Saturday morning
Lazy sunlight slipped through the gap in the dormitory curtains, shining straight into my face as if deliberately trying to wake me earlier than usual.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while, my mind still half-asleep between dream and reality, until my gaze accidentally fell on the study desk where the card "Frostbite Bacteria" still lay quietly from last night.
I reached out, picked it up, and turned it over in my palm, studying the illustration of sharp ice crystals interwoven with swirling bacterial spots. It was beautiful, true, but the more I looked the more it felt… abnormal.
'I clearly only meant to make a normal bacteria card, so why did it suddenly evolve into this hybrid between Ice and Bacteria?' I thought to myself, bringing the card closer to my eyes and trying to find some clue in the effect text.
This was already the second time. The first was "Ice Age Evolution I," which suddenly upgraded and drained all my mana until I nearly passed out. This time it was much milder, just like an itch, but still enough to make me feel that something was quietly going wrong inside my body.
'Better ask a teacher to be sure.'
I decided I would drop by the teachers' area to ask someone clearly. This was the umpteenth time I had promised myself and never followed through, but now that I had time I would go and ask right away.
Felia was still curled up asleep in the corner of the bed like a white fluff ball, and Elara had been recalled into her card last night, so the room held only me and the silence.
I put on my familiar ushanka, and stepped out of the room, intending to head straight to the teachers' area before my empty stomach started protesting.
But life is never that simple. Barely a few steps out of the dormitory door I heard a familiar voice calling from behind.
"Igor! Hey, Igor!"
I turned around and saw Lucas running toward me at the speed of a kid who had just been injected with two liters of coffee, his hair messy as if he hadn't bothered to comb it, yet the bright smile on his face couldn't hide his excitement.
"Where are you going? Planning to sneak off and eat breakfast alone?" Lucas asked, panting from the run.
"No, I was going to ask a teacher about a few things," I answered shortly, thinking the card matter could wait a bit.
"Come on, drop it, drop it. It's Saturday, why do you always have to study and train?" Lucas clapped my shoulder, misunderstanding something, then his eyes lit up as if he had just come up with a brilliant idea. "Come with me. I want to check out the clubs in the school!"
"Clubs?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! The other day I heard the seniors say Area B has all kinds of cool clubs. Dance club, sports club, I even heard there's a gambling club! I'm dying of curiosity. Come look with me, please~" Lucas clasped his hands together, eyes pleading like a puppy begging for food.
I stayed silent and thought for a moment.
The card issue was worrying but not so urgent that it had to be solved immediately, and since arriving in this world I hadn't really had a chance to explore the school properly, always busy studying and making cards.
'Well, treating it as a little entertainment is fine. I can ask a teacher anytime.'
"Alright, let's go," I sighed and nodded.
"Yeah! I knew you'd agree!" Lucas jumped with joy and dragged me along before I could react.
We had walked a short distance toward the academy when we unexpectedly ran into two familiar figures coming the other way.
Alice and Alvin.
"Oh? Where are you two headed?" Alice asked with a bright smile, holding a small notebook to her chest.
"We're going to check out the clubs in Area B!" Lucas answered quickly before I could open my mouth.
"Clubs?" Alvin looked interested.
"I was planning to take a look too. I heard there's a swordsmanship club," Alvin continued.
"I'm really curious as well," Alice nodded in agreement. "How about we all go together?"
"Sure," I shrugged, seeing no reason to refuse.
And so the four of us, a mixed little group of every kind of personality, headed toward Area B of the academy, which according to the seniors was the entertainment paradise for all students from grade 7 upward.
***
Bacillus Academy might look like a solemn ancient castle from the outside, but inside it was clearly divided into four distinct areas, each serving its own purpose.
Area A was where the main classrooms, teachers' offices, and student council were concentrated. The place where Lucas, Alvin and I spent most of our week studying and, in the case of Tryo and Lucas, occasionally causing trouble (Tryo: what the hell did I do?).
Area C was much larger, containing the grand lecture halls, basketball courts, cafeteria, central lobby, and the administrative offices along with the logistics staff and much more.
Areas A, B and C were all connected by wide corridors that made movement convenient, and right in the center of the three areas lay a huge sports stadium that also served as the official competition venue, where if I remembered correctly the important card battles of the academy were held.
Area B, our destination today, was where all the school's clubs were gathered.
And more specially, Area B connected directly to Area D, which was reserved for senior students from grades 10, 11 and 12, and even university and college students, because from that age onward the academy placed academic demands on a nearly harsh level.
"I heard that once you reach grade 10 they start teaching applied magic in depth. It's ridiculously hard," Alvin explained as we walked, apparently having researched in advance. "That's why Area D is completely separated."
