Saturday morning.
Today, the lobby of Schlaphe Hall was as usual.
The seniors were nervously pacing, stomping their feet, while my fellow freshmen whispered with worried expressions, saying, “What should we do?”
The seniors were always strapped for cash, so I could understand that.
The freshmen were probably anxious about the upcoming dungeon practice.
A month was enough time for students who had taken the third exam to inquire about the dungeon from the seniors out of curiosity.
However, when they saw my face, their expressions brightened, and they started to crowd around me.
“Hey, it’s Hersel!”
“Hersel is here.”
“Hersel!!”They seemed crazed, like they’d gone mad from hunger, picking random mushrooms in the mountains. Worried, I asked about their well-being.
“Have you all gone mad?”
“No, it’s just that a situation has come up that makes us feel like we’re losing our minds.”
“Tell me what’s going on properly.”
A senior, trembling with fear, was about to speak when Athera, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.
“The students from Buerger Hall have declared war on us.”
“War? Are they going to invade?”
I chuckled, but Athera spoke in a serious tone.
“It would be better if that were the case. Most of us here rely on commissions to make a living, you know that, right?”
I started to understand what she meant.
The distribution of commissions was about 10% from professors, 30% from Adelle Hall, and a whopping 60% from Buerger Hall.
Recently, we had a conflict with Buerger Hall because of the brothers, Ebil and Shubil, or whatever their names were.
“It seems they declared that they would no longer give us any work.”
“That’s right. Because of that, the atmosphere here isn’t good.”
This is a big problem.
Losing half of the money needed for survival is a significant issue.
As someone with an upright nature, I couldn’t just stand by and watch these pitiful souls.
“You should have saved some money when you had the chance.”
Well, I’ve given my advice, so I guess I’ll go grab a meal now.
“Wait a minute! Are you just going to leave it like this?”
“If you’re the representative, you should handle it yourself. Why keep asking me for favors?”
“Still…”
I glanced at the annoying Athera and reassured her.
“This will only last a short while. How long do you think those pampered kids, who have been living like kings, can endure an uncomfortable life? An internal division will happen soon.”
They are spoiled brats who even spend coins on trivial errands.
How long can bourgeoisie accustomed to luxury cars endure a pedestrian lifestyle?
“And take this opportunity to wake up and stop living hand-to-mouth. Either start a business through club activities or focus on your studies to get into that prestigious Buerger Hall.”
Having said what I wanted, I continued on my way.
However, Athera’s words made me stop.
“You know we’re last in line for the weapons the academy rents out, right? The Buerger Hall kids insisted they needed everything and took it all. This was a deliberate move. Everyone knows the freshmen’s dungeon practice is coming up soon.”
My mind went blank for a moment.
The Buerger Hall kids owned personal treasures with their allowance, so they didn’t even need to rent equipment.
Thus, the only ones renting equipment were the poor students of Schlaphe Hall, and since there weren’t many of us, the academy didn’t prepare enough.
“Did you bring this up with the professors?”
“Of course we did. There was a brief internal meeting, but nothing came of it.”
I could easily imagine the professors shouting across a desk.
They likely debated about what to do if students lacked equipment in real situations, arguing it was the students’ responsibility to secure weapons in time.
The academy focused so much on real-world practicality that they wouldn’t intervene in students securing their own equipment.
Athera, filled with anger, furrowed her brows.
“The professors are always like that, but those Buerger bastards… Is this how they want to play it?”
“Indeed, they’ve crossed a line.”
A serious one, at that.
This was a matter of life and death, played as a joke.
Few Schlaphe Hall freshmen had personal equipment.
Many had sold theirs to stave off hunger.
How could they face dungeon practice in this state?
Even with Ricks, the mortality rate would spike.
“Wait, driving us into such a predicament means they must want something in return, right?”
If you think about it, from their perspective, Schlaphe Hall students are slaves.
There must be some benefit to keeping us, so they probably want to negotiate.
I asked, and Athera gritted her teeth in response.
“You’re right, there is something. They want every Schlaphe Hall student to prostrate in front of the fortress steps in their underwear by tomorrow morning.”
It sounded absurdly cheap, almost acceptable.
Given the conditions, it seemed like it wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
With so many people, a few missing wouldn’t make a difference.
“This might be easier than I thought. Alright, everyone, go and beg well.”
“That includes you. Especially you, as the instigator of the incident, they want you to lick the shoes of their representative.”
However, this was a brutal violation of human rights.
Daring to trample on the dignity of others, under the same sky, was intolerable.
“Senior, gather all the people staying here.”
“Huh? Oh, okay. But what are you planning to do?”
