NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 23
When Blanca’s story ended, it seemed like something sparked within Lapiz, and she shared her own past.
She explained that it wouldn’t sit well with her to just keep quiet after hearing our old tales.
Apparently, she had been kidnapped in the past.
Fortunately, before any really bad stuff happened, her grandmother uprooted the ground single-handedly and rescued her…
But because of that incident, she became extremely wary and shy around others.
She wanted to socialize, but memories from that time would bubble up and scare her away, making it hard to connect with anyone.
Like confessing a secret to a doll by her bedside, she opened up to us.
She thought she would live her whole life without a single friend.
“But then, Blanca held my hand. Thanks to that, I got close to you guys. Um, uh… So… yeah. Thanks…! You guys…!”
Yeonhwa recognized that this happened to her and smiled, saying it was strange that she seemed to be the only one who hadn’t faced any bad stuff as a child, making her unsure whether to feel happy or sad about it.
“Of course that’s a relief. A normal childhood is a blessing in itself, Yeonhwa.”
“Y-Yeah, I guess?”
It was a straightforward statement, but coming from Blanca, it felt heavier than usual.
She stated it so nonchalantly, but no matter how you think about it, her old story was not something one could casually discuss.
Deep down, she surely held the same pains as I did.
Yet, I just couldn’t bring myself to fully sympathize with her.
This was because, dispassionately, she had confessed to killing someone.
Even though she was oppressed and treated like a tool, her attitude of being indifferent to the murderous act and even saying it was a good death made it impossible for me to view her as just.
But calling her evil was also too ambiguous.
So, was Blanca justice or evil?
Even after pondering, I couldn’t find the answer.
Yeonhwa, sensing the somber atmosphere, decided to steer the conversation towards the club instead.
“Hey! My club senior shared some amazing intel! Guess what… we’re going to have a rescue training soon!”
She built up the suspense as if she was revealing a huge secret, and then mentioned the rescue training.
“Rescue training…?”
“Yeah! My senior said they went through it in their first year! Just out of the blue! They mentioned their senior had the same experience too, so we’re bound to have it!”
“Ah, so it was a secret?”
“You sure act like you knew all along, Seojinhyeon?”
Yeonhwa asked me, surprised. So I told her what I knew.
“Well, I think Blanca probably knows too. Our senior told me about it. They said we should prepare for the upcoming rescue training.”
I casually mentioned that while I glossed over Tuesday, Senior Meilin emphasized that Thursday’s training was pretty important and that we should think about how to approach it.
“W-What the heck? You found out before me! Why did you guys know and not me?!”
“She talked about it so casually, I thought it was nothing important…”
As I justified my frustration, Blanca clicked her tongue at me, adding that I should’ve shared that too.
It suddenly crossed my mind that Blanca seemed to be particularly harsh on me.
Maybe it was just my imagination?
“S-So… what exactly should we be preparing for…?”
Lapiz, appearing anxious as if viewing the training as a test, asked what we should do.
“Well… I’m not so sure either. My senior just vaguely told us to prepare. Hmmm. Maybe we should think about how to use our abilities to rescue people?”
When Yeonhwa brought some energy back into the conversation, the previously somber atmosphere brightened up quickly.
Maybe sharing our pasts had something to do with it.
I couldn’t quite confirm, but it felt like our bond had tightened just a little.
“I might have a bit of trouble. No matter how much I tone down the flame, in the end, it’s still fire. Ugh, using my abilities to save someone could be tough…”
“I-I can… uh, maybe create a wall to shield someone?”
“That could work. Or maybe lift a collapsed building back up.”
“You’re lucky, Blanca. If you can make things, you could help those who need it right then and there!”
“Right…? But medicines can’t just be thrown around. It’s a bit different from what you think, Yeonhwa.”
The way we exchanged ideas on how to use our abilities for rescue work filled the room with a cheerful energy, and the dark expressions were nowhere to be found.
Without Blanca, I probably wouldn’t have been this happy.
Regardless of good or evil, I was grateful for her presence.
“I probably wouldn’t be much help in saving anyone.”