"That scary?" Lucas pouted. "Then we still have a long time before we taste that kind of suffering, right?"
"Should I tell the teachers you haven't studied enough and want extra lessons?" I said.
"I'm sorry," he immediately dropped to his knees.
The moment we stepped into Area B the four of us all froze at once, eyes wide at the scene before us. If Area A was quiet with the steady sound of lectures, Area B was as lively as a marketplace, filled with laughter, collisions, music, and countless senior students bustling about in every corner.
"Whoa…" Lucas exclaimed, eyes shining like a child entering an amusement park for the first time.
After only a few seconds of awe, however, we quickly remembered an important rule: according to academy regulations only students from grade 7 and above could officially register for clubs. The four of us grade 6 kids, sadly, only had the right to stand outside and look.
"Tch, what a weird rule," Lucas grumbled, yet couldn't hide his curiosity as he pulled the group along the main corridor of Area B.
Our "tour" began at the sports club, where a bunch of tall students were practicing everything from basketball and soccer to sports I couldn't even name, apparently involving magic combined with physical ability in some way.
Next was the entertainment club, from which thumping music spilled into the hallway. A group of students gathered around something that looked like a giant board-game table, occasionally bursting into cheers of victory or groans of defeat.
Then came the service club, a name I couldn't ignore. Inside there was only one guy sitting quietly in the corner, dead-fish eyes staring into the distance as if he had lost all hope in life, holding a book he didn't even bother to turn the pages of.
"…Is that guy okay?" Alice whispered, shrinking back a little.
"No need to worry. He'll find something genuine someday," I replied.
We continued on, passing the crafts club with the ringing of hammers, the gambling club where even a glance through the door crack showed an atmosphere of extreme tension with seniors' faces serious to the point of being scary as they sat around tables. Suddenly a red-eyed long-black-haired girl moaned and hugged her chest in pleasure while her opponent looked as if he had lost his soul.
…Are we sure this isn't some crossover academy?
"Man, there's so much," Lucas muttered, eyes constantly darting around as if afraid of missing anything.
There was no denying it—all four of us were completely drawn in by the variety and liveliness of Area B. I even privately told myself that once the semester ended and we advanced to grade 7, I definitely had to try registering for a few clubs.
"Hey, how about at the end of the term when we reach grade 7 we all register for the same club?" Alice suggested, eyes sparkling with hope.
"Yeah, that sounds great!" Lucas nodded rapidly.
After walking together for a while the group finally decided to split up so each person could explore according to their own interests. Lucas, true to form, charged straight into the sports club without looking back, while I continued with Alvin and Alice, strolling through the remaining areas.
A little farther on I noticed two clubs side by side, the blacksmith club and the mechanic club. Both seemed related to crafting, which matched my current curiosity, so I planned to step inside and take a look.
But before I could cross the threshold a loud explosion suddenly rang out from the mechanic club, making all three of us jump and instinctively step back.
"Wh-what was that?!" Alice clutched her chest, face pale.
Right after the blast a petite girl with a ponytail shot out of the thick black smoke, both hands clamped over her head, face smeared with soot. She stared in panic at the smoke billowing behind her, then without hesitation pulled a card from her pocket, summoned a giant fire extinguisher, and charged back inside to put out the fire.
While the three of us were still standing there dumbfounded, another equally petite girl with orange hair braided into two slightly pointed pigtails like little horns was blasted straight out of the same smoke, rolled several times across the floor, and finally managed to stand up.
"****! ********!!" She cursed with unprintable intensity.
She stood, brushed the dust off herself, eyes blazing with fury. Without a word she rolled her sleeves up to the elbows and strode straight into the blacksmith club.
Only a few seconds later the sounds of crashing and banging erupted from inside, mixed with chaotic shouting from who knows how many people.
"IT WASN'T ME!! THAT SWORD JUST EXPLODED ON ITS OWN!!"
"WE'RE FORGING WEAPONS, NOT MAKING BOMBS, YOU GODDAMN IDIOTS!!"
The crashing continued without pause, sounding as if an entire forge was being leveled.
Alvin, Alice and I looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement.
"…We should probably stay away from those two clubs for now," I said as seriously as possible.
"Agreed," Alvin and Alice answered almost in unison. The three of us immediately turned and left the danger zone before we got caught in the crossfire.
After walking a bit farther to regain our composure, Alice suddenly stopped, eyes lighting up at the sign "Pastry Club" hanging in front of a room from which the rich smell of butter and milk drifted into the hallway.
