CHAPTER 40: CAPTURE THE FLAG (1)

I stared at Julien.

He was alive.

Not bleeding out in my arms. Not whispering his last words with that stupid, lopsided grin. Just... sitting there, rubbing his face like he had a headache.

I turned my head.

And saw the all of class c students sitting around the warm campfire, they are all still alive. Suddenly my eyes shed a drop of tear.

"Professor?" Felix asked hesitantly. "You okay?"

No.

Not even a little.

But I wasn’t about to admit that in front of my students.

So I pushed the rising panic down, quickly wiped the year from eye, and muttered, "Yeah. Just had a bad dream."

Julien gave me a deadpan look. "You were screaming in your sleep."

Felix nodded quickly. "Kinda sounded like you were dying."

"Or being possessed," Mira added, chewing on a piece of dried meat. "For a second, we thought we’d have to bash your head in before you turned into some forest demon."

I stared at them.

They were serious.

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Glad to know your first instinct is violence."

Mira shrugged. "We’ve been in this cursed forest too long. Anything that starts twitching weirdly gets a rock to the face. Standard protocol."

Julien nodded. "It’s true. Felix almost got brained earlier when he sneezed in his sleep."

Felix paled. "Wait, what?"

Mira didn’t answer. She just took another bite of her food.

I let out a slow breath and focused. "Stay here, I’ll be back soon." I said to them and walked toward the edge of the camp.

Julien stood. "At least take someone with you—"

"No," I cut him off. "Stay here."

He hesitated. "Why? Where are you even going?"

I sighed. "To take a piss, Julien. Unless you want to hold my hand while I do it?"

Julien made a disgusted face and immediately sat back down.

Mira smirked. "Try not to get eaten."

Felix frowned. "Professor, what if something—"

"I’ll be fine," I said, already stepping into the trees.

The firelight faded behind me as I moved deeper into the woods. The air was cool, the faint rustling of leaves the only sound.

I exhaled slowly. That dream... no, that nightmare—it had felt too real. The weight of Julien’s body, the smell of blood in the air, the sheer helplessness—

I clenched my jaw.

It didn’t happen. It won’t happen.

I sat under one of the tree roots on the clearing and opend my personal status window.

=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=

____[Personal Status]____

[Name] Lucian Drelmont

[Age] 25

[Title] ---

[Occupation] Instructor at Noctis Ardentis Academy

[Affiliation] Drelmont Family (Estranged)

——

[HP] 190/190

[MP] 120/120

[Mana Color] Gray

[Elemental Affinity]

✦ Fire - «Mastery»

✦ Water - «Adept»

——

[Attributes]

Mana Control ★★☆☆☆

Spellcasting ★★☆☆☆

Swordsmanship ★★★☆☆

Insight ★★☆☆☆

Mental Fortitude ★★★☆☆(UP^)

Instruction ★☆☆☆☆

___

[Martial Manuals[

➤ Split-Style Swordsmanship (★★★☆☆)

➤ Drelmont Family Swordsmanship – Severance Form (★★☆☆☆)

___

[Unique Dispositions]

➤ Grimoire of Patterns – Allows the user to store spells and important details. Cannot store multiple spells at once. Requires mastery to efficiently use stored spells. Gains increased learning efficiency when analyzing repeated patterns in combat or magic.

➤ Shadow Step – Temporarily blends with nearby shadows, rendering the user invisible for a brief period. Also enhances speed for short bursts.

=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=×=

I frowned.

There were some changes.

Mental Fortitude increased. That was expected after everything that happened. But... I wasn’t sure if it was enough.

And then I clicked on the Grimoire of Patterns.

____[Grimoire Of Patterns]____

Pattern Capacity - 1/1

Stored Pattern - Dream Mist.

____[Grimoire Of Patterns]____

I stared at the words.

Dream Mist.

The thing that had nearly swallowed me whole. The thing that had wrapped around my lungs, pressed into my mind—like it was trying to take something from me.

And now it was just... stored. Sitting there in the Grimoire of Patterns like a harmless little entry.

I swallowed hard.

What the hell did I even do with this?

My fingers hovered over the stored pattern. Then Information about the Dream Mist showed.

[Stored Pattern: Dream Mist]

Category: Unnatural Phenomenon

Properties:

— Induces vivid hallucinations and deep sleep paralysis.

— Can distort time perception and alter memories.

— Reacts to lingering emotions and subconscious fears.

— Unstable. Controlled release may require additional mastery.

___

I stared at the description.

The hell was I supposed to do with this?

It wasn’t a spell, wasn’t an ability. It was just... a nightmare given form.

I clenched my jaw.

Was this what had been messing with my head? The reason that nightmare had felt so damn real?

My grip tightened around the edges of the status window.

And if I hadn’t stored it... would it have just kept sinking into me? Burrowing deeper?

A cold sweat ran down my back.

I exhaled slowly and closed the Grimoire.

Later. I’d figure it out later.

Right now, I needed to focus on what was ahead.

With one last glance at my status, I stood up, brushing dirt off my coat.

I returned to the camp, and then a blue bird flew across the sky and an announcement followed it.

The First Event Capture the Flag will start tomorrow and every first year class and their professor need to join it.

I stopped in my tracks.

It was the voice of headmaster Augustus Evercrest and now the first event of the survival camp us officially beginning.

The students were already on their feet, eyes locked onto the glowing blue bird as its wings shimmered with mana.

Julien frowned. "Capture the Flag? Here?"

Mira sighed. "Of course they’d turn this into some kind of death match."

Felix looked like he wanted to run. "What are the rules? Do we even get rules?"

The bird flapped its wings once, and another message rang out.

Each team will be assigned a flag. The objective is to secure and defend your flag while attempting to steal others. The last team holding their flag wins. Julien scratched his head. "That... actually sounds normal?"

Felix didn’t look convinced. "There’s gotta be a catch."

Mira smirked. "There’s always a catch."

I stared at the sky, deep in thought. The headmaster’s announcement wasn’t surprising—this was supposed to be a survival camp, after all—but it did complicate things. We still hadn’t figured out what the hell was lurking in this forest, and now we had to worry about competing against other classes?

"Professor?" Julien nudged me.

I turned to face them.

"We’re gonna win, right?"

I snorted. "What, you think Class C is just gonna roll over?"

Mira grinned. "Not a chance."

Felix groaned. "That means we’re gonna suffer, aren’t we?"

"Obviously."

Julien cracked his knuckles. "Alright. So, what’s the plan?"

I exhaled, glancing at the students gathered around me. They were tired, they were battered, but they were still standing.

"First, we get some sleep," I said. "Tomorrow, we make sure the other classes regret ever setting foot in this forest."