It might seem obvious, but there isn’t just one academy.

When you think about it, it makes sense. All minors with supernatural abilities are required to attend an academy, and there’s no way a single academy could accommodate all of them. Even though supernatural ability users are rare, they aren’t that scarce.

North, West, East, and South.

There are four academies in total, and the one Lucia attends is the Southern Academy.

It wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking setting. In Dawn’s Blade, the Southern Academy was the most important one because it was where the protagonist studied, while the other academies were mentioned only in passing. Still, there was a reason I brought up the other academies—they served as points of comparison.

Academies, with their long histories, naturally had buildings that aged and deteriorated over time. However, every facility in the Southern Academy was pristine and state-of-the-art. It was no wonder—its remodeling had only been completed last year.

Sure, academies were places where money was tossed around like confetti, so the others probably weren’t much different. Still, compared to the others, the newly designed Southern Academy boasted superior facilities. Just looking at the library was enough to prove that.

The academy’s library was an 11-story high-rise, each floor packed with shelves brimming with books. Its collection was vast—novels, essays, poetry, biographies, workbooks, encyclopedias, magazines, comic books, philosophy texts, children’s books, newspapers, and research papers. Finding something not there would probably be easier.

Everything was designed for the students’ convenience. It was part of the adults’ efforts to ensure that students faced no inconveniences while attending the academy. Maybe it was a bit excessive, but who was I to complain? As one of the beneficiaries of this convenience, I was nothing but grateful.

Actually, now that I thought about it, maybe it wasn’t so excessive after all. The academy’s students were practically child soldiers who could be sent to the battlefield at a moment’s notice. If we were going to be forced to sacrifice ourselves, the least they could do was offer us this level of comfort.

After class, I headed to the library. There was something I needed to check.

I knew a lot about this world, but all of that information came from Dawn’s Blade. Everything I knew was based on what I’d read in that novel. So, I needed to verify it. I had to cross-check how much of this world matched the novel’s setting. If this world was only similar to the novel but still different, then my knowledge would be completely useless. The last thing I wanted was to get blindsided because I trusted the novel’s setting too much.

“Huh. Doesn’t seem all that different, does it?”

After spending over two hours pacing between the bookshelves and flipping through countless books, I reached that conclusion.

First, history.

The invasion of the Beasts of the Beyond started about 300 years ago.

It was around that time that monsters began pouring out of sudden dimensional tears, known as “Rifts.”

That era was a time of chaos.

There were no systematic countermeasures in place like there are now, so several nations were wiped out during that period.

People died, and died, and died again—so much so that death became part of everyday life. It was only after this endless cycle of death that humanity barely managed to fight back.

Led by the Order, supernatural ability users united and began resisting the Beasts of the Beyond.

Humanity’s first counterattack, after being pushed back time and time again, was a success. From then on, the exhausting war between humans and monsters began.

Next, the Beasts of the Beyond.

They, too, were just as described in the “original work.”

As the term “Beyond” suggested, they were uninvited intruders from another world. Whenever a Rift appeared, they poured out in droves. Their appearances and abilities varied widely, but they all had one thing in common—an uncontrollable rage toward humanity.

They killed humans. As if that was their sole reason for existing.

But if that were all, the chaos of the past wouldn’t have been as severe. Humans have always been a species that can’t kill each other fast enough. Even back then, there were armies and established combat techniques, so why were humans so helpless against the Beasts of the Beyond?

It was because of the monsters’ fatal characteristic.

Humans couldn’t look at them. The moment they laid eyes on a Beast of the Beyond, they would collapse into seizures, foaming at the mouth. Prolonged exposure drove them insane.

It was called “Mental Corruption.”

The Beasts of the Beyond shattered human minds just by being seen. This was the fundamental reason humanity had been slaughtered so one-sidedly in the past—and why supernatural ability users were regarded as humanity’s only hope.

Supernatural ability users were immune to Mental Corruption.

They could look at the Beasts without suffering any mental damage. On top of that, they possessed powers capable of fighting the monsters. Naturally, supernatural ability users became increasingly valued, and today, they were treated like heroes destined to save the world.

And finally, supernatural ability users and the Order.

Supernatural ability users referred to people who possessed unique powers.

Each person had only one ability. While exceptions existed, they were rare.

The Order, a religious organization, worshipped the Four Seasonal Gods.

Although its influence had waned due to growing secularism, it once boasted enormous power.

The Order described supernatural abilities as miracles granted by the gods. Believers accepted this without question, but skeptics saw it as propaganda designed to bolster the Order’s authority.

The funny thing was—the Order was actually right.

Spring—the God of Growth.
Summer—the God of Willpower.
Autumn—the God of Healing.
Winter—the God of Justice.