"Ah, the pastry club!" Alice cheered, turning to us with undisguised pleading eyes. "I'm going to check this one out, you two go on ahead. I'll head back by myself later."
"Okay, be careful," I nodded.
"Have fun, Alice," Alvin waved.
Alice smiled gratefully and disappeared into the pastry club, leaving Alvin and me to continue our unfinished exploration.
A little farther on both of us noticed a large sign reading "Martial Arts Club," from which clear shouts and powerful impacts echoed.
"Can I go in and take a look?" Alvin turned to ask me, expectation already shining in her eyes before I could answer.
"Sure, I'm curious too," I nodded, thinking I had no clear plan anyway, so following along for fun was fine.
Stepping inside we were overwhelmed by a spacious dojo with soft specialized flooring, weapons and training tools hanging all around. Dozens of seniors in training uniforms were divided into small groups practicing every kind of martial art, from basic punches and kicks to complex techniques that combined mana.
What caught my attention most, however, was a familiar face training right in the middle of the dojo. Wright, a member of the disciplinary committee of the student council, whom I had seen during PE.
'Oh, so he's training here too,' I thought, watching the way he performed.
"ATTACK, BOY!!!"
"YEEEART!!!" The guy in ninja clothes punched Wright in the stomach, yet it did nothing at all.
Wright stood firm as a stone statue, using his solid chest to take every attack without budging, six-pack abs tensed like steel to block every incoming technique.
"IF THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!"
He then used that iron-hard chest to headbutt the opponent with a devastating blow that sent the guy rolling unconscious on the spot.
"Tch, weak! BOYS!!!"
"Yessir!" A whole row of people appeared behind him like PNGs.
"Bring the next opponent!"
"Roger!" Then the whole group vanished like PNG images.
'In my previous life I watched so many movies and still never saw anyone this impressive…' I silently marveled.
But Alvin didn't seem particularly interested in that rather strange performance. Her eyes were quickly drawn in another direction. I followed her gaze and saw a healthy tan-skinned girl with short neat black hair and a clear tomboy air, practicing a kicking style that looked a lot like the Taekwondo of my world.
She launched an extremely fast kick to her opponent's chin that made him stagger, then immediately followed with a second kick using the other leg, striking the back of the neck and finishing him cleanly so he collapsed to the floor.
"…So beautiful," Alvin murmured, eyes never leaving the girl's movements, openly captivated.
At that moment the tomboy girl seemed to sense the gaze on her and turned toward us. Seeing two unfamiliar faces at the door she instantly brightened and ran over excitedly.
"Hey hey, just arrived? Want to join the club?" she asked in a rapid, enthusiastic voice.
"Ah no, we're only grade 6," I quickly explained, afraid of causing unnecessary misunderstanding.
At that her excited expression deflated like a punctured balloon, disappointment clear on her face.
"Man, year 6 student again… haah, I knew it. Lately I've only been running into little kids," she sighed, looking a bit dejected.
But a second later her eyes shifted to Alvin, carefully observing her perfectly straight posture and solid balance.
"Oh, but this one's stance is really solid," she remarked, voice mixed with surprise and approval.
"Y-yes, I've studied swordsmanship since I was little," Alvin answered, a little awkward at the unexpected praise.
Hearing that the tomboy girl's mood immediately improved, a bright smile returning to her lips.
"Oh nice! Then come watch me perform a bit. Who knows, when you grow up you'll remember me and join this club," she waved us deeper into the dojo.
After a few steps she suddenly remembered something and turned back to introduce herself.
"Almost forgot. I'm Jin, grade 10, and the club president of this martial arts club," she thumped her chest proudly.
"I'm Igor," I replied.
"I'm Alvin. We're both from Class Charlemagne," Alvin introduced politely as well.
"Charlemagne, huh?" Jin nodded, then shouted toward a corner of the dojo, "Hey, someone bring a training dummy over here, we've got visitors!"
Another student immediately ran off and returned with a large wooden dummy shaped almost like a real person, placing it neatly in front of Jin as requested.
Alvin and I stepped back to watch, unsure what was about to happen. Jin backed up exactly ten steps, crossed her arms over her chest, and focused intensely on the dummy ahead, her entire body sinking into absolute stillness.
Then, without any warning, she jumped twice in succession, each jump light as if it cost no effort at all.
Right after that a strong gust of wind suddenly erupted from her sheer speed and swept straight toward us. My familiar ushanka was blown clean off my head, and both my hair and Alvin's flew wildly in the wind.
"S-SO FAST?!" I panicked and reached out but was too late, watching helplessly as it flew away.
Before I could react further Jin had already appeared right in front of the dummy in an instant, so fast I could barely track her movement.
