Aria suddenly screamed, drawing everyone’s attention.
She collapsed onto the ground, scrambling backward in terror, her hands raised to cover her face, as if that alone could protect her.
It was as though some monster loomed before her, frightening her to the extreme—yet clearly, nothing was there.
Damian rushed forward almost immediately to support her, quickly calling out: "Aria, what’s wrong? Aria!"
Startled by Damian’s shaking, Aria’s eyes snapped open. She stared blankly at him, tears streaking her face, her breathing ragged.
She clutched his arm, her grip so tight her nails drew bloody scratches on his skin. Panicked, she cried out: "There’s a monster—it wants to eat me! Save me, please, save me!"
Her face was a mask of terror, unable to distinguish reality from hallucination.
Damian frowned, raising his voice: "Aria, snap out of it! There’s nothing here!"
Aria flinched at his shout, as though jolted awake from a nightmare. Her eyes darted around.
Yes, there was no monster. Warm sunlight spilled over them, their shadows stretching long across the ground, overlapping—but nothing twisted or deformed.
Could it be... everything, everything she saw was just an illusion? Impossible!
"Damian, you have to believe me! I really saw a monster—it’s hiding in our shadows, hiding in our shadows!"
No matter how composed she tried to be, Aria was still just an ordinary high school student. Being suddenly thrown into a dungeon was one thing, but nearly being attacked by a monster on top of that left her desperate for an ally!
It couldn’t be only her who saw it. It was so clear, it couldn’t have been a mistake!
Facing Aria’s bloodshot eyes, Damian gave a solemn nod. "Alright. Let’s talk about this after we get back, okay?"
Aria pressed her lips together, about to argue further—when a chill suddenly crept down her neck.
At some point, Mr. Smith had appeared right beside her. Under the sunlight, his face looked paler than usual.
Leaning in close, his shadowed eyes ringed with heavy dark circles, they seemed like hollow pits as he whispered: "You... just saw a monster, didn’t you?"
Aria stared blankly at Mr. Smith, her soul as if being pulled away. For a fleeting moment, she almost nodded right then and there.
But Damian was faster. Abandoning all sense of courtesy, he held Aria’s head firmly, forcing a smile: "Of course not, right Aria? It was just a little prank between us. Aria always likes to do that to startle people! Isn’t that right, Aria?"
It was as if Aria snapped back to her senses. She blinked at Damian, then hurriedly nodded repeatedly: "Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, teacher!"
Mr. Smith narrowed his eyes at her, then shifted his gaze to Damian. Cold sweat seemed to run down Damian’s spine; even his forced smile was starting to freeze on his face. Only then did Mr. Smith straighten up.
He looked at Aria again, his eyes regaining their weary cast. "Lately, there have been quite a few student suicides from the stress of studying."
Clearly, just now, Mr. Smith had mistaken Aria’s outburst for hallucinations caused by overwork.
With a grave expression, he said, "If any of you notice classmates showing psychological symptoms like hallucinations, you must report it to the teachers as soon as possible. That way, we can coordinate treatment promptly and prevent any more tragic suicides."
Damian quickly nodded. "We understand, teacher."
Aria blurted, "I won’t do that again, teacher."
Mr. Smith smiled at her, his gaze gentle. "If you ever feel too overwhelmed, just come to me."
Aria forced a smile, saying nothing more. Latest content published on novel✦fire.net
They truly had no desire to know what the so-called "treatment methods" for troubled students in this school actually were.
If those methods were effective, there wouldn’t be so many suicides—enough to draw government attention, enough to give them the chance to play this role.
"Alright then, let’s go. The others are probably waiting for us."
Mr. Smith briskly took the lead with that, and the rest hurried after him.
They quickly descended to the schoolyard, and sure enough, as Mr. Smith had said, the others were already waiting.
The schoolyard was empty of students—as if they had all vanished—leaving only the humans and each class’s homeroom teachers.
The group exchanged glances but held their tongues, though more than a few discreetly cast looks at Mr. Smith, the only teacher here whose name was known.
"Mr. Smith, you certainly took your time!"
When they arrived, Ms. E, the homeroom teacher of class A1-03, spoke up. Her tone was sharp, her eyes toward Mr. Smith full of disdain.
Mr. D frowned slightly but said nothing.
Scratching his head awkwardly, Mr. Smith said, "A little issue held me up, but I’m not too late, am I?"
The others kept silent.
At that moment, a massive figure slowly appeared—or perhaps she was trying to walk quickly, but with that body, speed was impossible.
The woman wore a blue work uniform.
Her body was enormous—absurdly so—her stomach bulging, her whole frame wobbling with layers of fat, making her head look disproportionately small.
Folds of flesh sagged down, her skin drooping, her mouth slack and grotesquely wide, several times larger than usual.
Her skin was covered in sores, and even from a short distance away, the stench of rot was unbearable.
With that monstrous body, she could swallow three people whole easily.
[Dorm manager, huh... looks like she hasn’t changed a bit.]
[Not anyone’s type? Poor woman.]
[Bro, you could sacrifice yourself if you think she’s pitiful.]
[She’s worth ten Nerios put together, hahaha.]
[No way. And don’t use Nerio as the standard for this kind of thing, you perverts!]
Ms. E shot a look of disgust at the newly arrived woman before quickly saying:
"This is Ms. H, the dorm manager. She’ll take you to the dormitory and explain the rules. Remember not to break them, and be on time for evening self-study!"
Without caring whether the students heard clearly or not, she immediately left, as though she couldn’t stand the atmosphere here for another second. That she hadn’t pinched her nose on the spot was already the most excellent courtesy she could offer!
Mr. D and Mr. Smith repeated Ms. E’s words before swiftly exiting.
Their emphasis was simple: listen carefully to the dorm rules, and don’t be late for evening self-study.
When the three teachers were out of sight, Ms. H suddenly spoke. Her voice boomed like thunder, laced with unrestrained fury—clearly, the attitude of the three teachers had left her seething.
The group exchanged glances, said nothing, and hurried after her.