I replied in a cold voice.
“A strategy meeting.”
“A strategy meeting?”
“There’s a saying that the best defense is a good offense. Tomorrow, we will strike the necks of the Buerger Hall students.”
Tomorrow will be a day etched in the history of Frostheart.
The day the slaves of Schlaphe Hall defeated the entrenched elites and regained their human rights, it will be known as the Slave Revolution.
***
Sunday morning.
In the Buerger Hall lobby, Emeric was sitting on a sofa, reading a book.
Next to him, Ebil paced nervously and asked in a worried voice.
“Will this really be okay?”
“They will have no choice but to accept it to survive.”
“I hope so, but Hersel is there, you know.”
“Hersel?”
“I’m worried he might lead an attack.”
Emeric took his eyes off his book and looked at Ebil.
“I don’t think that will happen, Ebil.”
“What?”
“That guy Hersel… You think it’s possible to survive a dragon’s breath? Do you think that’s a believable story?”
Emeric didn’t believe such an absurd tale.
“But defeating Bidon is true.”
“Hersel probably used some cunning tricks and exaggerated it. I’ve heard Bidon fell off the wall. Maybe he pushed him while Bidon was off guard?”
“No, there were several witnesses. They said he grabbed Bidon by the neck and slammed him to the ground.”
Emeric shook his head with a disdainful expression.
“Why do you think a guy like that ended up in Schlaphe Hall?”
“That’s…”
Ebil, stumped, couldn’t say anything, so Emeric voiced his thoughts.
“Schlaphe Hall made up a fake idol. Those slaves dared to fabricate it to challenge us.”
It seemed plausible enough that Ebil’s group murmured in agreement.
Emeric looked at the grandfather clock and closed his book.
“It’s almost time. They will soon raise the white flag.”
As soon as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard.
The person who appeared was Shubil, with his face wrapped in bandages.
“Seniors! The Schlaphe Hall guys are kneeling in their underwear at the bottom of the stairs!!”
Ebil ground his teeth in disgust.
“…Really, that bastard was a scammer. I’ll be satisfied only after I chew him up.”
“Once things settle, you and your brother can do whatever you want.”
As Emeric got up, the Buerger Hall students in the lobby started to gather.
“They must have heard that the others have surrendered.”
That’s good.
It’s the representative’s job to ensure everyone knows their place.
Of course, the upper hand belonged to Buerger Hall.
“Follow me.”
Emeric led the students out of the fortress.
***
Thick fog had formed.
Emeric walked ahead, cutting through the morning sunlight.
The Buerger Hall students followed in pairs due to their large number.
Ebil laughed as he looked at the Schlaphe Hall slaves kneeling in their underwear at the bottom of the stairs.
“Look at the fog. The sky must pity those bastards, trying to hide them.”
On the other hand, Emeric strained his eyes to scrutinize beyond the fog.
Even in their underwear, they didn’t move an inch in the cold.
And the area towards the snow mountain was clear enough to see large rocks.
‘Why is the fog only gathering around them?’
As his eyes adjusted, the forms of the kneeling figures became clearer.
Emeric’s eyes widened.
“It’s a trick!”
Those were not people, but cleverly made figures using earth magic, painted and dressed in underwear.
Therefore, the fog was likely a magical creation.
“What, a trick?”
Ebil and the others reacted similarly.
It took them a few seconds to process this.
But by then, it was too late.
Boom!
A heavy sound echoed as the fortress door was forcefully shut by a hulking figure.
Inside, there were frantic knocking sounds and confused voices from the Buerger Hall students who hadn’t yet come out.
“What’s going on? Why is the door closed!”
“Open it! Open it now!”
Emeric narrowed his eyes, looking at the muscular figure blocking the door with a giant shield on his back.
‘Is that decoration a barbarian?’
Now that he thought about it, Emeric had heard rumors about a barbarian joining Schlaphe Hall.
“They plan to disperse our forces.”
This meant an ambush.
The slaves dared to declare war on Buerger Hall. Emeric looked at the huge shield strapped to the barbarian’s back with a sense of foreboding and shouted loudly.
“Take down that barbarian immediately!”
The soldiers armed themselves and charged. The barbarian, exactly as Emeric feared, wedged his massive shield into the ground, effectively blocking the entrance.
Crash!
The entrance was blocked by the shield, and the exit was blocked by the barbarian himself.
No matter how deeply the shield was embedded, pulling it out should be manageable.
Just as the six sturdy men nearly reached the barbarian, someone shouted from afar, and Emeric’s eyes widened once more.
“Now!”
