Building…]
“No way in hell I’m fighting Cutting Wind head-on.”
A third-year undergraduate student, now on the verge of graduation, Glitch Sirpes slowly approached the forest, clad in a cloak with his hood pulled low.
A Cloak of Magic Resistance.
A gray cloak infused with a balanced blend of Light and Dark attribute mana, making it completely undetectable to the naked eye—a truly special cloak.
This Cloak of Magic Resistance, which also served as the subject of his graduation research, would never be detected by the Old School Building’s defenders.
Unless Esta, the White Sword Saint, an S-rank Sword Master, was standing right in front of him, he was confident it would never be discovered. And even if he was caught, as long as he was inside the Old School Building when it happened, he’d consider it his victory.
For an entire semester and summer break, not a single student had successfully infiltrated the Old School Building.
Even during the vacation, when the Old School Building’s students were away in the Marquisate of Ludvecia, leaving the place completely empty, no one had managed to enter.
Most attempts ended the same way.
The moment someone tried to sneak in, they were struck unconscious by magic bombardments fired from within the Old School Building, leaving them to be retrieved by faculty members—
Correction.
They were publicly humiliated instead.
Yet despite this, students continued to challenge and challenge again.
And now, Glitch had found a way.
Not only was his “Cloak of Magic Resistance” powerful, but he had also figured out how the Old School Building detected intruders in the forest.
“I even took off my magic pants for this… Hehehe.”
The Old School Building’s defenses reacted to magic-infused pants.
There was no other explanation for how the magic bombardments always struck with such uncanny accuracy.
As for female intruders?
Well, they were probably discovered because of a blond-tanned delinquent, who could smell women from a mile away and report their locations to faculty.
Whatever the exact mechanism, Glitch was certain his method would work.
If he could just get inside, he would become the first undergraduate to overcome the trial that no one had conquered—in his own way.
There was no certificate for it. No award.
But the mere fact of being “someone who entered the Old School Building” would guarantee his future success after graduation.
That’s what he believed.
“Gehack—!!”
If only he hadn’t walked face-first into something solid and immovable.
“Cough… What the hell…?”
He reached forward.
Something hard was blocking his way.
“Tsk. A barrier?”
No matter how he ran his hands over it, the barrier was undoubtedly there, preventing him from moving forward.
“So they set up a barrier that blocks everything outside the designated paths… Tch, in that case—”
Glitch clenched his fist.
“I’ll just break through it!”
BOOM!
A massive explosion thundered in the distance.
But it wasn’t his doing.
“What the—”
Then, he grinned.
“Looks like others had the same idea as me. Alright… let’s break this damn barrier together!”
BANG! BANG! BOOOOM!
The barrier trembled violently, but rather than feeling discouraged—
Glitch felt thrilled.
“I will enter the Old School Building—just for that one line on my resume!!”
* * *
WIIIIIIIIIIING—
“Wow, this is amazing.”
Something shimmered, trapped within an acrylic plate—a rainbow-colored object.
“So every time mana attacks the barrier…”
“It tingles. If they enjoy getting hit, well… they might just ‘ascend’ in pleasure.”
“Damn, that’s some next-level perversion.”
“Well, it’s an Angel, after all.”
The rainbow-colored panties trembled violently inside a transparent gem.
The Barrier.
Magic Resistance: 99%.