Three consecutive high kicks were delivered at blinding speed, aimed precisely at the temple, chin, and neck. The speed was such that afterimages trailed behind each kick, as if multiple Jins were attacking from different angles at once.
Immediately after the final kick she lightly stepped around behind the dummy and stood perfectly still for a single moment, right before the wooden dummy slowly toppled to the floor with a resounding thud.
The dojo fell silent for a second, then scattered applause rose from the seniors who were already used to this performance.
Alvin and I stood frozen, speechless.
'HOLY SHIT, ISN'T THIS THE RENEWAL TAEKWONDO OF JIN MORI AND JIN TAEJIN???' I panicked internally.
"…Incredible," Alvin whispered, eyes shining in a rare way, almost completely in awe of what she had just witnessed.
Jin turned around, saw Alvin's expression, and smiled smugly, thinking to herself:
'Hehe, another one hooked by me. Too bad she's only grade 6. I'll have to wait another year to recruit her.'
"So, impressed?" Jin asked proudly.
"Very impressed!" Alvin nodded rapidly, rarely showing such enthusiasm.
Seeing Alvin's eager reaction Jin grew even more interested, stepped closer, and switched to a serious evaluating look.
"Hey, can I check your physical condition a bit?" she asked.
"Y-yes," Alvin was a little surprised but still nodded.
Jin took Alvin's hand, turning it over to carefully examine the palm and fingertips, her face gradually showing a professional contemplative expression.
"Hmm… calluses here, the way you grip is very proper… how long have you been practicing the sword?" Jin asked.
"Since I was little. My family has… a knight tradition," Alvin answered, a bit shy under the sudden attention.
"Cool. This grip style is definitely the result of formal training, not self-taught," Jin nodded and released Alvin's hand. "But you don't really have talent for the sword. A bit blunt, but I'm being honest."
"Y-yes, thank you, senpai," Alvin bowed her head, apparently already aware of that.
Standing there watching the two of them talk animatedly about everything related to martial arts and swordsmanship, I started to feel like a third wheel.
'Well, this place probably isn't for me,' I thought, looking around for the ushanka that had been blown away earlier. Luckily I found it stuck in a corner of the room, picked it up, and put it back on.
"Alvin, I'm heading out first. Stay and enjoy yourself," I lightly patted Alvin's shoulder.
"Oh, okay. Be careful," Alvin nodded, but her eyes never left Jin, clearly still absorbed in what she had just seen.
I left the martial arts club and continued my solo journey along the corridor of Area B, wondering how many more surprises still awaited ahead.
A little farther on I spotted a sign reading "Alchemy Club" hanging above a somewhat old wooden door. The name immediately caught my attention.
"Alchemy club huh?"
But the moment the door swung open the scene before my eyes made me freeze for a beat, wondering whether I had just walked into the laboratory of some mad scientist.
In the middle of the cluttered room filled with all sorts of chemical bottles, test tubes, and stacks of ancient books everywhere, a girl of modest height with blue hair and bright green eyes full of excitement, safety goggles perched on her head, wearing a long white lab coat that reached her knees, was standing in front of a large pot placed on a magic stove, continuously pouring one thing after another into it.
"Hehehe... almost there... just a little more... HAHAHA!" she laughed loudly with pure excitement, her voice echoing through the room and sounding no different from a witch brewing poison in a fairy tale.
"...?" I stared at her.
The girl suddenly realized someone was standing at the door watching her. She spun her head around, her eyes met mine, and in that instant the excited expression on her face instantly turned into extreme panic.
"Wh-who's there?!" she startled, hands and feet flailing in confusion, accidentally swinging her arm and hitting the pot that was boiling furiously on the stove.
The pot tipped over, and the entire strange purple liquid mixture inside poured straight down onto her, sending up a thick cloud of smoke along with a sizzling sound that made one's skin crawl.
"AAAAHHHH!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"OH SHIT! ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Right after that, right before my eyes, a pair of small mouse ears began to grow on top of her head, accompanied by a long mouse tail that poked out from behind her back, twitching back and forth as if trying to get used to its new existence.
The girl stood there, frozen, both hands trembling as she reached up to touch the newly grown mouse ears, her face gradually shifting into an indescribable expression of despair.
As for me, I stood still in place, watching the entire process unfold before my eyes from beginning to end, my mind completely blank and not knowing how I was supposed to react properly.
'...'
After an awkward silence that stretched for several seconds, I slowly, gently, without making a single sound, closed the wooden door as if nothing had ever happened.
"YOU BASTARD!! WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING OFF TO!!!"
It's definitely not my fault.