From all around the snowfield, Schlaphe Hall’s slaves emerged, uncovering themselves from white tarps like blankets.
Most of them were wearing shabby armor and wielding crude wooden swords that looked hand-carved. Some used branches with leaves as makeshift magic wands.
And at the center of this group was a familiar face.
“Makdal…”
Makdal pointed at the barbarian and ordered the slaves.
“Protect Asley!”
The soldiers aiming to overpower the barbarian were quickly subdued by Makdal and a dozen slaves. Emeric started to move forward to handle the situation himself. Makdal stepped out from the crowd to meet him.
“Long time no see, Emeric.”
“You’ve lost a lot of weight since I last saw you. But who came up with this strategy?”
“It all came from Hersel’s mind.”
So, it wasn’t just a simple con artist…
“Indeed, being a great con artist requires a good head. But the cocky brat must be hiding somewhere safe.”
Emeric sneered, but Makdal’s eyes blazed with anger.
“Watch your mouth, Emeric. He is not someone your kind should disrespect.”
“The leader of cowards doesn’t even show his face.”
“Enough talk. Let’s begin.”
Makdal raised his staff, and Emeric smirked.
“Oh? Without Bidon, you think you can take me on?”
No matter what plans they had, the outcome was already decided.
The main entrance was blocked, but soon reinforcements would come through the windows.
Even with the current troops, wiping out Schlaphe Hall students wouldn’t be difficult.
‘Schlaphe’s second and third-year students are already proven trash. Among the first-years, there might be some unknown talents, but Ebil’s gang can handle them.’
Even if they were raw gems, no first-year could defeat a third-year from Buerger Hall. Emeric unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Makdal, who was the strongest among the enemy forces.
“First, I’ll cut you down to break their morale.”
“If you can, try it.”
“Fine, I’ll show you that all your tactics are useless against brute strength.”
Makdal’s staff twirled, and snow gathered to form snowmen.
The puppets were controlled using a combination of elemental wind magic to mold them and curse magic to move them.
Emeric admired the sight of Makdal controlling thirty snowmen at once.
“You’ve improved, I see.”
“Well, circumstances forced it.”
Emeric swung his sword and shattered the snowman puppet throwing a punch at him.
Meanwhile, Ebil growled at the man with the ponytail.
“You bastard… You had me starving in a cell all day.”
Ricks blinked in confusion.
“They must have given you food.”
“You think the trash you beggars eat suits me?”
Ebil shouted at his subordinates.
“What are you waiting for? Attack them now!”
His brother Shubil grabbed his staff. Ricks didn’t miss the chance and quickly used his spell to chain Shubil’s wrist with conjured shackles, weighted down by a heavy ball.
“Ugh.”
As the knights charged, the soldiers of Schlaphe Hall began to move.
“I’ll support from the rear. Fight without worries.”
Ricks coordinated the battle, adjusting their formations.
“Binrel! Move a bit to the right. Keep the formation centered. Hapal, aim your electric orb at the left target, not the right.”
Simply maintaining their positions became a barrier that the enemy hesitated to breach.
While individual combat skills were uncertain, the enemy clearly outnumbered them.
Sensing the difficulty of the fight, Ricks turned his attention to Klabe, who seemed to be erasing her presence.
‘Is that really Klabe?’
Klabe seemed faint, almost like a transparent ghost, making it hard to identify her clearly.
But seeing her quietly preparing electric magic without anyone noticing confirmed it.
Ricks chuckled bitterly.
‘She’s definitely grown since she got here. Did she get inspired by that guy…’
As Klabe completed her spell, her camouflage spell faded. Ricks immediately took action again, sending conjured eagles to harass the enemies Klabe had struck with her lightning.
“Ahh!”
“Where did that come from?!”
As the enemies looked around, Klabe was discovered.
But Ricks had already sent eagles to protect her, and the birds began pecking at the foes.
“Ahhh!”
“What the hell is this?!”
‘Good thing I prepared. The camouflage spell doesn’t completely erase her presence.’
Once Klabe safely retreated, Ricks assessed the battle.
The flow was good.
Although the enemy’s numerical advantage was troublesome, their quality was superior.
Reluctantly, Ricks acknowledged that Makdal’s efforts had made them stronger.
Then he wondered about Makdal’s fight with the Buerger Hall leader and glanced over.
‘Is Makdal doing alright?’
Ricks’s eyes widened.
Emeric was right in front of him, dragging the exhausted Makdal by his hair, casting a dark shadow over him.
“Where is your leader hiding?”
The battle had barely begun, yet Emeric had already determined the outcome.
Even if Makdal struggled to defeat him, he couldn’t.
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