“Oh, come on. How can creating ice out of thin air be useless? Have some confidence, Seojinhyeon. You’ll do great!”
Yeonhwa cheered me on.
“Oh, by the way, the midterms are in a month, right? Have you started preparing?”
Blanca brought up the gloomy topic casually.
Immediately, the atmosphere sank again.
* ＊ ＊ * ＊
Yeonhwa and the seniors spoke like the rescue training was super important, but in the original story, it was just an event to elevate the protagonist.
In the game, they skipped over it with just a line of mention.
So, I really hadn’t thought much about it.
Even though we would form teams, it was just such a trivial exam, and I was planning to casually observe how the main characters pulled things together and used their abilities.
This was a test of abilities without needing to fight, evaluating how to save citizens in extreme situations when disasters struck.
But this time, it seemed like things were moving in a completely unexpected direction…
“Team 4. Hero side: Toojuu Ageha, Blanca. Villain side: Im Changwon, Lionel Morgan.”
“Wait, I’m teamed up with Blanca?!”
“Yes. The team formation was done carefully, considering the differences in abilities and compatibility. Is there a problem?”
“N-No… I have no objections…”
“Then let’s proceed. Next, Team 5, Hero side: Seojinhyeon, Lucia Chirumo. Villain side: Lee Yeonhwa, Yamaguchi Fukukin.”
It wasn’t just a rescue exercise anymore; it had morphed into a hostage rescue training.
I was left dumbfounded at first.
Minho, Lapiz, and all the other classmates shared expressions of confusion, as if to say, “What the heck is that?”
However, Justitia swiftly wrapped up the team formation and immediately began explaining the rules.
And those rules were quite serious.
“This test simulates a situation where a villain has taken hostages and is barricaded inside a building, and heroes are deployed to deal with it. The rules are as follows.”
The heroes must subdue all villains and rescue the hostages within the time limit or win by simply rescuing the hostages.
The villain side wins if they can prevent the heroes from taking the hostages or by incapacitating the heroes within the time limit.
The role of the hostages is taken by dummies equipped with various sensors to assess levels of injury as if they were actual humans.
If the dummy sustains any significant damage, it counts as a death.
Naturally, since this is a hostage drama, both sides had to ensure they didn’t harm the hostages.
Anyone who attacks the hostages and causes a death count would get a score of zero, said Justitia.
“These are the rules for this test. Any questions?”
Im Changwon raised his hand the moment he heard the question.
“Isn’t this supposed to be an exercise for disaster response and not just a hostage rescue drill? Why has it suddenly changed to a hostage rescue training?”
He didn’t even think to hide how he figured that out.
In response to his question, Justitia didn’t hesitate to reply.
“Good observation, Im Changwon. I believe you all know what happened during the weekend of the first week.”
“The villain’s…”
“Attack…”
The classmates murmured softly as if recalling that incident.
“Yes. A villain attacked a student from Heros Academy. Fortunately, it ended without major injuries. But for the next…”
The goal of this test is not just to learn how to handle hostage situations, but also to build your experience in combat against powerful abilities users.
Justitia took off her sunglasses, revealing her shimmering violet eyes, and continued.
“Heros Academy hopes that you will be able to respond to such villain attacks. While this won’t directly impact your grades, it may affect future evaluations, so please do your best. That is all. Are there any other questions?”
No one had any questions.
“Very well. Then Team 1, villains, please enter the set inside the stadium.”
Four future heroine candidates and an unnamed extra boy entered the building with resolute expressions.
“Of all things, this team was formed…”
“Right? I never expected we’d be facing each other. But… don’t hold back and give it your all, Yeonhwa.”
“…Yeah. I’ll fight with my full firepower!”
The gaming duo behind us was chatting away happily.
On the gigantic screen floating in the center of the stadium, the footage from cameras set up inside the building was being aired.
Were they asking the students to watch and learn? Well, if not, there’d be no need for an audience, right?
Even though it caught me off guard as an unexpected event, it wasn’t like I hated it.
After all, it was a battle of abilities. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?
Although I often faced abilities users myself, there’s a different vibe between doing it and watching it.
Plus, the first fighters up were…
Lapiz and Minho.