NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37
<37 - New Student Dormitory>
Jonnas received a report from Oknodie.
The playful round handwriting resembled Oknodie so much it made his heart feel warm.
━━━
*Preparations Before the Entrance Ceremony
① Purchase School Uniform 
– Received items supported by the Foundation!
– The skirt feels so empty!
② Apply for New Student Dormitory
– Successful move-in to Room 111!
– Be careful not to accidentally enter Room 111.1!
③ Apply for Items to Bring
– Application List: Compass, Glowstone, Candy Pouch, Stone Pouch, Wide Thick Cloth, Rescue Mirror, Knife, Shovel, Metal Rod, Rope, Notebook, Wire.
– Approved Items: Candy Pouch, Stone Pouch. The rest denied.
④ Request Support Items from the Foundation
– None.
━━━
There was one item that made him sigh as soon as he saw it.
Stone pouch.
Hasn’t he fixed that habit yet?
‘Looks like he wants attention.’
Scholarship students gain the Academy’s attention.
Many incidents have occurred, and they understood through experience.
The danger level of the Wiheomhae Foundation.
The inevitable fate of a scholarship student with no further growth.
Professors who have given their hearts to students in the Academy are always forced to make choices.
To endure the sight of a child’s growth stagnating under harsh orders.
Or to forcefully continue their growth and elevate them to a higher position.
It’s a heinous hostage situation.
Create an outstanding talented disciple and subtly coerce cooperation using their growth and future.
Who will fall into the Foundation’s trap and shed blood this time?
‘It’s already out of my hands.’
Jonnas closed his eyes.
Memories of his former mentor, events that happened between himself, his mentor, and the Foundation.
He shuts it all out.
There’s nothing beneficial about recalling it.
‘If I need to pay attention, it should be to this side.’
④ Request Support Items from the Foundation
– None.
Usually, kids struggle to request even one more item.
They fear asking for help.
No, they outright refuse.
Oknodie was that kind of child.
The kind that seemed to rush, thinking he had to do everything on his own, or he’d be abandoned.
It was admirable when training began, but now it hurt his heart.
But this was not something he could change.
That’s why even more, he needed to focus on what he could influence.
– Be careful not to accidentally enter Room 111.1!
Was it sleep-talking?
Did he doodle on the report?
It could be dismissed as a child’s prank, but he didn’t do that.
He knows.
Because he too was once a new student at the Academy.
Thus, he can firmly declare.
There is no Room 111.1 in the New Student Dormitory.
If Oknodie feels uneasy about anything, it’s worth investigating.
*
The Gift Academy sits on a remote island.
They built the Academy there to ensure rapid student growth due to the high mana distribution.
Without [Dimensional Gateways], reaching the island by ordinary means is extremely difficult.
It’s categorized as a dangerous area that cannot be approached without considerable skill.
Because of this, numerous countries on the continent found it nearly impossible to pose any physical threat to the Academy.
So organizations with keen interest in the Academy thought.
– If invading is difficult, isn’t it better to plant spies and gather information?
So numerous spies roamed around the Academy.
Among them was a spy from the Wiheomhae Foundation.
‘Is it a mission?’
A spy named April, who contacts the outside world on set days and in designated locations through special means.
She thought this mission was rather odd.
“Confirm the existence of the New Student Dormitory Women’s Room 111.1 and report the hazards.”
To investigate, she needed a justifiable reason to approach the dormitory without arousing suspicion.
Luckily, April had a prepared disguise for such occasions.
“Cleaner? Perfect. Please change the sheets in my room too.”
“Ma’am, please throw this away on your way.”
Although the new students were bothersome, she could tolerate this much.
“Hey, girl. Serve me in my room for a moment.”
“??”
“I’ll allow you the chance to receive the favor of Yeltsin Brownie, the eldest daughter of the Brownie family.”
This crossing-the-line behavior was troublesome.
An aristocratic daughter who has become aware of her charms.
Setting aside how annoying it was, she wished they would at least acknowledge it was somewhat embarrassing.
The spy of the Foundation had guidelines set for such situations.
– If a student is a nuisance, say this.
Recalling her superior’s advice, April opened her mouth.
“I am an employee affiliated with the Gift Academy. If an Academy student obstructs the work of the staff, I have the right to report to higher-ups and impose penalties.”
“…What I meant was that you’re attractive. I wasn’t trying to obstruct your work. Ahem. The serving comment was also a joke.”
They say you can feel like a wizard even without magic.
That effect is indeed remarkable.