The four gods protected this world and fended off the invasion from the Beyond.

What? If they’re protecting the world, why do monsters still appear?

Well, cut them some slack. Those gods are busy pulling each other’s hair out with the gods of the Beyond.

Even in the “original work,” the gods of the Beyond weren’t described in detail, but the hints given made it clear—they weren’t good beings. They were described as ancient, as rulers of the past.

Unlike the Beasts, which could drive humans mad just by being seen, the mere knowledge of the gods’ existence could shatter a human mind. And in this case, even supernatural ability users weren’t immune.

Huh, this world’s setting is darker than I thought, isn’t it?

But don’t worry. This is still a world brimming with the hopeful vibes of shounen manga, where dreams and love triumph in the end.

The gods granted humanity the power to protect itself—and that’s what supernatural abilities are.

Supernatural abilities are powers that bring humans closer to the divine.

The closer one pushes their ability to its limits, the less human they become, gradually transforming into god-like beings.

“Hmm… it all more or less checks out.”

I closed the book and stretched out with a loud yawn. Ugh, my eyes hurt. Staring at tiny text for so long had left me mentally drained. But oddly enough, it wasn’t a bad feeling—I even let out a small, contented laugh. Reading really was a great hobby. I should read more books from now on.

I’d already found everything I needed to know, so it was about time to head back.

Might as well borrow a few books while I’m here.

“Now, where would the anatomy books be?”

As someone with Rapid Regeneration, I figured it was important to understand the human body in detail.

Think about it. Regeneration is surprisingly tricky as a power. What if my body started healing with foreign objects still inside it? Or what if my organs or bones shifted out of place and regenerated incorrectly?

Of course, Lucia’s Rapid Regeneration always restored her body perfectly without any issues, but you never know, right? Really, I mean it. No ulterior motives here whatsoever. I wasn’t even slightly curious about things like where vital points were, which arteries bled the most, or how to make someone hurt the most. Nope. Not at all.

Thud.

“Huh?”

I stopped in my tracks instinctively.

Something… strange just made a noise.

Curious, I followed the sound.

It wasn’t far. After passing a few bookshelves, I saw a girl clutching her nose and looking like she was about to cry, surrounded by a mess of books scattered all over the floor.

“…?”

Uh… what’s this?

What kind of situation—oh.

Got it.

She must’ve been trying to carry all those books by herself and wiped out spectacularly. Judging by the uniform, she was a fellow academy student. It wasn’t like a supernatural ability user would have trouble lifting that many books, so she must’ve tripped or bumped into a shelf. Geez. Strength doesn’t mean you can just overexert yourself like this.

If I hadn’t seen her, I could’ve just walked away. But since I had seen her, helping was the decent thing to do.

I carefully picked up the books to keep them from getting bent and spoke to her.

“You okay?”

“Ah, ah, ah… Y-yes! Y-y-y-yes! I-I’m fine! Ah…”

The girl shot her head up and answered energetically, but then trailed off, probably realizing her voice had been way too loud.

Right, this was a library. Keeping quiet was just basic manners.

Wait a second… Haven’t I seen her before?

No—scratch that. I definitely saw her all the time. We were in the same class.

Deep navy hair, like the depths of the ocean.

Round eyes of mismatched colors.

A sharp nose and small, rosy lips.

Cheeks that looked irresistibly pinchable and an innocent, delicate expression.

“…Aris?”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Ah, ah, Aris! That’s me!”

Aris answered energetically but immediately clamped her mouth shut again. Too loud.

Her face turned red as she hurriedly picked up the scattered books. I joined in to help her, working quickly.

But… wasn’t this a bit much?

How did she even carry all these by herself?

She couldn’t have seen a thing with that stack blocking her view. No wonder she tripped—I probably would’ve fallen too.

Was Aris part of the library staff or something? I didn’t think the academy had a library club, though.

“Th-th-thank you for, um, h-helping me… L-Lucia… right?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Just call me Lucia—it’s fine. But what’s with all the books? Were you moving them somewhere? Did the librarian ask you to do this?”

“Eh? Oh, n-no. I was… b-borrowing them…”

“…All of them?”

“Y-yes… Is… i-is there a p-problem with that?”

There had to be over twenty books here. Was she really borrowing all of these?

…Well, it was Aris, so maybe it made sense.

In the “original,” she was portrayed as a massive bookworm.

Aris.

She might’ve looked fragile, but she was actually one of the elites—part of the so-called Golden Generation, like Eugene, Leo, and Arin.

Remember that girl who wiped out five golems with a beam attack during ability testing? That was Aris.

When it came to sheer firepower, she was the strongest in the academy.

And she was also the main heroine of Dawn’s Blade.