[New Student Dormitory]
[Left - Female Only Area]
[Room 111]
The dormitory consists of 20 rooms per floor.
On the first floor, all rooms are single occupancy, which offers the best convenience.
From the second floor, where four-person rooms are the standard, it clearly differentiates itself.
‘Could there be issues in this specially managed floor of the Academy?’
Personally, she was skeptical, but that’s why she was dispatched to find out.
Knock, knock.
“Is anyone there?”
Unlike typical new students who were out and about, the resident of Room 111 must have been quietly inside because she opened the door wide at the knock.
Peeking out, her head tilted like a curious bird, she expressed interest.
“New event?”
“Cleaner here.”
Was that some kind of code the kids nowadays use?
Putting aside her confusion, April entered under the pretense of cleaning.
“There’s a stain on the wall.”
“Eek! I didn’t do it!”
“I didn’t think so. You don’t need to worry.”
The problem is what’s beyond this wall.
There’s a slight empty space between Room 11 and Room 12.
In terms of area, it’s about 0.5 pyeong.
A space designed to support the floors and the walls that bear the load.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Pressing and lightly tapping with her hand felt just like a regular wall.
Knock, knock.
Did she hear a knock from next door, or did she knock back?
The resident in Oknodie seemed a bit restless, but there was nothing there.
“Is there a problem living in the room?”
“Not at all!”
High vigilance.
She couldn’t obtain any information from this girl.
After finishing cleaning, she headed for Room 112.
“Cleaning? No problem.”
This time, under the guise of changing the sheets, April investigated while making excuses about wall stains.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
The knock back, aside from the sounds of knocking, was nothing significant.
“Pfft. Cute. It’s that girl living next door who did it, right?”
Did she find the knock amusing?
Room 112’s resident, Hestia, smiled warmly.
April thought she was cute too.
“I assume that was a repayment from earlier.”
“Repayment? What do you mean?”
“You knocked back when the girl next door knocked, didn’t you? I knocked like this too.”
“I didn’t knock!”
“?”
“Oh~ I get it. You’re joking about being a naive new student, right? Haha. Not falling for it, not falling for it. We had this kind of culture in the mercenary group.”
With a serious face, April spoke to the wall.
“Oknodie, can you hear me?”
“……”
“Can you hear me?”
After a moment.
A faint answer of “I can hear you” came back.
“What? It’s a prank after all.”
Hestia from Room 112 tried to act nonchalant.
“…I’m really sorry for startling you. There was a slight misunderstanding.”
“It’s alright. It was a thrilling experience for my heart after a long time!”
“From now on, we want to create an environment conducive to study in the dormitory, so please refrain from speaking to the room next door.”
“You just did it a moment ago!”
“Please understand that it’s a necessary procedure for verification.”
“Got it. I’ll keep it quiet.”
As April stepped out of the room.
She quietly brushed her arms.
The chill in her arm still hadn’t settled.
‘For just a moment, I definitely heard and remembered.’
The answer she just got from the wall.
It was not Oknodie’s voice.
Between Rooms 111 and 112.
Standing in the hallway, April glared at the space between the doors with a serious face.
What could possibly be in that ridiculously narrow space?
A sense of foreboding wouldn’t stop.
She couldn’t suppress her fear.
“Ugh.”
Terrified, April hurriedly turned on her heels.
She was oblivious to the fact that the other residents on the same floor were watching her flee with curiosity about what that cleaner saw to be so scared.
*
Phew, I thought I’d be caught.
Between the wall of Rooms 111 and 112.
In Room 111.1, there exists a being unknown to both its residents and Academy officials.
[The Answering Door]
This is a door that replies when interaction is attempted.
And this door will commit quite a mischievous act during the midterm exam of the first semester.
The neighboring resident, Hestia.
She will awaken as the first main boss, [Frenzied Hestia].
The circumstances are simple.
Throughout the first semester, she will realize that no one lives in the room she has been talking to next door, and one day, she’ll go insane.
Even as a Berserker class, Hestia completely losing her mind will lead to disasters.
Several classmates will get injured, and some may even die in a major incident.
How will players who know this secret respond?
The refreshing stream will get scared and immediately report to the professor to remove [The Answering Door], but veterans will absolutely not do such a thing.
‘Just matching it roughly how I did is good, isn’t it?’
Then Hestia won’t go insane.
On top of that, [The Answering Door] will remain intact.
In the original game, when the midterm exams begin.
– Please give me the past questions and predicted answers for Professor ㅇㅇ’s exam.
– Okay.
This helpful door will assist with studying.